“Owe no man anything but to love him,” Romans 13:8.
Debtors by Dr. D. James Kennedy
I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise.—Romans 1:14
Are you in debt? These days, it seems, who isn’t? But financial obligations are one thing. We also incur spiritual debts. Paul claimed he was a debtor to the Gentiles, the barbarians, the wise, and the unwise. Yet how could this be? What had those people done for him? Nothing at all! At least, nothing good. In fact five times they beat him with forty stripes minus one. Three times they beat him with rods, and once they stoned him and left him for dead. So what debt did he owe?
Just the same debt that pertains to every single person who claims to believe in Jesus Christ. Everyone who has received the gospel of Christ has received it as a steward, responsible to God, who gave it, and to the rest of humankind, for whom it’s intended.
“I am a debtor,” cried William Carey as he launched the modern missionary movement, setting sail for India to bring the gospel to the Hindus.
“I am a debtor,” cried David Livingstone as he plunged for the first time into the interior of Africa to open the dark continent to the light of Christ’s gospel.
“I am a debtor,” cried William Wilberforce as he devoted his entire life to ridding Great Britain of the onerous slave trade. On his deathbed he received word that he had finally succeeded.
“I am a debtor,” cried Florence Nightingale as she went to far-flung battlefields to begin the noble profession of nursing, to bind up the wounded, and to care for the dying.
“I am a debtor,” cried William Booth as he started the Salvation Army to reach the downtrodden of the world.
And how about you, my friend? Are you a debtor? Does the realization of what Jesus Christ has done for you compel you to serve Him and others? Today ask God to use you to share the good news.
That land is henceforth my country which most needs the gospel. —COUNT ZINZENDORF
So, are we as believers debtors to no one but God or debtors to everyone, including God? The point that Dr. Kennedy is making here is that we who have received Christ and the “unspeakable gift,” II Corinthians 9:15, that He gave His life to supply, are indeed responsible for making sure that the good news of life that Jesus gives to us becomes available through our efforts to others who know Him not.
Because “God is love,” I John 4:8, and because it is His desire “that all men be saved,” I Timothy 2:4, the ultimate bottom line of the truth expressed by Dr. Kennedy, is that if we love Jesus as we claim we do, we will serve Him with all our energy, thereby assuring that we will indeed take the gospel “into all the world,” as Jesus admonishes us to do in Mark 16:15.
If we love Him and believe His is the “only name given under heaven whereby men might be saved,” Acts 4:12, we will spend ourselves to make sure that the world knows. As Carey, Livingstone, Wilberforce, Nightingale, and Booth have done before us, we will count ourselves as debtors to the Holy One, striving with all our strength through all our life to deliver the message of God’s love and salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Saturday, February 28, 2015
Friday, February 27, 2015
Psalm 139
February 27
Psalm 139
O Lord, You have searched me and known me.
2 You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off.
3 You comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
4 For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.
5 You have hedged me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is high, I cannot attain it.
7 Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,”
Even the night shall be light about me;
12 Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You.
13 For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.
17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;
When I awake, I am still with You.
19 Oh, that You would slay the wicked, O God!
Depart from me, therefore, you bloodthirsty men.
20 For they speak against You wickedly;
Your enemies take Your name in vain.
21 Do I not hate them, O Lord, who hate You?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?
22 I hate them with perfect hatred;
I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
24 And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.
God knows you. He understands you. He perceives with absolute accuracy the innermost thoughts and purposes of your heart. He knows the true motivation behind your every word and deed.
He knows where you are. You cannot hide yourself from Him. Man has been attempting to hide his sin from God from the earliest of our ancestors as we are told of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:8, 9:
"They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, Where are you?"
Of course He knew where Adam and Eve were, just as He knows where we are when we are lost in sin. But He calls to us as He called to them. He gives us the opportunity to declare where we are to ourselves and before Him. He assures us that though we may be “dead in trespasses and sin…” Ephesians 2:1, He will make us alive in Christ.
We are not lost from the sight of God when we lose ourselves in sin; rather we are lost from the blessed assurance of blood-bought eternal salvation. Christ left the portals of Heaven to walk on Earth that He might “seek and save the lost,” Luke 19:10, just as God walked through the Garden to seek His errant children.
He knows where we are. Shouldn’t we come into the light of His love and salvation rather than continue our futile effort to hide from Him in the darkness of sin?
Psalm 139
O Lord, You have searched me and known me.
