Passion 4 Him

In Genesis 10:8-10 we read:  "Cush begot Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one on the earth. 9  He was a mighty hunter before the Lord ; therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord .” 10  And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar."  In  Genesis 11:1-9 we read this: " Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. 2  And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. 3  Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. 4  And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” 5  But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men h...

Recently, I was teaching a small group of prophecy lovers when I made the statement that our amazing God revealed prophecies 2,000 to 2,700 years ago that we see coming on the scene today. A friend with a wonderful sense of humor was in the group and he replied, “Yes, it’s enough to make you think that God has the gift of foreknowledge.” Right! By fulfilling ancient prophecies recorded in the Bible, God is demonstrating His foreknowledge. He is proving that He truly knows the end from the beginning (Isa. 46:10). This ability to reveal what will happen before it happens is incomprehensible to all of us, but it is indisputable proof of His existence; and it is also a statement that He keeps His promises AND He carries out His warnings. Many like to believe His promises, but they prefer to ignore His warnings. A possible economic collapse is another thing we talked about in the group. God clearly said, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Ex. 20:3)....

"Over the years, I've noticed a recurring theme in conversations with other believers. Right after affirming their salvation in Christ, they conclude with these words: "..but I know I haven't grown as I should." How tragic would it be for parents if their children advanced in age but never grew bigger, stronger, and more capable? We'd all know something was drastically wrong. Yet that is what many Christians experience in their spiritual lives. Even more surprising, some of them are unaware or unconcerned about their condition. Imagine if next Sunday in your church, everyone's spiritual maturity were displayed by their physical stature. How many would even be visible in the pews? Would there be any giants standing among the congregation?" -Charles Stanley The Fruit of Spiritual Maturity Spirit-controlled character : " But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness, self-contr...

In light of the upcoming presidential elections, many are going to put their hope in the candidate that will give them the best chance at having a better life here in America. Whatever political party you vote for, we can all agree that no president has come through 100% with every promise he has made to make things better. That is why we need to go to the source of real hope and real change. We live in a world that to put all of our hope in politicians is plain foolishness. Our world is fallen and sin cursed, and every attempt by man to reform or transform every ill caused by sin is ultimately futile in the big scheme of things. Yes, much good has been done to help aid people, but the real issue lies within the human heart. Jeremiah 17:9: "“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked ; Who can know it? This goes completely against what our culture and world tells us. That man is basically good and has the potential to make things better.  Unfortunately,...

We believe that God is holy and perfect. He has commanded us to be completely perfect, just as He is (1 Peter 1:16 ). Yet we have not lived a perfect life, nor can we...nor can anyone (Romans 3:23 ). Yet though we have sinned and so deserve to receive the wrath of God forever in hell (Matthew 5:22 ), we believe that He has made a way to reconcile us to Himself. He sent His Son Jesus to live the perfect life that we could not live, and then die the death that we deserve so that anyone who believes in Him could have eternal life (John 3:16 ). Jesus Christ died on the cross, not because He deserved to die, but rather to receive the punishment that we deserve, thereby freeing us from all condemnation (Romans 8:1). Now that in the justice of God we have already died for our sin (Since Jesus died in our place, Galatians 2:20 ), we eagerly await the day when God will resurrect us, just as He did His Son, and bring us to heaven where we will worship Him forever (2 Corinthians 4:...

By John MacArthur The constant war between our new nature in Christ and our old, sinful flesh is a recipe for spiritual inconsistency. Regardless of how long you’ve been saved or how much you’ve grown spiritually in that time, temptation to sin is always waiting around the corner ( 1 Peter 5:8 ). And because we too often fall back into our old, sinful patterns, the Lord uses a variety of means to prod us back to repentance and a right relationship with Him—some are positive, others are negative. For today, let’s consider some of the key methods God uses to positively prod us to repent. First, He uses our knowledge. God has given His Word so that His people might repent. Through the Bible, He tells us that we ought to turn from a self-righteous attitude toward total faith in God through Jesus Christ plus nothing else . Scripture contains everything we need for salvation and sanctification ( 2 Timothy 3:16-17 ), including...

  Nothing in Scripture teaches that the filling of the Spirit is accomplished by ecstatic experiences or external signs. To be sure, being filled with the Spirit does bring the believer tremendous exhilaration and joy, but the New Testament epistles reveal that being filled with the Spirit brings forth the fruit of the Spirit, not the gifts of the Spirit.   Ephesians 5:19-6:9 gives a list of specifics: A Spirit filled person sings psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, making melody n his or her heart to the Lord. A Spirit filled person always gives thanks for all things in the name of Christ. Spirit-filled Christians are subject to one another, they listen to one another, and bow to one another's authority. Spirit-filled wives submit to their husbands, and Spirit-filled husbands love their wives as Christ loved the church. Spirit-filled children honor and obey their parents, and Spirit-filled parents bring up their children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord without...

One of the most exciting Scripture passages in the Bible is written by the Apostle Paul and found in 1 Corinthians 15:35-58. For your convenience, I will include this passage below in the New Living Translation (NLT). The Resurrection Body 35 But someone may ask, “How will the dead be raised? What kind of bodies will they have?” 36 What a foolish question! When you put a seed i...

Hunt, Dave Originally Published October 1991   Critics have long leveled the charge of “divisive” and “negative” against those who would warn the church of unbiblical teachings and practices. I prayerfully consider such accusations, for my heart echoes the same concern. I long just to preach the gospel and to put behind me the controversy that has become such an unwelcome part of my life. Yet in preaching the pure gospel one must carefully distinguish it from the clever counterfeits all around. How negligent it would be not to warn the sheep of poisoned pastures and false shepherds who promote lies in the name of truth. Yet the odds are staggering. Norman Vincent Peale’s magazines, for example, have 16 million readers monthly, many times our small circulation! The flesh faints with weariness and frustration. Then why persist in a task so lonely and burdensome? Yes, why this burning passion ? There are, thank God, the many letters of encouragement from...

The term New Religious Right is used to distinguish from the Religious Right of the 1970s. I do not believe that some of the original leaders of the Religious Right, who are now deceased, would unite with false teachers and abandon theology for a political or cultural agenda. As I document in great detail in my Religious Trojan Horse, today's New Religious Right leaders have no problem working with some of the most notorious false teachers that are preaching another Jesus and another Gospel. In Matthew 23, Jesus calls the religious leaders of His day "white-washed tombs." They looked good on the outside. They thought they were promoting morality, but they were dead spiritually. Jesus warned that they would strain out a gnat but swallow a whole camel. And, indeed, the New Religious Right is notorious for such activity. The Southern Baptist Convention called for a boycott of the Disney Company, for instance, but in 1993 refused to pass a resolution at...

Question: I have struggled with this thing called “faith” all of my life. I want to “believe” in God and the Bible but can’t make myself do it. I keep having these nagging doubts. What am I supposed to do?   Response:  By all means, don’t “make” yourself believe in God or the Bible. Let me suggest that you begin by facing the logical necessity of God’s existence. Without God, neither the universe nor we ourselves would exist, and there would be no purpose or meaning for anything. The Bible begins like this: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” ( Genesis:1:1 ). It doesn’t argue God’s existence, because that fact is self-evident from the universe we see around us and has been implanted by God in every person’s conscience. The Bible unapologetically declares, “The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God” ( Psalm:14:1 ; 53:1). Any thinking human being must agree with this pronouncement. Only a fool could believe that the un...