Author Archive
Being Sincere But Sincerely Wrong
The hatred and jealousy from the religious leaders kept them from seeing the truth about Jesus. This very same thing happens to people the world over today…every day…as roughly 150,000 people die into eternity, most without Jesus (Matthew 7:13). This was the primary reason for their constant attacks on Him. Motivated by Satan through and cooperation of their pride, they did whatever they could to stop Jesus. This ultimately resulted in God allowing them to wrongfully arrest, convict, and execute Him, God using the evil devices of demons and people to work out His plan of salvation. Not even Satan understood that he was actually assisting God though he worked against Him!
Jesus Shows Us How NOT to Retaliate
Jesus actually rebuked His disciples for wanting to destroy the Samaritans. Jesus was living the example of His own preaching from the Sermon on the Mount. He also seemed to understand this rejection by the people of Samaria as the Father’s will for Him and used the situation as a sort of compass to determine what His next step was going to be. The text tells us He and His disciples simply went to another village.
Zechariah’s Near and Far Visions, Pt 3
If we live according to the desires of our sin nature (even after we have received salvation), we will continue to “die.” We will die spiritually because our fellowship with God in Christ will be broken. Out of fellowship, we will begin to act no different from those who are lost. However, if we do what we are obligated to do – put to death the deeds of the body by submitting ourselves and our desires to God – then we will continue to live and even grow spiritually.
Today’s Prophet Doesn’t Like Criticism
Wouldn’t it be great if all Christians were far more concerned about submitting to Jesus, allowing Him to live His life in and through them as opposed to looking under every rock and bush for the latest new “sign” that will signal the return of Jesus? Fewer and fewer Christians today seem interested in reading God’s Word for spiritual growth. Too many want to live the exciting, adventurous life of the New Testament Christian where one miracle leads to another.
Can Christians Take God’s Grace for Granted?
But there is a huge difference between our position or standing before God and our daily walk. It is important to understand that though God imputes Christ’s righteousness to our account (Romans 4:24), the moment we receive salvation, it is still up to us to ensure that we are doing all that we can to walk continuously in fellowship with God. This is one of the reasons Paul tells readers to “work out your salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12). Paul is not saying that we need to work for our salvation. That is not his point at all. Paul is admonishing his readers (and us by extension), to do all that we can to ensure that we remain in fellowship with God! In short, remaining in fellowship with God is our responsibility, not God’s. God will always do everything needed to continue to fellowship with us, but will stop with that fellowship when we sin.
Continue Reading October 20, 2017 at 11:51 AM Leave a comment
Jonathan Cahn’s The Paradigm
Dominionism is the belief that if Christians work hard enough to spread the Gospel and turn people to Jesus, a domino effect will occur throughout society that will change America into a nation that glorifies God. I don’t see this in Scripture at all. I see things getting worse and worse until the Tribulation occurs wreaking the worst persecution on earth that has ever been or will ever be. This will be “cut short” by the physical return of Jesus, who will then set up His Millennial Kingdom where He will rule with a rod of iron for 1,000 years. He will literally show the world how it is done.
Author Dan Brown’s New Concept of God Isn’t New
Dan Brown’s assertion that God will become fully antiquated and outmoded due to science and the growing area of artificial intelligence is a comment made by a man who is offering absolutely nothing new. What he ultimately espouses – cosmic consciousness – is something that has been around since nearly the dawn of time. It is New Age, the belief that all human beings are interconnected and if we could simply understand this “truth,” we could then become “one” in spirit and ultimately, in consciousness. Once this is achieved, there is nothing that humanity could not do.
Fat, Rich Shepherds
Something is wrong with too many churches in America and it stems from those in leadership positions. For the average person, often, the choice of a church is determined by how much charisma the pastor has and/or how many exciting programs exist for the kids, or how upbeat the music. It may be that only when the specter of real persecution raises its ugly head (which is what God brought to the shepherds of Ezekiel’s day), that people will come to realize the importance of belonging to a church where only the truth is preached weekly without fail. It is the truth of Scripture that produces depth in our relationship with God. If that truth isn’t preached, there is no depth. Too many today have itching ears and want to hear what they want to hear solely because it makes them feel good but provides no true growth (2 Timothy 4:3). It’s pabulum.
Zechariah’s Near and Far Visions, Pt 2
Clearly, the angel’s words (who simply reiterated what the Lord was saying), point to the future when the Lord’s words will find fulfillment. If we look at Israel since the time of Zechariah, there has been no time during which the above texts has found fulfillment. Yes, we can look at Israel today and understand that there are many unwalled villages (kibbutz), where there appear to be communal gardens and vineyards shared by people living in homes nearby. However, if we take the two verses as a while, the full force of the meaning of these verses has not been, nor is in effect. There is a constant danger against the people living in Israel from outside forces who wish to see that nation destroyed.
Do You Want to Know God?
First, when we simply read the Bible each day, we are immersing ourselves in God’s Word, not as an exercise to gain knowledge, but with the intent of gaining a greater appreciation for God; who He is, how He interacts with His Creation, how He proves His love repeatedly for that Creation, how He continually provides evidence that He is sovereign over all things, etc. While yes, these things are also related to doctrine or theology, by simply reading God’s Word, it allows us to see things in context, which is extremely important, so that we can gain the big picture that God wants us to see.
Continue Reading October 9, 2017 at 11:18 AM Leave a comment
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