by Neal Pollard
Romans 6:13 tells us our body is an instrument, and we choose to use it for righteousness or unrighteousness. The Greek work translated “instrument” there means “tool or weapon.” What kind of tool or weapon are you? Are you an instrument God holds in His hand to do His will?
by Jim Mettenbrink
The foremost tactic to foster godless and standard-less Humanism in the hearts of men, is to undermine their faith in God and the Bible. Could this be done and the people not know it?
Humanism’s best ally was and is liberal theology which arose out of the Enlightenment and its child “Higher Criticism” of the Bible. In effect, at best it has caused folks, especially those who went to theological schools, to at least doubt that the Bible was actually God’s absolute and unchangeable revelation to mankind, if not simply consider it as just another humanly authored book.
by Tim Dooley
From false balances and just weights to pride and humility, Proverbs 11-15 reminds us of the vast dichotomy between the righteous and the wicked. In a world that seems to ever blur the lines between good and evil, sees little difference between right and wrong, and often sees the right as wrong and the wrong as right, we need to be reminded that God doesn’t…and He sees everything!
by Tom Young
Why has God made worship such a vital part of every true Christian’s life? First, it honors and magnifies Him, which is one of our primary purposes. Second, it strengthens and edifies those who participate. The songs we sing have specific thoughts and messages that increase our knowledge, develop our character, and stimulate our zeal.
by Gary Colley
The apostle John, “the disciple of love,” recorded the words of our Lord, saying, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another” (Jn. 13:34). Jesus proved His love by teaching these men and by His willing sacrifice for sin on the cruel cross. By having this sacrificial, self-denying love, His disciples would be identified as belonging to the Lord.
by Brett Petrillo
“It is an old ironic habit of human beings to run faster when we have lost our way” ~ Rollo May
It doesn’t really make sense, but it’s so very true. When we are lost, we tend to run in an attempt to find our way again. Instead, all we do is become more lost with every passing second.
The same is true spiritually. When we get lost in sin, fo some reason we lose all sense of direction and run deeper into our own faults. Many before us have done this very same thing. Consider those who looked to escape from God when they were lost.
by Fenter Northern
There is a comforting peace that comes when one has been released from a tormenting conscience burdened by past sins. They know they have scripturally obeyed the gospel from their heart.
They have this promise of Him who raised Himself from the dead: “Come to me all of you who are tired from the heavy burden you have been forced to carry. I will give you rest. Accept my teaching. Learn from me. I am gentle and humble in spirit. And you will be able to get some rest” (Mt. 11:28-29 ERV) This rest and peace He grants in one’s heart reaches its fruition at death (Rev. 14:13).
by Fenter Northern
The Hail Mary, also commonly called the Ave Maria (Latin) or Angelic Salutation, traditionally opens with “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of death.”
When the Pharisees quibbled about Jesus’ age in John 8:57, Jesus shocked them saying he was before Abraham. This makes the Hail Mary prayer impossible. Being God, Jesus did not begin his existence with a mother. She did become mother to a fleshly body which became the temple of God’s Spirit, but she was never considered the Mother of God. Of course she was highly favored but never reverenced as God’s mother.
by Jim Mettenbrink
Love! What a word! It is used in so many ways in our society, it is difficult to immediately grasp the meaning as love (agape) used in the New Testament (NT). First John is the one short epistle all Christians should use to seriously examine their own lives to know if they are truly following Jesus. Compared to the other NT epistles, John uses “to know” or “knowing” from two to six times as often, and the word love (agape) from six to 26 times as often, thus making it an ideal epistle for one to examine himself so one can know whether he/she truly loves.
by David Phillips
The title above is actually copied from a paragraph heading in one of my Bibles at Titus 2:1-15. I like that as a summary statement for that chapter because in it, Paul instructs Titus on duties for 5 different classes of people in the local church. If you’ll read it, you’ll see that he begins with the older men, declaring that they should be temperate, dignified, sensible, sound in faith, in love and in perserverance (v.2).