Not a single drop of blood…. May 8, 2008
Posted by nyfpp in a must read.....Tags: divinity of Jesus Christ. Christology, soteriology, virgin birth
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Not a sing blood
Introduction:
We believe that our Lord Jesus Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit of then a virgin whose name is Mary.
With such belief, this article is intended to backup with scientific facts the biblical truth about the “virgin birth” of Jesus Christ through Mary.
Biblical Truth
We believe from the scriptures that the following statements are true.
- That, Jesus Christ is the Son of God (Hebrews 1:5; 4:14-15; Galatians 4:4; John 17:1,5,11; Luke 1:35; Matthew 3:17)
- That Jesus is God and came in the likeness of men (Philippians 2:5-8; Titus 2:13)
- That Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin (Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38; Isaiah 7:14)
- That, Mary is the mother of Jesus (Acts 1:14; John 2:1-3)
- That, Jesus is the son of Mary (Luke 1:31)
Controversy
The above-mentioned statements are made clear by the verses cited. However, the controversy lies along this question:
“if Mary is the mother of Jesus and Jesus Himself is God, is Mary the mother of God?”
The following discussion lead us to the answer to this inquiry.
Myth
Especially amongst laymen, it is held that: “since the fetus is inside the mother’s womb, then, the mother’s blood also circulates through the fatal body.”
Scientific Facts
Some scientific facts are presented below.
Blood is a chemically complex and viscous fluid that circulates through the heart, arteries, veins, arterioles, and capillaries. Oxygenated blood flows from the heart through the oarta into the arteries and to the capillaries. There, oxygen nutrients and other substances pass into the cells of tissues and organs.
How is a baby conceived?
Naturally, when the male sperm cell (spermatozoon) meets the female egg cell (ovum), fertilization takes place at once and the nuclei of these two cells fuse forming the single celled zygote. One half of the 46 chromosomes in the zygote nucleus have come from the sperm and one half from the ovum. Since chromosomes are composed of genes or inheritance determinants, the new being inherits one-half of its characteristics from its father and one-half from its mother. From a single cell, the zygote will begin to grow by process of self-division, feeding mainly on the food which it finds within itself. Up to the third month of pregnancy it is known as the embryo, thereafter as fetus until birth. In the third and fourth months, the fetus is suspended by a stalk from the inside of the uterus called allantois, which later forms the placenta. Interchange of gases, foods, and wastes between the fetal and maternal blood takes place in the placenta.
Although all the soluble elements such as proteins, fats, carbohydrates, salts, minerals and even antibodies pass freely from the mother to the child and the waste products of the child’s metabolism are passed back to the mother’s circulation, no actual mixing of the fatal blood and maternal blood occur normally since each flows in its own capillaries. From the time of conception to the time of birth of the infant, not one drop of blood ever passes from the mother to the child. The fetal blood and the maternal blood do not come into actual contact. They are separated from each other by the walls of the fetal blood vessels and the epithelial layers of the chorionic villi which are microscopic fingerlike projections that make up the placenta. Therefore, all the blood which is in that child is produced within the child itself. The mother contributes no blood at all. It is not necessary that a single drop of blood be given to the developing embryo in the womb of the mother.
What is a test tube baby? (more…)
Flaming Desire November 19, 2007
Posted by nyfpp in a must read.....Tags: flaming desire, meditation, meditation of life, prayer, prayer life
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by:Dexter Cayago
A lack of passion in prayer is a sure sign of the lack of depth and the intensity of desire. The absence of intense desire is a sure sign of God’s absence from the heart! To reduce fervor is to retire from God. He can and does, tolerate in His children many things in the areas of weakness and mistakes. He can and will pardon sin when the repentant one prays.
But two things are intolerable to Him-insincerity and lukewarmness. Lack of the heart and heat are two things He hates. He said to the Laodiceans in unmistakable severity and condemnation: “I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth” (Rev. 3:15-16).
This was God’s precise judgement on the lack of fire in one of the seven churches. It is His accusation against individual Christians for the fatal lack of sacred zeal. Fire is the motivating power in prayer. Religious principles which do not come out of fire have neither force nor effect. Fire is the wing on which faith ascends. Passion is the soul of prayer. It is the “effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man which avails much” (James 5:16). Love is kindled in a flame, and zeal is its life. Flame is the air which true Christian experience breaths. It feeds on fire. It can withstand anything except a weak flame. It dies, chilled and starved.
