A Convenient God

By Steve Countryman

To be a true believer, as a Christian should, you cannot place conditions on God. Serving God cannot be accomplished on your terms. You can’t decide to serve Him today but not tomorrow. You don’t get to pick and choose when, where and how to serve God. The many religions of this world will tell you otherwise. A convenient god is a man made god. A convenient god is a god created in man’s image. It is a god that is only here to serve you. You bring him down from the shelf when you need his help, then return him when you don’t. He places no demands on you or your time. He is more like a magic genie than a god. You only think of him when you are in trouble or when you want something. You think that by doing some good deeds from time to time you will earn “heavenly points” that will all be added up when you die to help get you into heaven. That is the kind of deception that will keep you out of heaven, out of your blessings that God has for you and land you in hell instead. (more…)

God’s Promises for Difficult Times

By Frank King

I believe most if not everyone who reads this article will agree that we are living in difficult times. God does not exempt us from being tested just because we are Christians. But He has given us promises in His Word to give us inner peace and to serve as an anchor for our soul during difficult times.

It’s hard to ignore it when we are going through a difficult time. That’s because we feel the weight of the test. We may know what the Bible says about God’s faithfulness during those times in our life, but we tend to focus more on the agony of the test than on the consolation of God’s promises. So in this article, let me share several of God’s promises that we should bear in mind when we are tested: (more…)

Where are you?

By Okwudili Umeweni

I have walked with God in my few years of being a Christian and have found His presence the sweetest and best place to ever be. One thing I so much enjoy about His presence is that you not only enter into it but can also carry it wherever you go. It is the best place anyone can ever be full of security. Little wonder the Word of God says:

“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most high shall abide under the shadow of the almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust” [Psalms 91:1,2] (more…)

Thanksgiving for the year that was

Thanksgiving for the year that was
By beatrice ofwona

Thanking God all the time is a prerequisite of the Christian prayer life. Philippians 4:6-7 educates us on this, ‘Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God’. When we do this then a further promise is made in the verse that follows, ‘And the peace of God that transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus’. We should therefore thank God at all times, in good and in bad situations; in good because He is once again blessing us and in bad because He is growing us in faith. (more…)

Two Billion Christians to One

By Robert Driskell

An article in the Daily Oklahoman today (12/20/2011) should be an encouragement to Christians. It was written by Rachel Zoll and it was entitled, “Study Shows Shift in Christian Population”.

The article stated that, “Christians overall remain the largest religious group in the world, according to a new analysis released Monday.” Christians should rejoice over this information. The Gospel is reaching people. People are being changed, for the better. They are meeting and following the Lord of the universe. (more…)

How to Have Childlike Faith

By Frank King

Recently, I was preaching at one of our local churches. At the end of the service and as everyone was leaving, a lady walked up front to me and asked, “How do you get childlike faith?” I was somewhat taken aback by her question because that’s not what I had been preaching on that day. On the other hand, Jesus said, “Except you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3). So the lady’s question was certainly relevant. (more…)

Accessing God

By beatrice ofwona

God is willing and available to explain our circumstances to us if we are willing to listen to Him. One such example in Scripture can be seen in Job 42 when the Lord finally appears and ministers to Job. We can see a conversation going on here. It is awesome to imagine that this great God, this omniscient presence, this Mighty one, is willing to listen to us. He is not averse to intellectually engaging us; in Isaiah 1:18 He invites us further, “Come now, let us reason together”, says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow, though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool”. Through Christ, our God is willing to listen to what is in our hearts and also forgive us our sins. (more…)

Pray, Declare and Receive

By Steve Countryman

It happens too often today with all of our problems locally, nationally and our daily issues that we forget about God. We forget to pray to God, thanking Him and praising Him. But when things get really bad then we turn to God. That is treating God as a god of convenience not a God you serve. I have caught myself sayingwell, I have tried everything else, I guess I’ll give God a try. God doesn’t want to be your last resort but your first answer. “But I don’t want to bother God. He is so busy with other more important things than my little problems.” God chose you before time began. God chose you for a time and place such as this. God who cares and loves you so much that He took the time and effort to know everything about you right down to numbering the hairs on your head. God knows you better than you know yourself. A God who loves you that much is a God who wants to be involved in every tiny thing and every big thing in your DAILY life. (more…)

Recognizing Jesus Christ’s Kings

By Carl Marshall

The two responsibilities that we are given in this world are to enrich the life of our body, and spirit. Our body’s desire may not be that of our spirit, which at that time, we may have already given privilege to the evil one, who uses such opportunity to interfere with the life we lead. In the beginning Adam and Eve had only one temptation, and that was a fruit tree in the garden of Eden, but today, we are overwhelmed with temptation. The price for sin is death, but Jesus Christ has paid that price, and has given us our day of independence. As babes we are not able to choose whether or not to be born, but being born of the spirit is our choice. Observe the foundation of Christian living (we must believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God, Second is to have faith, and third, we carry our cross, but must follow only the Son of God) our needs are met by faith but not all our needs are known by us. God knows all our needs and so he told us to baptise because there is a need for it. (more…)

Get Your Head On Straight!

By Steve Countryman

1 Corinthians 2:16 But we have the mind of Christ. Ephesians 5:1-2 1 Be mitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children 2and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Putting on the mind of Christ and being imitators of Christ is a daily decision for us Christians. This is not an easy task for you have to discard your past identity so that you can now identify with Christ. (more…)

Where does the Allmighty stand on our perseptions of hell?

Where does the Allmighty stand on our perseptions of hell?
By paul killingbeck

The requirements of one seeking the truth of God on matters such as hell, takes a well committed individual that seeks God through his word; The Holy Bible. Both old and new Testiments need to be deeply investigated in order for one to get a clearer understanding of God and his desire for his creation to receive righteousness. Not all humankind have the abilities to conceive the wisdom that is offered here. It takes commitment to God through our Lord Jesus Christ, which begins upon what Christians call rebirth. Seek ye first the kingdom of God. From Jesus’ own lips, came the command for those who would overcome the temptations of life by dedicating their love to him because of their new found life of a forgiven sinner. (more…)

Lust

By Jerry Ousley

Easton’s Bible Dictionary defines lust as being “Sinful longing; the inward sin which leads to falling away from God.” It also says, “Lust, the origin of sin, has its place in the heart, not of necessity, but because it is the center of all moral forces and impulses and of spiritual activity.” In other words, lust isn’t some strong physically necessary reaction but comes first from within the heart of man the seat of our soul. We are not compelled to do it naturally but it must be given thought and then put into action. (more…)

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…)

Knowing The Unknowable God

By Rabon Byrd

If you were to ask any believer if they desired to know the Lord in a greater and deeper way, I would guarantee that all would answer in the affirmative. Therefore, I do not believe that lack of desire to know Christ is the leading reason for the evident lack of spiritual knowledge in the Church. Many will say that it is due to indifferent Christians who are not trying hard enough and not putting enough effort toward knowing the Lord. In my opinion, lack of desire to know Christ does not account for the lack of knowledge in the Body of Christ, but the means by which they endeavor to achieve such knowledge. (more…)

Let the FIRST thing become the FIRST thing in your life

By Shemariah Yeung

What is our FIRST thing for being a Christian in God’s family? What about the FIRST thing?

Being a Christian, we celebrate our relationship with the Lord, especially we can now enjoy the peace of God in us as we are made right with God through Christ Jesus. Yes, we should celebrate this truth, the truth of Jesus that set us all free from guilt and shame, we no longer need to be fearful of God, but we can come boldly to the throne of God (see Hebrews). (more…)