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"And those whom He thus foreordained, He also called; and those whom He called, He also justified (acquitted, made righteous, putting them into right standing with Himself). And those whom He justified, He also glorified [raising them to a heavenly dignity and condition or state of being]." - Romans 8:30

Why, or for what, has God foreordained me? Why did He call me? Why did He justify, put me in right standing with Himself? Why is my glorification accomplished? Even if true, why would God glorify me? Someone recently remarked to me that they believed…  ( Click for more )

"You also must be ready therefore, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not expect Him".- Matthew 24:44 How are the servants of Jesus Christ to be, and remain, "ready" for His coming? By providing spiritual food for His household, the household of God's children. It is to be at the right time, and the right food for the right household. The servants of God's household should not grow weary of serving His household. They are to guard against growing tired of "well doing" (Galatians 6:9:2 Thessalonians 3:13) and become discouraged and…  ( Click for more )

There is a war going on in places we would perhaps least expect. The specter of war and conflict is so universal and so all encompassing, so close and also so far, so prevalent, so common as part of events that it is simply expected to always be. The phenomenon of conflict touches everything physical. And unrealized by most, there are and will be unseen spiritual wars. There is constant warfare, struggles and strife within our bodies, in the seas, in the air, in the earth down deep, and in the dirt beneath our feet. Jesus promised that there would be wars and rumors of more wars.…  ( Click for more )

About a month and a half ago we concluded a series on "The Works of Grace", in which we examined from 2Peter one of the major functioning of grace in the life of very true Christian - the creation of the character of Jesus Christ in us. This is not Christ-like character, but the very same character that is in Him. Often this can be misunderstood as Christ likeness, which can lead to counterfeit humanistic qualities which strongly resemble God’s character, but in reality are "works of the flesh". Unfortunately, this is what passes for religion and much of…  ( Click for more )

"I have told you these things, that My joy and delight may be in you, and that your joy and gladness may be of full measure and complete and overflowing." - John 15:11, AmplifiedBible

A minister friend told me about an experience he had while preaching a sermon. He did not tell me the sermon subject.. However, the subject apparently did not fit with what occurred in the process of delivering the sermon. Suddenly, he was stopped in midair, as it were, and paused. Then he was almost compelled to say, "WHERE is the JOY of our salvation!..." If I recall correctly,…  ( Click for more )

Music per se is one of those things capable of producing good and bad things in our lives. David used it to calm the evil spirit in Saul. Humans heal faster when hearing music. My father told me once that I would never be happy unless I included music in my life. He has been proven to be correct. I am thankful that God has given me a love for music. It has enriched my life more than I can express. Many foods and drinks act within the body as stimulants, and some as depressants. Music is a stimulant, that can bring up from the heart emotions both good and bad. There was an evil…  ( Click for more )

"The Lord does not delay and is not tardy or slow about what He promises, according to some people’s conception of slowness, but He is long-suffering (extraordinarily patient) toward you, not desiring that any should perish, but that all should turn to repentance." - 2 Peter 3:9 Most everyone has heard of repentance at some time from someone in their lives. But what is it, really? Can it even be defined? Usually it takes the form of something that someone did - themselves, or someone that they heard about, someone who claimed to be a “Christian”.…  ( Click for more )

"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad." - 2 Corinthians 5:10

Everyone who has ever lived will have to give an account of words, as well as deeds, before God, in a judgment. But what about our thoughts? Will we have to "give an account" of our thoughts, as well as our words and deeds? The Bible has much to say about our thoughts, as well as our words and actions. Matthew 12:36-37; Isaiah 55:6. We are commanded to "forsake"…  ( Click for more )

"For I never shrank or kept back or fell short from declaring to you the whole purpose and plan and counsel of God." (Acts 20:27 Amplified Bible)

We live in a society of "sound bites", video clips, instant messaging, and a pot pori of various and sundry "lnstants". TV commercials get shorter, with increasing glitz and lightening speed images - all compacted together within a very short time frame, and yet designed to have the greatest emotional impact. Truly, as someone has said, reality is what is perceived. The idea is to provoke us to ACT…  ( Click for more )

"And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, "Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, BECAUSE YOU DID NOT KNOW THE TIME OF YOUR VISITATION" (Luke 19:41-44 ESV).

I shudder to think of receiving a visit from Jesus Christ…  ( Click for more )

There is a great reward waiting for you! If you had been notified that you had won the lottery, would you be excited, overcome with joy and anticipation, and anxious to receive it? Of course. Anyone would be. If you belong to Jesus Christ, there is something laid up for you, and waiting for you that pales into complete insignificance anything you can imagine. It is God's good pleasure to give it to you. This reward will be given to you not on the basis of your good deeds (although there are also rewards or "wages" you can receive also...), but will be given to you on the…  ( Click for more )

During these troublous times, where is the call for repentance? Sin is the cause of troubles, tumult, confusion, and danger. This is true for individuals and nations. Nations are people compacted together. God has ordained all nations and set when and where He ordains them to be (Acts 17:26-28). The nations of today's modern world are exactly where God has placed them, and He deals with them according to their awareness of Him. With nations as with individuals God observes their relationship with Him. If an individual or a nation ignores or neglects recognition of Him as the source…  ( Click for more )

