Psalm 128 reflects the biblical picture of the good life. In this picture, the family is happy and blessed because they fear God and walk in his ways. God sustains them through the work the man does, and God blesses the couple with a home full of children. Read More ...
Every generation has to receive the biblical traditions, hold on to them, and pass them down to the next generation. Those traditions give us stability; they prevent us from being shaken in mind and troubled. As we stand fast and hold the traditions passed down to us, God will comfort our hearts and establish us for every good word and work. Read More ...
Our responsibility is to proclaim that message so that the unsaved can respond to the call in repentance and faith. Those who respond that way show that they were elected, sanctified, and called. Those who don’t respond that way demonstrate that they had no love of the truth and had pleasure in unrighteousness. Read More ...
Implicit in all of this is responsibility or accountability. That is, they had the choice of loving the truth or loving error. They chose the unrighteous deceit of the Antichrist instead of the truth of the Gospel. That will result in their damnation; they will not be saved because of their own choice. Read More ...
The apostles set a good example for us in testifying to the resurrection of Jesus. That’s what we ought to be doing as well. And we need to rely on God’s power and grace to proclaim this message. We cannot convince anyone that Jesus rose from the dead. The only way anyone believes that message is that God’s power and grace convince them. We are not responsible to make other believe; we are responsible to testify—to proclaim the message, to tell what we know. We cannot control how others respond, but we can control whether we tell others. Read More ...
Salvation is an escape from this promised retribution and judgment that God will pour out on the wicked. If you want to avoid God’s judgment, then you must repent and seek God’s mercy. Forgiveness comes to those who repent of their sins and trust in Christ for salvation. Read More ...
If the Thessalonian believers could grow in their faithfulness, love, and patience under severe persecution, how much more should we be able to be faithful, charitable, and patient when we are experiencing no persecution? We ought to use our peaceful situation to grow even more in faith, love, and patience. Read More ...
We do not change things or compromise on what Jesus and the apostles taught. We don’t add or remove anything from the faith. We simply retain what Jesus and the apostles taught faithfully; we stand fast in what they taught originally. Read More ...
Perhaps you have experienced a hurt and are hanging on to it. You are bitter about it and refuse to forgive. Maybe you are tired of forgiving. That is a very unhealthy and unspiritual condition. The best thing to do is to give it to God; let him deal with it. The best thing to do is to release the sinner and extend pardon for the sin. God commands it, and it’s in our best interests to develop a forgiving spirit. Read More ...
In these perilous times, we must take measures to insure the security of those attending our church. I think it’s highly unlikely that any such kind of thing would happen here anytime soon, but the possibility is more than zero. We must be prudent and take some precautions to prevent hostile actions and to protect those who attend here. Read More ...