True prayer, must be aflame. The Christian life and character needs to be on fire. Lack of spiritual heat creates more unbelief than lack of faith. If man is not wholly interested in the things of heaven, he is not interested in them at all. The fiery souls are those who conquer in the day of battle. They are those whom the Kingdom of heaven suffers violence and who take it by force. The stronghold of God is taken only by those who storm it in worshipful earnestness and besiege it with fiery, unshakable zeal.
Nothing short of being red hot for God can keep the glow of heaven in our hearts these chilly days. We need today to have the live coal from God’s altar and the consuming flame from heaven glowing in our hearts. This flame is not mental power of fleshy energy. It is divine, intense, ash-consuming fire in the soul. It is very being of the Spirit of God.
No scholarship, pure speech, breadth of mental outlook, fluent language, or elegant person can make up for the lack of fire. Prayer ascends by fire. Flame gives prayer access as well as energy. There is no incense without fire, no prayer without flame.
It is this singleness of desire, this definite yearning, which counts in praying and drives prayer directly to the core and center of supply.
Without desire, there is no burden of the soul, no sense of need, no enthusiasm, no vision, no strength, and no glow of faith. There is no strong pressure, no holding onto God with a deathless, despairing grasp – ” I will not let Thee go, except Thou bless me” (Genesis 32:26). There is no more total surrender than there was with Moses. Lost in the agony of a desperate, stubborn, and all-consuming request he cried: “Yet now, if Thou wilt forgive their sin-; and if not, blot me, I pray Thee, out of Thy book which Thou hast written” (Exudos 32:32). Or, there was also John Knox when he pleaded: “Give me Scotland, or I die!”
God draws very close to the praying soul. To see God, know God, and live for God-these form the objective of all true praying. So, praying is, after all, inspired to seek after God. Prayer desire is ignited to see God and have a clearer, fuller, sweeter, and richer revelation of God. So, to those who pray this way, the Bible becomes a new Bible and Christ a new Savior by the light and revelation of the prayer closet.
taken from “The Necessity of Prayer” by E.M. Bounds
mavi
g12 = let’s get it on guys!! October 11, 2007
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by:Dexter Cayago
César Castellanos developed the G12 strategy after visiting the Yoido Full Gospel Church pastored by David Yonggi Cho, who had successfully implemented a cell structure in his church in South Korea. Cesar returned to his church, the Misión Carismática Internacional in Bogotá, Colombia with the revelation that God had spoken to him while he was in South Korea, and that God had given him a vision which would increase the size of his church. He subsequently formed his church into groups of 12, while his brother-in-law, César Fajardo, did the same with the youth. From 1991 to 1994 his church grew from 70 to 1,200 members.[1] Between 1994 and 1999 the church grew to 20,000 cells with a regular weekly church celebration of 45,000 people. Soon they lost track of numbers and began to count in cell groups.
In the year 2000 church leaders around the world, seeking to increase the size of their churches, travelled to the Misión Carismática Internacional to learn about the G12 vision. In the year 2001, Castellanos formed an international group of 12, with leaders from various countries (including the controversial Brazilian evangelist Valnice Milhomens). However, by 2005 some of these leaders, including César Farjardo, left the G12 vision, which had by this time become a movement centrally controlled from Bogotá, and formed their own adaptations. Many of the original leaders, however, have continued branches of the G12 movement following in the footsteps of Castellanos. One of these individuals is Adam Hoover, located in Tri-Cities.
G12 philosophy
The idea of the G12 is to reach out and disciple every member and to hold every member accountable to Christ’s teachings. The main leader would disciple 12 people, they would instate Christian values, teachings, prayer and ministry on a weekly basis until their disciples were ready to lead their own groups. Each disciple would find 12 new disciples and repeat the same process until there were 144. In both theory and example this process leads the church to grow exponentially, without losing accountability of Christian values due to the eventual size of the church.
