Truth.REAL Love.REAL Hope.REALA quarterly newsletter from Pastor Jeff Schreve and From His Heart Ministries

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How you answer this question impacts your whole lifeSo many people are woefully mistaken about Jesus.

If you ask people on the street, “Who is Jesus?” you’ll hear all kinds of answers. Some may say He was a good moral teacher or a special man; others will say He didn’t exist. Yet the Bible is crystal clear concerning Jesus. It says He is the Son of God and the Son of Man, fully divine and fully human.

One day, Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” (Matthew 16:13). They told him the most popular ideas, and then He said, “But who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15). That question is critical.

When Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16), Jesus commended Him because he gave the right answer. Do you give the right answer? Listen, who you believe Jesus to be is a crucial issue that will impact your whole life.

Lots of people and churches will wholeheartedly say they believe in Jesus, but who is Jesus in their minds? Is He merely an exalted man, or is He truly the Lord of glory? Do they really believe He is the great I AM?

Some might ask, “Well, does it matter if you get it just a little wrong?” Thinking Jesus is just a man when

By Jeff Schreve

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BE SURE YOU KNOW THE REAL JESUS ...

INSIDE >

See page 3 for details …

• Q&A with Jeff, p. 2• From Debbie’s Heart, p. 3• Your Gifts at Work! p. 4• A Note from Jeff, p. 4

““How this question impacts your whole life(continued from p 1)

He is actually God is like confusing a campfire and the sun. It is not a minor mistake.

Jesus said, “For unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins” (John 8:24). Notice that the He is in italics, added to the English text by the editors of the NASB for the purpose of readability. What Jesus really said, however, was this, “Unless you believe I AM [the holy name of God given in Exodus 3], you shall die in your sins.” When you couple John 8:24 with John 8:58, Jesus’ declaration of deity is crystal clear—“Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.”

There is only one true Jesus. The Jesus of the Bible who alone is mighty to save is God in the flesh. Accept no substitutes! The cost of getting His identity wrong is your eternal soul!

You can’t afford to get it wrong when it comes to knowing who Jesus is.

During the 2012 U.S. presidential election, the pastor of the largest church in America was asked if Mitt Romney, an avowed Mormon, was a Christian. The pastor said, “He said he believes in Christ as his Savior, so I believe he is. I’m not the one to judge the little details of it.”

Friend, the Jesus of Mormonism is not Creator God. They teach that Jesus is a created being who is Lucifer’s spirit brother. That heresy is a far cry from His true identity. John calls Him the eternal Word who is the God who created it all (see John 1:1-3, 14). To be sure, this difference in beliefs is no “little detail.” It is colossal and critical!

What you believe about who Jesus is and how you respond to Him will determine your eternal destiny. For those who will repent of their sins and put their faith in Jesus the God-man, salvation becomes real and heaven becomes home!

Only you can respond for yourself concerning Jesus; no one else can do it for you. Take the time to learn God’s Word and establish in your heart who Jesus really is … because how you choose to respond to Him is the most important decision you’ll ever make.

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Pastor Jeff, some say we should not to talk to unbelievers about hell because it creates fear, and that “the kindness of God leads you to repentance” (Romans 2:4). What do you say?

One of the kindest thing we can do for people is to tell them about hell. Jesus lovingly warned His listeners about this terrible place “where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:44). The Lord does not want anyone to go to hell. Peter stated, “The Lord is ... not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). For all who end up in hell, they will hear these tragic words from Jesus, “Not My will, but yours be done.” He wants to save, not condemn.

How do you get through to someone’s heart who has the wrong ideas about Jesus? Where do you start?

Hard hearts are opened by prayer more than anything else. As far as the Scripture goes, however, I would reason with the person from the Gospel of John. John’s writing is unique to the other three gospel writers. John strongly emphasizes the divinity of Jesus, making it crystal clear that Jesus claimed to be God. He was killed for the charge of blasphemy (see John 10:30-33; John 19:7). The gospel is the good news that God in the flesh died for sinners and rose again, opening the door for eternal salvation to all who will repent and believe.

A&Qwith Jeff

There is only one true Jesus. The Jesus of the Bible who alone is mighty to save is God in the flesh. Accept no substitutes! The cost of getting His identity wrong is your eternal soul!

2 w w w . f r o m h i s h e a r t . o r g

Dear Friend, Jesus of Nazareth is the most famous and controversial person of all time. Sadly, many people don’t know who He really is and what He came to do. To help you find out who Jesus really is—and to thank you for your gift today—I’d like to send you a copy of my 7-message Encountering the Real Jesus series, along with the Real Revival booklet. These resources will help you understand more about the true identity, mission, and message of Jesus, and help you stay on fire for Him! Please request both resources when you give today using the enclosed reply form. Thank you for your partnership!

