For the waywardness of the inexperienced will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them. But whoever listens to me will live securely and be free from the fear of danger.” (Proverbs 1:32-33 Holman Christian Standard Bible ®©) Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without criticizing, and […]
People who have joined a branch of the military or applied to and been accepted by a famous and much-loved university frequently have found upon living out the relationship with the institution that much of the glory and magic they were expecting didn’t really exist. Roman mythology has misrepresented the body of Christ and the Kingdom with earthly glories and […]
Are you suffering from a mild case of Christianity, or are you burning up with a fever that drives you to prayer and to service and to worship at a level that embarrasses the religious people who have to be around you? Now the end of all things is near; therefore, be clear-headed and disciplined for prayer. Above all, keep […]
Most gatherings of believers in the US are waiting around, hoping for something. It doesn’t seem to be the Harvest at the End of the Age (Matthew 13:36-43), though. More like the county fair after the harvest is over, or a harvest festival. Or Heaven. Imagine a different scene, with congregations of the ekklesia of Christ in which each believer […]
You didn’t sneak into the Kingdom of Heaven. If you had, it would maybe be appropriate to be constantly on edge, wondering if you would be caught and pitched out as unworthy or unwelcome. In the parable about the wedding invitation, Jesus even described people who were compelled to come in being thrown back out because they didn’t have the […]
Because God wanted to show His unchangeable purpose even more clearly to the heirs of the promise, He guaranteed it with an oath, so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to seize the hope set before us. We have this hope—like a […]
The “good news” of salvation is not that we have discovered that we are sinners rightly damned to hell. It is that we can be born from above with the nature of Yahweh by His Spirit, and have Life. When Jesus started preaching, His message could be paraphrased, “Change your mindsets – My Kingdom is now within your reach. Come […]
Jesus paid the price of all of humanity’s sin-debt. That price was not the only cost of human redemption, though. Just as Jesus was sent, He has sent us – to accomplish redemption. Not to pay the price of redemption to peoples’ relationships with Yahweh, but to pay the cost of relationship with each other that helps to prove His […]
How is your work ethic? Do you do things that need to be done when they are outside everyone’s list of assignments, including your own? Do you check your work for excellence before publishing or submitting it? Do you honor your superiors, even the ones who are not nice or not honest? If you get all of that part of […]
Some people, even believers, have found no greater purpose in life than avoiding discomfort and death. If you are not yet able to declare the knowledge of your God-desired purpose, ask Him to reveal it and set you at accomplishing it. He chose you. He has set you in place on purpose, with purpose (John 15:16; 1 Corinthians 12:18). Press […]