evangelism / heaven / Judgement / obedience

God’s Definition of Greatness

Luke 1.15 promises he will be great in the sight of the Lord.images

Few men don’t desire to be great. Its inherent to our nature. It comes from our origin: we are made in the image of God.

God is great and ever increasing in glory so too those made in His image aspire to greatness. Since being kicked out of paradise for our rebellion we have perverted the object or goal of our greatness. Most of us want others to see and recognize us as great, the reason our natural desire is perverted. (more…)

0 Comments
November 16, 2015
Judgement / obedience

Remaining in God’s Love Part 2

John 15.9-10 warns us to remain in Jesus’ love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love,image just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.

If I must remain in God’s love am I not working my way to heaven, the antithesis of orthodox Christianity? Of course not for we cannot even know God until He reveals Himself to us. God must draw us to Himself for us to have a relationship with Him. In addition, He must supply the power and Person we need to remain in that relationship. (more…)

0 Comments
November 10, 2015
Judgement / obedience

Remaining in God’s Love Part 1

John 15.9-10 warns us to remain in Jesus’ love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, imagejust as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.

It seems odd to hear God command us to remain in His love. We presume that we just always remain in His love without effort or thought on our part. After all, God so loved the world He gave Himself in His Son to reconcile us to Himself.

Why then would I need to remain in His love since He already loves me? Indeed God loves everyone but the experience of His love occurs only in a relationship with Him through Jesus. (more…)

0 Comments
November 9, 2015
obedience / work

Lessons to be learned from the ‘Greatest Generation’

2 Kings 17.41 observes even while these people were worshiping the Lord, they were serving their idols. To this day their children and grandchildren continue to do as their ancestors did.image

The so called, ‘greatest generation’ were the parents of the children who attended high school in the late 1940’s and 1950’s. These people became the parents of those who attended high school in the 1960’s to 1970’s.

The ‘greatest generation’ was considered such because of the selflessness by which they lived their life. They suffered much and paid much to make the life of their children better. (more…)

0 Comments
November 5, 2015
heaven / Judgement / money

Building Heavenly Treasure Part 2

1 Timothy 6.19 promises, in this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for imagesthe coming age. God encourages us to create and store treasure for ourselves in heaven. Think of it as the ultimate retirement savings account.

To earn heavenly treasure we have to think in the economics of heaven. We also have to choose which priority we will live for: short term this life existence or long term eternal life existence.

God warns us we cannot love money and God: we will focus on accumulating either the treasure of this world or the treasure of the world to come. In the passage today God lists additional means for us to accumulate heavenly treasure besides working at reconciling people to Jesus as Savior of the world. (more…)

0 Comments
October 28, 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…)

0 Comments
October 20, 2015
evangelism / obedience

End Times or Bad Times?

Matthew 16.4 describes a wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but none will be given itimage except the sign of Jonah.

There are many in the Christian camp who believe we are close to the ‘end times.’

This belief has been prevalent in Christianity since its inception almost, the Apostle Paul discusses this issue in his letter to the Thessalonians who seemed to have quit working so they could stand around and watch for Jesus to return. Paul rebuked such behavior. (more…)

0 Comments
October 16, 2015
Christian Living / heaven / Judgement / obedience / Theology

Believe, Receive and Cleave to Get to Heaven

Colossians 2:6 commands, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in imagesHim. What makes a person a Christian?

The debate has long raged because unlike all of the other religions, there are no ‘3 steps’ to making oneself a Christian. There are however 3 principles that if not evident in our lives should cause us much concern about our belief that we truly are Christians. (more…)

0 Comments
October 14, 2015
Christian Living / heaven / Judgement

What does Freedom Really Mean?

Galatians 5.1 declares it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Freedom to the Apostle, to God, does imagenot mean the same thing as we use the word freedom to mean.

We use freedom to mean doing anything we want without constraint. This was the freedom our forefathers wanted when they rebelled against God because they didn’t want to submit to His one limitation for their lives.

We continue to want this freedom over our lives; no rules, no constraint, no God. (more…)

0 Comments
September 29, 2015
evangelism / Judgement

God is Working on Our Behalf

2 Samuel 14.14 observes, like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But that is not what God desires; rather, He devises ways so that a banished person does not remainimage banished from Him.

What a great description of God.

This description is not found in any other record book about God except the Bible. The Muslims don’t record such a description. The Hindus don’t record such a description. No other book records that God does not desire human death but devises ways to restore people to Him forever.

So why do people die? (more…)

0 Comments
September 19, 2015