Posts with the category “the-front-room”

It's been almost three weeks since the Charlie Kirk Memorial Service in Arizona, which thousands attended in person and millions watched in some form through online platforms. In the midst of the moving worship and messages that were centered on gospel truth, which Kirk embraced and communicated, there was one seminal moment that continues to ring throughout the media, a moment that touched hearts...  Read More

While some might want to characterize our youth and young adults as somewhat of a "lost generation," anecdotal reports and survey data are showing that God is doing an amazing work among Generation Z.  This resurgence shows, I believe, that there is a search that is taking place that is leading to Jesus, who can give them what their hearts are looking for.  In Matthew 7 (ESV), we can read these wo...  Read More

Associations can be very important.  In our quest to live godly, we have to make sure that we are free from entanglements, that we are not engaged in questionable activities that could hurt our witness and steer clear of people or entities that will reflect poorly on us.  We must always maintain integrity in our decision-making, and seek to reflect godliness in all things. The Bible tells us in 1s...  Read More

When you consider Bible prophecy and the scenario of what will occur at the time of the Rapture of the Church, the Tribulation period, and the second coming of Jesus, you cannot look beyond the nation of Israel.  God's prophetic timetable centers around the Jewish people and the geographical region that we call the Middle East.  Jesus Himself taught in Luke 21:20 “But when you see Jerusalem surrou...  Read More

The battle lines are being drawn in our culture, and those of us who are Bible-believing, born-again Christians are involved in a struggle for the authority of the Scriptures. Interestingly enough, you have those who do not share our faith perspective, but they do embrace elements of a Biblical worldview perspective.  They are our allies in a cosmic struggle between good and evil.  There is an inc...  Read More

We regard Jesus as an amazing storyteller - the crowds who gathered to hear Him were enraptured by the parables which He taught and the wonders that God worked through Him.  His aim was to preach faithfully and see His Father use the messages to draw people to Himself, so they might come to know Him.  Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 13 (ESV) why He spoke in parables; His explanation included t...  Read More

Because of the evil that is in the hearts of human beings, we see the manifestation of it day after day.   The Bible speaks against lying, yet we lie.  We hear people curse using the name of the Lord.  Our hearts are full of idolatry.  And, human beings take the lives of another.  There is evil in the hearts of men and women, and every single one of us needs Jesus to give us a new heart, a new out...  Read More

When we encounter situations that are overwhelming for us, that steal our joy, that produce fear and confusion, God provides incredible resources for us - He has spoken to us by His Word and He will provide power to overcome spiritual attack by His Holy Spirit and the full armor of God.  Perhaps He will use other people to minister to us.   And, there will even be those who are equipped to provide...  Read More

When we testify to the presence of the Lord Jesus, that could result in our encountering opposition for our faith.  We should always seek to be compelling and compassionate in our presentation, so that our witness can continue to be strong.  In Acts 18 (ESV), there is a fascinating reference:1 After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.2 And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, re...  Read More

Around the world, we know that Christians are facing opposition and persecution for their faith. Many face acts of violence against them, others find themselves being arrested and imprisoned, maybe even losing their lives at the hands of government officials and religious extremists.  The Bible provides this reminder in 1st Peter 4 (ESV):12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it c...  Read More

Our walk with Jesus is a walk of faith - we instructed by Scripture to place our faith in Him, a faith that grows as we digest the Word of God and apply it to our lives.  Complete surrender may be perceived as being somewhat risky sometimes, but we can be confident in His strength to uphold us.  We are encompassed by His everlasting arms, according to Deuteronomy 33 (ESV):26 “There is none like Go...  Read More

We can be thankful that in America, there is a sizable Christian influence.  And, we should recognize that with this visibility for Christianity, that we can leverage that influence so that people might come to know Jesus personally and so that culture at large can be positively influenced.  Most countries in the world have a majority-Christian presence. We can seek to spread God's truth.   In 1st...  Read More

Our times are in the hands of the Lord.  We must be careful that we do not try to enter the domain that belongs to Him regarding life and death.  There is a continuum that we see in the pro-life community, dedicated to allowing pre-born children to live, and that extends to euthanasia and assisted suicide, where people, especially the infirmed, hasten their death, even with assistance from medical...  Read More