I think almost all of us would agree that our current culture is a mess: morally, ethically, spiritually, socially, politically. We see, read, and hear things on social media, television, and in print that we never would have seen even as recently as 10 years ago. It’s as if we have reached a tipping point and now “anything goes.” What was once considered an absolute is now open for discussion and redefinition.

It’s popular in our culture to approach religion with this same “anything goes” mentality. Many see Christianity like a buffet line at a restaurant. They can pick the parts they DO like and not adhere to the parts they don’t. Many love the grace of God but don’t want to listen to the truth of God. Maybe, like me, you’ve heard people say something similar to this: “My Jesus loves and accepts everyone. My Jesus would never _____________.”

The problem with this thought process is there aren’t multiple Jesuses. There is one Jesus. When you discover who He really is, you find that He is “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). We don’t get to pick one or the other. They are inseparable.

“Grace without truth would be deceitful, and truth without grace would be condemning.” — Warren Wiersbe

If God dealt with us only on the basis of truth, none of us would survive. But He deals with us on the basis of grace AND truth. We are in desperate need of both. Our world is in desperate need of both—not just one or the other.

As Christians, we love and accept everyone (grace) even if we don’t approve of everything they do. But we love them enough to tell them the truth! We speak up and share with a Christlike heart full of love.

To be able to boldly speak up, we must KNOW the truth. It takes effort to show grace, and it takes effort to know the truth. So I want to challenge you to make the effort. Get in the Word. Study it. Know it. Share it. Ask the Lord to give you a heart like His that will empower you to be full of grace and truth.

By Debbie Schreve

F r o m D e bb i e ’ s H e a rt

BE SURE YOU KNOW THE REAL JESUS ...

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P.O. Box 7267 | Texarkana, TX 75505 | 903-838-8329 | www.fromhishear t.org

Dear Friend,

If you’ve been a Christian for a long time, you might have heard the question, “Who is Jesus?” and believed it’s so settled in your mind that you don’t even need to think about it any further.

But even if that’s the case, I encourage you to revisit the foundations of your faith.

We’re living in a time when there are all kinds of ideas about everything. A lot of people have thrown away the idea of absolute truth. They wrongly think, What’s true for you might not be true for me. Tragically, truth has now become relative. Many biblical guidelines about life and relationships that people have believed since time began are now being fiercely debated and challenged.

That’s why you and I need to know what we believe and why we believe it. We need to be bold enough to live out God’s truth—even when our post-Christian culture opposes it.

I’m praying my Encountering the Real Jesus series and Real Revival booklet will remind you of some core truths in God’s Word and inspire you afresh to love Jesus with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind (see Luke 10:27). These resources are my way of thanking you for your gift today.

Debbie and I are so grateful for your generous support to help tell more people about Jesus as we minister together via television, radio, and online.

Please pray the Holy Spirit will open more people’s eyes to who Jesus really is, so those who are hurting and hopeless can have a genuine love relationship with Him. Thank you!

Love,

A Note from JeffYour gifts help broadcast real truth, real love,and real hope to people like Paula and Clay. They wrote to share …

“I’m facing some troubles, and I feel like God is speaking directly to me through your teaching. It’s amazing. I will NOT lose faith. You are [shining His] sunshine in my storms, helping me close my ears to the devil’s lies.” — Paula

“There have been many times I’ve been dealing with life’s issues and have sought God for direction. Then I turn on my radio, and you’re teaching a word from God’s heart that’s specific to my current situation! Funny how the Holy Spirit works. You keep me wanting to learn more. Thanks!” — Clay

God knows what each person needs. As we proclaim His Word together, the Holy Spirit speaks into people’s hearts and transforms their lives. Thank you for your generosity in sharing His love and helping so many find hope!

It’s that easy! On your Alexa-enabled device (Echo, Echo Dot, Echo Spot, etc.), you can now listen to the daily From His Heart broadcast and much more …

To set it up, you have three options:

Install the From His Heart Ministries skill from Amazon’s Alexa Skills Store.orEnable the From His Heart Ministries skill from your Alexa mobile app.orSimply say, “Alexa: Open From His Heart Podcast,” “Alexa: Play From His Heart Podcast,” or simply “Alexa: From His Heart Podcast.”

Discover other commands for interacting with the From His Heart skill, by going to www.fromhisheart.org/Alexa.

Thank you for listening, visiting, and sharing with your friends!

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YOUR GIFTS AT WORK!

‘ALEXA, PLAY FROM HIS HEART PODCAST’

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