December 16, 2020

What Has This Year Taught Us?

Masked couple

With a global pandemic, lockdowns, economic woes, a contested Presidential election, and more, this has been quite an unusual year. While the wise man noted that “there is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9), from our perspective it can seem like we are living in unprecedented times.

As the events of this year have unfolded, there are some important truths that have been highlighted. These have always been true, but they are more apparent in light of recent events. Let us briefly consider a few points.Continue Reading

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December 2, 2020

Why People Do Not Receive Jesus

Scribes and Pharisees

“He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name” (John 1:11-12).

When Jesus came and preached to the Jews, many “did not receive Him.” What does this mean?

Some today might explain this as receiving Jesus as their Savior and inviting Him into their heart. Certainly, we must see Jesus as our Savior; however, this is about more than that. This is about receiving Jesus as the Son of God and obeying Him as Lord. John said, “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36). To believe in the Son is to accept that Jesus is the Son of God. To obey the Son is to recognize Him as Lord – the one with the right to rule over us and expect us to do His will.

In his gospel account, John recorded certain events in Jesus’ life. The purpose of this record was to produce faith in us (John 20:30-31). Yet today, many are like “His own” who “did not receive Him.” Why? People today will often reject Jesus for the same reasons that people did during His time on earth. We will not be considering an exhaustive list of the reasons why people refuse to accept Jesus, but will notice some of the reasons recorded for us in the gospel of John.Continue Reading

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November 23, 2020

Thankful: Conclusion

Thankful

Over the last few weeks, we have considered some reasons why we are to be thankful to God. We are to give thanks for His word because it shows us the way of salvation and what we should do to please Him. We are to show gratitude for the blessings that we receive in this life that have been provided to us by God. We must be thankful for God’s mercy which allows us the opportunity to be forgiven of our sins and have fellowship with Him. We also ought to always be grateful for the hope that we have through Christ that allows us to look forward to an eternal reward in heaven.Continue Reading

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November 18, 2020

Faith, Hope, Love

1 Corinthians 13:13

“But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13).

This is a familiar and favorite Bible verse for many people. Yet do we understand what it means? This is an important verse, but we need to consider it in its context so that we can learn the lessons we ought to take from it. So let us consider this passage and see how we should understand it.Continue Reading

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November 16, 2020

Thankful (Part 4): Thankful for Our Hope

Thankful

“In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, ‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O death where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:52-57).

In Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth, he spent the entire fifteenth chapter discussing the resurrection. The resurrection is the reason why our hope as Christians is better than anything for which others may hope. No matter what happens in this life – even when we face difficult situations, including the eventual end in death – our hope remains as long as we continue to faithfully serve the Lord.Continue Reading

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November 9, 2020

Thankful (Part 3): Thankful for God’s Mercy

Thankful

“I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life” (1 Timothy 1:12-16).

As Paul wrote to Timothy, he told of his own background as a persecutor of the church and how he considered himself as the “chief” of sinners (KJV). Yet he was able to be forgiven and become a part of the Lord’s work because of the mercy that was shown to him. He explained to Timothy that the Lord’s treatment of him is an example for all believers. As Paul received mercy, we also receive mercy from God. As Paul thanked the Lord for this, we are to be thankful for God’s mercy as well.Continue Reading

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November 4, 2020

How to Walk by Faith and Not by Sight

Man in Forest

“For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7).

The statement above is found in Paul’s second letter to the church in Corinth. We could say that this is the fundamental idea behind being a Christian. But what does it mean? How do we “walk by faith” and “not by sight”? To answer that question, we can look at the context.

In this context (2 Corinthians 4:16-5:9), Paul described six great contrasts. Examining these will show the meaning of our text above. Let us consider these here.Continue Reading

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