2 Thessalonians 1.8 observes, with flaming fire He will mete out punishment on those who do not know
God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
The next verse says that God will then send to eternal punishment all of these same people. In a word Christianity defines this place of eternal separation from God and eternal suffering as hell. Hell is no longer an accepted place among people. (more…)
1 Thessalonians 2.4 observes, just as 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.
The demise of Christian influence in western culture can be attributed in large part to the failure of Christians to consistently and Biblically, present God’s point of view of man, history and Himself. This failure has been facilitated by a desire to not offend people but rather to build bridges with people until people are willing to listen to our message. (more…)
Philippians 3.10 claims, my aim is to know Him, to experience the power of His resurrection, to share in
His sufferings, and to be like Him in His death.
What is the goal of your religion? To get to heaven? This was not the goal of arguably the greatest Christian who was not also God. Perhaps the secret to his Christianity was the fact that he made his understanding, practice and experience of God now, not future. (more…)
Ephesians 6.4 commands fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but raise them up in the 
discipline and instruction of the Lord.
While this verse is geared toward fathers and their role as spiritual leaders of their home, the commands can be applied more broadly to both our personal lives and the work all Christians are to engage of disciple making.
Specifically the disciplines and instructions we are to live and teach others. What does the discipline of the Lord even mean? (more…)
Psalm 107.2 declares, let those delivered by the LORD speak out, those whom He delivered from the
power of the enemy.
Who is the enemy? The enemy of all humanity? Death.
Only one God promises deliverance from death to ALL who humble themselves and follow Him. Only one God proved His ability to deliver on His promise by Himself rising from the dead after men were convinced of their killing Him on a cross. (more…)
Psalm 101.8 describes, each morning I will destroy all the wicked people in the land, and remove all 
evildoers from the city of the LORD.
David was a man deeply committed to the ways of God. At least initially. His commitment was so serious that God described him, ‘as a man after His own heart.’ For God to consider a man like Him in desire, will and way is the greatest compliment anyone could receive. Yet, David imploded. (more…)
Ezekiel 22.30 records, I looked for a man from among them who would repair the wall and stand in the
gap before Me on behalf of the land, so that I would not destroy it, but I found no one.
God is watching us. God is watching us to see who is working for Him and with Him to see His kingdom come and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. In the case of Israel, God looked for a man who was praying for mercy on behalf of the people and warning the people about the consequences of their disobedience in order to move increasingly more people toward obedience to God.
This work, God said, would have delayed or even thwarted His plan for punishing Jerusalem but alas, no one was found to be working on this project resulting in Jerusalem’s destruction. (more…)
2 Corinthians 4.2 encourages, by open proclamation of the truth we commend ourselves to everyone’s 
conscience before God.
What do non Christians expect from Christians? Certainly a virtue or morality that is different from everyone else. This would include honesty, compassion, love, hard work, and thoughtfulness. While no one lives perfectly, thus each of us demonstrates our need for God’s forgiveness, those who claim to follow Jesus are expected and even commanded, to live like He lived. (more…)
1 Corinthians 16.13 commands, stay alert, stand firm in the faith, show courage, be strong.
With all of the natural disasters occurring recently some are speculating the end of the world as we know it is near. I believe this thinking is normal whenever difficult times on a mass scale are being experienced. No doubt throughout the ages Christians and others have exhibited similar thoughts while enduring plagues, famines and wars.
Whether the end is near or not I don’t know, I do know how we are to live regardless of ‘the end’s’ proximity. (more…)
Hebrews 11.2 observes, for by it the people of old received God’s commendation. The ‘it’ in this 
sentence is faith. There is a faith that God commends.
In Part I we began to explore the faith that God rewards as we looked at the lives of the hero’s of the faith listed in Hebrews 11. In part II we continued the journey. In this third part we complete the study. (more…)
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