Death is the enemy of creation. It has no regard for the beauty or the goodness of life. Death sweeps through the gardens of life, destroying the lilies and the roses, the weeds and thistles. Flowers hide their beauty beneath green leaves, blushing unseen. But the sting of death, caring nothing for their fragrance and loveliness, withers them instantly with…
Reference verses for our study: John 3:15-16; Romans 5:8; Ephesians 2:8-9; 1 Peter 2:24; 3:18. All judgment for our personal sin was poured out upon Christ and judged (John 5:27). At the First Advent (Christ coming as a man, as Messiah), Christ was judged for our sin, at the Second Advent (Second Coming) Christ is Judge. Everyone who has rejected…
READ, PROCESS, LINGER… The perceptive ability of the mind is not as critical as the content of the mind. If God’s Word of Truth does not fill the God-shaped void in the soul, falsehood will fill the soul instead. Remember, God’s perfect integrity is not impressed with anyone’s self-righteousness, nor with humanity’s integrity – He is impressed with how…
READ, PROCESS, LINGER… One must know the difference between what God said… and what the clergy say He said. If I had a DE-vice (or anti-vice) it would be true, beautiful, and good, but I, like everyone else, have a vice that is deceitful, ugly, and evil. If I have a Savior, it is Christ. If I have righteousness,…
READ, PROCESS, LINGER… Meditation is private soliloquy… thought in private solitude. Meditation can divorce us from the external world while we search or contemplate the abstract or certain concepts. For example: God is perceivable and conceivable based on certain evidence that defy any other explanation. Therefore, faith makes God appear to be real, whereas empiricism, even intellect, utterly rejects…
READ, PROCESS, LINGER… Iron is resistant, man is stubborn. A Gospel that is not the same for everybody is not salvation for anybody, it is ruination. It is the laws of divine establishment, which impose moral restraint, which governs social order. We have our being in God – there is no being/existence worth living apart from God. Truth and…
READ, PROCESS, LINGER… Fear weeps – Faith smiles. Because we know the Creator, we can pursue life optimistically in the devil’s world. Final reality is not by chance, it is by design. Tyranny established for the good of all makes all into victims. The collision course of good and evil shall remain inevitable as long as there are those who…
READ, PROCESS, LINGER… Christ propitiated the Father for you and for me (satisfied His justice). The grace of God depends on the works of Christ on the cross. This salvation does not depend on the merit a person achieves by doing something worthwhile. Salvation is a gift from God because Jesus Christ paid our sin debt on Calvary (Reference…
READ, PROCESS, LINGER… I read a true story once about a forest fire in Yellowstone Park. Forest Rangers, after the fire, were ascending a mountain to assess damage to the forest. One of the Rangers noticed what looked like a bird petrified in ashes, perched on the ground at the base of a large tree. The Ranger touched the…
Grace defined – (several factors involved): Grace is all that God is free to do for mankind because of Christ – His cross sacrifice. FACTORS: God is free to express His love toward us because of Christ and what Christ accomplished on the cross. The important thing in divine love is character, NOT sentimentality. God loves us because of who…
Reference verses: Deuteronomy 5:1 through 6:1 After dictating the Ten Commandments, God wrote them in stone. He said nothing else. These laws were given by God Himself. They are an indictment against the obvious traits of human nature. Therefore, all moral conduct and theory hangs on the commandments. Redemption is the only hope for fallen humanity as proven by…
READ, PROCESS, LINGER… TRUTH: Truth is incomparable. Each of us must learn to live the truth – let us begin by speaking it and learning it. The deviation from truth is a journey of regret. Truth is priceless and self-sustained – truth is self-evident. We exist in untruth – truth is a constant reminder; pay attention to truth –…
It is in trials and adversity that we are selected by God to endure difficult situations. It is not deliverance from but deliverance to that is at stake: Deliverance to the next level of spirituality by victory over circumstances. Through God’s personal plan for our sometimes messed-up lives, God will deliver us up, not down – just stay with Bible…
How can I express the inexpressible? Perhaps… silence? If I listen to music, music expresses itself. If I watch and listen to creation all around me, creation expresses itself; if I look closely, I see beautiful expressions inexpressible. I perceive that the inexpressible must, by necessity, express itself. We must learn to look and listen to the inexpressible. God is…
READ, PROCESS, LINGER… The uniqueness and depravity of human self-hood – the nature of humanity. The amazing thing about destiny is when two separate and unique lives, by chance (or is it?), come together. One fulfills, one completes – creating one life, stronger and more beautiful than if they had remained unknown and alone. Humans are unique to all…
READ, PROCESS, LINGER… It is imperative to stay near the Lord, stay in the Word, and remain occupied with Christ, without discipline or with discipline. When you learn to stay near the Lord without discipline, then God will bless you without discipline. Either way, God blesses you – always with love and mercy, always with kindness and patience, always…
What is the meaning of words? What is the meaning of meaning? Questions search for answers. Answers create more questions. The cycle is endless because knowledge is an endless river flowing from God, the source of all knowledge. A look at the meaning of words requires the study of numerous categories of knowledge. It requires thought. Thought requires vocabulary. The…
If you are a serious student of the Word of God, you should be aware of Koiné Greek terms and their usage and significance. Why? Because there are only a handful of churches and clergy who teach from the original languages of Scripture (when in reality, each and every pastor and teacher of the Word of God should definitely teach…
Each and every person ever born must sooner or later confront the truth of their moral condition. We are the unrighteous at the mercy of a righteous God. God Himself solved our dilemma of unrighteousness by substitutionary atonement – the just for the unjust (Romans 3:26), so His justice is served and our justification is provided for by the cross-work…
Marriage is a union of one man and one woman who become one holy unit, one holy union. This holy union is a covenant, witnessed by God (Malachi 2:14-16). The Lord’s intimate involvement renders the marriage commitment a spiritual union for life (Matthew 19:6). One of the purposes of marriage is to enjoy one another in true companionship (Genesis 2:18;…
READ, PROCESS, LINGER… Life has reason, which reason does not know. The mills of faith grind slowly but surely; they grind exceedingly fine when mixed with Biblical Truths. To mature is to learn discipline, respect, control, and tolerance for the lack of same in others. The journey begins with the breath of soul-life, and ends with its removal. Yesterday…
The day of eternity is nearly here My destiny ahead, straight and clear. The sun of my fate is in decline, But I know Jesus, He is mine. The winds at war against the sea Like sin battle-tossed within me. A war of the many, with me as one Thank God for the work of Jesus, His Son. From each…