Close Encounter of the Ultimate Kind

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—that which we have seen and heard, we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us, and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus the Christ.”  John, I John 1:1-3.

Religion gone terribly wrong

The tragedy of religion is that it has reduced a relationship between God the creator and His creation, mankind, to a set of rules and regulations instead of a pursuit of the ultimate experience of love—the love of God for us, and our love for God.

“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.  See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human traditions, according to the elemental sprits of the world and not according to Christ.  For in Him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.  Colossians 2:6-8.

 

God's heart and desire

The voice of God has always reflected His heart and desire for a love relationship with mankind.

“Hear, O Israel. The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.  And these words I command you today shall be on your heart.  You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and rise up.”  Deuteronomy 6:4-7.

A Pharisaical teacher of the law asked Jesus,

“Teacher, which is the great commandment of the Law?  And He said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.  This is the great and first commandment.  And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  On these two commandments depends all the Law and the Prophets.”  Matthew 22:34-37.

The final picture of Jesus’ love is depicted for those who love him in Revelation 21:1-5.

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.  And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man.  He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God.  He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.  And He who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’  And He said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’”  (Rev. 21:1-5; see also Lev. 26:11-13, Ex. 37:24-28, 2 Cor. 6:16-18)

God's plan for restoration

From the moment of disconnection in the Garden of perfect harmony between God and man—Adam and Eve—God pursued man and revealed His plan—a promised Savior that would restore the perfect union.

"When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

"Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man, 'Where are you?'

"He answered, 'I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.' 

"And he said, 'Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?'

"The man said, 'The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.'

"Then the LORD God said to the woman, 'What is this you have done?'

"The woman said, 'The serpent deceived me, and I ate.'

"So the LORD God said to the serpent,
'Because you have done this,
Cursed are you above all livestock
and all wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
and you will eat dust
all the days of your life.
And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.'"

This one would redeem mankind from the clutches of the deceiver, who sows sin and discord that separates the creation from the creator.  The Anointed One will not only be the way back to the Father, but will pay for the sins of the world, conquer death, and give eternal life to all those who will enter His never ending kingdom.

Nathan’s message from God to David:

“When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up you offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish His kingdom.  He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of His kingdom forever.  I will be a Father, and He shall be to me a Son.  When he commits iniquity, I will discipline Him with the rod of men, with stripes of the sons of man, (see Is. 53:12; 2 Cor. 5:21, I Peter 2:21-24) but my steadfast love will not depart from Him."  2 Samuel 7:12-15

"For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the greatness of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the LORD Almighty
will accomplish this."  Isaiah 9:6-7 

"His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:

'Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has come to his people and redeemed them.
He has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David.  
(as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
salvation from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us—
to show mercy to our ancestors
and to remember his holy covenant,
the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
and to enable us to serve him without fear
in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.'” Luke 1:67-79

 

"And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.  To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen. " 

"'Look, he is coming with the clouds,'
and 'every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him';
and all peoples on earth 'will mourn because of him.'
So shall it be! Amen. "

 “'I am the Alpha and the Omega,' says the Lord God, 'who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.'”  Rev. 1:5-8

"He who was seated on the throne said, 'I am making everything new!' Then he said, 'Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.'  He said to me: 'It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.' Rev. 21:5-6

Finding and following the real Jesus

The purpose of this website is to focus on the One and Only True God who came to bring home all those who desire to belong to Him.  As in the spirit of the song Day by Day in the musical Godspell, it is to help us see Him more clearly, follow Him more nearly, love Him more dearly.

“This is good and pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the Truth.  For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all…” I Tim. 2:3-6 (see John 14:8-11, Heb. 1:3, I Tim. 3:16)

The website is designed to help us examine who Jesus is and encourage one another to be faithful to Him.

“For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” 2 Cor. 4:6. (see I Pet. 2:1-5, Heb. 3:1-5, I Thess. 4:14-18)

The website is a tool not only for those who know Jesus but to help others come to Jesus as Lord and Savior and to experience His love.  This is the heart of God and the invitation of Jesus the Christ.

"As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.  All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.  But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved."  Eph. 2:1-5

"For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.  And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.  So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!  All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.  We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.  God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."  2 Cor. 5:14-21

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”  Mt. 11:28-30

"Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: 'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.  For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?  Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?  If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.'”  Mark 8:34-38

 “'I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.   I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.  The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again.'”  John 10:14-17

If you have the desire to experience God, we invite you to join us as we pursue Jesus with a heart dedicated to loving Him and one another. (see John 13:34-35, John 14:23, John 15:9-12)

May this forum serve as a tool to help us serve the Lord our God and help us grow in Christ and bring others to the Lord.  May we live Jesus’ prayer in John 17. 

“'My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.  I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. '

“'Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.'

“'Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.'” John 17:20-26

Let us walk together with our God and Savior Jesus the Christ. 

"The LORD looks down from heaven
on all mankind
to see if there are any who understand,
any who seek God."  Ps. 14:2

“Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”  Heb. 12:2

“Behold, I am coming soon…”  Jesus, Rev. 22:13

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