Why I Believe the Bible
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Hebrews 11:6 In times past if someone had asked me ‘why do you believe the Bible?’, my answer may have been, “well it’s just something I’ve always believed or it’s been a part of my life since birth”. While it is a wonderful thing to have this foundation we are to always give a definite answer to such questions. 1 Peter 3:15 says, “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that...
Read MoreWhat Manner of Persons?
Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness. 2 Peter 3:11 Obedience to God is the core of living a Christian life. We must submit ourselves unto the teachings of His Holy Word (Heb 12:1-2). As a Christian, one must realize we are members of the New Testament church (Acts 2:38-47) and we have taken on certain responsibilities (Rom 6:1-4). Our text for this article, 2 Peter 3:11, is written to us in view of eternity and could also be translated “ought ye be found.” Simply put, live every day like it will be...
Read MoreNewness of Life
Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. Romans 6:4 The idea of acquiring something new is a part of life we are very familiar with. It could be as simple as a pair of shoes or as important as purchasing a new house, but the main reason is the same, what we have currently is no longer suitable to meet our needs and goals. The same is true in the newness of life mentioned in Romans 6. Upon hearing the Gospel (Rom 10:17), we realize we need to be made new...
Read MoreWarning Signs!
Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears. Acts 20:31 This past week, I had to deal with the minor inconvenience of my cell phone malfunctioning and having to have it replaced. In one way it’s annoying and another comical in that we’ve gotten so accustomed to having a phone with us at all times. However, the lesson learned is this, I knew it was nearing failure and I failed to act. It had not been functioning properly. I had ignored the warning signs! Becky immediately contacted our cell service provider and they...
Read MoreWhat Do I Lack Yet?
The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Matthew 19:20 In Matthew 19:15-22, we read of the exchange between Jesus and the rich young man or the rich young ruler as he is referred to. Like many, he seems to approach in sincerity but the Lord’s answer required more than he wanted to hear. It is important to note that, while he leaves sorrowful, we see in Matthew 19:18-19 he had done a lot of good in his life. We often want to rest on what we’ve done and not look ahead to what we can do, or better yet, we forget we still have room to improve....
Read MoreBy Their Fruits
Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Matthew 7:16 Throughout our lives we have to keep vigil of things and people that influence us (1 Cor 15:33). Scripture is filled with warnings of not allowing ourselves to be deceived (Eph 5:6, 1 John 3:7). The Bible points us toward using our ability to observe to come to wise conclusions on such matters. The saying “if you look and listen closely, a man will tell you what he is” holds much wisdom and in a sense, summarises many things taught on such matters. Beware of those who are not what they...
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