Church Blog (Page 12)

John the Baptiser said that believers are A Dime a Dozen. Admittedly, he didn’t say it that way, but that is what he meant when he told to his Jewish audience: “Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father,’ for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham” (Luke 3:8). Back in the day it was very common for our friends, and maybe even ourselves, to…

Recently, a young man told the story of his sudden transformation from convicted armed robber to good citizen. He said that he was sitting in his jail cell serving a lifetime sentence when news came of his friend’s death; he had been killed during an armed robbery. The young man was shown the last seconds of his friend’s life that were caught on CCTV footage. His friend was spray-painting a security camera as he was shot dead by the police.…

Show me someone whom you look up to as a spiritual mentor, and it is guaranteed that they are kind and generous. For as a spiritually discerning soul, it is natural to admire those who share with the needy—they reflect our Saviour most. However, their giving spirit will not be confined to aiding the poor. They will usually be hospitable to a fault and inclined to share the very food off their plates. Are they taken advantage of? Yes, often.…

Forgiveness is at the heart of all we stand for. When you were baptised, it was for the forgiveness of your sins. In that watery grave the sinner in you died and you were raised clothed in Christ—sinless! Unwashed, you were condemned. Washed, you were forgiven for eternity. Praise God! We must never look back on our pre-baptism life with anything other than disgust. Mired in our sin we stood guilty before God. But God was gracious toward us and…

The past few decades have been so filled with talk of self-esteem that it has become a normal part of life to equate it with love. Though there have been some who have benefitted from being uplifted and made to see greater potential in themselves, many have instead used it to justify their self-centredness. Remember, the world encourages people to look within themselves to both define and find love, but the Bible does the opposite on both accounts. When asked…

“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). Living on in this life or going on to be with the Lord in death, is all gain for us. Yes, to depart and be with Christ is better by far (Philippians 1:23), but to stay is to labour in the hope of mankind—The Church of Christ. However, do not be surprised if you have mixed feelings about suddenly going on to your reward. Knowing that…

No one, though try as they may, can flee from God. Jonah knew this, but still cared little that his attempt to run away from God might bring misery upon others. He inflicted extreme fear and guilt upon his shipmates as a consequence of his selfish rebellion against God. Sadly, Jonah is not the only one guilty of that sin. Throughout the Bible we see God speaking through the patriarchs, the prophets, the apostles, and preachers and teachers. God’s call…

Jim has a house full of antiques. Twenty-five years ago, I asked him to evaluate an old clock I have. He looked at it and said that it was worth about $800.00 in working order. When I asked him how much it might cost to restore, he said, “$800.00.” Later, I went into an antique clock shop and asked them to tell me the value of my clock and how much it would cost to restore. The answers were exactly…

Balaam cared nothing for the people he was called to help. Although Balak’s plan to have Balaam curse Israel was thwarted when Balaam blessed them instead, it didn’t mean Balaam had any fond affection for Israel. In fact, later he advised the Midianites that tempting the Israelites to immorality would work just as well. God killed Balaam for that (Numbers 31:8). Peter tells us that Balaam “loved the wages of unrighteousness” (2 Peter 2:15). This was a man who knew…

The Apostle John nailed down the fact that we can know that we are saved. Concerning his purpose of his Gospel account he stated, “These have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31). Note that he was not engaging in a type of circular reasoning, as if to say, ‘I have written this so you can say that you…