Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:13-16 ESV John 10 has been a…
So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” Acts 4:18-19 ESV So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever…
While reflecting on personal growth this year and things that have taken place in life, I am coming away with joy in the Lord while being challenged in the midst of my weaknesses to press on and to set my eyes on Jesus Christ. This year has held unexpected moments, many of those were trying, difficult, and full of uncertainty. The uncertainty was not in the Lord, but in what lay ahead. I do not want to paint a grim…
There are more than three hundred Old Testament prophecies fulfilled by Jesus Christ, revealing the True Messiah who would come to atone for sin and to redeem both Jew and Gentile unto Himself. In order for Christians to identify Messianic prophecies and prophetic types and shadows within the Old Testament, it is important to be a student of the Word of God and to understand that the New Testament is needed to understand the Old Testament and vice versa. Both…
“Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Acts 2:36 ESV “I didn’t make Jesus my Lord. If you make Him your Lord that means you’re Lord because you told your Lord what to do. You acknowledge Lordship. You don’t bequeath Lordship.” Voddie Baucham In a matter of fifty-five seconds, another layer of the proverbial onion was being peeled. I listened to this sermon…
The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself. 2 Timothy 2:11-13 ESV The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer…
“A false prophet is known by two things: the fruit that they bear, and the gospel they preach.” Paul Washer I want to pose a sincere question in hopes you will ask yourself this fundamental question. Actually, it is a two-part question. What is the gospel and could you share the gospel based on Scripture to someone else? You might be thinking this is rather elementary, and you may be contemplating exiting this blog right now. After all, everyone has…
But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. Matthew 13:16-17 ESV In Matthew 13:10, we read of the disciples coming to Jesus and asking Him a question, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?” His response helps us to…
If you had told me a few years ago that Scripture taken out of context would cause me to begin questioning teaching I had sat under for nearly two decades, I would have likely dismissed the claim. After all, this was not an isolated incident. It is unpleasant to confess that I also took Scripture out of context during those years, from offering messages and blog posts to even being permitted to minister from pulpits on Sunday mornings. The error…
Whenever I read in the book of Psalms, I am reminded simultaneously of my frail humanity, my need for my Savior, and the glory and power of God. It is quite difficult to not see the type and shadow of a believer in Christ expressed in the confines of the psalmists’ words as they bare their souls before God. Martin Luther is recorded as saying, “[The Psalms are] a Little Bible, wherein everything contained in the entire Bible is beautifully…