Christian Living / Titus

Getting Better

Titus 1.1 claims it is their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness.image

What is the goal of our lives? Personal happiness? Peace? Joy? Fulfilled relationships? Godliness? The last one probably doesn’t make the top ten list for most people because pleasing God is something we think of generally and not specifically.

Sure we want to be good per se but we don’t pursue goodness for ‘goodness’ sake. We are so self absorbed that we believe we are pretty good and that God is pretty happy with us regardless of how much we really check in with Him to see if our belief is true.

So we go about seeking our own definition of importance trusting that if God isn’t good with it He will somehow make that known to us. (more…)

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April 22, 2015
Christian Living

Why Go To Church?

Leviticus 17.8-9 commands: Any Israelite or any foreigner residing among them who offers a burnt imagesoffering or sacrifice and does not bring it to the entrance to the tent of meeting to sacrifice it to the Lord must be cut off from the people of Israel.

Too many who call themselves Christians profess to love God but despise His Church. God calls His Church His bride so what many Christians declare is that they like the Groom but detest the bride. This attitude makes a relationship difficult. (more…)

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April 13, 2015
Christian Living / obedience / work

Being Salty Christians

Mark 9.50 encourages have salt among yourselves.image

The modern translation of God’s admonition to have salt in ourselves might be, ‘suck it up buttercup,’ or ‘cowboy up,’ or ‘man up,’ or any of a number of sayings that mean stop being a sissy and own the solution to whatever problem we are facing. The wussification of the current culture is over the top.

Everyone has a malady, no one is responsible for their problems, blaming others is common and looking to big brother for meeting our needs is the new norm. Our grandparents shake their heads at us as they endured the great depression, rationing of basic necessities and the effects of two world wars. (more…)

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April 9, 2015
Judgement / obedience

Is God Fair?

Leviticus 5:17 declares if anyone sins and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord’s commands, even though they do not know it, they are guilty and will be held responsible.image

God says we are guilty of disobedience to Him, sin, even if we don’t know what He requires. For many, this seems too harsh, unfair and therefore unacceptable to them for giving their allegiance to God.

Why does God take this position, that all will be held accountable to Him for disobedience even if they didn’t know His commands? I think there are three primary reasons. (more…)

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April 2, 2015
evangelism / heaven / obedience

Loving God First

John 21.15 asks do you love me more than these?image

What are the ‘these’ God was contrasting Peter’s devotion with His love? Fish.

Its not that God was asking Peter if he loved fish more than Him but rather if he loved the fruit of working for himself more than the fruit of working for God.

Peter was hand chosen to be a fisher of men. The cost to accept this calling was to cease seeing himself as a fisher of fish. Succeeding in fishing meant a life of personal gain, good living, great reputation, worldly opportunities.

Succeeding at fishing for men would mean eternal life for some at personal sacrifice even to the point of death. Peter said he loved Jesus more so God told him to go to work building the church. (more…)

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March 31, 2015
Christian Living

Managing Conflict

Ephesians 6.12 reports our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly
imagerealms.

Most Christians believe the Bible is absolutely true but few are able to apply its truth absolutely.

While our struggles should be against unseen forces in heavenly places most of us struggle with known forces in our faces! Lately I have been in conflict with some fellow Christians and it hasn’t been pretty. How should Christians disagree? (more…)

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March 26, 2015
Christian Living

Building the Family

Proverbs 11:29 promises whoever brings ruin on their family will inherit only wind.images

Any male can marry and procreate but not all males become men, especially men who lead their family to greater generational impact for God than they themselves experienced.

There are at least three key ingredients to impacting our families for greater good than we experienced. (more…)

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March 25, 2015
Christian Living / faith / heaven

What Does it Mean to Believe?

John 6.29 describes the work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent.
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One of the knocks on Christianity is it’s easy entry to heaven. Some believe going to heaven is as easy as believing in Jesus, after all, isn’t that what He just said? Its fair to say what He meant by belief and what we understand by belief are not the same.

If what we understand belief to mean, simply believe, then the devil and all the demons would go to heaven since they certainly believe. In the gospel it is only the evil spirits who consistently identify Jesus correctly as the Christ the Son of God. I don’t think they will live with God forever though they believe. (more…)

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March 16, 2015
heaven / Judgement / obedience

The Choice of Evil

Job 40.8 asks would you condemn Me to justify yourself?image

A few weeks ago the papers reported another atrocity of ISIS terrorists murdering children in the name of their god. The story I read, reported by a journalist from Great Britain, ended with his comments of disgust concerning religion and its abuse of people. Correctly, this man had a problem with religion that justifies the murder and maiming of children.

Below the surface was his disdain with the belief in god because if there is a god then he should be good and if he is good then he should stop the killing in his name. (more…)

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March 11, 2015
Christian Living / Suffering

Suffering as Jesus did

2 Corinthians 1.5 promises just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfortimage abounds through Christ.

We are promised abundant sufferings of Christ. The word ‘of’ is the key to understanding what the Apostle is promising those who believe.

Jesus suffered the shame and humiliation of Creation not honoring Him as God, Lord and Creator of all. Instead, all of creation rejected Him, some spat upon Him while others struck Him with their fists. Many cursed Him and a few crucified Him.

Though He was God He did not demand His honor and rights as God but instead took the role of a servant and humbled Himself to the point of death, even death as a criminal upon the cross. (more…)

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March 2, 2015