Christian Living / obedience

The Value of Religious Activities

Matthew 15.11 defines, it’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth.image

The Muslims are wrapping up their holy week most characterized by fasting from sunup until sundown. Fasting has been used by religious people of all stripes from all time as a means to appease the gods and or garner their attention.

Christians have used fasting historically not so much for these purposes but to discipline the flesh so that we obey the Spirit. (more…)

2 Comments
July 5, 2016
Christian Living / obedience

What Good Works Should Do.

Matthew 11.20 records, Jesus began to criticize openly the cities in which he had done many of His imagemiracles, because they did not repent.

When God came to earth He did much good. God fed people, thousands of people. God healed people, lots of people. God raised people from the dead returning children to brokenhearted parents.

All that God did when He lived among us as one of us in Jesus the Savior was good but He didn’t come to do good works for our temporary benefit. (more…)

0 Comments
June 27, 2016
evangelism / heaven / obedience

Wishing for the End of the World

Revelation 19.10 describes, the essence of prophecy is to give a clear witness for Jesus.image

Too many Christians are hoping for the end of this world as we know it. Everyday we move closer to the end they say. Certainly that is true.

These Christians are weary of life’s difficulties and the rapid increase of godlessness everywhere in the world. I fear the motive is less a desire for Jesus and more of a desire to be done with a life that is less than fulfilling or happy or blessed. Why should God want to end the world? (more…)

0 Comments
June 17, 2016
Christian Living / obedience

What God Expects From Us

Revelation 12.17 describes, the dragon was angry at the woman and declared war against the rest of imageher children—all who keep God’s commandments and maintain their testimony for Jesus.

The Bible describes the world as being at war. We see the evidence of this reality but as American Christians we don’t always interpret that reality as being daily and local. (more…)

0 Comments
June 10, 2016
Christian Living / obedience / Suffering

Living Our Best Life Now

Deuteronomy 11.26-28 offers, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing if you take to heart the commandments of the LORD your God that I am giving you today, and the curse if you pay no attention to his commandments and turn from the way I am setting before you today to pursueimage other gods you have not known.

God gets blamed for most of the bad things that happen in the world but if we thought about it very long we would recognize that most of the evil occurs because one human chooses to harm another human. (more…)

0 Comments
June 8, 2016
heaven / Judgement / Theology

Who is this Jesus?

Isaiah 33.22 describes, the LORD is our judge, our lawgiver, and our king. He will care for us and save imageus.

This is both an apt and succinct description of the Christian God in Jesus Christ the Savior. While penned 1000 years before His arrival in human form, Isaiah saw God, and was commissioned with foretelling His coming as the Messiah or Savior of the world. (more…)

0 Comments
June 1, 2016
obedience

Restoring Hope to the World

Isaiah 26.18 describes, we, too, writhe in agony, but nothing comes of our suffering. We have not givenimage salvation to the earth, nor brought life into the world.

This observation recorded more than 3000 years ago is a perfect description of the Church in the Western Hemisphere and possibly beyond. (more…)

0 Comments
May 27, 2016
Christian Living / evangelism / obedience

Whose Approval Are We Seeking?

John 5.41-42 states, your approval means nothing to Me, because I know you don’t have God’s love imagewithin you.

Having this attitude would certainly go a long way in helping the Church live more like Jesus. God as Man, Jesus, sought the approval of One, God the Father, but He called all those who love God and seek to obey His commands His brothers and sisters and mothers. (more…)

0 Comments
May 23, 2016
Christian Living / heaven / Judgement

What Are We to Think About Evil?

1 Peter 3.12 promises, the eyes of the LORD watch over those who do right, and his ears are open to imagetheir prayers. But the LORD turns his face against those who do evil.

This promise is what we would expect from a God Who is good. It makes sense to us that a good God would watch over those who do good and hear their prayers. It also makes sense to us that God would oppose those who do evil in the world.

There is a disconnect however from this logic and some of our experiences. Evil in the world is a problem for people. (more…)

0 Comments
May 16, 2016