Posts with the category “the-front-room”

This is a day when we remember when our nation was attacked - 3000 of our fellow human beings lost their lives on American soil. Many were injured - physically. Scores of people injured spiritually at the loss of loved ones and co-workers. First responders whom we depend on to keep us safe put their lives on the line to save others. It was a gruesome chapter in our nation’s history. And, quite fra...  Read More

The Bible addresses how God has established nations and borders. In fact, the Bible talks about the exaltation of nations due to righteousness. He has also established civic authorities and entrusted the Church with praying for these authorities. We can love our country, recognize God’s purpose for our nation, and make sure we are loving Him first and more deeply. Scripture Passage: Acts 17:24-27...  Read More

We can be convinced that the demonstration of the love of Christ can affect human hearts to the extent that they will turn to our Savior. If we are walking in the power of the Spirit, allowing the Holy Spirit to walk and work through us, that Spirit - the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead - will make an indelible impression on a person’s heart. What a tremendous opportunity to be conduits...  Read More

As Christians, it’s important that we are confident in the Lord and convinced that the way of the cross provides the most excellent principles upon which people can build their lives. When we adhere to the teachings of Jesus, that means that we believe that His way is the only way to salvation. There are many who claim to hold the way to God, but those ways they embrace are truly counterfeits to B...  Read More

If we have been born-again by Jesus Christ, if we have accepted Him as our Lord and Savior, then we have a testimony, a story of what God has given to us. The spiritual reality of being saved, experiencing the new birth is a divine work in our hearts. And, even though it’s a common experience believers share, for each of us, we have come into it in different ways. And, with that testimony, we are ...  Read More

God has ordained the family not only from a biological standpoint, but ideally to provide a setting through which blessings can be transmitted to one another and a family legacy transmitted to future generations.  In a time in which families are feeling enormous pressures and family relationships have become fractured in so many instances, we can seek to recapture God’s purpose for our family rela...  Read More

The Bible teaches us about building our lives on a strong foundation. If we have been born again, Christ is now the foundation for our lives, but we have to be careful what influences we allow to dilute our faith or outright mislead us - that can happen if Scripture is not our guide. We hear a lot about deconstruction these days, which is the result of outright deception. We might think about reco...  Read More

We are described in Scripture as “a people for his own possession,” meaning that belonging to Christ will certainly make us different. You will find the word, “peculiar,” in the King James Version to describe the distinctive nature of the body of Christ. We have to be faithful to discern good from evil and make sure that the way we live our lives shows that we are unique. Scripture: 1st Peter 2:9-...  Read More

I believe that the Lord has given each of us something to say and has given us a voice with which we can accomplish His purposes.  That may be the spoken word, or it could be writing, or simply the way we live that communicates powerful Biblical truth.  We can depend on Him to speak and move through us....  Read More

Jesus doesn’t just want to make your life better - He desires to make us new. When we asked Him to be our Lord and Savior and were born-again, the old person, who we used to be, died, and we now have a new life in Him. He calls us in Ephesians 4 (ESV) to put off the old and put on the new. After we are saved, He undertakes a massive renovation process, building us up from the inside. We can depend...  Read More

We are now almost two months removed from the celebration of America’s 250th Anniversary. And, questions continue to flow about what sort of government we will have and what principles we will embrace for the foreseeable future. There are those that seem to want to dismantle the principles upon which our nation was founded, principles consistent with a Biblical worldview.When we look at the writin...  Read More

There is no shortage of buzzwords that we find across our culture and we should be cognizant of what high-profile people are saying and what the meaning of the words are. It’s been pointed out that words have meaning, and that those who do not embrace Christian principles will try to use language to change minds. Take for instance, the fallacy of people trying to change their sex being referred to...  Read More

Matters of life and death, and what you could say, birth and death, have become troubling in our culture today. In addition to the termination of human life through abortion that continues to be a major issue, exacerbated through mail-order abortion, there are issues surrounding what are called “designer babies,” genetic engineering, and problems concerning in-vitro fertilization, which in many ca...  Read More

