Blog

 

Scripture Passage: John 8:40-41 and Judges 11:1-10

Jesus did not have the perfect background, before His mother Mary was married, it was discovered that she was pregnant and the Jews one time criticised Him saying, "We be not born of fornication," revealing how they viewed Him. Rahab the harlot and Ruth the Moabitess were also listed in the genealogy of Christ. However, Jesus' background did not stop Him from being the greatest leader th

Scripture Passage: Luke 6:12-16, Matthew 12:25, Psalm 133:1-3

No vision can be accomplished without people. Therefore the ability to get along with people is a great requirement for everyone in leadership. The more you get along with people the more successful you will be as a leader. There is a blessing in harmony but disunity fosters stagnation.
Jesus required people to fulfil His vision and I believe one factor that helped Him get along with people was pr

 

I love semantics. As a writer, verbal sparring often leaves me gasping for breath, but, give me a paper and a pen (and a dictionary, thesaurus and encyclopedia) and I'll bury you in etymology.

Recently, I was sidetracked from an entire morning of Bible study by the tiny little word, "in", and more accurately, its absence.

Genesis 15:6 says, " And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness."

Principally, when we're discussing imputed righteousness with other Chris

 

God said to Job "Can you send forth lightnings that they may go?" Job 38:35. God sends lightning and directs it precisely to a point on the ground to a micro-millimetre of where He wants it.

God continues "Who can count the clouds by wisdom, or tip the water jars of the heavens?" Job 38:37. God knows in detail how many clouds there ever were on earth and how many there will be. He has extremely accurate knowledge of each rain drop, its exact diameter, its weight, and purpose.

It

 

Repentance, justification and sanctification

Being justified means that we are right with God, that is, we are righteous in His eyes. It means that our sins are totally forgiven. A good definition of justified is "Just-as-if-I'd-never-done-it." A person is justified the moment they repent of their sins and put their trust in Jesus and they remain justified by continuing in repentance. 

Personal sanctification is the process of growing in the Lord through the power of the

 

Our security in Christ

There is no doubt that a believer is secure in Christ but the question is, "Is our security conditional or unconditional?" That is, once we are saved, will we get to heaven no matter what we do or can we lose our salvation? In Luke 13:3, Jesus answered that question very clearly in just three words: "Repent or perish." In the Greek text, these words mean that a believer must continue to repent or he will perish. This simple statement by Jesus has lef

 

Living according to the Spirit is the same as walking in the Light, abiding in Jesus and following Jesus etc. It simply means having a relationship with Jesus by listening to and following the Spirit's voice. In John 10:27 Jesus said, "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me." 
We can see from this verse that there are two things which Jesus' disciples do:
1) Listen to His voice and
2) Follow Him.

To know how to listen to and follow Jesus, we first ne

  How do we die and become free from sin?

In Part 1, we looked at many verses which show that Jesus came to set us free from sin and, if we are to be freed from sin, then we must die to it. If we are dead to something then it no longer has an influence over us - we are free from it's control. Being free from sin doesn't mean we are free from temptation; it means that we don't give in to temptation. In the same way that a man in the grave is no longer influenced by the world,

Jesus came to set us free from our sin.

In this article I would like to look at verses which tell us that Jesus sets believers free from their sin. Being set free from sin does not mean a believer becomes sinlessly perfect. It means that he does not have a habitually sinful lifestyle. At one time or another a Christian may sin because of weakness or circumstances but his sin is not wilful or ongoing. That is, sin is not a part of his normal way of life. 1 John 2:1 tell us that C

Have you ever told someone, "That's just me,"? 

That comment usually follows someone's criticism of our character or a habit. It's a defensive punch, with an implied offensive follow up: "You're being judgmental and unfair." Is this a valid excuse for bad behavior?

Recently, I helped a friend administer the Volhard Puppy Aptitude Test to her newest litter of golden retriever puppies. It was amazing to see their distinct characters come to life in the course of a 15-minute exercise! A neutral

 

Multitudes are afflicted with melancholy and mope around on this Monday morning. There are varied reasons. They may have experienced such a nice weekend they hated it to end. On the other hand, they may feel twinges of guilt because they left needed household chores unfinished. 

At any rate, despondency camps on their doorstep alongside the morning newspaper.

I fast-forward to later in the week, when I come down with a severe case of Monday blues on a Thursday afternoon. I alw

David had good days and bad days. He experienced great success and devastating failures. His enemies were wicked. They were in a relentless pursuit of him, day and night. First thing in the morning,when he was fresh and ready for the day, his focus turned to God. David tells us he will look up to God. It is good to let God hear our voice and see our upturned faces, first thing in the morning. We make Him the center of our attention.

The beginning of the day is the perfect time

 

Another year is about to end and a new one will begin. We don't know what awaits us. There will be, no doubt, many challenges and many joys. With the state our Nation and the world is in, the challenges will surely be great. Are we prepared for whatever may come? How are we preparing for it? Many make resolutions trying to commit themselves to changing some part of their lives that they feel will be an improvement in themselves this coming year. These resolutions are notorious, though

Proverbs 27:17, "As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend."

Have you ever had a really good friend?

As I look back over the years of my life, I see how I've had different groups of friends at different seasons in my life. Do you ever notice the different roles friends play in your life? There are the "Facebook Friends". Some friends are the people you can be goofy with. Your conversations may not go deep, but you can enjoy time with one another just in playing games

"Is life fair?"

"Can't never could!"

"It has potential."

"You've got to make it happen."

I set up camp on his last opinion. In conversations, I share my desire for a dream vacation or trip to a writer's conference; troubled, I point out our lack of funds. He says, "You've got to make it happen." His middle name should be possibilities. Are you dreaming of a heavenly home?

The Lord is making it happen!

"Jesus said, 'Don't be troubled. Trust i

 

As you sit quietly thinking about your life, Stop! Read (2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV) for yourself, which states,"Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new." Isn't that great news? Sin is gone forever, but you have the same mind. Do you know how to change your mind? It requires faith in the word of God, it's a simple process, but it takes diligence, persistence, determination, and dedication. God's ways are th

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving (Psalm 100:4)

There are four aspects to devotional prayer. Someone created an acrostic that is very helpful in remembering all four aspects: A.C.T.S. "A" stands for "adoration"; "C" stands for "confession"; "T" stands for "thanksgiving," and "S" stands for "supplication."

The greatest facilitator of peace through prayer is not partition but thanksgiving; it is not leaving what concerns you at the altar, but the attitude in which you approach t