Christians or Disciples?

By Sandor Balog

No wonder that some present-day Christians sincerely striving to be followers of Jesus have become fed up with being made to feel guilty by non-Christians and anti-Christians alike for all the sins that have been committed in the name of Christianity over nearly two millennia. The best way for them to avoid being permanently accused of what they have never committed is to clearly distance themselves from what has stuck to Christianity over the past nearly two thousand years. They could simply abandon using the notions Christian and Christianity and identify themselves otherwise. I recommend using the term “Disciple”. If, for clarity, they, in certain instances, wish to differentiate themselves from Jesus’ first century disciples, they could call themselves “modern-day disciples”. (more…)

To Believe or not to Believe?

By Sandor Balog

Firstly, we should consider the Old Testament (OT) as God’s account of the origin of the earth, life on earth and of the universe. The OT tells us about original sin, God’s judgment and His scheme for salvation to be implemented by Jesus. The OT also tells us about the Hebrews, whom God chose to be His people, most probably for experimental and demonstrational purposes. The main theme of the OT, apart from revealing and praising God and His works, is constituted by God-inspired prophecies concerning Jesus. (more…)

He Saw Me

By kenneth hurst

He Saw Me

In John 1:45-51, Jesus met a man named Nathanael. He knew Nathanael before they met. He saw Nathanael. There are many verses in the bible that tell us of the foreknowledge of God;

Acts 2:23- Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:

Romans 8:29- For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate [to be] conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. (more…)

The Wielding

By Pam Ford Davis

Delilah manipulated her man and he unwittingly succumbed to her powers of persuasion. As I recall the saga of Samson and Delilah, I pity the poor man. The vamp duped him and he paid a steep price for imbibing on the fruits of passion. God’s chosen never learned to say no when temptation lured him onto paths the sanctified should never trod.

I do not believe Delilah’s den is where the story began with “Once upon a time” Scriptures reveal that our leading man once held great promise. God set him apart, as holy, a peculiar person. Vows of a Nazarite included no cutting of his locks or drinking fruit of the vine. (Judges 13:5-7) He came from a godly home and knew both the demands and blessings of his call. (more…)

Why Did God Create Satan Knowing What He Would Do?

By Greg Baker

As a pastor, I get asked, quite often actually, why God created a devil if He knew all the evil Satan would do. A corresponding question is why did God create the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil? After all, if God hadn’t created the tree, then Adam and Eve couldn’t have sinned! This article attempts to give a logical and rational explanation to these questions. (more…)

Isaiah 40:17 thoughts

By Marijo Phelps

Our scripture for today seems to hit that nail on the head with appropriateness for the season:

“All nations before him are as nothing;

and they are counted to him less than nothing,

and vanity.” (Isaiah 40:17)

Our eyes should be looking up because it seems that His coming back is oh, so very much closer! Only when our Lord is here to rule and reign will we have “perfect” government. (more…)

The Law of Moses was given through the administration of angels

By Robert Randle

It is commonly believed that the Law [Torah], which is the foundation stone of Judaism and indirectly, Christianity, was given to Moses on fiery, Mount Sinai came from God; but in actuality it came through the administration of the angels of God. Of course, it is believed that these commandments, statutes and ordinances were directed by God Himself and therefore were obligatory for the children of Israel to observe and practice in the worship of their LORD. (more…)

The Thessalonians’ Case

By Hany N. Sadik

It is clear from the book of Acts (chapter 17); that the birth of the Thessalonians’ church was not a piece of cake, the apostle encountered rejection and persecution, and this is due to the jealous Jews .The power of the Jews in that city was in a sort like their power today in the field of Media (in USA), as we read they stirred up the crowds against the apostles, they even caused Paul and his fellow workers to flee to Berea. It is certainly clear that this church was born “persecuted” and linked with afflictions, and from the first letter to the Thessalonians; we can notice easily that the church in Thessalonica suffered mainly from their countrymen, and not from the Jews (1Thess. 2: 14) as the apostle had suffered before, but we can understand from the context of Acts 17 that they (the Jews) were the first cause of this persecution (Acts 17:8). Any way this persecution seems to be continuing as far as we know- to the day Paul sent them his second letter (nearly by the year 51-52 A.C.) which I would like in this article to explore the first seven verses of it. (more…)

The Spirit against the flesh

By kenneth hurst

The Spirit against the flesh

Galatians 5:17 tells us that the Spirit is against the flesh. They are contrary to one another and we are sometimes unable to do what God wants us to do. Paul said in Romans 7:21,22- I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: Our inward man wants to do God’s will. What can tip the balance? How do we overcome our old self that is contrary to the will of God? (more…)

The Whole Armor Of God

By James Alford

The Whole Armor Of God By James Alford, Minister Of Righteousness

“Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Ephesians 6: 11-12. (more…)

Commitment in Marriage

Committment in Marriage
By naomi Cassata

Bible Study by Naomi Cassata

Living Out your Wedding Vows

Materials needed:

Bible

Glue stick

Two pieces of paper (construction or printer)

Lesson Objective:

For couples to realize the importance of enduring through the hardships of marriage with a tender heart towards their spouse. (more…)

IS JESUS A CREATED BEING?

By Jeremiah opusunju

Knowing that the view that Jesus is the spoken word of God en-fleshed has gained a lot of popularity in the church, it will be pertinent for every believer to address this question; if Jesus was the spoken word of God en-fleshed, at what point in time did God speak the word that created him? (more…)

The Seven-Year Reign Of Antichrist Deception

By Henry Bechthold

The seven-year reign of antichrist is a popular prophetic teaching that blatantly contradicts the Bible, for the Scriptures clearly state that the antichrist reigns for three and one-half years, not seven years (Revelation 13:5; Revelation 11:1-7). In fact, the idea of a seven-year reign of antichrist was arrived at by manipulating Daniel’s seventy-week prophecy concerning Israel and the Messiah in Daniel 9:24-27. (more…)

The Antichrist: How Will He Come?

By Henry Bechthold

One of the undeniable quandaries regarding the antichrist, is how will he arrive in such a way and at such a time that will make Jews, Christians, Hindus, Buddhists and Muslims all be willing to accept this same man as their mutual leader? If he arrives as a Jew or a Christian, the other major world religions will reject him. Likewise, if he arrives as a Hindu or a Buddhist, he will be rejected by the Muslims, Christians and Jews. And, if he arrives as a Muslim, he will receive the same rejection from the other religions. How can he arrive in a manner that will make 500 million Buddhists, two billion Christians, one billion Hindus, one and one-half billion Muslims and millions of Jews all welcome him as their mutual leader? His appearance will obviously have to involve some apparently supernatural or miraculous signs in order to attain this worldwide acceptance throughout all of earth’s major world religions. (more…)

Unfaithful Pastors And Leaders: How Should We Respond To Them

By Henry Bechthold

Although our natural inclination is to look to our religious leaders for spiritual insight and direction, we should not be surprised to find them adrift in compromise and sin. The Bible reveals that the religious hierarchy has gone astray throughout biblical history. There has been a long line of unfaithful and disobedient priests, prophets, apostles, teachers and ministers throughout both Old and New Testament times; furthermore, we are told that this problem will continue to worsen as we approach the end of time. (more…)