Spiritually speaking, each and every one of us was under a death sentence without Jesus. Not physical death, mind you, but the deserved promise to spend eternity apart from God. A place of eternal punishment. But, Christ has changed our eternal destiny - that death sentence has been ended and we now have a sentence to life eternal, which begins the moment we accept Jesus as our Savior. ...  Read More

The Disney ecosystem has produced its share of young stars, some of whom got started in wholesome entertainment, yet their lives degenerated into more “adult” roles as they grew up. We have just heard about someone who did some work for Disney while young, who now in her 30’s, died of what was apparently some sort of cardiac event. But the Bible warns against gaining the whole world and losing one...  Read More

Temptation is all around us, vying for our attention, being used on the enemy to lure us into activities that are not pleasing to God. The Bible traces the process of temptation, and it starts in the heart - we must make sure that we are guarded and that we are grounded in Scripture, so that we can resist the activities that will cause us to stray from God. ...  Read More

The Bible teaches that the primary responsibility for raising children is placed upon the parents. Parents can certainly look to the Church to assist in that mission, as well as other family members and institutions. But, it comes back to the home to impart godly principles to the next generation. That is supported by Deuteronomy chapter 6....  Read More

No matter what the conditions of the economy, God’s economic principles remain the same. We can recognize that, as believers, what we possess ultimately belongs to Him, and we are instructed to be good stewards of the resources that He has provided. His economy is predicated on our selfless act of tithing, but He desires for us to bring our financial decisions to Him. And, recognize that our heart...  Read More

When we consider what God would want to do in our lives, sometimes it will be outside of our comfort zone - “outside the box,” you may want to call it. But, even if we sense the direction of the Holy Spirit to do something bold, something that we might not get our minds around, we can know that if He has called us to do it, He will provide the power and the resources to get it done. ...  Read More

As we pray for those who have not come to know the Lord - yet, we can be confident that God is working in their hearts. When we plant the seeds of truth in a person’s heart through our faithful witness, we can anticipate that those seeds will be watered and grow, perhaps resulting in a person’s salvation. It’s the power of truth, the power of the Holy Spirit working in a person’s life. ...  Read More

We can recognize that there are barriers that keep people from receiving the gospel in their lives. Through conversation and perhaps other means, when these barriers are revealed, we can take the necessary steps - and live a compelling life - in order to remove barriers. In sales, we used to call it, “overcoming objections” - and we can pray and speak in order that those barriers can be addressed ...  Read More

We should be so grounded in our faith in Jesus Christ that His presence consumes every area of our lives. And, as people who have been redeemed by our Savior, we are dispatched to influence culture, so that others may come to know Him. So that generations to come might know the greatness of God. We can spread the aroma of Christ to those with whom we interact. ...  Read More

I don’t know when it may have begun - you probably just have to go ALL the way back. To the Garden. To the serpent, who said, “Did God really say?” After all, we could read just a few verses before that in the Bible where God laid out His plan for the sustenance of humanity - created male and female, intended to wed, bear children, and by so doing, to perpetuate the human race. Now, people seem to...  Read More

The Word of God is alive and powerful - it can penetrate the heart and reform the mind. When the Scriptures are proclaim, the potential for life change exists.  Through devotion to the principles of Scripture, we can see the Lord work powerfully in and through us. And, we can be grateful for those who teach the Word to us....  Read More

Do we really believe that our prayers can make a change? The Bible teaches that faith-filled prayers can certainly alter the course of a person’s live and could adjust circumstances. Prayer can also adjust our own attitude and give us peace when there are rough times in our lives. When we connect with the power of Almighty God in faith, there can be amazing results! ...  Read More

The Biblical worldview that is based in Scripture teaches us how to see the world through the eyes of God’s Word. In enables us to discern between right and wrong and provides a way for us to contrast truth with error. We can develop a sense of critical thinking and discernment as we devote ourselves to the study of Scripture and renew our minds. ...  Read More

