I have two fronts on which to battle for the realization of righteous behavior in my life: the influences of other humans, other spirits, and my iniquity on one hand, and on the other my ability to be deceived. If I am easily distracted, any toy or pleasure that is dangled in front of me will influence me. If I […]
Be serious! Be alert! Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour. Resist him and be firm in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are being experienced by your fellow believers throughout the world. Now the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, […]
Because we are born of God, and the life we live in these beautiful bodies is just a passing thing compared with how long our lives really are, no matter how you live here, it is going to cost you everything. Laying down your life for your friends costs all you have and more. It takes the manifestation of the […]
I suggest that if you aren’t eating meals with other believers very often that you aren’t very connected to the body of Jesus. The body of Jesus is not made of congregations. There are families and tribes, but the body is made of relationships – Ephesians 4 style “joints”. India is not a nation. It is thousands of tribes who […]
Our lives are being written as volumes that will rest between the bookends of John 3:16 and 1 John 2:15. God loved the world so much that He sent Jesus. The same John wrote that if you love the world, the love of the Father is not in you. Somewhere in the middle, (John 20:21) Jesus sent us like Father […]
A trusted friend told me recently that I don’t have to live like a refugee. It is hard to stay out of that mindset on the days that you feel like you are managing Pharaoh’s prison. Even if that is our assignment today, as Paul told the believers in Philippi “In any case, we should live up to the truth […]
The last time I checked the statistics, almost all new believers stayed in a congregation less than 4 years before moving on to something else. 96% or so. Some reasons for that: The congregation they found themselves in was not culturally relevant to them. Contrasts of age, financial status, music preference, clothing style, dialect of English, etc. made the new […]
Mark Twain said – the two most important days in your life are the day you were born, and the day you find out why. Wolfgang Simson said – 10% of all humans conceived never reach the age of 5 Only 10% of all humans are born again Only 10% of all born agains know their devine callings – their […]
Gospel is a weird Old English word that is made from the two words “God” and “spell” smeared together. Some would argue that it was “good” and “spell” instead. The word that it is translating from Greek is related to the word “angel,” which means “messenger,” or “message.” A good message was an “euangellion,” or “evangellion,” (Strong’s NT2098). It is […]
Types and anti-types are a way of making promises or introducing ideas. First, there is a description, which could be reinforced by a photograph. Then, a color photo. Then, we get a skit or Super-8 movie that gives the characters in the photos motion and a sense of action. It’s not real, though, until you can hear the voice and […]