Ephesians 1.23 observes, the church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to 
the church. The church is Christ’s body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence.
Oh that we as the Church, the people who claim Jesus as Savior, would embrace this truth: the Church is not peripheral to the world but the world is peripheral to the Church. (more…)
Luke 7.47 observes, if the forgiveness is minimal, the gratitude is minimal.
Public education has spent the last 50 years teaching us that we are born good but due to poor environments go bad. This is why everyone is a winner and we work so hard to keep anyone from feeling like a loser. All are given a trophy for attendance rather than performance. God teaches us something different in His biography. (more…)
Matthew 23.8-10 warns, don’t let people do that to you, put you on a pedestal like that. You all have a 
single Teacher, and you are all classmates. Don’t set people up as experts over your life, letting them tell you what to do. Save that authority for God; let him tell you what to do. No one else should carry the title of ‘Father’; you have only one Father, and he’s in heaven. And don’t let people maneuver you into taking charge of them. There is only one Life-Leader for you and them—Christ. (more…)
John 17.17 asks, set them apart in the truth; your word is truth.
The Christian is not to live, look, speak, or work like others who do not know the One true God. Christians are to live as Jesus did for they too are children of God. (more…)
John 3.3 records Jesus replying, “I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born from above, he
cannot see the kingdom of God.”
In the 1970’s the evangelical Christian Church spoke much about being born again. So much, that those words began to create negative emotions toward the Church and it’s Christ. Yet, being born again or born from above or being born of the Spirit is what God in human form, Jesus, stated was required for entering into His eternal dwelling place. Why? (more…)
Luke 13.24 commands, exert every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you,
will try to enter and will not be able to.
Consider God’s words about the cost of belonging to Him:
Matthew 6.15 But if you do not forgive others, your Father will not forgive you your sins.
Luke 9.24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.
Luke 14.26 If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father and mother, and wife and children, and brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.
Luke 17.33 Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it.
John 6.53 I tell you the solemn truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. (more…)
Titus 1.1 records, Paul, a slave of God and apostle of Jesus Christ, to further the faith of God’s chosen
ones and the knowledge of the truth that is in keeping with godliness.
In this opening sentence in Paul’s letter to his friend Titus, he gives an insight into the true meaning of godliness. When most people think of godliness they think of people like Mother Theresa or Billy Graham. They also think of character associated with godliness like goodness, honesty, kindness, love, generosity.
I suppose everyone has their own list. No doubt most of us would consider ourselves somewhat godly. (more…)
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…)
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