Do you know the man who led my father to Christ? I could have been raised by a father who despised Christ, but someone led my father to Christ and my father led me to Christ. The man who led my father to Christ, though dead for decades, still has an impact on the world. That’s called greatness.
Is it possible to make a connection with God without a priest? If a priest is really necessary, just who are these priests; how many are in existence; where can they be found; and how is it possible to make sure that any so-called priest is the genuine article?
What does it mean for Jesus to have fulfilled the Law of Moses? Do Christians abide by a strict code or can we do whatever we want without consequence? How does understanding the two parties involved in Matthew 5-7, Jesus and the Pharisees, change the way we understand this passage? Nick Shalna explains the difference between the Law of Moses and the Law of Christ, and how the Christian should live in regard to this!
The movement of history and the advance of technology have not, and cannot, invalidate or discount the Bible’s relevancy to the circumstances and dilemmas of anyone who has been created in God’s image. The disposition of the Bible is constantly up-to-date. It touches every present moment and speaks to that moment with power and relevancy.
James addressed a congregation whose members had made a dichotomy between faith and practice – as long as a person believed right, behaving right didn’t matter. In terms that are clear, James presented his audience with this biblical truth: We are held accountable by God for what we know.
We sometimes think that we are invincible, that we are without vulnerability, that we are beyond the reaches of disaster and calamity. Then along comes an unexpected, colossal reminder that, indeed, we are exposed and unprotected, that we are susceptible, that we are without defense. Then what?
Going beyond the first step of faith, i.e., being saved, to living by faith in the realm of the impossible is an essential element to following Christ. Further, believing God for the present and future is more important than believing Him for the past. The life of the believer is to be centered in what God is doing through our lives now, not what He did through our lives in the distant past. Just shut-up and drive!
James characterized his congregation with such terms as conflicts, quarrels, fights, anger, cursing, bitter jealousy, selfish ambition, disorder, and every evil thing. The admonition we might expect to require the least emphasis in the church is the shocking reprimand that arose as a primary theme of James’ preaching. Surely, today’s church is different. No way do we need such tough confrontation in century 21, or do we?
The question is not: Do we need forgiveness? The answer to that question is obvious to any objective person. We have all sinned. The question that pricks our hearts is: Will God forgive us? This question is pondered by believers as well as non-believers. Here’s the good news. Everyone can be forgiven – everyone.
The Israelis recognized that the intervention of God had taken place on their behalf on numerous occasions but only after the intervention, not before. They never learned to trust God in the present moment. Their testimony of God’s power is best described as a hind-sight testimony, never an up-to-the moment testimony. Thus, they endured 40 years of suffering in the wilderness. The same thing can happen today to nations, churches, and individuals. Make sure you’re not among them.