There are preachers that talk a lot about how God wants to bless your life with prosperity, success, etc. Yet they seem to say nothing about repentance of sin. Yet look at what the apostle Peter said in my Bible reading this morning. He pointed out that God spoke to Abraham saying, "And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed." Then Peter said, "God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.” In the same sermon he said, "Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out." No repentance, no blessing, including the blessing of forgiveness (Acts 3:19, 25-26). I should point out that blessing is also tied to faith in Jesus of the seed of Abraham.
We all know that love is an essential aspect of the Christian life (Jn. 13:35; Gal. 5:14; 1 Cor. 13:13; Col. 3:14; 1 Pet. 4:8). But do you realize that there is a place for a certain kind of hatred in the Christian life as well? Indeed, there is....[ abbreviated | read entire ]
We would all agree that sickness and disease is a result of the fall of man in the Garden of Eden. We readily agree that is true with regard to physical sickness, but some are prone to believe that mental illness is solely the fault of the...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
In Mark 4:23-25. Jesus said, "If anyone has ears to hear, he should listen!” Then He said to them, “Pay attention [lit. "see", to contemplate, perceive] what you hear. By the measure you use, it will be measured and added to you. For...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
In Ezekiel 22 God is explaining the reasons for the pending judgment upon Jerusalem in Ezekiel's day. One reason is found in v.22, “Her priests do violence to My law and profane My holy things. They make no distinction between the holy and...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
In Jer. 29:7 God told the Jewish exiles in Babylon, “Seek the welfare of the city I have deported you to. Pray to the LORD on its behalf, for when it has prosperity, you will prosper.” Likewise, in 1 Tim. 2:1-2 Paul told Christians...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
From today’s Bible reading:1 Hear the word of the LORD, people of Israel, for the LORD has a case against the inhabitants of the land: There is no truth, no faithful love, and no knowledge of God in the land!2 Cursing, lying, murder,...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
I have always heard that Jesus encountered the woman at the well (John 4) at noon because a woman of her reputation (John 4:17-18) would go at time when other women did not go. That also seems to be the majority opinion by Bible Commentators on...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
