Winterfest 2012 CHARLOTE, NC

Conferinta anuala de tineret WINTERFEST este o manifestare organizata de tineri români din Statele Unite Ale Americii, cu scopul de avea o sarbatoare a lor într-o ambianta spirituala în care, fiecare participant sa vina în prezenta Domnului.

Chiar daca se desfasoara în statul Carolina de Nord, zona mai putin populata cu români comparativ cu alte zone din Statele Unite.
Evenimentul aduna o multime impresionanta de tineri ce strabat distante apreciabile venind din Chicago, Detroit, Atlanta, Florida, Tennessee si bineînteles din North Carolina.

PART I. God’s Love & God’s Justice
By Romeo Pelle

Many times in the bloody history of humankind crying people have raised their faces toward heavens and asked, “Where are you God?” Victims of the Holocaust or of the Rwanda genocide, or, as we speak, the ongoing slaughter in the southern Sudan that adds daily to the over 2 millions slain in the name of Muhammad and sharia law, are tormented by the question, “How could a good God allow such an unimaginable suffering?”
The unchangeable God did not move from His position and eagerness to bless mankind, but restrained by His wisdom and integrity from rewarding unrepentant rebellion. If God does not fulfill His warnings of judgment, who would believe His promises of blessing?

The question remains: Is God really silent? Or, in its rebellion, the world is deaf to His voice? No one should overlook Christ’s loving prayer while hanging on the Cross, “Father, forgive them…” (Luke 23:34). Yet, Christ solemnly declared that, “the Father… has entrusted all judgment to the Son” (John 5:22).
Can love, justice, and judgment coexist?

Can we reconcile the idea of Christ willingly suffering for the sins of the world with “The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matt.13:41-42)? Why would Christ, whom “the Father sent…to be the Savior of the world” (1 Jn. 4:14), send people to hell for whom, with infinite and sacrificial love, He died in payment of the penalty for their sins? How can we fit “God is love” (1 Jn.4:8 &16) into the fact that God “… has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed [Jesus Christ]” (Acts 17:31)? Judgment that will sentence perhaps billions to eternal torment doesn’t seem to agree with David’s grateful praise: “The LORD is good to all; He has compassion on all He has made.” (Ps.145:9). How could the compassionate God who is “good to all” send anyone to eternal doom?

Can we truly wrap together, “For God so loved the world” (Jn. 3:16) with “Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.” (Rev. 20:15)? How about, “not wanting anyone to perish ” (2 Pet. 3:9) and the “great white throne” judgment (Rev. 20:12)? Surely multitudes will perish, being taken directly from that final verdict to the Lake of Fire. Is God contradicting Himself?

Why doesn’t God welcome everyone to heaven? Why must so many human beings spend their eternity in the Lake of Fire? Has man’s choice brought a just punishment upon his head? Shall we blame God or His creatures for the eternal punishment? Where is God’s love? How can, “the gift of God is eternal life” (Rom. 6:23) agree with, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them” (John 3:36)?

These are vital questions, which we must contemplate prayerfully if we are to understand and know God as He desires: ” “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the LORD.”(Jer. 9:23-24). What kindness, justice, righteousness, and eternal damnation have to do with one another?

We will proceed with care and before anything else we must review two very important attributes of God – LOVE and JUSTICE – which seemingly are in tension when it comes down to the issue of eternal damnation. When theologians classify God’s attributes, they differentiate between God’s GREATNESS and His GOODNESS (Millard Erickson, Christian Theology, 1998, p. 289), or God’s ABSOLUTE and COMPARATIVE attributes (Elmer Towns, Theology for Today, p. 111), or God’s INCOMMUNICABLE and COMMUNICABLE attributes (Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, p. 157). Though they use different approaches to classify God’s attributes, all of them must wrestle with the intersection of love and justice. Let’s define these two attributes:

JUSTICE or RIGHTEOUSNESS – These two English words are translated from the same root word in both Hebrews (tsadek) and Greek (dyke). God’s righteousness means that God always acts in accordance with what is right and is Himself the final standard of what is right. In other words, God’s actions are always in accord with the law He Himself has established. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Moses describes God in Deut. 32:4, “He is the Rock, His works are perfect, and all His ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is He.” Abraham appealed to God’s justice in Genesis 18:25, “Far be it from You to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from You! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?”

