evangelism / faith

Speaking of Jesus

John 7.13 observes no one had the courage to speak favorably about Him in public, for they were afraidimage of getting in trouble with the Jewish leaders.

While watching a popular sports talk show yesterday I noticed the interviewee easily referenced his commitment to God but not to Jesus. As he was wearing a cross around his neck I am assuming he would identify with Christianity as his religion.

This comfort with God and discomfort with Jesus is age-old and helps explain why we are so broken in our current culture. (more…)

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March 17, 2016
evangelism

How Christians Can Most Effectively Deliver Their Message

2 Corinthians 4.4 describes Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who imagedon’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.

‘The devil made me do it’ is a euphemism for describing why I choose to do the wrong or naughty thing. When the world is askew, when all kinds of bad things are occurring, it isn’t the devil we blame but God. (more…)

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March 4, 2016
evangelism / Judgement / obedience

What God Requires From Us

Luke 9.60 comments, let the spiritually dead bury their own dead! Your duty is to go and preach aboutimage the Kingdom of God.

God requires only a few things from us but He appears fairly adamant about those few things.

First is to love Him with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. While we look to make the adherence to this command a feeling within ourselves God measures it by His second command which is to love our neighbor as ourselves. (more…)

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February 23, 2016
evangelism / Judgement / obedience

God’s Workers or God Robbers?

Mark 11.17 describes, My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations . But you have turned it imageinto a den of robbers!

What is the purpose of Church?

If the Church is the world wide ‘body’ of Christ, the faithful followers of Jesus, then it’s mission is the Great Commission. If the Church is the local building where the followers of Jesus gather then…..it gets a bit more nebulous, at least to the followers. (more…)

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February 8, 2016
Christian Living / evangelism / Judgement / work

God Defines What is Good so We Can Do Good Works

Romans 7.4 states because you are united with the One who was raised from the dead, we can produceimage a harvest of good deeds for God.

Everyone wants to do good. Its in our nature to want to do good deeds that generates recognition of our goodness. We have this nature because we were created in the image of God Who is good.

Our original design was for us to always do good for the glory of God but now that we have been corrupted through generational disobedience to God we seek to do good to obtain esteem from one another. What we recognize is this inherent need and desire to do good. (more…)

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February 4, 2016
evangelism

All In for God

Nehemiah 1.11 is the prayer; O Lord, please grant me success today by making the king favorable toimage me. Put it into his heart to be kind to me. In those days I was the king’s cup-bearer.

Things were bad in Nehemiah’s day, real bad. The nation of Israel, the people of God, were no longer living free under their own rule but were disbursed and distributed to the nations around them to live as slaves and servants of their captors. But some still had hope in God. (more…)

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January 11, 2016
Christian Living / evangelism

Goals for 2016

2 Corinthians 13:5 commands test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you –unless indeed you fail the test?image

A new year, a new beginning, a new opportunity for being more and doing more than we have ever done before. What should be our focus as we begin the new year? We instinctively know the answer to this question: God, family and work but not necessarily in this order. Yet this is indeed the order that matters most spiritually, emotionally and eternally.

Before we take a step forward we must assess where we are by looking backward. (more…)

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January 4, 2016
Christian Living / evangelism

Living Like Jesus Lived

John 14.31 reminds us that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what My Father imagehas commanded Me.

When Jesus was wrapping up His earthly visitation He summarized His work as a world-wide example of love. Love for the Father and love for the people of the world past, present and future was to be how His work is defined.

What did this love look like? (more…)

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December 24, 2015
Christian Living / evangelism / Habakkuk

Not Confusing our Occupation with our Vocation

Habakkuk 2.13-14 asks, has not the Lord Almighty determined that the people’s labor is only fuel for the fire, that the nations exhaust themselves for nothing? For the earth will be filled with the knowledgeimage of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

God repeatedly warns us in the Bible that we cannot love God and money because our devotion will always be to one or the other of these two ‘masters.’ Too many Christians dabble in loving both. (more…)

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December 7, 2015