I have known a lot of people through the years who made it a practice to avoid the issue of their need for Jesus. They do so in the vain hope that their own morality will be their salvation. Actually, what they are counting on is that their lack of gross immorality is their ticket to not being punished.
You can see this idea in popular movies such as “Ghost” (1990... man, has it really been twenty years?), and in the television series “Ghost Whis... read all »
One thing the quiet of night affords you is the time and silence to hear yourself think of all the things that might go wrong with your life. It must have been such a moment that drove my youngest daughter, Emilie, to seek some reassurance one stormy night long ago.
Her falling asleep was interrupted by thoughts of the possibility of losing one’s salvation. "What if", she asked, "a person does something wrong and doesn’t confess it right away and then d... read all »
Maura Kelly and Rebecca Webber give us some sobering statements about speech. They were seeking to determine if cursing and slanderous speech are to be recognized as a crime or condoned as a proper privilege under the label of free speech, which is protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution.¹ It is obvious there is no clear or settled conclusion in our nation. They reported that some 750 people in Pennsylvania "are arrested or summoned to court each y... read all »
On July fourth, 1776, the Continental Congress of the thirteen American colonies declared their independence from Great Britain. A new nation was born taking upon itself the responsibility for self-government.
But the founding fathers, and indeed other national leaders who followed them, understood that without the dependence of individual citizens on Almighty God, our form of government would be doomed.
Second president of the United States, John Adams, observed:... read all »
Just wondering if the average “Joe” is at all familiar with modern abortion techniques? I thought that since, among other reasons, this is a hot political issue, you should be aware of just how some of them work. You may want to sit down before you read these.
First there is the “suction aspiration method” which utilizes a very powerful vacuum. The vacuum hose is inserted into the mother’s womb and literally sucks out the... read all »
Here’s a story to think about from an unknown author.
One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, “My son, the battle is between two “wolves” inside us all.
One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.
The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kin... read all »
I have observed that there is sometimes confusion over what place pride should play in our lives. As I see it, there are two kinds of pride. One I would refer to as “virtuous pride” and the other, “arrogant pride”.
I believe that all pride, both virtuous and arrogant, is based in our individual concepts of rightness. What I mean is that each of us has a concept of something that we believe to be right, something that we hold as a standard of... read all »
Somewhere around 1995, the Choctaw congregation tried something new. Blue prayer cards were printed up and members were encouraged to write down a prayer request which would be honored at the end of each service. The original intent was to make it easier for members to ―come forward or respond to the invitation. The cards would be filled out and the members would bring them forward to the front where they were received by the elders and ministers.
At first the r... read all »
The title is taken from the book of Nehemiah chapter four and verse six. Here is described the progress of the Israelites as they rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem after returning from exile in Babylon. It was a huge undertaking, and they had many detractors, but nothing stopped them simply because they were committed. Each one of them knew why they had come back and each one must certainly have had an image in their minds of what could be if they put their backs to it... read all »
The Differences Between Holy Spirit Baptism and Great Commission Baptism (part #2)
Below is a continuation of last week’s article highlighting some of the differences between Holy Spirit baptism and the baptism of the great commission.
HSB is not required for all believers, whereas GCB is required
Nowhere in scripture was anyone required to be baptized in th... read all »
TWISTER RELIGION
The recent storms that spawned at least a dozen tornadoes across the state also sparked a spike in some people‟s faith. I don‟t doubt the sincerity of folks who were “thankful to God” for being safe through the killer winds but I sometimes wonder where that faith lies when skies are blue and the weather is calm.
I suppose that it‟s human nature to l... read all »
Last week we noted the news report about President Jimmy Carter leaving the Southern Baptists because of their views on the role of women in the home and church.
The singular question I believe we should ask is, "What does Jesus teach us about the role of women in the church?" After all, if we
claim to be His followers, we should follow Him in this regard as well as in all others, shouldn't we?
Women were a central part of Jesus' mini... read all »
In an old book (1) I came across a most interesting comment by “Charles Spurgeon (Baptist)”, in an
article he wrote entitled, “Prayer Meeting Address to the Newly Converted.” Spurgeon was, in general,
emphasizing as to conversion, “Do begin so that you may not have to begin over again.” (p.
242). Later, Spurgeon added this most clearly stated comment about conversion:
“One of the first things you have to do in starting f... read all »
As reported in the news of late, President Jimmy Carter has left the Southern Baptist church because they supposedly teach that women are to be subservient to their husbands and also refuse to ordain women as ministers. Was he right?
What does the Bible say?
To begin with, God made woman (Eve), because He knew that the man (Adam) He had created, needed help (and that hasn‘t changed!), Genesis 2:18-24. Up until Adam, God had simply... read all »
As noted in last week’s article, Jesus made it clear that the miracles, wonders, and signs that He did were for the purpose of affirming His identity as the Son of God (Matthew 11:4-5 & John 10:25).
It should not surprise us then, that on Pentecost, Luke tells us that the first thing that the apostle Peter said as he began preaching about Jesus was this:
Men of Israel, listen to these words” Jesus the Nazarene, a man attest... read all »