Truth Be Told: A Blog by Pastor Bill Alderson

  "A little while, and you will no longer see Me ; and again, a little while, and you will see Me."  Some of His disciples then said to one another, "What is this thing He is telling us, 'A little while, and you will not see Me; and again, a little while, and you will see Me'; and 'because I go to the Father'?" So, they were saying, "What is this that He says, 'A little while'? We do not know what He is talking about." Jesus knew that they wished to question Him, and He said to them, "Are you deliberating together about this, that I said, 'A little while, and you will not see Me, and again a little while, and you will see Me'?  "Truly, truly, I say to you, that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice ; you will grieve, but your grief will be turned into joy.  "Whenever a woman is in labor, she has pain, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers the a...

  Therefore, having been justified [aorist passive participle - declared righteous] by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ .            Romans 5:1 The above verse tells us that the true believer, the one who has been declared righteous by faith is intended by God to live in peace. The Greek word translated as peace is eirene and it has multiple meanings and applications. The primary meaning is that which is the opposite of war. It can mean harmony between individuals. Another meaning might be tranquility, a state of peace. It also has the sense of health, welfare or prosperity, every kind of good. We can also understand eirene in light of the Hebrew word shalom which stands for wholeness, soundness, hence health, well-being, or prosperity. It is through our Lord [ Kurios – master, supreme, sovereign one] Jesus [ Iesous – God saves] Christ [ Christos – anointed one, Messiah] that this peace comes to hi...

          But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those           who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of           man, but of God.        John 1:12-13   We see from an examination of different New Testament Scripture writers that each one has particular insights that others do not. For example, if you want to understand the role and importance of God’s grace, you will consult the Apostle Paul and his letters. James, the half-brother of Jesus had an understanding of the power of the tongue like no other author. The Apostle John is the one who provides the deepest understanding of the new relationship with God in Christ, being born of God.   John testifies in Verse 13 that being born of God is not the result of anyone’s genealogy (i.e., born of J...