I knew a man who was living with a debilitating, mortal disease for many years. In his own words, he stood on death’s doorstep for a long time. For over a decade, he was in and out of the hospital and in a number of instances he nearly died. Time and again he would return home, defying the odds defined by conventional human wisdom.
The Gospel Saves Posts
Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? (Acts 19:2).
Paul encountered in Ephesus a group of disciples who believed in Jesus, but they had not received the Holy Spirit. Today’s conventional teaching on the reception of the Holy Spirit and salvation in Jesus’s name rests on the assumption that both are bestowed when one believes in Jesus.
A Christian’s loyalty ultimately rests in God. A Christian recognizes God’s sovereignty in their lives over human governments, administrations, organizations, or any other form of authority. Throughout history this has placed God’s followers at odds with many of man’s institution. Worldly men are always striving for influence over other men. Whether it is through social status, governmental institutions, or religious authority men are always placing themselves in a position where they are able to exert influence and control over others.
It is safe to say we are living through a period of time where men are malcontent. Every city seems to be facing challenges both politically and fiscally. Some individuals are going to work wondering whether or not that will be their last hour of pay before they are let go. Thus, society appears to be in a constant state of turbulence, seeking to find the one entity to blame for all their problems. There is very little peace, and even less patience.
Psalm 89: 6-7 “For who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord? Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the Lord? God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him.” The Lord is Greatly to be feared! Luke tells us in Acts 9:31 that the New Testament church walked in the fear of the Lord. “Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.”
Something about human nature loves rituals. A ritual is to step from the symbols ofalphabetical characters (which convey words unto ideas) to fabricating symbols out of gestures, designs (in fabric, glass, works of art, etc), set phrases, and any other sensual stimulus to support an idea being communicated. It is called a ceremony for civil activities. In the religious world there are a number of terms describing the same: liturgy, ceremony, and rite.
The germ of any great idea, machination or agenda is necessity; without a need the scheme is frivolous and the greater the need, the more highly esteemed the solution to the need is. Mickey Mantle was a hero of sorts in his day and he satisfied millions of peoples’ entertainment ‘needs’, but Dr. Jonas Salk was THE hero of the day and Mantle’s flame was very dim to the blaze of Salk’s stardom. The reason is simple: people valued the polio vaccine even more than they did Mantle’s baseball exploits.
You’ve heard the gospel, but have you heard all of it? Maybe not. In fact, many people have never heard the whole truth about Jesus. Time has certainly taken its toll on the truth. Not that the truth can be changed, but it can be forgotten. This article explores some of the most important facts about the Christian faith that are often overlooked or ignored.
Infanticide has been a custom of human societies for thousands of years. Infanticide simply put is the killing of an infant. There are records of infanticide dating far back in the historical record. We have records of the practice in Africa, Asia, Europe, Australia, North America, and South America. The practice is known to have continued into the middle ages, and even into the modern day but is no longer a commonly accepted practice throughout the majority of the world.
In Matthew 4, Mark 1, and Luke 4 an event from Christ’s life is recorded which details three temptations that He endured directly from Satan. While there are other places within the Scriptures that seem to imply temptations were prevalent in His life (Luke 22:42), only this occasion directly shows Christ interacting with Satan one on one. It is a very intriguing passage, because it proves to us without doubt that Christ went through the same hardships, trials, and temptations that we go through each and every day. Christ also shows us that with God’s help we can avoid sin. No one forces us into sin, and God’s precepts give us guidance in how to overcome temptation. Therefore, we are left with no excuse for sin. There are many such lessons we could draw from this account. I want to notice five important points that I hope will cause us to think about temptations and trials in our own life.