2 You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off.
3 You comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
4 For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.
5 You have hedged me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is high, I cannot attain it.
7 Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,”
Even the night shall be light about me;
12 Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You.
13 For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.
17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;
When I awake, I am still with You.
19 Oh, that You would slay the wicked, O God!
Depart from me, therefore, you bloodthirsty men.
20 For they speak against You wickedly;
Your enemies take Your name in vain.
21 Do I not hate them, O Lord, who hate You?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?
22 I hate them with perfect hatred;
I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
24 And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.
God knows you. He understands you. He perceives with absolute accuracy the innermost thoughts and purposes of your heart. He knows the true motivation behind your every word and deed.
He knows where you are. You cannot hide yourself from Him. Man has been attempting to hide his sin from God from the earliest of our ancestors as we are told of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:8, 9:
"They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, Where are you?"
Of course He knew where Adam and Eve were, just as He knows where we are when we are lost in sin. But He calls to us as He called to them. He gives us the opportunity to declare where we are to ourselves and before Him. He assures us that though we may be “dead in trespasses and sin…” Ephesians 2:1, He will make us alive in Christ.
We are not lost from the sight of God when we lose ourselves in sin; rather we are lost from the blessed assurance of blood-bought eternal salvation. Christ left the portals of Heaven to walk on Earth that He might “seek and save the lost,” Luke 19:10, just as God walked through the Garden to seek His errant children.
He knows where we are. Shouldn’t we come into the light of His love and salvation rather than continue our futile effort to hide from Him in the darkness of sin?
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Today
February 26
Two Options by Dr. D. James Kennedy
‘Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts…’—Hebrews 3:15
There are two groups of people: those who are on their way to heaven and those who are not. The first group comprises people who have trusted in Christ alone for their salvation, gaining eternal life for their souls through Christ’s death on the cross. The second group consists of people who haven’t committed their lives to Christ, including (ironically) those who may be trying to work their way into heaven, hoping to gain entrance by their own merits.
Which group are you in today? Have you made the decision to give your life to Christ?
Many decisions in life offer only two options. And often we find that while we’re deciding which option to choose, we’ve already chosen one by default. For example, suppose your car is stalled on a railroad track, and before you’ve restarted it, a train approaches at high speed.
Two options now loom before you. You can leap from your car and save your life, or you can stay in your car and try to save both your life and your auto. As you weigh the dangers and gains of both options, you’ve made a choice with life-impacting consequences: You’re still in your car, and the train is still coming!
Likewise, you have two options today: life or death. But while you consider your options, you’ve already made a choice, for if you’ve never accepted Christ, you’re still in that state of death into which every soul was born. And every second you put off that decision, the judgment train of God continues to roll.
Christ’s gift of salvation is the greatest offer ever made. Someday God will rescind His offer, and this period of grace will end forever. But now, the sun of His grace shines, and the offer of His free gift is still available. I urge you this day, (if you have not already), to repent of your sins, to place your faith in Jesus, and to accept Him as your Savior and Lord. Your life will never be the same again!
Two Options by Dr. D. James Kennedy
‘Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts…’—Hebrews 3:15
There are two groups of people: those who are on their way to heaven and those who are not. The first group comprises people who have trusted in Christ alone for their salvation, gaining eternal life for their souls through Christ’s death on the cross. The second group consists of people who haven’t committed their lives to Christ, including (ironically) those who may be trying to work their way into heaven, hoping to gain entrance by their own merits.
Which group are you in today? Have you made the decision to give your life to Christ?
Many decisions in life offer only two options. And often we find that while we’re deciding which option to choose, we’ve already chosen one by default. For example, suppose your car is stalled on a railroad track, and before you’ve restarted it, a train approaches at high speed.
Two options now loom before you. You can leap from your car and save your life, or you can stay in your car and try to save both your life and your auto. As you weigh the dangers and gains of both options, you’ve made a choice with life-impacting consequences: You’re still in your car, and the train is still coming!
Likewise, you have two options today: life or death. But while you consider your options, you’ve already made a choice, for if you’ve never accepted Christ, you’re still in that state of death into which every soul was born. And every second you put off that decision, the judgment train of God continues to roll.
Christ’s gift of salvation is the greatest offer ever made. Someday God will rescind His offer, and this period of grace will end forever. But now, the sun of His grace shines, and the offer of His free gift is still available. I urge you this day, (if you have not already), to repent of your sins, to place your faith in Jesus, and to accept Him as your Savior and Lord. Your life will never be the same again!
