You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. Exodus 20:5,6 ESV For you must not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. Exodus 34:14…
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in…
Would you listen to someone as a Bible believing Christian who subscribed to such things as universalism, pantheism, New Age and New Thought practices? As a Christian, would you accept counsel from a minister who had attended seances or reportedly had demons cast out? What if a minister held to the belief of visualizing Jesus as a spirit guide in order to be healed or that astral travel was an acceptable practice? Your answer to these questions as a Christian…
It is January 21, 2021. No, these numbers do not have a mystical or prophetic meaning. It is the day that the Lord has made, and we are to rejoice in it regardless of the current state of affairs. It is the day after the forty-sixth President of the United States was sworn into office. Though I am personally concerned about the future of our nation morally, I am even more concerned about the eternal state of individuals. This concern…
So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples. and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31,32 ESV The truth indeed brings freedom, and there is no greater truth than the Word of God. John 8:31,32 has been written on my heart for quite some time, finding its way into the areas where deception needed to be excised from the…
That I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Philippians 3:10,11 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though…
I bless the LORD who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. I have set the LORD always before me, because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Psalm 16:7-8 ESV Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ESV The middle of the night has been an unexpected friend as of late. Lying awake…
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace, Ephesians 1:7 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Matthew 26:28 Years ago, I remember reading a book centered around the blood covenant. I read that book several times, taking in the types and shadows found in the Old Testament, the tabernacle, the sacrifices, the High Priest, the Passover,…
I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naïve. Romans 16:17,18 ESV Calling out false teaching and the teachers perpetuating such things is a touchy subject for some. There are beliefs that names should not be…
And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself…They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” Luke 24:27,32 ESV The journey to Emmaus by two disciples of Christ did not end the way that it began. What started as a somber and sad time from Jerusalem to Emmaus became a…