Truth Inspires

As Sunday morning came, I was in deep thought concerning the era that we Christians have been placed into by our Holy God. As I made supplication before the Lord, He divinely led me to the prophet Isaiah for some instruction. I must say, as I read Isaiah 58-59, I became very burdened in my spirit. What God revealed was the practice of worship in ancient Judah was nothing more than a snapshot of Christianity in the West today. What Isaiah saw was a carelessness in worship and love of God. This halfhearted devotion was moving swiftly toward their downfall. Judah was in a downward spiral. God was not moving among them because they were not truly faithful to Him. Mercy was nonexistent. Putting others first was unheard of. True love was sadly absent. In short, their worship had become self-centered and mechanical. The blessing and favor of God was not found in their nation. The result was God's word, His life changing truth, had fled, it was missing, truth had fallen in the...

Adrian Bateman, 2016          The Lord God is my strength; He will make my feet like hind’s feet, And He will make me walk on my high hills. — Habakkuk 3:19 For most human beings the primary goal of life, after survival, is the pursuit of happiness. Indeed it’s one of an American’s “unalienable rights”. But what is happiness? The definition of happy is surely situationally derived. For the hungry it would be having enough food; for the homeless, a home. For the average person it might be having more time, more leisure, more friends, more comforts, more things. Ultimately, happiness involves the removal of obstacles and the correction of problems so that we might live a life without struggle. Or, at least, without what we view as onerous or unnecessary struggle. But this is not God’s definition of happiness. No. True peace—biblical peace, that deep inner peace which we cannot explain—is found only in the presence of G...

Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, because "ALL FLESH IS AS GRASS, AND ALL THE GLORY OF MAN AS THE FLOWER OF THE GRASS. THE GRASS WITHERS, AND ITS FLOWER FALLS AWAY, BUT THE WORD OF THE LORD ENDURES FOREVER." Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you (1 Peter 1:22-25). In my life I have witnessed two things people intentionally avoid, insurance salesmen and preachers of the gospel. The insurance man is interested in the future security and comfort of the temporal physical existence of you and your family while the preacher is interested in the eternal state of the soul. All to often, if residents know who is calling at the door, the temptation is to avoid -- to just not answer. Although there are many reasons wh...