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Seriously Interested
February 25
Sarah Palin 'seriously interested' in White House by Dr. Jim Denison
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is preparing to run for president. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is said to be "seriously" looking at a run as well, as are Senators Marco Rubio, Rand Paul and Ted Cruz. Former Governor Jeb Bush is already building his campaign.
But no one has generated as much recent political buzz as former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who told The Washington Post, "You can absolutely say that I am seriously interested" in running for the White House.
A close second in recent political news has been the furor over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's message before Congress. House Speaker John Boehner invited Mr. Netanyahu, a move that surprised the Obama administration and led to widespread criticism. As a longtime supporter of Israel, I am especially interested in the outcome of this developing story.
Ask Google "who will win in 2016," and you'll learn that "the Democrats will win in 2016. No question." But just down the screen: "History shows that Hillary Clinton is unlikely to win in 2016." Further down is the headline, "Rand Paul will win the 2016 primaries, and the presidency." Followed by "Sixteen reasons why Hillary Clinton will win 2016." Clearly, Google is confused about the election.
Here are three clear imperatives Google doesn't list:
One: political candidates deserve our respect. It's far easier to lampoon those running for office than to pay the price to join them. We are to pray for "all who are in high positions" (1 Timothy 2:2), including those who aspire to such office. Without their service, our republic would fail. We should be honest in assessing their strengths and weaknesses, but speak of them as we would speak to them (see Matthew 18:15).
Two: God is calling more Christians into public service than are answering his call. The culture changes when believers in Christ achieve our highest influence and live out our influence faithfully. Have you prayed about serving your Lord and country through political office?
Three: God wants us to measure significance by His standards, not ours. Consider Ernie Banks, the Hall of Fame baseball player who died recently. "Mr. Baseball" was born in Dallas, Texas in 1931. Beloved in the game and around the world, he played in 14 All Star Games and hit 512 home runs. In 2013, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
After his death, National Public Radio aired an interview with Mr. Banks in which he told the reporter, "I haven't done anything yet." He did not feel that his achievements in baseball were significant enough to warrant the acclaim he had received.
You may never be president or make the Hall of Fame, but your Lord will reward forever every act of faithfulness you do today. So "let us run with endurance the race that is set before us," Hebrews 12:1. God's call is the race that matters most…the only race that matters at all—eternally.
Sarah Palin 'seriously interested' in White House by Dr. Jim Denison
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is preparing to run for president. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is said to be "seriously" looking at a run as well, as are Senators Marco Rubio, Rand Paul and Ted Cruz. Former Governor Jeb Bush is already building his campaign.
But no one has generated as much recent political buzz as former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who told The Washington Post, "You can absolutely say that I am seriously interested" in running for the White House.
A close second in recent political news has been the furor over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's message before Congress. House Speaker John Boehner invited Mr. Netanyahu, a move that surprised the Obama administration and led to widespread criticism. As a longtime supporter of Israel, I am especially interested in the outcome of this developing story.
Ask Google "who will win in 2016," and you'll learn that "the Democrats will win in 2016. No question." But just down the screen: "History shows that Hillary Clinton is unlikely to win in 2016." Further down is the headline, "Rand Paul will win the 2016 primaries, and the presidency." Followed by "Sixteen reasons why Hillary Clinton will win 2016." Clearly, Google is confused about the election.
Here are three clear imperatives Google doesn't list:
One: political candidates deserve our respect. It's far easier to lampoon those running for office than to pay the price to join them. We are to pray for "all who are in high positions" (1 Timothy 2:2), including those who aspire to such office. Without their service, our republic would fail. We should be honest in assessing their strengths and weaknesses, but speak of them as we would speak to them (see Matthew 18:15).
Two: God is calling more Christians into public service than are answering his call. The culture changes when believers in Christ achieve our highest influence and live out our influence faithfully. Have you prayed about serving your Lord and country through political office?
Three: God wants us to measure significance by His standards, not ours. Consider Ernie Banks, the Hall of Fame baseball player who died recently. "Mr. Baseball" was born in Dallas, Texas in 1931. Beloved in the game and around the world, he played in 14 All Star Games and hit 512 home runs. In 2013, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
After his death, National Public Radio aired an interview with Mr. Banks in which he told the reporter, "I haven't done anything yet." He did not feel that his achievements in baseball were significant enough to warrant the acclaim he had received.
You may never be president or make the Hall of Fame, but your Lord will reward forever every act of faithfulness you do today. So "let us run with endurance the race that is set before us," Hebrews 12:1. God's call is the race that matters most…the only race that matters at all—eternally.