The Bible is very clear that there are consequences for our behavior - we are instructed that as we sow, we will reap.  That is in effect if we are sowing good seeds or bad.  There are consequences for our actions.  Fortunately, we were sentenced to die because of our sin, but Jesus intervened, and by accepting Him as Savior, there is a good outcome.  We are forgiven for our sins.  But there may s...  Read More

Life provides opportunities to make decisions - to glorify God or to make a futile effort to glorify self.  If we live according to the Scriptures and practice the teachings of Jesus, we can affect the lives of others and be at peace with the Lord and with ourselves.   In John 15 (ESV), Jesus taught His disciples:7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will b...  Read More

Salvation comes to us in a moment.  Certainly there is a process through which the Holy Spirit works in our hearts to bring us into a saving knowledge of Jesus - it comes through the faithful witness of Christian believers and the planting of the seed of the Word in our hearts.  But, salvation comes to us when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior and are born-again. Then, we enter a process of d...  Read More

Everyone has a moral code - there are certain behaviors that some deem to be right and others deem to be wrong.  And, in a morally relativistic culture, we have seen where people will make up their own morality, without any sort of objective standards.  I would say that few embrace an "anything goes" philosophy, and there artificial, personal lines that some will not cross.But, what are the standa...  Read More

There are enormous pressures that people are facing across our world today.  We see an increased emphasis on mental health, something that the Church should rightly be addressing.  September is National Suicide Prevention Month, a chance to place our attention on challenges people are encountering.  When the pressures of life invade us, we can either choose to draw closer to Christ or, as some unf...  Read More

One of the 10 Commandments is that we should have no other gods before the One True God.  With so many false "gods" - idols - vying for our attention and our allegiance, we must recognize that we must surrender to the principles of Scripture and submit our decisions and our associations to our Creator, who sent His Son to save us.  The Bible says in Exodus 20, in a passage containing the first two...  Read More

There is a spiritual tug-of-war that is occurring in our world today.  Yes, we know that the enemy has been challenging the authority of God for quite some time, and the Bible shows us what his end will be.  But, there is a contest for the hearts and minds of especially young adults, those who are referred to as "Generation Z."  And, we can be thankful that the gospel is winning: that people are b...  Read More

The apostle Paul reminds us that we are to be consistent in our Christian life and we should always be growing and maturing in Him.  We are not to rest on past laurels and we can be devoted to finishing strong.  In 2nd Timothy 4 (ESV), Paul writes:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.Phillippians chapter 3 states:12 Not that I have already obtained this o...  Read More

This is the 24th anniversary of the dreadful day in American history where some 3000 people perished at the hands of people who sold out to religious ideology and committed a heinous act of terror.  It was, plain and simple, pure evil.  We remember those who lost their lives that day, the families and friends who were affected, and we cannot forget that on that day, evil was on display in a unbeli...  Read More

It is imperative as believers in Christ that we protect the credibiilty of our witness, that we are watchful of our associations - we don't want anything or anyone to damage our witness, and should always be cognizant of factors in our orbit that could cause people to think less of usand by extension, our Savior.   The Bible talks about maintaining that good witness in 1st Peter chapter 2 (ESV):9 ...  Read More

We can be confident that Jesus is preparing a place for us - that we will live forever in a place called heaven.  The Bible describes it as a glorious place, a place where we will be in the presence of the Lord.   When we leave this earth, we are promised that we will be with Him. 2nd Corinthians 5 (ESV) states:6 So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we ar...  Read More

Jesus taught on the subject of heaven, saying that He would go to prepare a place for us.  He also said that He was the resurrection and the life, the way to the Father - the Bible is clear, He is the only way through which we can experience eternal life in heaven with Him.  And, it's not by doing enough good works to outweigh our bad - and certainly not based on our own righteousness.  We can be ...  Read More

While we are not saved by church attendance - certainly there are those who go to church who don't know Jesus - we see that it is an advantageous component for the body of Christ to function as God intends.  And, in order for us to maintain our connection with one another, it's important that we are spending time in the presence of God together.  Hebrews 10 (ESV) states:23 Let us hold fast the con...  Read More

