heaven / Judgement / obedience / Suffering

What are You Depending Upon?

2 Chronicles 16.9 promises the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose thhearts are fully committed to Him.

This declaration was made by the prophet to the king of Judah who had just exhibited unfaithfulness to the Lord. How was he unfaithful? By not seeking God for help but looking to others to rescue him during his time of need.

Its normal for us to solve our own problems or seek help from others when those troubles are larger than our own resources. This kind of living is defined by God as being wise in our own eyes. (more…)

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December 14, 2015
Judgement

Ready for the End?

Zephaniah 1.7 observes the Lord has consecrated those He has invited.
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Concern over the end of the world has been a fairly common issue for the people of God. When God lived among us and addressed this issue He said we should be less concerned about when that day will happen and more concerned with being ready when that day does happen.

While we may want to know when Jesus will return we can know if we are ready for His return. (more…)

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December 9, 2015
faith / Theology

Being Convinced of God

Luke 16.31 warns if they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even ifimage someone rises from the dead.

Jesus rose from the dead. This is the most fundamental and crucial teaching of the Christian faith. It separates Christianity from all other religions. (more…)

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December 2, 2015
heaven / Judgement / Suffering

Why Evil Persists in the World

Jonah 4.2 describes,  I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger andimage abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.

No other god in any holy book is described as loving and compassionate, gracious and slow to anger. The One True God stands alone in this characterization of Who God really is and what He is really like. (more…)

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November 25, 2015
Judgement / obedience

How to Get to Heaven

James 2.12 commands we speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that givesimages freedom.

God plans to judge everyone. We inherently know this to be true yet suppress it as much as possible from our conscience. When we do think about God holding us accountable we normally give ourselves a passing grade as to our adherence to His commands.

The answer to what God will judge us on and how He will judge us has all been revealed by God so that we can pass the test. (more…)

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November 20, 2015
Christian Living / obedience

Maintaining Integrity with God

image1 Chronicles 10:13-14 explains, Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord; he did not keep the word of the Lord and even consulted a medium for guidance, and did not inquire of the Lord. So the Lord put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse.

Imagine being hand chosen by God to be the first king over His people. Pretty high honor. You would also think the vetting process would have been the best. Yet, like the first man created, Adam, this first king was a failure. (more…)

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November 18, 2015
Christian Living / evangelism

A Christian Definition of Courage

Proverbs 28.1 describes the righteous (being) as bold as a lion.image

When we think of courage we think of near death experiences where some type of threat is about to take our lives but we somehow fight, resist or escape to avoid the intended result. We also think of those who went into such an event knowing they probably would not return and many didn’t. Our soldiers live in this category as do Christians who remain in hostile countries.

Certainly these are accurate descriptions of courage but maybe there is a more mundane description that all of us can and should embrace if we are going to live courageously. (more…)

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November 12, 2015
Prayer

Aligning our Prayer with God’s Purpose

Matthew 26.39 records, He fell with His face to the ground and prayed, My Father, if it is possible, imagemay this cup be taken from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will.

The goal of our prayer should be for the wisdom and strength to do God’s will. True prayer seeks God for the resources to do God’s will because doing His will always exceeds our resources.

God promises to always be with those who do His will because we need Him to complete His will. (more…)

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October 27, 2015
heaven / Judgement / obedience / Theology

Truth Hurts

2 Thessalonians 2:10 observes, they perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.image

Truth hurts. Most of us don’t really like the truth because it has a nasty way of disagreeing with the way we want things to be.

Truth is not swayed by our will or wishes; it doesn’t change because we cry or scream. We become deceitful and lie in order to create an illusion of truth so that we get what we want.

God says He is truth. (more…)

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October 21, 2015
evangelism

Earning Eternal Wages

John 4.36 promises the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life.image

God warned us, while living among us, as one of us, not too place our life pursuit upon things that didn’t last like houses, clothes and money. God might have added cars to this mix had they been invented while He lived among us.

These are the very things most of us pursue for defining our success and significance in the world. God is not opposed to working for reward. (more…)

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October 20, 2015