Truth Inspires

To some the subject of the title may sound contradictory, ambiguous or even, blasphemous. To say Christ will rule completely sounds like Christ is not ruling now . Is that true? The scripture is clear that all authority in heaven and on earth belongs to Christ (Mt. 28: 18b), but it is equally clear that not all things are yet put under Him. Hebrews 2:8 states, “ …YOU HAVE PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET." For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him. So what exactly did Jesus mean when He said, "…All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth?” (Mt 28:18b (NKJV)  In light of Hebrews 2:8 above, we see that Jesus was given all authority by the Father. And to be sure, in His own words He did say it was indeed given to Him. The word “All” would include all authority over all things to include things in Heaven and earth, His apostles, His disciples,...

Here comes the King There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. His delight is in the fear of the LORD, And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, Nor decide by the hearing of His ears; But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, And decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, And faithfulness the belt of His waist. Isaiah 11:1-5 (NKJV) The beauty of Scripture is that it comforted in the past, heals in the present and foresees hope for the future. In Isaiah 11 we have one of the most awesome descriptive passages in the Bible that all believers have found to be so real in Christ. It envelops t...

Rich Young Ruler Choices?? As I was pondering this I was impressed with the story of the Rich Young Ruler ; the reason being, he is the perfect example of an individual who would like to get into heaven on his own merits or by his own determination regardless of the Scripture. The Bible declares all men under the sovereign authority of God. Heaven is God’s home and a place where purity and holiness dwell. Scripturally speaking we were created by God to fellowship with Him in holiness. Even today we choose our friends based upon character qualities that we find to be attractive and inductive to good fellowship. We are no different in this respect when it comes to a relationship with our heavenly Father. “We love Him because He first loved us” 1 John 4:19.  He promises eternal life in His presence to all who will come to Him on His terms.  In the story of the Rich Young Ruler below, the emphasis is on eternal life and what one must do t...

I will greatly praise the LORD with my mouth; Yes, I will praise Him among the multitude.  Ps. 109:30 This morning the day started brilliantly! The breeze was perfect, the temperature was very mild, my wife and I had some Bible Study and my girls made me breakfast! What else could one ask for? How about a Word from the Lord? 1 A song of Ascents. I will lift up my eyes to the hills-- From whence comes my help? 2 My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The LORD is your keeper; The LORD is your shade at your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, Nor the moon by night. 7 The LORD shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. 8 The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in From this time forth, and even forevermore. Psalm 121:1-8 (NKJV) In the Psalm of Ascent the author m...

All of us have heard the judgmental scuttle from others about how “This Christian wears this” or “That Christian does that” or “Who do they think they are anyway?” The sad thing is sometimes those whispering or back-biting can be fairly correct while at others times they can be dead wrong. Recently a blessed Brother in Christ of mine drove down from Canada to have a “Laying on of Hands” service by our church for his send-off into ministry. He spoke on the following verse: You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart. 2 Corinthians 3:2-3 (NKJV) Well, Today I was struck by some conversations going back and forth and I realized the truth of that verse was playing out in these discussions. As a matter of fact the offended party was in tears. Later I spoke with her and r...

Across the nation and around the world the headlines of news outlets are replete with acts of hatred toward mankind. Murders, thefts, injustice and downright meanness are all too often what we read about. But why—why is there so much hatred? Being a small fish in a large pond it is easy to see these situations as something too far beyond our ability to make a difference. Instead, what often follows is a turning inward toward oneself and on one’s own life while leaving others alone to live out theirs. We see this in the statement of escape, “To each his own.” But is this the correct attitude to have? Should we just “Live and let others live?”   I think the question is really a deeper one than we may think and is very much dependent on how we have been raised and where we have chosen to stick our noses in the “garbage in and garbage out” process of learning. As with all process there must be a starting point—a beginning where thoughts are shaped and emotions are melded. Maybe ...

St. Peter stated in the Scripture that right before the Second Coming of Christ there would be mockers who laugh at the Church for thinking the coming of Christ could happen at any time. Did he know something about the Last Days that we are just finding out? Namely, that many false prophets would arise and try to pick a date through very imaginative algorithms and enterprising forms of augury? He wrote for us the following: Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder), that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior , knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation." For this they willfully forget : that by...

Genesis 2:24 I don’t think that anyone would disagree that the number one cultural focus that the MSM (Main Stream Media), Universities, Government and Businesses are all picking up on these days is the division that surrounds Homosexuality. More and more we see the culture shifting at break-neck pace to embrace and wrap itself around this lifestyle –one that revolves around the choice of sex partners. Why do these entities embrace it now? I would like to try as best as possible to approach the issue from a truly “Love for God and Neighbor” viewpoint. Whether I am successful does not matter; for I am constrained, not by my own wish to speak out but by the continuing call of God to live as he directs through the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Below is a list of topics I will briefly touch upon. To the God fearing Christian Why is it such a divisive issue? What is driving it? Who is getting on board? Will Psychology books be rewritten? WWJD – What would Jesus do? ...