Posts by John Staiger (Page 63)

“Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me” (Mt.5:11). Don’t you wish that your spiritual detractors would stay strictly to the subject of faith in their efforts to persecute us? But instead, their opposition begins to permeate every aspect of your life, and you wonder why you are starting to feel violated and helpless. Persecution is a paradigm in which the Christian must learn to thrive.…

I was standing on the church building steps when an eight-year-old girl came up the drive and asked if I could come and speak to her Father. He was sitting in his car when I met him, and he looked so sad that my heart immediately went out to him. If that wasn’t hard enough to bear, he bowed his head and said, “Sorry to disturb you pastor, but my missus died, and I don’t have enough petrol to get…

Late one Saturday night I picked up a man walking on the side of the road. He was very thankful and asked me if I was a Christian. When I told him I was, he said, “I knew it. I can tell. I want to come to your church tomorrow. What time do you start?” His eyes filled with tears as he told me that he was away from the Lord, and that he was going to ‘get back to…

If you do not become angry when listening to leaders support abortion, there is something wrong with your religion. If they sit calmly as schools impose their lack of morals upon your children, then it is time for you to reconsider your spiritual values. These are but two things that a Christian should lose sleep over, but these are often far down the list of things that upset the average believer. Instead, Christians expend a lot of time and energy…

It is well said that anyone who is afraid that they have blasphemed against the Holy Spirit probably hasn’t. Though, if one is indeed guilty, their reason for fear would be well founded. For it carries with it the “guilt of an eternal sin” (Mk.3:29). But it is highly unlikely that someone guilty of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit would feel guilt or fear. Instead, they would feel that they are acting in accordance with the will of God. The…

Years ago, a young man pulled up into my driveway in a stunning yellow luxury sports car. And as quickly as he appeared, having collected his wife and son, he drove off into the sunset. It was truly a sight to behold in my humble neighbourhood. However, it was all make-believe. Not only had he borrowed this ‘flash car’ to impress us, he also went home to a house without electricity; it had been cut off after months of non-payment.…

We can sometimes search needlessly for answers to the question: “Why do churches collapse under Satanic attack? When a congregation hides from affliction or persecution it should surprise no one that it is filled with shallow-faithed Christians. When persecution does come, and it inevitably does, its scorching heat causes it to shrivel up and die. The Seed landing on the Rocky Soil forms the second warning in Jesus’ Parable of the Sower (Mt.13). Jesus is likening a Christian’s heart to…

There was a young man who set his sights on a pretty young Christian lady. He was not a Christian and expressed no interest in becoming one. He quickly worked out that everyone would prefer that the young lady marry a Christian, so he told the church that he wanted to be baptised. He attended church with his new bride initially but found reasons to let her go on without him. Soon he took her and their new baby out…

As you read this, give honour to all the great Bible teachers you have known. Those who have either sat down with you one-on-one, or those who have stood before you in Bible classes. Ever breaking forth the Bread of Life; ever feeding your soul. Some were born to teach, while others mastered the basic mechanics of the teaching process one lesson at a time. All were doing it for one purpose—to bring you closer to Jesus. Being asked to…