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
The Father of Chemistry
February 24
The "Father of Chemistry" Wanted to Evangelize America and Warned of the End of the World
by Bill Federeer
Robert Boyle was born JANUARY 25, 1627. He studied Bacon, Descartes, and other of his contemporaries, including scientists Isaac Newton and Galileo, philosophers John Locke and Thomas Hobbes, and poet John Milton.
Robert Boyle made contributions in physics and chemistry, especially with his pneumatic experiments using the vacuum pump, putting forward the idea that gases were made of tiny particles. He discovered the basic law of gas dynamics, known as "Boyle's Law," that if the volume of a gas is decreased, the pressure increases proportionally.
Robert Boyle defined the modern idea of an 'element,' introduced the litmus test to distinguish acids from bases, and was the first to use the term "chemical analysis." In 1660, Robert Boyle and eleven others formed the Royal Society in London to advance scientific experiments.
While in Geneva, during a frightening thunderstorm, Boyle had a deepening conversion experience. Boyle devoted much effort to defending and propagating the Christian religion, writing the 'Boyle Lectures' and numerous books, including:
Of the high Veneration Man's Intellect owes to God (1684);
Discourse Of Things Above Reason (1681);
Some Considerations touching the Style of the Holy Scriptures (1661); and
The Christian Virtuoso (1690), which John Locke reviewed in 1681, and which was a basis for Cotton Mather's work, The Christian Philosopher, 1721.
Robert Boyle provided in his Last Will and Testament, dated July 28, 1691: "Fifty pounds...for an annual salary so some learned Divine or Preaching Minister...to preach eight sermons in the year, for proving the Christian Religion against notorious Infidels, viz., Atheists, Theists, Pagans, and Mahometans, not descending lower to any controversies that are among Christians themselves...and encouraging...any undertaking for Propagating the Christian Religion in foreign parts."
Robert Boyle was a director of the East India Company, and spent large sums supporting missionary societies in the spread of Christianity in Asia. Boyle believed all races, no matter how diverse, came from Adam and Eve.
He funded translations of the Bible to make it available in people's vernacular language, in contrast to the prevailing Latin-only policy, most notably an Irish edition (1680-1685), which was thought ill of by English upper class.
Robert Boyle was concerned about propagating the Gospel to natives in New England and the rest of America, as he wrote in a letter to Mr. Clodius, and also how to translate and print the Bible in American Indian languages.
Robert Boyle wrote: "Our Saviour would love at no less rate than death; and from the super-eminent height of glory, stooped and debased Himself to the sufferance of the extremest of indignities, and sunk himself to the bottom of abjectness, to exalt our condition to the contrary extreme."
Boyle wrote in Some Considerations Touching the Style of the Holy Scriptures (1661): "The Books of Scripture...expound each other; as in the mariner's compass, the needle's extremity, though it seems to point purposely to the north, doth yet at the same time discover both east and west, as distant as they are from it and each other, so do some texts of Scripture guide us to the intelligence of others."
Boyle wrote: "There are divers truths in the Christian religion, that reason left to itself would never have been able to find out...Such as...free will...that the world was made in six days, that Christ should be born of a virgin, and that in his person there should be united two such infinitely distant natures as the divine and human; and that the bodies of good men shall be raised from death and so advantageously changed, that the glorified persons shall be like or equal to, the angels."
Boyle wrote of the last days and the "sinful world's ruin": "In Noah's time a deluge of impiety called for a deluge of waters...and so when (in the last days) the earth shall be replenished with those scoffers mentioned by St Peter, who will walk after their own lusts, and deride the expectation of God's foretold coming to judge and punish the ungodly, their impiety shall be as well punished as silenced by the unexpected flames...that shall either destroy or transfigure the world.
For as by the law of Moses the leperous garment which would not be recovered by being washed in water, was to be burnt in the fire, so the world, which the Deluge could not cleanse, a general conflagration must destroy."
Robert Boyle wrote of the destruction of the world by fire at the end of this age: "The present course of nature shall not last always, but that one day this world...shall either be abolished by annihilation, or which seems far more probable, be innovated, and as it were transfigured, and that, by the intervention of that fire, which shall dissolve and destroy the present frame of nature: so that either way, the present state of things, (as well natural as political) shall have an end."