Not only that God acts righteously based on His holiness, but God also administers His Kingdom in accordance with His holy character. As such, God is a just God. When answering to a puzzled Job, God did not answer in direct terms to his questions; He only pointed to His omnipotence and righteousness! Further, God’s justice must not be evaluated on a short-term basis: often times, within this life it will be incomplete or imperfect, but there is a life beyond in which God’s justice will be fulfilled.

LOVE – Thinking in terms of God’s moral attributes the first one that comes to mind is rather a cluster of attributes that combined together as LOVE. God’s love means that God eternally gives of Himself to others. This communicable divine attribute has several dimensions: Benevolence = God’s concern for the welfare of those whom He loves; Grace = God deals with His people NOT based on their merit or worthiness but on the basis of His goodness and generosity; Mercy = God’s mercy is tenderhearted, compassionate for His people; and Persistence = in His love, God withholds His judgment and continues to offer salvation and grace over long periods of time.

We must assume that God’s character and His many attributes are perfectly unified and harmonized in His perfect personality. Based on this biblical premise, God’s many attributes must be defined in the light of one another. As such, God’s justice is a loving justice and God’s love is just love. If love does not include justice, it is mere sentimentality. Love and justice have worked together in God’s dealing with the rebellious human race. God’s justice requires that there must be a payment of the penalty for sin. God’s love, however, desires humans to be restored to fellowship with Himself. The offer of Jesus Christ as the atonement for sin means that both the justice and the love of God have been maintained (Rom. 3:21-26).

What was the ultimate cause that led Christ to the Cross and dying for our sins? The clear answer of the Scriptures is that both God’s justice and God’s love were the combined cause of the atonement.

WAS THE ATONEMENT NECESSARY? Was there any other option for God to save the human race? Before answering this question we must realize that IT WAS NOT NECESSARY FOR GOD TO SAVE ANY PEOPLE AT ALL! We read in 2 Peter 2:4 that God didn’t spare the angels that sinned, and similarly, God could have chosen – WITHOUT BREACHING HIS JUSTICE – to leave us rebellious humans in our sins and awaiting judgment and save none of us! BUT when God, in His love, decided to save SOME human beings, the Bible points to the fact that there was no other way for God to do this other than through the death of His Son. Jesus prayed, “If it be possible…” (Matt. 26:39); “Did not the Messiah have to suffer..” (Luke 24:26); “For this reason He had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that He might make atonement for the sins of the people.” (Heb.2:17). The atonement was indeed necessary for our salvation and there was no other option for God to save us in a way that would have fulfilled the requirements of both His love and justice besides than Christ to die in our place.

WILL FOLLOW…

Who is JESUS for you ?

Theme: Heaven and Hell

Time: Friday, April 27, from 8:00pm – 9:30pm

Language: English 

Autor: Pastor Simion Timbuc

Dragi frati si surori rasuna din nou glasurile rostind: Hristos a Inviat! Si ceilalti raspundem: Adevarat, c’a Inviat! Mai jos va ofer o reflectie de paste din partea revistei Strigatul de la Miezul Noptii. Va doresc o lectura placuta si un Paste Fericit cu Isus.

Pastele, pentru noi in zona occidentala au sosit. Pentru cei din zona orientala mai este o saptamana. Pregatirile s-au incheiat. E momentul celebrarii. E si un moment ar reflectarii. Cum au aratat Pastele pentru Domnul Isus in urma cu 2000 de ani? Tatal ceresc facuse deja inainte de intemeierea lumii toate pregatirile pentru lucrarea Sa de mantuire, lucrare ce avea sa atinga punctul culminant in ziua invierii. Isus a fost Dumnezeu, dar El S-a numit pe Sine si Fiul omului. Ca om – conceput de Duhul Sfant, dar nascut dintr-o fecioara si supus Legii – era normal ca Isus sa duca acea lupta spirituala din Gradina Ghetsimani. El a suferit mult, si aceasta nu doar pe cruce sau in timpul biciuirii. Momentele de agonie spirituala din Gradina Ghetsimani, tradarea lui Iuda si lepadarea lui Petru, toate acestea au insemnat suferinte cumplite pentru Fiul omului. Isus Cristos a mers de buna voie pe drumul catre Golgota, fiind ascultator pana la moartea pe cruce. Cum stau lucrurile cu viata noastra? Sunt cumva cele mai inalte aspiratii ale noastre legate de o cariera profesionala, un statut social respectabil sau o familie frumoasa? Sau mai degraba tinta noastra principala este ca Dumnezeu sa fie slavit prin tot ceea ce facem?

