General
EPHESIANS CHAPTER ONE
What I call the Church Epistles some call the Pauline Epistles because they were written by the Apostle Paul. I call them the Church Epistles because they are written to The Church of God. As I have mentioned in a previous article a “church” is any group coming together for a purpose. Christians are the called out from among both the Jew and the Gentile. We have a purpose for being here on Earth and we have the promise of a life much better than this. The Church Epistles ( Romans, I&II Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and I&II Thessalonians) tell us what we have in Christ Jesus now and in the future. There is no other place in the Bible that so eloquently tells us what we have as the first two chapters of Ephesians.
CHRISTIANITY AND THE DOCTRINES OF DEVILS
Although what is written in the Old Testament is “for our learning” (Romans 15:4) it stills holds many parallels to what is required of us today. One of those things is the admonition from God to Israel to not follow after the doctrines of inhabitants of the land. We are admonished to do the same thing. Since the leadership in the Christian Church has not reminded the people of this Christians have mingled the doctrine of devils in with their beliefs. Therefore Christians are being taken captive by the adversary the devil at his will, many die and many more wander through this life wondering why God doesn’t answer their prayers. God never meant it to be this way. God only wants the best for the Christian!
Putting God First.
I am constantly amazed at God and His Word, the Bible. God wants to bless people. He expresses that over and over in the Bible and all you have to do is to learn to put him first in your life.
Most Christians have never thought about that in the depth of what God really wants and says.
THE FOLLY OF FOLLOWING MEN
I read two articles this past week, one entitled Bishop: Christians don’t go to heaven and the other ‘Resign,’ clergy tell archbishop of Canterbury. Both of these articles were from the website World Net Daily. The article about Christians not going to Heaven was titled wrong because it should have said “Christians don’t go to heaven immediately upon dying” that is what the article was about. The other article was about the archbishop of Canterbury “promoting Islamic sharia law in Britain.” The bishop N.T. Wright was fairly close to the accuracy and truth of God’s Word (the Bible) while the archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan William’s, was way off base
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FOR YOUR DELIVERANCE?
Have you ever asked yourself how long it takes God to give you deliverance from the prison or situation that you are in? I am not talking just about prisons made of concrete and steel but of the prisons of doubt, worry and fear; the prisons of no job or no money, the prisons of the secrets that you don’t want to tell anybody about, the thoughts of suicide and death. These are the wretched prisons that we all have in one form or another during our lives. So, how long does it take God to get you out of any of those prisons and situations? As long as it takes you to believe His promises!
GOAL SETTING FOR A BETTER LIFE
I had a little conversation the other day with my daughter and her roommate and I want to have the same conversation with you as I did with them. They are both sophomores in college and the dreaded “sophomore slump” hit them. Both had lost their perspective of where they are going and their route to the goal. Are you in the same boat? Without a goal and without a plan to achieve that goal you will be frustrated your whole life.
APPLY YOUR HEART TO UNDERSTANDING
As I was reading the Bible the other day I was struck by the contrast between the last half of Proverbs 1 and the first half of Proverbs 2. What makes the contrast more poignant is how true it rings today and that it is all based on each individual’s freedom of will.
SOME TRUTHS FROM ROMANS 2
The Bible is rich in instruction and in life lessons. By knowing these lessons we can help not only ourselves but others, also. This is made very clear in a study of Romans chapter 2.
Romans is the Magna Carta of the Christian Church. It is the beginning and the foundation for the rest of the Pauline epistles. Romans is doctrine of how to live life
PREPARATION FOR SUCCESS
There is a record in Genesis that arrested my attention; it is an example of what preparation — with God’s blessing — can accomplish. In Genesis chapter fourteen there were four kings, Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations that fought against a group of other kings, Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar. Not only did they fight against these kings they won and subjugated the kings of Sodom, Gamorrah, Admah, Zeboiim and Bela for twelve years.
WHY I USED “MERRY CHRISTMAS”
Before this year I didn’t use the phrase “Merry Christmas”, I used “Happy Holidays”. It wasn’t because I was or am a rank unbeliever. But, quite to the contrary I know what the Word of God says and I know the history and origins of the Christmas holiday and the real meaning of the word “Christmas” and it has nothing to do with the birth of Christ. So why did I use the term “Merry Christmas”? It was because Christianity is being attacked in this country by just about everybody and it was my way of both going against the current of our society and standing with the Christians.