Because Jesus is our Savior, we can be confident that the Holy Spirit lives within us. We are His respresentatives, His ambassadors, and we are empowered to share the love and truth of Jesus, taking His presence wherever we go.  The Bible says in Colossians 4 (ESV):2 Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.3 At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us...  Read More

No matter where we might work, or attend school, or take part in sporting activities, or even watch children's sporting events, we take the presence of Jesus with us.  So we should act accordingly.  It's not enough to be a Christian where it's easy to behave like one, i.e., in a church setting or a Bible study.  We have been dispatched into the world to be the hands and feet of Christ, and we can ...  Read More

There is a hymn composed by Willam Cowper that is entitled, "God Moves in Mysterious Ways."  While those words are not found directly in Scripture, we can know that He is at work - as a more recent song suggests, "...even when you can't see Him, He's working..."  We may have our own preconceived ideas about what is occurring in a situation, one that has a seemingly negative outcome for us, but we ...  Read More

There is a tremendously special group that serves among us in the body of Christ - those who shepherd various congregations, who preach, teach, and live the Word of God, standing ready to minister to the needs of the people under his care.  Full-time, part-time, bivocational, whatever the case - it really is a 24/7 call, and we should seek to pray for and encourage those who serve in the position ...  Read More

Because of our deeply held convictions as Christians, we should ideally want our associations to be driven by our Biblical beliefs.  That includes the decisions we make in a variety of spheres of life, and I think could even be applicable to the people with whom we do business. Colossians 3 (ESV) instructs us:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in al...  Read More

Certainly, the enemy has ways in which he can get his message across.  And, we have to make sure that we are contending for the faith in all the avenues and venues where there are ideas that are contrary to Christianity that are being related. We can recognize the resources that God has given us through which we can share truth and counteract the enemy's lies. Ephesians 2 states (ESV) tells us:1 A...  Read More

We are invited to participate in acts of generosity, which bring glory to our Savior. And, we are called and equipped to be inviting, looking for opportunities to show the love of Jesus, even to those who cannot necessarily repay our kindness.  Jesus teaches we should give, asking nothing in return. He shared in Luke 14 (ESV):12 He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner ...  Read More

There has been an emphasis on violent crime in American cities recently, with the announcement that the federal government would step in to take control of the police force in the nation's capital, with other cities perhaps on the list. Crime is a pervasive problem across the board, in cities large, small, and everything in-between, as well a rural areas.  Crime is an outward expression of inward ...  Read More

God has an tremendous intent for marriage - not only is it a gift that He has given to couples, but it is an essential building block of a healthy society.  God's intent is that children are born to married couples so that they might populate the earth.  Now, it appears fewer individuals are participating, leading to fewer births and even some births to non-married couples, which is not part of Hi...  Read More

God is our Creator, and He has created two sexes, or genders.  Despite the attempt to say that "sex" is biological and "gender" is based on feeling, God's word is sure and absolute.  When we allow confusion and not biological and Biblical reality to set in regarding sexuality, the consequences are not good.  Jesus, in responding to yet another attempt to trap Him from the Pharisees, stated in Matt...  Read More

With so much criminal behavior that is occurring these days, we have to consider what individual citizens and the Church can do.  Obviously, we can be careful to watch out for our neighbors - we should be aware of what is taking place around our neighborhoods. But, when you consider that crime is an expression of the evil of a human heart, we can embrace our spiritual authority in Christ and pray ...  Read More

In our times of travail, when life can seem overwhelming, our hearts and minds can be boosted and encouraged by the presence of song.  Music - especially songs of worship - can bring peace to our soul and draw us into the presence of God.  In Psalm 42, we can read these words:5 Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my sal...  Read More

In our path of following Christ, we will experience what we think to be failure.  We can become discouraged and even condemn ourselves.  And, yes, we may make sinful mistakes, for which we can receive forgiveness.  Along the way, we can realize that with every failure, we have the opportunity to trust God, to learn more about Him, and grow just a little bit closer to Him. 2nd Corinthians 2 (ESV) r...  Read More

The numbers are certainly not impressive regarding the percentage of adults in America who possess a Biblical worldview - but that varies from state to state. And, the degree to which a person is engaged with the Scriptures and growing in the Lord is proportional to the worldview that he or she possesses.  2nd Peter chapter 3 (ESV) offers this insight:(14) be diligent to be found by him without sp...  Read More