The "Father of Chemistry" Wanted to Evangelize America and Warned of the End of the World
by Bill Federeer
Robert Boyle was born JANUARY 25, 1627. He studied Bacon, Descartes, and other of his contemporaries, including scientists Isaac Newton and Galileo, philosophers John Locke and Thomas Hobbes, and poet John Milton.
Robert Boyle made contributions in physics and chemistry, especially with his pneumatic experiments using the vacuum pump, putting forward the idea that gases were made of tiny particles. He discovered the basic law of gas dynamics, known as "Boyle's Law," that if the volume of a gas is decreased, the pressure increases proportionally.
Robert Boyle defined the modern idea of an 'element,' introduced the litmus test to distinguish acids from bases, and was the first to use the term "chemical analysis." In 1660, Robert Boyle and eleven others formed the Royal Society in London to advance scientific experiments.
While in Geneva, during a frightening thunderstorm, Boyle had a deepening conversion experience. Boyle devoted much effort to defending and propagating the Christian religion, writing the 'Boyle Lectures' and numerous books, including:
Of the high Veneration Man's Intellect owes to God (1684);
Discourse Of Things Above Reason (1681);
Some Considerations touching the Style of the Holy Scriptures (1661); and
The Christian Virtuoso (1690), which John Locke reviewed in 1681, and which was a basis for Cotton Mather's work, The Christian Philosopher, 1721.
Robert Boyle provided in his Last Will and Testament, dated July 28, 1691: "Fifty pounds...for an annual salary so some learned Divine or Preaching Minister...to preach eight sermons in the year, for proving the Christian Religion against notorious Infidels, viz., Atheists, Theists, Pagans, and Mahometans, not descending lower to any controversies that are among Christians themselves...and encouraging...any undertaking for Propagating the Christian Religion in foreign parts."
Robert Boyle was a director of the East India Company, and spent large sums supporting missionary societies in the spread of Christianity in Asia. Boyle believed all races, no matter how diverse, came from Adam and Eve.
He funded translations of the Bible to make it available in people's vernacular language, in contrast to the prevailing Latin-only policy, most notably an Irish edition (1680-1685), which was thought ill of by English upper class.
Robert Boyle was concerned about propagating the Gospel to natives in New England and the rest of America, as he wrote in a letter to Mr. Clodius, and also how to translate and print the Bible in American Indian languages.
Robert Boyle wrote: "Our Saviour would love at no less rate than death; and from the super-eminent height of glory, stooped and debased Himself to the sufferance of the extremest of indignities, and sunk himself to the bottom of abjectness, to exalt our condition to the contrary extreme."
Boyle wrote in Some Considerations Touching the Style of the Holy Scriptures (1661): "The Books of Scripture...expound each other; as in the mariner's compass, the needle's extremity, though it seems to point purposely to the north, doth yet at the same time discover both east and west, as distant as they are from it and each other, so do some texts of Scripture guide us to the intelligence of others."
Boyle wrote: "There are divers truths in the Christian religion, that reason left to itself would never have been able to find out...Such as...free will...that the world was made in six days, that Christ should be born of a virgin, and that in his person there should be united two such infinitely distant natures as the divine and human; and that the bodies of good men shall be raised from death and so advantageously changed, that the glorified persons shall be like or equal to, the angels."
Boyle wrote of the last days and the "sinful world's ruin": "In Noah's time a deluge of impiety called for a deluge of waters...and so when (in the last days) the earth shall be replenished with those scoffers mentioned by St Peter, who will walk after their own lusts, and deride the expectation of God's foretold coming to judge and punish the ungodly, their impiety shall be as well punished as silenced by the unexpected flames...that shall either destroy or transfigure the world.
For as by the law of Moses the leperous garment which would not be recovered by being washed in water, was to be burnt in the fire, so the world, which the Deluge could not cleanse, a general conflagration must destroy."
Robert Boyle wrote of the destruction of the world by fire at the end of this age: "The present course of nature shall not last always, but that one day this world...shall either be abolished by annihilation, or which seems far more probable, be innovated, and as it were transfigured, and that, by the intervention of that fire, which shall dissolve and destroy the present frame of nature: so that either way, the present state of things, (as well natural as political) shall have an end."
Monday, February 23, 2015
The Closing Days Of Time
The closing days of time will be unprecedented in the scope of trial that they will impose upon believers and indeed, statistics evidence the fact that there has been more persecution of Christians in the past century than in all previous centuries.
Yet, in the face of this disconcerting information and with the threat of even more tribulation to come, out faith is to remain steadfast, our hope is to remain sure, our expectation is to remain unwavering--for Christ is still the victory that overcomes the world (see I John 5:4, 5).
