The Good Shepherd
Jesus Christ called Himself the Good Shepherd, and the Door of the Sheep John 10:14 " I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. " John 10:7 " Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. " The true church does not follow strangers. They know who their leader is, and they follow Him. John 10:1-5 " Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. " Jesus Christ is the head of the true church. Ephesians 5:23 " For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. " Ephesians 1:22-23 " And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all. "
Colossians 1:12-20 " Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. " Yes but some might reason that we need a human leader, or leadership of the true church, since Christ isn't here to lead us. " Where is Jesus ? " they might wonder. How can we follow Him when He isn't here ? So they might reason that they need human shepherds to lead them. In reality Christ is here right among us. He is present through His spirit. Christ leads and guides the true church through the Holy Spirit. The true church is a spiritual organism consisting of those who have the Holy Spirit living in them. Romans 8:9 " But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. " Yes but some might argue that we cannot understand exactly what Christ's will is, and where He might want to lead us through the Spirit, because there are so many conflicting ideas out there, and so many different churches. One says this and the other says that - so who is one to believe ? So people might argue that we cannot know for sure what Christ wants for us, since Christ is not here. So how can we know His will ? So we need a human church hierarchy to lead the church and set doctrine, because there will just be confusion otherwise - might be their reasoning. Some might say that - if only Christ would come down to them and tell them plainly what He wanted them to do - then everything would be fine and they could understand God's will for them. Actually Jesus did come down here to this earth, and lived right among us. He spoke openly to people, and taught people. And he left with us His instructions in a collection of books - it is called the Bible. The Bible is the inspired word of God. The very words of Jesus are right there for us in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. 2 Timothy 3:15-16 " And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: " My Bible says that all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and that includes the Old Testament. 2 Peter 1:20-21 " Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. " Jesus Christ is the Word. The Bible is the word of God. Christ leads and guides us through the Holy Spirit. Christ's very words are recorded for us in the Bible, which is the inspired word of God.
There are many ways that Christ and God the Father lead and guide us, and here is a partial list of the ways Christ shepherds the church:
There are many, many other ways the unlimited Christ speaks to us and teaches us. However, remember that Christ has already given us so much in the Bible. Christ never changes, and the things He taught around 2,000 years ago are still the same things He will teach today.
The Passion of The Christ (a film by Mel Gibson) Reviewed By Ray Wegner I and my family saw the film The Passion of Christ by Mel Gibson on Sunday Feb. 29, 2004 at the Globe Cinema here in Calgary. I had planned to do a review of the film, and kept notes while watching it. To insure I had not missed anything I went alone by myself to see the movie again on Tuesday March 2, 2004 - this time at the Sunridge Spectrum. My first reaction to the production was quite different than my reaction when viewing it the second time. Amazing ! Really truly amazing ! My assessment of the film hereby stated is as honest as possible. This is as straight as it comes. I am not politically correct. These are my honest feelings, and I consider myself an expert on the Bible, and biblical doctrine. You can go to my web site on the spiritual, which proves to you I know what I'm talking about. I was baptized 26 years ago, and have been a serious student of the Bible since age 14. First Reaction To The Passion of The Christ (a film by Mel Gibson) I was very tense with a knot in my stomach before seeing the film, and in fact the whole day before - when the decision for our family to see it was made. 1. The film is inaccurate in many ways. 2. It is exploiting the suffering of Christ to make money. 3. Violent scenes have been added to the story, when there is no proof such violence ever happened. Therefore the film depicts a much more violent picture than actually happened. 4. The film paints a false picture of Jesus Christ. There is no proof Christ looked like the person in the film, who plays Jesus. The scriptures indicate Christ was not a handsome individual. There is no biblical proof Christ had long hair. Jesus very likely had a more swarthy complexion , but the film shows a very light skinned Christ. As well the movie depicts a false Jesus who couldn't endure pain stoically. The film depicts a masochistic Christ, but Christ was no masochist. 5. Roman soldiers are portrayed as totally brutal thugs, which is inaccurate. 6. The film is an insult to Christ, because it doesn't portray the whole truth according to the gospels; it projects a false image of Christ; it says virtually nothing about the teachings of Jesus; it portrays Christ as a helpless masochist; it exploits Christ's suffering and death for commercial purposes; it glorifies violence and in fact adds scenes of violence into the story that have no proof from the scriptures that they even happened; and the film is just a huge money racket. 7. There is no point in showing all the blood and gore, since we know this happened already. A few brief scenes of the suffering would have been sufficient. The film is a celebration of violence and should be thoroughly condemned.
Second Reaction to The Passion of Christ (a film by Mel Gibson) It dawned on me that this was a work of art - not the Gospel truth. Therefore the producer added certain scenes (that are not in the Bible) to illustrate very important points. This isn't the gospel - it is a work of art. Yes Jesus never looked like the man in the film who played Jesus, but did it really matter in the film ? None of us knows exactly how Jesus looked as a human being anyways. So why be so picky ? So it just came over me that I had been too picky, critical and judgmental when I viewed it the first time. The basic message came through to me very powerfully. Christ had to endure a very horrible death, so as to carry out His Father's will - and give Himself as a sacrifice for sin. I had a greater appreciation for the sufferings of Mary as well. All the various scenes took on new meaning for me. I could now see clearly the subtle points Gibson was making, and the thought that went behind the production. So impressed was I that I took in the film a third time. The third time I took my children, and they were seeing it for the second time. Their reaction was almost identical to mine, when I saw it for the second time. A very powerful and great film.
Guarantee of Rights and Freedoms and Fundamental Freedoms (from the Canadian Constitution) " The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in it subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society. Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms: (a) freedom of conscience and religion; (b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication; (c) freedom of peaceful assembly; and (d) freedom of association. " Readers are encouraged to point out biblical errors in all of my material and writings on spiritual matters. If you can find scriptural errors in my teachings - teachings that cannot be backed up by hard, concrete biblical doctrine - then I will gladly accept the constructive criticism and make the changes needed. So please go ahead and point out my mistakes, but your criticism must not be based on mere opinion, but must be able to be proved from the Bible.
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