What is your religion?

1 Kings 13.33-34 describes, after this happened, Jeroboam kept right on doing evil, recruiting priests for the forbidden shrines indiscriminately—anyone who wanted to could be a priest at one of the local shrines. This was the root sin of Jeroboam’s government. And it was this that ruined him.

Jeroboam’s root sin should be so familiar to us because it is so prevalent among us. What was his root sin, the sin we see everywhere around us and perhaps even within us? (more…)

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What You Think Determines How You Live

Ephesians 2.1-6 describes, it wasn’t so long ago that you were mired in that old stagnant life of sin. You let the world, which doesn’t know the first thing about living, tell you how to live. You filled your lungs with polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience. We all did it, all of us doing what we felt like doing, when we felt like doing it, all of us in the same boat. It’s a wonder God didn’t lose his temper and do away with the whole lot of us. Instead, immense in mercy and with an incredible love, he embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on his own, with no help from us! Then he picked us up and set us down in highest heaven in company with Jesus, our Messiah.

We have to decide what we believe about ourselves and God for what we believe about these things determines how we live, and how we live, if there really is a God, determines our eternal destiny. (more…)

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Sharing Jesus With People Can Get You Hurt

Luke 10.3 warns, On your way! But be careful—this is hazardous work. You’re like lambs in a wolf pack.

I find it ironic our God would say, be careful. Our prayers are offered in hopes that we wouldn’t need to be careful, that He would be watching over us to protect us so that nothing bad happens to us. Isn’t that the point of our prayers? Especially, when the prayer and the work is centered around doing His will! (more…)

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Living Well? By Whose Standard?

Psalm 90.12 asks God, Oh! Teach us to live well! Teach us to live wisely and well! Come back, GOD —how long do we have to wait?

What does it mean to live well? Man would define it by money enough to do as you please. To buy the things you need and want. To go to the places you desire. To do the things you want to do. Living well means freedom to have and do whatever you desire. To live well one must have money, a lot of money. (more…)

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Believing in God Means Obeying God

Hebrews 5.10 describes, Jesus as high priest in the order of Melchizedek, He became the source of eternal salvation to all who believingly obey Him.

Believingly obey Him. A great summary of the Christian life. We are to first believe in Jesus as Savior and Lord, the only source of eternal salvation. (more…)

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Fighting For The Law (of God)

Proverbs 28.4 observes, If you desert God’s law, you’re free to embrace depravity; if you love God’s law, you fight for it tooth and nail.

Most Christians would say they love God’s law but we don’t fight for it. We haven’t fought for God’s law in 70 years and so we see the continuing and now accelerating moral decline of this country. (more…)

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What Is Eternal Life?

John 17.3 records,this is the real and eternal life: That they know You, The One and only true God, And Jesus Christ, Whom You sent. I glorified You on earth By completing down to the last detail What You assigned Me to do. And now, Father, glorify Me with Your very own splendor, The very splendor I had in Your presence Before there was a world.

Most Christians would define eternal life as living with God in heaven. The particularly biblically astute might even add living with God on the new earth. Neither would be correct. (more…)

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God Believes In YOU

Galatians 6.4-5 commands, make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don’t be impressed with yourself. Don’t compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life.

God knows He is awesome, that He can do all things and that He is limitless in His ability or creativity. God knows too that He created us in His image so believes deeply that virtually nothing is impossible for us to accomplish. (more…)

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Are YOU Offended by God’s Priorities?

Luke 15.7 records, Count on it—there’s more joy in heaven over one sinner’s rescued life than over ninety-nine good people in no need of rescue.

For many Christians, God’s words in this lesson are offensive. God in Jesus, in this chapter of the Bible, tells three stories all making the same point. In the last story, the Christians portrayed by the oldest son, are offended by God’s doings. What is offensive to Christians in these stories? (more…)

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