The evil one may rage in the last days; his onslaught against believers may intensify because he knows his time is short but, "They who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint," Isaiah 40:31.
When the challenges of life are inordinate, when testings and trials swirl like torrential winds around people of faith, even then they are equipped to stand strong in the Lord and in the power of His might, Ephesians 6:10. Even then, they are victorious, for the foe is defeated. Calvary's cross stands against all wickedness.
Believers stand at the foot of the cross and are saved.
Yet, in the face of this disconcerting information and with the threat of even more tribulation to come, out faith is to remain steadfast, our hope is to remain sure, our expectation is to remain unwavering--for Christ is still the victory that overcomes the world (see I John 5:4, 5).
The evil one may rage in the last days; his onslaught against believers may intensify because he knows his time is short but, "They who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint," Isaiah 40:31.
When the challenges of life are inordinate, when testings and trials swirl like torrential winds around people of faith, even then they are equipped to stand strong in the Lord and in the power of His might, Ephesians 6:10. Even then, they are victorious, for the foe is defeated. Calvary's cross stands against all wickedness.
Believers stand at the foot of the cross and are saved.
Sunday, February 22, 2015
Why?
February 23
Why? By Dr. D. James Kennedy
Then Job answered the Lord and said: ‘I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You… I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You.—Job 42:1-2, 5-6
Have you ever said, “Why me, Lord?” when something bad happened to you? Rabbi Harold Kushner, in his book When Bad Things Happen to Good People, tried to answer this question. Unfortunately, Rabbi Kushner’s conclusions were not biblical.
Kushner says, “God would like people to get what they deserve in life, but he cannot always arrange it.” He says that God does not really control the events of this world but helps us respond to them in more positive ways. But the Bible says that God is all-powerful and all-good, able to do anything and wants to bless us.
Another example of Kushner’s unbiblical assertions is that Job, a man who endured tremendous tribulation, thought of himself as a good man. But notice what Job actually says in Job 42:5–6 after God confronts him: “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”
When Job asked God, “What have I done wrong?” God did not answer his question. Instead, God just showed Himself. Through this revelation, Job came to see that God has no limitations or imperfections whatsoever, and that by comparison, he himself was vile.
None of us is good; none of us deserves unending blessing. The Bible says so. So the question is not “Why do bad things happen to good people?” but “Why do good things happen to bad people?”
Peter tells us that we should not be amazed when fiery trials come upon us. We should expect that God will try our faith with fire, so that we might emerge from them as pure gold. For He is in the process of forging our character, drawing us nearer to Him for now and for eternity.
Have you been experiencing a severe trial in your life? Don’t despair. Instead, thank God for the trial, no matter how difficult, and keep trusting Him. God will never disappoint you. Our false, unbiblical perceptions of Him might, but He Himself never will.
Why? By Dr. D. James Kennedy
Then Job answered the Lord and said: ‘I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You… I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You.—Job 42:1-2, 5-6
Have you ever said, “Why me, Lord?” when something bad happened to you? Rabbi Harold Kushner, in his book When Bad Things Happen to Good People, tried to answer this question. Unfortunately, Rabbi Kushner’s conclusions were not biblical.
Kushner says, “God would like people to get what they deserve in life, but he cannot always arrange it.” He says that God does not really control the events of this world but helps us respond to them in more positive ways. But the Bible says that God is all-powerful and all-good, able to do anything and wants to bless us.
Another example of Kushner’s unbiblical assertions is that Job, a man who endured tremendous tribulation, thought of himself as a good man. But notice what Job actually says in Job 42:5–6 after God confronts him: “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”
When Job asked God, “What have I done wrong?” God did not answer his question. Instead, God just showed Himself. Through this revelation, Job came to see that God has no limitations or imperfections whatsoever, and that by comparison, he himself was vile.
None of us is good; none of us deserves unending blessing. The Bible says so. So the question is not “Why do bad things happen to good people?” but “Why do good things happen to bad people?”
Peter tells us that we should not be amazed when fiery trials come upon us. We should expect that God will try our faith with fire, so that we might emerge from them as pure gold. For He is in the process of forging our character, drawing us nearer to Him for now and for eternity.
Have you been experiencing a severe trial in your life? Don’t despair. Instead, thank God for the trial, no matter how difficult, and keep trusting Him. God will never disappoint you. Our false, unbiblical perceptions of Him might, but He Himself never will.
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