September 9, 2008 by Administrator.

 “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I have hope in Him.” The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him.

~ Lamentations 3:24-25 

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August 28, 2008 by admin.

I have been reading in the book of Psalms lately and then I very clearly felt the Lord put the book of Philippians on my heart. I had no problem with that because my favorite verse is in that book and Paul delivers a very rich message to the Philippian church. One of the most exciting things about studying God’s Word, is when you know He wants you to stay in a certain section for some time. Sunday, I read chapter three. I could not finish the chapter before I knew that God wanted me to stay in that chapter and learn. I cannot count all the times I have heard about the wonderful verse fourteen from other Christians. Yet, I could not even reach verse fourteen without filled awe and joy at the previous verses. I read this passage and was just amazed: 

More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Philippians 3:8-11 NASB

No matter how many times you may read the Bible, those same passages will become alive and fresh when God’s Spirit teaches us. It makes them seem almost as if they were recent additions. I realized that I have become slack in my memorization of Scripture. It was time for me to memorize this passage and ponder it over and over. Memorization enables us to be ready to give a defense at any time for what we believe and why we believe it (1 Peter 3:15).

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August 20, 2008 by Administrator.

“Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD; His going out is sure as the dawn; He will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.” ~ ESV

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August 6, 2008 by Administrator.

As I was perusing the selection of Bibles, I ran across this one: “Quick Study Bible: Making Bible Study Easy”. The word “quick” really bothered me. Nowhere in Scripture has God recommended that we take a quick break for studying His word. David would spend the day and night meditating on God’s Word (Psalm 1:2; 4:4; 63:6; 77:6). Don’t think that he had more time than us: David was king of a country. Jesus would spend the evenings and early mornings in prayer (Matthew 14:23; Mark 1:35; Luke 6:12). If you have a busy life, make time for the Lord. Don’t try to squeeze Him into a tight schedule so that you can check it off your to-do list.  Personally, I feel the only time that I can spend in quality time with my Savior is before I get going in the morning. It is different for everybody, but make time. Don’t give God a quick break in your busy day.

Think of a plant that says, “You know this photosynthesis thing takes a lot of time. It’s quite a task to get all this done in a day. So Mr. Sunshine, I can give you about 10 minutes of my day and then I’ve got to get working.” It’s absurd! The plant is dependent on the sun for its photosynthesis. As Christians, we are dependent on our time with the Lord and in His Word for our growth. It takes more than a quick peek at the Son to grow.

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July 24, 2008 by Administrator.

“For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin. But I am afraid, that as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.” ~ 2 Corinthians 11:2-3 

The last phrase of this passage has been ringing in my mind since Sunday. Perhaps it is better to say that the Lord has burdened it on my heart. Every day I have been pondering this verse. Paul is speaking of false teachers who are out to deceive the church. Yet, the last portion of verse two seems to echo something simple, but so profound. I wanted to know how to be devoted to Christ in this simplicity and purity. My thoughts were pointed to Romans 16:19, which says: 

“For your obedience has become known to all. Therefore I am glad on your behalf; but I want you to be wise in what is good, and simple concerning evil.”

Maybe this was God’s way to simply, but purely, follow Him. Maybe I wasn’t having that childlike faith and trust in my Father. Maybe I wasn’t being content to let Him lead the way. How can I be simple to evil, yet wise to good? I also believe the Lord guided my mind to this final verse:

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” ~ Romans 12:2

I believe that God (through these verses) was saying that it was more than time to be renewing my mind deeply in His Word, will, and grace. Its time to be simple towards evil, and wise to what is good. It’s time to simply, purely, and devotedly follow Christ Jesus. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. 

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June 20, 2008 by admin.

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior” ~ Isaiah 43:1b-3a

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June 9, 2008 by Administrator.

Not too long ago, a lost gentleman came to me and said,

“Do you know who I saw having lunch together?”

Of course I replied by saying that I didn’t know. He named a certain man and woman. Both of these people profess to be Christians and are married to different individuals. Then this lost gentleman asked me,

“No one was there with them. Now how does that look?”

My mind immediately went to the verse, which says, “Avoid the very appearance of evil.” I did not want to concede to his point, so I tried to defend their reputation and morality by saying,

“I know… I’m absolutely sure that there is nothing going on.”

Then he replied to me by saying,

“And I agree! I would bet one million dollars that nothing is going on. But how does it look?”

I glanced down, nodded my head, and pressed my gently clenched fist against my lips. Then leaning back, I looked up and met his eyes and said,

“You’re right.” 

It does not take a follower of Christ to know what the appearance of evil is. The smallest of things (that could be perceived as evil) can have very detrimental effects on the testimony of a Christian. We must take care to guard ourselves. Sometimes it can be disturbing to know that the world is always watching for something with which to tear down a Christian’s reputation. I say this not only for you, but also myself. We must be mindful of our surroundings so that we are not placing ourselves in the very appearance of evil. More than just our reputation is on the line… it’s Christ’s.

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May 23, 2008 by Administrator.

