A very dear friend of mine, wonderful preacher, licensed therapist, and brother in Christ, Lonnie Jones used a statement some years ago in a lesson designed to reach younger souls that has stuck with me ever since…and I think it is just as valuable to us “older” folks as well and maybe you will agree. Here is the phrase:
Read MoreYou must decide which you want…is it what you want most, or what you want right now.
“Death & Life Are in the Power of the Tongue” (Prov. 18:21). “Watch your words & Hold Your Tongue; You’ll save yourself a lot of grief” (Prov. 21:23, The Message Paraphrase)
Read MoreOftentimes, we hear this particular statement relating to assembling to worship together. Unfortunately, it has also been used to alleviate the idea that we need to worship TOGETHER as a group of like-minded individuals as the church. So…was Jesus wrong in stating this? Well, we must look at the context of the verse to see why it really doesn’t mean what some may think that it means! Study along…
Read MoreIn the area of which I live and work, we have a variety of seasons it seems. Most of the world sees Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. We are no different…or are we? In Tennessee, specifically, it may seem like we can have three of these seasons combined into one day or weekend. Much like this cold and rainy day that is keeping me inside this morning. We have about 10 different named winters even during the spring season of vegetation growth, and we have to be very careful of what we plant or uncover due to this…if we want those things to grow and live. But…we have a very interesting season in our area of the world that some do not, or maybe they don’t understand it…here it is:
Read MoreIn today’s society, we often hear things that are not customary to scripture. There is violence that is condoned, gender confusion, sexual deviation, dishonesty and this list could go on and on regarding the immorality of our world. But what about God’s people? Those whom have done what God has commanded to do…but, they take it upon themselves to make a decision or simply take the seat of God in judgment to say that “it is okay, God wants me happy?”
Read MoreThe title says it all. Sin. That is what has been on my mind…well, not the actual sin itself, but the idea of sin. From the very time that man first sinned in the Garden of Eden, until today…and even into the future, sin lives on, and it is our worst enemy at work.
Read MoreA few months ago, I posted an article regarding the method of evangelism seen in the gospels. In particular, we talked about the efforts of those that Jesus had taught and sent out…and the reward of evangelism that they saw in that Jesus told them to “Rejoice not in these things, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” What a beautiful passage…but there is more to learn.
Read MoreHere we are…once again at the end of a year. A year that may have been prosperous for you individually…or it may have been challenging in one way or another. In some ways, all of us can say that we have been prosperous, can we not? We have lived yet another day on this earth and we are alive and somewhat well enough to even read this article. And then…some of us may have had the absolute worst financial, emotional, physical…and maybe even spiritual years we have ever had.
Read MoreEvangelism. You may have heard this word many times and not really understand the meaning behind it. After all, you will not find the word evangelism in your Bibles. But, the concept is definitely there, and we must understand the significance and the importance of utilizing evangelism in our day and time.
Read More“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.” (1 Thess. 5:16-22). To encourage Christians in their faith, Paul concludes his letter to the Thessalonians with some final admonitions for Christian Living. Notice these 4 principles for good Christian living.
Read MoreLike many of us today, Paul had a “thorn in the flesh”. This was a trial of some kind that gave him much grief. This “thorn in the flesh” bothered Paul so much that he prayed to the Lord three times to remove it. To Paul’s request, God responded by saying, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor 12:9).
Read More“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3). One of the great themes of the Bible is God’s loving mercy toward sinful man. As the Apostle Peter noted, if it were not for God’s mercy we would have no hope in this life. Notice some of the great statements about God’s mercy found in the Bible.
Read MoreThe Holy Spirit says, “Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins” (Heb. 9:22). The Old Testament Levitical system was a very bloody system (Lev. 1-5). For every sin of every kind there was a blood sacrifice to be offered (Lev. 4:1-12). Yet the Scripture records that the blood of all those bulls and goats could never really take away sin (Heb. 10:3-4). How thankful we should be that Jesus was willing to shed His blood once for all for sin so that the sin problem would have a permanent solution (Heb. 10:12). Notice just how important the blood of Christ is to our salvation.
Read MoreWhen the Son of man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8). This question Jesus asked arose from a discussion of persistence in prayer. This question of the Lord is designed to provoke an evaluation of our faith. The Apostle Paul said, “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves” (2 Cor. 13:5). How can we make sure the Lord finds faith when he comes?
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