We know that there are dark forces who are aligned against the Kingdom of God. The Scriptures teach us about the existence of these purveyors of evil and show us what we can do about them. We can develop a sense of spiritual discernment to recognize what the enemy of our souls is up to and release the resources of God in order to overcome him in our lives, in our churches, and in our communities, ...  Read More

We can be confident that God is moving in the earth today - we see the evidence all around us: people are publicly professing faith in Jesus Christ, the selfless work of the Church is continuing all around the world, and in communities all across the earth, Jesus is being lifted up regularly in the local church, either above ground or underground. Sure, there is persecution, yet the Church is cont...  Read More

Science and the Bible are consistent with one another - they are certainly not at odds, as some would have you believe. You might even say that science is a means through which the existence of God, the intricacies of Scripture, and the truth of the Bible can be proven. Science reinforces Biblical truth, it proves that God is true and trustworthy. ...  Read More

There are certainly consequences for following our conscience - that is the human mechanism given to us in order to know what is right and wrong, to be able to affirm what is good and reject what is evil. For the Christian, we are instructed to build up our conscience, so that we can know the direction of the Holy Spirit. ...  Read More

We can know that God has a purpose for our lives that He desires to fulfill - He calls us to a life of obedience, and to live each day with a sense of His presence with us and faithfulness to us. While we are not guaranteed tomorrow, we are empowered to be good stewards of the time - of the days - that He has given to us. ...  Read More

God has made our bodies to function in incredible ways - no wonder the Psalmist wrote that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Each day, we can think, we can breathe, in all but the most extreme cases, we can move. And, we have the capacity to refresh ourselves through sleep. The Bible says in Psalm 127:2 (ESV): “It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxi...  Read More

There is a divine plan, a divine order that God has ordained, that provides sound and beneficial governance for human relationships. When we individually and collectively violate God’s standards, then there are consequences that we encounter. God’s ways are predicated on a love that is unselfish and pure, putting the needs of others first. ...  Read More

As the pastor I recently referred to in Fort Worth challenged the church, others are filling a vacuum that has been left by an absence of the Church being salt and light in the world today. Not only are we called to present the gospel as one option among many, but to present Christ as the source of absolute truth and unlimited love. Karl Marx is dead, Muhammad is dead - Jesus is alive. He came to ...  Read More

Idolatry can come in many forms - from the very simple area of mis-prioritizing certain things in our lives so the the Lord is not in the first place in our lives to engaging in behaviors that put people in bondage; participating in activities that a person cannot quit, even if he or she wants to. When we surrender our will to the will of the ungodly, there are spiritual consequences. ...  Read More

The Bible instructs us to have no other gods before us. There is one true God, maker of heaven and earth, who rules and reigns throughout the universe. A God so majestic and mighty, but so loving that He chose to send His Son so that in Him we might have a personal relationship with Him. This is the God about whom it is written, “God is love.” ...  Read More

Jesus was a master communicator - not only did He speak truth, but He IS the Truth. THE Truth. And, He desired for His messages to penetrate the hearts and minds of those who would listen. He spoke of those “with ears to hear.” There are some who would perhaps listen, but never hear. Or who would hear, but never understand and receive. We should always be looking for ways to relate truth to a worl...  Read More

What can the body of Christ contribute to preserving American ideals? Quite a bit, really. Of course, we can pray for our leaders, according to 1st Timothy chapter 2. We can also make sure we are engaged in the process of selecting our leaders, and vote for candidates who best exemplify our deeply-held Christian principles. In addition to prayer and civic engagement, we should be in a constant sta...  Read More

One of the ways that believers in Christ can maintain perspective and even undergird our walk with Him is to enter into praise.  We can reflect on what God has done in our lives, and rejoice that He is Lord of all, going before us and with us, protecting and providing, loving us and showing His faithfulness.  When we consider the faithfulness of God, we can realize we have much for which to be tha...  Read More

There are cultural adjustments that are being made in the area of sexuality. Witness the tidal wave of opposition to these false promises of surgeries and treatments to change one’s gender. Check out the number of states and athletic organizations that do not believe biological males should compete in female sports; now, thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court, states can continue to enforce laws that ba...  Read More