I have been thinking about a quote which says “Live every day as if it were your last”. This made me ask myself, “If I were to join the Lord today, would I leave this life content with the way I had lived it? If I knew that nine hours from now I was going to die, what would I change? What would I regret? Or would I carry on the same?” Of course, these questions flooded my mind with things that I should do and things that I should change. So I ask you the same question, if you were to pass away nine hours from now, would you change anything? Would you regret anything? Would you pass away wishing you had done something different or done something instead of procrastinating? These thoughts, though some may view them as morbid, I feel they are a great reminder as to why I need to be on my knees talking with my Savior. It puts in perspective how short life is. Not only do we need to pray, we need to get up and live today as if it was our last. Live for Jesus while we have been blessed with life. Don’t procrastinate for the Lord. Live for Him.

And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive. And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.”‘ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’ So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” ~ Luke 12:16-21 NASB

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May 12, 2008 by Administrator.

“More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.” NASB

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May 9, 2008 by Administrator.

I was discussing with my family about rebellion as Christians. We all have had times of defiance and rebellion towards God. This attitude and lifestyle leads to our lonely misery. All the purpose and enjoyment out of life just dissipates. All the while, as followers of Christ, we know how to avoid this. We know that by repentance, prayer, fasting, the obedience of His will, and the study of His Word, our fellowship with Him can be restored. So why don’t we do this? Why do we persist in our rebellion persist in living a life where God would not have us? Why? Willful rebellion is sin. As believers, we know what to do. We know how to return to God. But we continue in the mire. This is sin (James 4:17). Swallow your pride and get on your knees.

I recall one time refusing to pray about a certain situation. Why? I didn’t pray because I already knew how God would answer me. Instead of yielding to His will, He had to break mine. I remember hearing that Israelite shepherds in the biblical times would discipline a rebellious sheep by breaking the legs of the animal. Then they would tote the sheep on their shoulders for however many weeks it took for the legs to heal. Once the legs were healed, the sheep would follow and trust in the shepherd. Will God have to break us of our rebellion? Or will we run and throw our arms around the neck of our loving and faithful Father?

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April 19, 2008 by Administrator.

“So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it.” Hebrews 2:1 NLT 

As Christians, we are all in danger of being deceived by false teachers or chasing after the things of the world. We are advised by the writer of Hebrews to intently listen to the truth we have heard in God’s Word. I particularly like the implications of the word “drift” in this verse. This kind of drifting is like a ship without an anchor. It will be gently pushed by the waves away from where it began. Before long, the wind will howl and the torrential rains will pour. The ship will be surrounded by a thick darkness. The world’s influences will crash on us eagerly trying to capsize our witness for Christ. The fury of Satan will do all it can to overcome us. Without an anchor in Christ and His Word, we as Christians will drift into the tempestuously evil sea of the world. If we do not regard God’s Word as the infallible truth, then what do we have? Each person will do what is right in his own eyes. We cannot lean on our own understanding, but must see all things through the pages of God’s Word. If we do not heed the Truth, we will find ourselves far from where we ever expected to be.

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March 5, 2008 by Administrator.

It is really a shame that so many “Christian” churches have completely forgotten, or purposely forgotten, to inform the lost about their eternal punishment to come. It seems that they are intentionally ignoring this doctrine because it seems harsh and can be a turn off to unbelievers. Of course this should be preached lovingly, not with hatred. Instead of trying to compassionately tell people the truth, many groups are altogether throwing out any mention of it. Unbelievers are warned not to sin, but they are never told what will happen to them after death. The wages of sin is death… eternal death. There will only be weeping, pain, sorrow, anguish, and torment for those who die in their sins separated from Christ. John MacArthur very bluntly describes with Scripture what is to come for the lost after death:

“The punishment of the wicked is never ending as the bliss of the righteous. The wicked are not given a second chance, nor are they annihilated. The punishment of the wicked dead is described throughout Scripture as ‘eternal fire’ (Mt 25:41); ‘unquenchable fire’ (Mt 3:12); ‘disgrace and everlasting contempt’ (Da 12:2); a place where ‘their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched’ (Mk 9:44-49); a place of ‘torments’ and ‘flame’ (Lk 16:23-24); ‘eternal destruction’ (2Th 1:9); a place of torment with ‘fire and brimstone’ where ‘the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever’ (Rev 14:10-11); and a ‘lake of fire, and brimstone’ (Rev20:10). Here Jesus indicates that the punishment itself is everlasting—not merely the smoke and flames. The wicked are forever subject to the fury and the wrath of God. They consciously suffer shame and contempt and the assaults of an accusing conscience—along with the fiery wrath of an offended deity—for all of eternity. Even hell will acknowledge the perfect justice of God (Ps 76:10); those who are there will know that their punishment is just and that they alone are to blame (cf. Dt 32:3-5).”

How do you think your church congregation would respond if they were to hear “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” by Jonathan Edwards this Sunday morning? Let’s not assume that God is infinitely patient. He is love, but He is also justice. Though this doctrine is becoming more and more unpopular, it is still real as ever. Let’s never be accused of only preaching half truths. We are born depraved, incapable of doing good. Only Christ can save us from our sins and the jaws of Sheol.

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