“I came so that they would have life, and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10) Dear Friends – When Christ said that He came to give us life, we already had life, didn’t we? Well, mortal life anyway, as we were bound by the Original Sin of Adam and Eve to eternal death if Jesus hadn’t come to redeem that sin. As our Savior, Christ’s death on the cross was the one-time sacrifice …
“By their fruits you will recognize them. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.” (Matthew 7:16-18) Dear Friends – The “fruit” Christ refers to is not so much a piece of delicious produce to consume, but it is rather …
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me.” (Matthew 11:28-29) Dear Friends – We all have had days when we feel that a heavy burden is getting the best of us and we just want to scream, enough! We are getting nowhere fast; decisions must be made, but which way to go? Relying …
“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13) Dear Friends – I do have such joy and peace, thanks be to the Almighty God of hope, that this New Year will be like opening a door to a sparkling breath of fresh air. We will be able …
“The birth of Jesus Christ came about when his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit. Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, …
“New wine is poured into new wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine wants new, for he says, The old is better.” (Luke 5:38) Dear Friends – This tagline to Christ’s parable on The Patches and Wineskins provides insight into His teaching to the Apostles that while He was the “new wine” with all His great theology, they must be like the new wineskins ready, able, and strong enough to receive His new …
“They took Jesus with them in the boat… and other boats were with Him. A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was already filling up. Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. They woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” He woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, …
”Surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20) Dear Friends – When Christ knew His ministry was shortly coming to a horrible end, He commanded His followers to go out into the whole world, baptizing and teaching all people what He had taught them. To fortify their perseverance, He made the above statement to assure them, that while He would be returning to …
Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” (Mark 12:17) Dear Friends – Christ’s statement above kept church and state separate long before any government made that decision. Elected officials may not affect in any manner, religious belief in God, however, Christians may and should by Godly conduct, moderate and affect the positive Christian behavior of politicians no differently than any other individual …
“The Lord God said: It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suited to him.” (Genesis 2:18) Dear Friends – Right away, in the opening pages of The Bible, we find God discovers after creating a spectacular environment for man to live in, the material world alone would never meet man’s needs. Oh yes, Adam had food, shelter, and work to accomplish, …
“Jesus stood in their midst and said to them, Peace be with you. They were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said, why are you troubled? Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch Me, and see because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have. Have you anything here to eat? …
“We were under a burden far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, we felt we were under the sentence of death, in order that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God.” (2 Corinthians 1:8-9) Dear Friends – Many of us have experienced the above words of Saint Paul in some manner or another; when a burden has entered our life that …