Passion 4 Him

From the human perspective, life doesn't always make sense. It is a difficult journey with obstacles to face and pitfalls to avoid. All of us have asked the same hard questions: "Is there a God?"; "Does He really love me?"; "Why am I here?"; "Why did this have to happen?"; "What is life really about?" Life is a process of seeking answers for the road ahead. But the real question is: "Where do I go to get the answers to those questions?" Philosophers can only speculate about the meaning of life. At best, they can suggest theories for the reasons of suffering, the existence of God, and other basic spiritual questions. In the end, philosophy's answers are totally unsatisfying. Even Bertrand Russell, perhaps the premier philosopher of the twentieth century and a man totally opposed to Christianity, admitted before he died that philosophy had availed him nothing. I'll never forget a man ...

We were in Santa Monica, Southern California, looking for colorful interviews for the Third Season of our television program, especially for the opening four episodes. One program was called “Joe Average.” It opened with a man named Joe getting out of bed, making some toast and honey, drinking a glass of milk, then going outside in the early morning sunlight and checking his garden and the day’s weather. The script says, “Joe is a typical man. He doesn’t think much about the creation that surrounds him, let alone the Creator. Even though God gave him life itself, if you asked Joe if God had ever done anything for him, he probably couldn’t think of one thing. It’s just another average day for Joe Average. Not quite. There is nothing 'average' about Joe or what he has done that morning. He’s actually a miracle machine that no man-made mechanism could ever begin to even imitate.” Then the program talks of the marvel of his body, and where his milk, toast, and honey...

“Things unseen” is a motif that runs throughout Scripture—and what is not visible to the eye often presents a significant challenge to those unable to discern God’s presence and purpose when God seems silent. AS I WRITE, I AM home awaiting a plumber. My water bills over the past few months have been slightly higher than usual, but I hadn’t noticed a leak until my neighbor informed me that she saw a small amount of water pooling near my meter. I have mowed over the spot on several occasions and never sensed anything out of the ordinary, yet the invisible leak is finally visible and now trickling into the street. Luke 1:5-7 "In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceiv...

 Here a Muslim man asks a few challenging questions about the Christian faith. Ravi Zacharias give some good answers!

      It's hard to tell people they need Jesus Christ as their Savior or even start talking about Christianity unless they first understand their condition. For example, let's say someone goes into the doctor for a physical. The doctor comes to you after the evaluation, and tells you that you have a very serious condition. You have cancer. The news from him would alarm you to ask the question: "What should I do?" You would hope that the doctor would respond with a cure for your condition and a road that leads to healing.      With the alarming news from the doctor that you have cancer, you would quickly try and find a cure for your condition. The same example here can be used in regards to the universal human condition. The cancer of sin! Most people think that they are good people and are healthy spiritually. Most understand that they do in fact, sin. But many don't realize the life threatening effects of sin or what sin really is. What is...

By John MacArthur At this point in Matthew’s narrative, we know two indisputable facts. One, Mary is pregnant, and two, Joseph is not the father of the child. A third crucial fact comes by way of angelic revelation. The child in Mary’s womb was conceived by the Holy Spirit. That means Mary is still a virgin. But what was the significance of Mary’s pregnancy even though she had not had relations with Joseph or any other man? Joseph likely would have spent some time puzzling over that question if the divine messenger had not immediately clarified his pronouncement with these words, “‘And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins’” ( Matt. 1:21 ). The angel tells Joseph that Mary will actually bear a son. And not just any son, but Jesus, who “will save His people from their sins.” God chose the name Jesus for His Son because its basic meaning defined the fundamental, overarching purpose for the Son’s coming t...

"Christ is a source of empowerment, but is he widely regarded among us today as the source of redemption for the powerless? He helps the morally sensitive to become better, but does he save the ungodly—including Christians? He heals broken lives, but does he raise those who are “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1 NKJV)? Does Christ come merely to improve our existence in Adam or to end it, sweeping us into his new creation? Is Christianity all about spiritual and moral makeovers or about death and resurrection—radical judgment and radical grace? Is the Word of God a resource for what we have already decided we want and need, or is it God’s living and active criticism of our religion, morality, and pious experience? In other words, is the Bible God’s story, centering on Christ’s redeeming work, that rewrites our stories, or is it something we use to make our stories a little more exciting and interesting? (pg. 24) Religion, spirituality, and moral earnestness—wh...

But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you... And many will follow their destructive ways...They are spots and blemishes, carousing in their own deceptions while they feast with you... they speak great swelling words of emptiness.... ( 2 Pt 2:1-2, 13,18 ) To the world it might appear that all is well in the Christian realm. Much-beloved speakers hold forth from the pulpits of some of the largest churches in the world. Believers and nonbelievers alike buy their books, avail themselves of their programs, and utilize their methodologies. One might come to the conclusion that Peter must not have been referring to the church in our day regarding false teachers. Tolerance is the word of the day. We hear admonitions on a regular basis to "just get along" with those of opposing faiths. "Love" reigns supreme. But what is this "love" of which they speak? What about those who ide...

      Christmas is a special time around the world. Young and old alike anticipate exchanging gifts and spending time with family. The gifts exchanged at Christmas serve as a reminder of the greatest gift ever given. That gift is Jesus Christ, God's Son, who was born to bring salvation to all who will receive Him. THE REASON FOR THIS GIFT     Often, a gift given at Christmas is based on what a person needs. The gift God gave the world met the need of every person that has ever lived. The Bible states that we are sinners, separated from God, and deserve eternal death. "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one... For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:10, 23) "But your inquities have seperated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear." (Isaiah 59:2) "For the wages of sin is death;" (Romans 6:23b)    To meet our need of salvation, God wrapped His So...

HOW ARE YOU FEELING TODAY? This common greeting exposes one of the most dominant factors in our life. To most people the height of accomplish-ment is to feel good. The advertisers are getting wealthy by catering to this driving passion. Young people are being led down a road of shame, being victimized by their emotions. The most popular TV program is the one that can arouse a response of fear, hate, love, or joy. America is racing-headlong toward the goal of escape from reality. It is evident in the entertainment world, the make-believe reading materi-als, drugs, alcohol, and the glamorized human body. This emphasis on FEELING has crept into nearly all religious circles. The sensual beat of the night club is now heard from the platforms of our churches, Bible colleges, and supposedly Christian radio stations. (None of my money shall support any of them.) How unscriptural to use such fleshly appeal to attract others to the Savior! Such depraved methods reveal frustrated feelings and a...

We are not referring to December 25. That may or may not have been when Christ was born. There are conflicting theories: 1) that December 25 was set by Christians to counter the Roman Saturnalia celebration each December 17-23, which "led to widespread drinking and debauchery, so that among Christians...'saturnalia' came to mean 'orgy'"; 2) that early Christians set the date of December 25 by assuming that Mary visited Elizabeth immediately after her (Mary's) conception, and then calculating the time of Elizabeth's conception as six months earlier ( Lk 1:23-25 ) --based on Jewish records and tradition concerning the schedule of priestly temple duties and Zacharias's "course of Abia" ( Lk 1:5 ) ; 1 and 3) that it replaced the feast of Saturnalia, as Will Durant claims, 2 which is probably the most popular criticism of the date. Regardless of the day, Christ's virgin birth into this world as a babe was an eve...