De Paste ne gandim poate cel mai mult la calea suferintelor, la rastignirea si la invierea lui Isus Cristos. Tot aceasta este perioada in care ne amintim si de ucenicul care L-a tradat pe Domnul Isus, si anume de Iuda Iscarioteanul, ultimul trecut pe lista apostolilor. El a auzit cuvintele Invatatorului, a asistat la lucrarea Lui si a fost trimis sa vesteasca Cuvantul si sa faca minuni. Iuda a fost primul crestin cu numele. Un crestin cu numele este acea persoana care are o traire fara Cristos. Se afla in mijlocul crestinilor, dar cu inima este la mare departare. Poate arata frumos in exterior, dar interiorul duhneste a moarte. Iuda a fost primul care s-a aflat in apropierea directa a Domnului Isus, dar care nu I-a daruit niciodata inima cu totul. Isus Cristos a murit pe crucea de pe Golgota pentru toti cei care sunt gata sa accepte darul iertarii Sale. Intr-adevar, in final, Iuda si-a regretat fapta, dar nu a mai gasit calea inapoi spre Domnul, ci a ales sa se spanzure. Va veni momentul cand cainta nu va mai fi posibila nici pentru noi. Din acest motiv, nu trebuie sa amanam intoarcerea la Domnul: „Astazi, daca auziti glasul Lui, nu va impietriti inimile.”

Baraba sau Isus? Fara indoiala acesta este cel mai dramatic schimb de roluri care a existat vreodata in istoria omenirii. Alegerea lui Baraba, criminalul condamnat, in dauna lui Isus, Fiul lui Dumnezeu, ilustreaza cu claritate incompatibilitatea severa dintre valorile lui Dumnezeu si cele ale omenirii. Baraba ne arata adevarata infatisare a omului, in timp ce Isus Cristos reprezinta chipul autentic al lui Dumnezeu. Dintr-o anumita perspectiva, in Baraba ne regasim cu totii, insa in Domnul Isus vedem fiinta lui Dumnezeu. Cu toate acestea, Baraba a fost eliberat, iar Cristos condamnat. Istoria lui Baraba are un scop precis in Sfanta Scriptura, fiind o biografie a intregii omeniri. Dumnezeu ne-a lasat acest episod pentru a ne deschide ochii atat cu privire la noi insine, la starea noastra decazuta, cat si la planul Sau de mantuire. Acum traim in perioada de sfarsit dinaintea revenirii in glorie, pe norii cerului a lui Isus Cristos.

Astazi ne indreptam cu pasi repezi spre punctul culminant al ultimului act al lepadarii lui Isus, Neprihanitul, Imparatul si Judecatorul sfant care S-a asezat in locul nostru, al celor vinovati. El a luat vina noastra asupra Sa, pentru ca, prin jertfa Lui sa obtinem acces neingradit la Dumnezeu Tatal si sa ne putem numi copiii Lui. Aceasta trebuie sa Ii cerem in rugaciunile noastre, acum este momentul deciziei. Tu pe cine ai ales?

Bethesda: The church where families grow together.Friday 07:00 PM-10:30 PM Saturday 09:30AM-01:00 PM   * Deadline for Pre registration is Tuesday, February 07,2012 *After the deadline, the registration will be at the door. *Admission: FREE*

The seminar takes place at Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas, but we are hosting live at our church “Betezda”.

http://www.marriagetoday.com/simulcasts/feb12_overview.php

Simbata DECEMBRIE 31 – 2011 incepind cu ora 6:00pm-8:30pm vom sarbatori “Seara de Anul Nou” la BETEZDA
Duminica DECEMBRIE 01 – 2012 incepind cu ora 5:00pm-8:00pm vom sarbatori “Ziua de Anul Nou” la BETEZDA

Simbata DECEMBRIE 24 – 2011 incepind cu ora 6:00pm-8:30pm vom sarbatori “Ajun de Craciun” la BETEZDA
Duminica DECEMBRIE 25 – 2011 incepind cu ora 5:00pm-8:00pm vom sarbatori “Ziua de Craciun” la BETEZDA