It is based off of the methodology used by Jesus to begin his ministry. Following his 40 day temptation in the desert, the first act of Jesus in his ministry was to form a group of 12 disciples (Mark 3:14). Additionally, in the book of Acts the first action taken by the 11 remaining disciples (considering Judas Iscariot’s betrayal) was to re-establish a group of 12. Seeing fit not to leave it at 11, or allow 13, but rather to cast lots, which fell on Matthias, to fulfill the 12 (Acts 1:26). It was only after they re-established the group/government of 12 for the church that the day of Pentacost came (the moment when the disciples were all filled with the Holy Spirit)
This number 12 is considered significant as representing Government, there are 12 months governing a year, 2 cycles of 12 to govern the day and night, and 12 disciples established by Jesus to govern the body of his church – fulfilling the Great Commission (Mark 16:15).
G12 methodology
The G12 structure is found in some evangelical, predominantly charismatic churches.
Ladder of success
This is broken up into 4 parts with the sole aim of leading people to follow Christ.[2]
- Win:- new believers are added to the open cell through friendships and by utilising the prayer of 3.
- Consolidate:- after joining the cell, new believers are consolidated in the Christian faith and sent on an encounter.
- Disciple:- once the new believer has experienced an encounter, they are sent to the school of leaders.
- Send:- During the school of leaders the believer begins to reach out through friendships and prayer of 3 to start their own open cell. Once they’ve opened their own open cell, one of two things happen.
- a) The new cell leader stays in their own leader’s open cell. This cell gradually changes into a closed leadership cell.
- b) Or, more commonly, will join a separate leadership cell under their cell leader.
Prayer of 3
This is when three disciples meet once a week and pray for three non-Christians each, nine in total for a period of a month, before inviting the people prayed for to evangelistic events called nets, with the hope that they will follow Christ. The prayer and invitations are continued until those people eventually make a decision for Christ.
The number 3 is symbolic of “completeness,” i.e. The Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) being “God”, also Christ was dead for 3 days before being resurrected and in Exodus before Moses asks for Pharaoh to let his people go, he first asks him to allow the Israelites to go into the wilderness to worship their God for 3 days.
Nets
Nets are Revival/Evangelistic meetings run monthly, where non Christians are invited to attend with the hope that Christ’s message will touch them, and they will follow Christ.[3]
Encounters
These are weekend retreats, usually set away from the city in a conference centre.[4] Encounters generally last three days where there is basic Christian teaching on holiness, prayer, fellowship with God, forgiving, tithing, speaking life, walking in the Spirit, demonic liberation (which is a Christian form of exorcism, also called casting out the enemy or deliverance), healing the sick, winning souls for Christ, having patience and bearing fruit. One of the main points for these “encounters” is for the believer to have a genuine repentance and revelation of what the cross is all about. Also in these encounters there is extensive prayer and use of common symbolic acts to define the end of the old and beginning of the new. Pentecostal experience strongly encouraged.
The process
Laying aside the old self-rejecting old ways of thinking, acting, feeling,. Renewing believer’s mind with God’s truth-understanding the truth of what Christ has accomplished for them and that that gives them a new capacity to live for Him. Putting on the new self-in thought, words, actions, values, and relationships. The main purpose of these encounters is for the believer to have an actual encounter with God face to face. For him or her to give themselves completely to God, the result: to have a Christ-centered self-confidence, Joy, Courage, Peace, and a desire to know Christ.
School of leaders
This is a nine month course split into three ten week sections, where all the fundamentals of the Christian faith are taught, as well as the principles of the G12 vision.[5] It is usually co-ordinated and run by church members who have attended the school of teachers.
Homogeneous groups
Men, women, and children are allocated to homogeneous cells.[6] This has been found to be effective as ministry in cell groups can be more focussed, relevant, and also some issues are unlikely to be discussed and dealt with when people of the opposite sex are present.
Concerns
Some people have raised concerns about the G12 vision, the way it has been enforced, the division it is causing and its legitimacy. [7][8]
To be part of the G12 vision, church leaders have been forced to submit to the head church in Bogotá. Since 2005, this has led to many churches using the same basic strategy as the G12 while changing the name and terminology — and, in turn, being cut off from the G12 vision directed from Bogotá.
The G12 vision has been challenged for other reasons, such as spiritualization of number 12, pragmatism and creating a Catholic-style hierarchy among Protestants. Cesar Castellano’s book “La Revelación de la Cruz” (The cross revelation) has often been compared with writings by Saint Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus. G12 principles are similar to the Shepherding Movement, and have similar problems. They have often been criticized for their “cult-like” tactics in recruiting and securing new members. Most of the leading G12 churches in the UK have now left the movement.