There is a great reward waiting for you! If you had been notified that you had won the lottery, would you be excited, overcome with joy and anticipation, and anxious to receive it? Of course. Anyone would be. If you belong to Jesus Christ, there is something laid up for you, and waiting for you that pales into complete insignificance anything you can imagine. It is God's good pleasure to give it to you. This reward will be given to you not on the basis of your good deeds (although there are also rewards or "wages" you can receive also...), but will be given to you on the…  ( Click for more )

There is a great reward waiting for you! If you had been notified that you had won the lottery, would you be excited, overcome with joy and anticipation, and anxious to receive it? Of course. Anyone would be. If you belong to Jesus Christ, there is something laid up for you, and waiting for you that pales into complete insignificance anything you can imagine. It is God's good pleasure to give it to you. This reward will be given to you not on the basis of your good deeds (although there are also rewards or "wages" you can receive also...), but will be given to you on the…  ( Click for more )

It is generally acknowledged that there are many differences between men and women other than gender. There is a wonderful mystery about the relationship of the three - men, women and God. Specifically God the Holy Spirit. God embodies all the facets of both masculine and famine personalities. After all, He created both. Both are combined also in the Holy Spirit's ability to relate to both. When Jesus ascended back to heaven after His resurrection, He had promised the disciples "another Comforter" {KJV), who would be in them and with them always - forever. Now that Jesus…  ( Click for more )

It all began back at the time when God destroyed everything living on the earth by the great flood. That first world before the flood God ended, with only Enoch and Noah responding to the striving of the Spirit. He regretted making mankind in His image, and it broke His heart. Mankind had degenerated to the level of animals, torturing themselves by their own evil. The only way to deliver them was through their destruction (Genesis 6:7). But He had decided to start over again with a new humanity. Beginning with Noah and his family, saved by a ship built by Noah, God was still…  ( Click for more )

Ref: Revelation 2:21- 3:22 Jesus reveals to the Apostle John messages to seven local churches in Asia Minor of that time. All seven were in close proximity to each other. Each is also representative of a particular age in church history. Jesus takes these churches existing at that time and compares their condition spiritually to seven church epochs yet to appear in church history. The Lord is, by way of these seven church conditions, writing through the Apostle John, church history for the future. Jesus tells John that He is about to receive "things which are, and the…  ( Click for more )

It is generally acknowledged that there are many differences between men and women other than gender. There is a wonderful mystery about the relationship of the three - men, women and God. Specifically God the Holy Spirit. God embodies all the facets of both masculine and famine personalities. After all, He created both. Both are combined also in the Holy Spirit's ability to relate to both. When Jesus ascended back to heaven after His resurrection, He had promised the disciples "another Comforter" {KJV), who would be in them and with them always - forever. Now that Jesus…  ( Click for more )

There is only one totally unpardonable sin. It is a sin in which the heart has been wilfully hardened until it cannot be softened so that sin may be forgiven; the Holy Spirit has been "quenched". It has become blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. He cannot penetrate the hardness (1 Thessalonians 5:19). This is the reason the Apostle Paul admonishes the Ephesians not to even "grieve" the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:29-31). We can grieve the Spirit by refusing His leadership in our minds and hearts, refusing to listen or respond to that still small voice in our…  ( Click for more )

"For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so that no one can boast. For we are his workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we may do them." - Ephesians 2:8-10 All the good works you could do in a thousand years cannot qualify you for eternal life. However, sometimes verses 8-9 are quoted alone which can give a wrong impression concerning works. This is one of those instances where failing to finish Paul's thought can leave a wrong impression.…  ( Click for more )

In a simple way, it is very easy for us to value our lives. We simply do not want to die. There are some, however, for various reasons, who would prefer to die rather go on living in their present state. But in general, the law of self preservation that God created within us operates continually. He wants us to live so that we may eventually not need to struggle to preserve it, by giving our life over to Him now, because eventually we must loose it. But this law within us does not comprehend how much God loves us. We are the apex of all His vast creation. He created mankind so…  ( Click for more )

How do you position yourself when you pray? When you pray, its easier to be open, honest, real and unpretentious before God if you are comfortable physically as much as possible. When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, He did not mention position. At another time, He did specify an enclosure of privacy, but not a position in the enclosure ("prayer closet"). There are some who cannot bend their knees, literally. They are physically unable to do so. Their prayers and petitions, and worship MUST come from their heart, not their knees. Many who are otherwise…  ( Click for more )

There is a great reward waiting for you! If you had been notified that you had won the lottery, would you be excited, overcome with joy and anticipation, and anxious to receive it? Of course. Anyone would be. If you belong to Jesus Christ, there is something laid up for you, and waiting for you that pales into complete insignificance anything you can imagine. It is God's good pleasure to give it to you. This reward will be given to you not on the basis of your good deeds (although there are also rewards or "wages" you can receive also...), but will be given to you on…  ( Click for more )

God has, according to the Apostle Paul, given us all things to enjoy! Are "all things" really given us by God to enjoy? Here lies an irony concerning "things". Yes, God indeed has created all things for our enjoyment. Everything that God has made was made for the purpose of enjoyment, by Himself, and by mankind. Adam and Eve were given everything in their environment to enjoy. But, as a test, God withheld one thing. But the right time and the right way was important even then. The key is in the enjoyment of right things in the right way, at the right time, as…  ( Click for more )