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Showing posts from October, 2012

Is God Casting His Vote Early?

Many believe God is casting His vote early considering the upcoming rare collision of a Nor'easter and hurricane Sandy with its 11 foot storm surge quickly approaching the Eastern and Northeastern coasts of America. The issue is a divided one as to whether God uses natural disasters as a wake up call or whether they are just a mere coincidence. Personally I do not believe in coincidence. The Scripture is clear that the Lord is aware of all events before they occur. Consider the following passages: (Hover over them with your mouse to read) Is. 42:9; Is. 44:7; Isa 44:8; Is. 46:9; Is. 46:10; John 13:19; Acts 15:18; 1Pet 1:10-12; 2Pe 1:19-21 God knows about the events that befall humanity. The question centers around His allowance of such things to occur. The Scriptural doctrine of Sanctification teaches in a nutshell that God is at work in the lives of all true believers to mold and shape them into what He has ordained and created them to be. When we take the first step toward

Ten Tasks of the Church: Task Three - Evangelism

Evangelism – euaggelion - εὐαγγέλιον Surely one of the chief purposes of the Church is to carry out the non-optional task of sharing the good news of Christ’s birth, death, resurrection, and ministry of intercession, Mt. 28:18-20; Heb. 7:25, with a world lost in blindness. The word evangelize comes from the Greek noun, euaggelion, which means literally, good or glad tidings or even good news. We know it as the word gospel in the New Testament. The Greek verb euaggelizo, means to announce or bring good news, or to preach the gospel—the glad tidings. In Luke’s gospel from the Lord, consider how the Greek words are translated in the following verses (I have underscored the word): Luke 2:10 “Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.”  Luke 4:18a “THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE HAS ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR;” Luke 4:43 “but He said to them, “I must preach

Enlisted in God's Army!

Christians are enlisted soldiers in the armies of the Lord, 2 Tim 2:3-4. As valiant soldiers we are led by the Holy Spirit and hold the Bible as our combat manual. Never skulk from the battle, Eph. 6:14; Acts 26:22. Stand firmly and do it again and again especially when you are despised, when men laugh, ridicule and scorn; for the company of Christ is always a place of blessing; the place where He fights for us as we fight for Him, 2 Cor. 10:4, 1 Pet. 4:14; Mt. 5:10,12; John 15:9, 20. It is only in the repetition of the Godly sanctified actions of infiltrating the enemies strongholds that our love for Christ lights the darkness of the despiser's ill lit dens, John 3:17-19; Eph. 5:6; . However, our love can grow dim and less excited if we do not exercise it in faith and prayer whether we are coming or going, Heb. 12:3, 13; 1 Tim. 4:8, 6:12; 2 Cor. 7:4-6, 12:3. Therefore, let us boldly raise the banner of love for Him who was vigorously excited to give us His love through the neve

The “None's” and the “Me, Myself and Jesus” Crowd

I absolutely loved John Stonestreet’s commentary A Private Little Faith , Oct. 10 th 2012, at Breakpoint.org 1 . Concerning the new Pew Survey on Religion , he spoke of the group who have no religion at all as The Nones and those who say they are believers in Christ but have zero church affiliation as the Just-Me-and-Jesus crowd. This research revelation has been coming for years. However it may be surprising to many because the majority of Christians do not share their faith… so how would they know? According to the August 15 th article in the Christian Post titled, Churchgoers Say Sharing Faith Essential, Many Never Do , a Lifeway Research poll indicated that only 25% of Christians have shared their faith in the past 6 months! 2 That is one out of four people. So the majority of believers do nothing with the gospel except sit on it. Is it any wonder there is a big deal being made about the Pew research poll? But I am digressing, the point I want to discuss is the two group

Spiritual Lessons Off the Beaten Path

Heron Pond in Winter I have been out of commission for a couple of weeks concerning this blog. My family and I went on a vacation to Southern Illinois where we experienced an adventure in the Lord that will be forever memorable. There are times like these that God gives us wherein reflections can teach us a lot about His forever presence and guidance. On Tuesday the 25th of September, we started a 6 mile hike toward a place called Heron Pond in the Shawnee National Forest. It is in this place that is normally swamp-like where cypress trees have grown in very large proportions. A floating dock allows visitors to walk throughout the pond and admire the beauty of God’s handiwork. However, the summer drought of 2012 had taken its toll on the area causing the dock to rest upon the bottom of the swamp at angles rather than flat. Nonetheless it was a beautiful sight. But the pond was only an afterthought of what happened on the way there... After about 5 miles we were sto