Truth Inspires

"Grace for Grace, χάριν ἀντὶ χάριτος" immediately follows Johns declaration that "Of His fullness we have all received" (John 1:16). It was Jesus who was full of grace and truth, John 1:17, and it is of His fullness we who have believed have fully received His grace. The Greek word χαριν, charin in English, has been defined in two ways according to Liddel: 1. On the part of the Doer , grace, graciousness, kindness, goodwill, τινός for or towards one [another] 2. on the part of the Receiver , the sense of favor received, thankfulness, thanks, gratitude Grace for grace. He gives fully of His grace to those who in turn show grace to others. Paul speaks of the Lord's grace bestowed to us in the following way: "But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift" (Ephesians 4:7 ). And in 1 Corinthians 15:10, he speaks of the measure of grace given to him as the laboring power working to bring the gospel to the worl...

Created with Logos The Apostle Paul wrote what the Lord revealed to him in the passage below, as  being the under-girding framework of all Christian wisdom and illumination when it comes to understanding what the Bible states, and how true Christians are transformed. 10  But God has revealed them [deep biblical truths] to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 11  For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 12  Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. 13  These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14  But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, ...

The Animals gather before the door is shut The Bible is replete with the joys that are to come for the true believer. Jesus will one day return and His feet will descend to the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem along with all of His saints. His purpose to setup His Millennial rule as the Messiah, prepare the wedding feast for all true believers, and to put an end to the evil and oppression we see so widespread in the world today. Jude put it this way: Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, "Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him." Jude 1:14-15 (NKJV) But leading up to those days the Bible describes a time that most have, at least heard of, called the Tribulation Period—sometimes referred to as the 70 ...

In theaters April 1st is the follow up to the blockbuster film, God's Not Dead from Pure Flix entertainment, God's Not Dead 2 . This film is sure to inform Christians everywhere about the cultural issues that face Christianity in the the 21st century. The film will highlight the need for believers to take a stand for Christ no matter what the result may be. Considering the shape that the current Western culture is in and the growing hostilities Christianity is experiencing many are predicting that by the mid twenty-first century Christianity will be a thing of the past. However, true believers know that will never happen. But one thing seems to be very true, the lack of genuine Christian influence upon our societies is helping ungodly principles and actions to flourish. The time is now to come out of our cocoons take a strong public stand for the truth that is found in Christ. Truly, one of the hardest passages for many believers to grasp concerns what Jesus meant whe...

Ezra 9:4  Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel assembled to me, because of the transgression of those who had been carried away captive, and I sat astonished until the evening sacrifice . This passage, although not the most quoted by any means, is a very powerful picture of a society, culture, or nation ( ἔθνος- ethnos) that is inviting destruction if things are not set aright. Ezra the leader of Israel and priest and scribe of God (Ezra 7:11) is literally torn at the heart that his people could fall so quickly into the abominations of the past that had invited the destruction of foreign nations upon them. What abominations am I referring to but the intermarriage of one ethnic group with another. To most today that sounds so archaic. I mean what is wrong with a Japanese woman marrying a German? Or a Russian marrying a Scot? The biblical answer is nothing, really, unless the marriage involves something much greater than two ethnicities intermarry...

As Andy William's would sing, "It's the most wonderful time of the year!" To me, it most certainly is. A lot of that has to do with the way and the place I was raised. I was raised to enjoy Christmas from every aspect. As with others there were the snowmen, the Santa's, the elves, wreaths and lights etc,... but there was also, and perhaps more captivating, the real meaning of Christmas that never failed to grab my attention -- the nativity of Jesus! One of the things I prized myself on was trying to draw a picture of the Magi coming from the east to encounter the King! Each year through my childhood I would try and replicate a drawing of what it must have been like that very night. To be honest, I was never too good at it but it was always worth the time to try. But as I grew older I found there was something else worth the time to try. I personally met this Jesus that Christmas was all about. Yes, after having trafficked in all the sin and bling the world...

  It was Charles Spurgeon who said, " Saints know that a grain of heart's-ease is of more value than a ton of gold ." The true saint of God knows that a day cannot pass, rather, must not pass, without giving thanks to the Father above and seeking Him for the orders of the day. For what can a saint really do that could carry an eternal weight of glory except it be done in obedience to the One who holds the day firmly in His grasp? Just as a river finds its source from the high mountains that feed the underwater springs so true peace can only flow through the channels of the heart if it is birthed from the high and lofty throne of heaven. Jesus said He came to bring an eternal peace but it was not a peace such as the world flaunts, but a peace which comes from above -- from the true and eternal fountain of peace (see John 14:27). The peace of the world is a counterfeit that leads the errant astray in all of its bling, yet it holds no eternal weight in the sight of God...

Persecution... One of the topics hitting the newswires this week surrounds the U. S. being hypocritical if it hampers the presidents position on allowing Syrian refugees into the nation. This is especially newsworthy in light of the recent Paris bombings that have killed 129 and injured 350 others. Understandably, American citizens are concerned. How many of the refugees may be ISIS sympathizers or members of ISIS themselves? A recent chart shows since 2012, America has allowed 2,184 Syrian refugees into the nation. CNS News reports, "Of 2,184 Syrian refugees admitted into the U.S. since the Syrian civil war erupted in 2011, only 53 (2.4 percent) have been Christians while 2098 (or 96 percent) have been Muslims, according to State Department statistics updated on Monday . The remaining 33 include 1 Yazidi, 8 Jehovah Witnesses, 2 Baha’i, 6 Zoroastrians, 6 of "other religion," 7 of "no religion," and 3 atheists."1 Clearly there is some lopsid...

Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would go onward in all their journeys. But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not journey till the day that it was taken up. For the cloud of the Lord was above the tabernacle by day, and fire was over it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys                                                                                                                                - Ex. 40:36–38  Artists have tried to depict it, film-makers have tried to capture it, and authors have tried to describe it, but meticulous as our efforts ma...

Workers Remove Ten Commandments, Ok.    Franklin Graham wrote: "Across America, people of faith are under attack, as judges, politicians, activists, and anti-God groups assault our faith and lead our nation toward moral collapse. This vocal and well-organized minority are out to remove Christianity from the public square—and we have little reason to believe they'll stop there. After the Oklahoma Supreme Court declared a privately funded monument depicting the Ten Commandments unconstitutional, it was removed from the state capitol under the cover of darkness last week. The good people of Wilmore, Kentucky, are fighting right now to keep a small cross atop the town’s water tower, which sits on the grounds of a Christian university. Stories like this are no longer rare occurrences—we hear them almost daily." ( Decision America 2016 ) "But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: "We ought to obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29) This spring I wr...