heaven / Judgement / obedience

What Does God Want? LOVE

Deuteronomy 10.12 declares, what does the LORD your God require of you except to revere Him, to obey all His commandments, to love Him, to serve Him with all your mind and being.

Repeatedly the Bible makes clear what we must do if we are to pass successfully the judgement to come. So many assume they will argue with God about His standards upon meeting Him face to face in order to justify their behavior while they lived upon the earth. How ludicrous. God holds all of the cards. Why should He change His standards upon meeting us? (more…)

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June 6, 2017
heaven / Judgement

Is God Negative?

John 7.7 observes, the world cannot hate you, but it hates Me, because I am testifying about it that its deeds are evil. No one likes a negative person.

Who is the negative person? The person who tells us we are wrong or the things we like are wrong. Modern parenting and education has and is going to great extremes to remove all negativity from the ears of the next generation. Most recently universities have begun creating ‘safe places’ where students can retreat from any discussion that conflicts with their point of view. Jesus, God Who lived on earth, claims to be a negative person. (more…)

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May 25, 2017
heaven / Judgement

What’s the Worst That Could Happen?

John 5.14 records, after this Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “Look, you have become well. Don’t sin any more, lest anything worse happen to you.”

What could be worse than being paralyzed for 38 years? What could be worse than living in a prison while watching everyone else around you enjoy freedom? Jesus found this prisoner and asked him if he wanted to get well. (more…)

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May 23, 2017
Judgement / obedience / Prayer / Suffering

Christianity is a Marathon and not a Sprint

Hebrews 10.36 encourages, you need endurance in order to do God’s will and so receive what is promised.

Endurance is one of those qualities we admire in others but struggle to manifest in ourselves. We see the marathon runner and we marvel at their endurance then say they are crazy to train then run that kind of distance. We hear the testimony from the mountain climber and wonder what it would be like to stand on the top of the world only to hear of the cost and dismiss it as too hard.

Endurance is modeled by the few but desired by the many. (more…)

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May 6, 2017
Judgement / obedience

The Importance of Obedience

Leviticus 22.31-32 demands, you must be sure to do My commandments. I am the LORD. You must not profane my holy name, and I will be sanctified in the midst of the Israelites. I am the LORD who sanctifies you.

Sanctification is a twenty-five cent word that means to make holy. It means to make us like God. It means to restore us to our true nature, the original intent of the Master Who made us.

The Bible’s story of humanity begins with male and female being made in the image of God. This is why humans are of more value than the animals. This is why murder, including abortion, is so wrong; an image bearer of God is being forcibly removed from this earth. It is why we are commanded to love one another as God has loved us. (more…)

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April 19, 2017
evangelism / heaven / Judgement

Pleasing God or Pleasing our Neighbor?

1 Thessalonians 2.4 describes, we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we declare it, not to please people but God, Who examines our hearts.

Christians have been commissioned by God to make Him known in the world. This is the purpose for the Church in this world. The Church’s foundation is the declaration of Who Jesus is; the Messiah, the Savior of the world. This declaration is to be the proclamation of all those who acknowledge Jesus as God, Savior and Judge. (more…)

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April 5, 2017
evangelism / Judgement / Suffering

Persecuted, Suffering or Hiding?

Philippians 1.29 reminds us that, it has been granted to you not only to believe in Christ but also to suffer for Him.

Fox News recently reported that Christians are the most persecuted religious group in the world, again (HERE).

When we think of suffering however we think only in terms described in this article. In North America, under this definition, we don’t suffer because we are not persecuted. Not wanting to be left out of the suffering conversation, we in North America broaden suffering to include our difficulties: divorce, bankruptcy, cancer etc. (more…)

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April 3, 2017
faith / heaven / Judgement / Theology

Why Should We Please God?

2 Corinthians 12.21 records, I will grieve for many of those who previously sinned and have not repented of the impurity, sexual immorality, and licentiousness that they have practiced.

The knock on Christianity from adherents of other religions is the ease by which Christians are able to get to heaven. Christianity is the only religion that claims it’s means to heaven is the receiving of it freely from God as a gift imparted by God’s grace through faith in His love and kindness. (more…)

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March 13, 2017
Judgement / money / work

What Concerns God Should Concern Us

Luke 16.15 warns, Jesus said to them, you are the ones who justify yourselves in men’s eyes, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly prized among men is utterly detestable in God’s sight.

This statement by God, warning us that what we value He despises, should terrorize us. Now certainly this cant be true in everything. (more…)

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March 2, 2017
Christian Living / evangelism / Judgement / obedience

God’s Work Requires Focus

1 Corinthians 7.35 encourages, without distraction you may give notable and constant service to the Lord.

This expectation seems opposed to Jesus’ commendation of Mary who sat with Jesus instead of Martha who was busy making lunch for Jesus. Jesus’ caveat was that He would not always be with us in the flesh so Mary had indeed chosen the better activity.

From the beginning however God has been at work. So too the Son came to work by seeking and saving the lost. (more…)

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February 23, 2017