What Is the Rapture?One of the most interesting developments in the history of the Church has been the concept of the Church being secretly removed from the earth. While a millenarian impulse (a literal one-thousand-year reign of Jesus Christ upon the earth, in the presence of sin, and a final rebellion by Satan) has been a minority strain of escha

Six of these occurrences refer directly to Jesus. At the most basic level, Jesus is described as Mary's "firstborn son" (Luke 2:7). Just as Philo referred to the physical birth and rank of Cain, Luke refers to Jesus as the first child of Mary.In Col 1:15 Paul states that Jesus is the "firstborn of all creation." Paul may be referring to Jesus being

1. Am I trying to be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to become angry? (James 1:19) Am I really trying to hear what the other person has to say? Really trying to see their viewpoint? Or am I defending myself or thinking of my next answer before they are finished speaking? Am I feeling angry? Is there anything that I really need to see here, e

4) Abundance1 Timothy 6:10For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.We Americans are so fat with our own prosperity that we often make wealth our god and not the true King of heaven. This has also been a recurring theme throughout the e

Peace during rejection Jesus experienced rejection just as we do. In Luke 4:16-30, we learn that Jesus has returned to His hometown of Nazareth. We would expect a warm welcome, but all Jesus receives are scoffs. His kinsmen drove Him out of town but Jesus did not fight back. He went peacefully on His way.Throughout our lives we will experience time

1. Suffering Leads to Singing It's frequently overlooked, but the songwriter behind Psalm 119 had a reason for writing. It wasn't that he went to a Bible conference and was so full of fresh insights and faith that he just had to write a song all about God's Word. Rather, this song was brought about by a time of great suffering in his life. Througho

“But a counselor in divine matters is actually a stumbling block if, under the guise of religion and doctrine, he is trying to lead us into some pernicious belief.”Augustine states that such a human relationship must be severed . . . torn out and thrown away.Yet, Literal Interpretations Did OccurLiteralism in understanding Jesus and self-mutilation

Most recently he had experienced this overflowing comfort in Asia where, he says, “We were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death” (2 Corinthians 1:8-9). But God delivered him with resurrection power (cf. 2 Corinthians 1:9-10). And more, God comforted Paul

"Whenever we get to that elusive and ever-receding 'hill to die on,' we will discover, upon our arrival there that it only looked like a hill to die on from a distance. Up close, when the possible dying is also up close, it kind of looks like every other hill. All of a sudden it looks like a hill to stay alive on, covered over with topsoil that loo

1. What am I believing about God?Do I believe what his Word says about him? Do I believe he is faithful? Do I believe he is sovereign, good and loving? Am I trusting his promises? Or do I believe he has forsaken me or doesn’t care about me?2. Am I constantly giving thanks?Gratefulness produces joy. Noting and recalling our blessings turns us to God

How does God view iniquity?God does not approve of iniquity. Iniquity damages relationships between people and God. Guilt creates a barrier in our relationships with God and other people.The Lord said in Isaiah 57:17, “Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry, I struck him; I hid my face and was angry, but he went on backsliding in th

She thought, If I told Lee ‘no’ he wouldn’t like me anymore. She reasoned, There are lots of girls who’d happily sleep with Lee. And giving myself to him will make Lee want only me. Liz was lost in thought until the limousine pulled up to her house. As she got out of the car, Lee kissed her on the cheek and said goodnight. Before she even got to th

There is a struggle in your heart; there is territory unclaimed by Christ even in the lives of His people. Though Satan cannot have your soul, he seeks that one territory to hold. But Jesus is the bondage breaker. The kingdom of God is greater than the kingdom of Satan. Christ calls each of you to see the seducing city of man, the kingdom of Satan,

Matthew 18:10 seems to suggest “little ones”—new believers or disciples with childlike trust—are cared for by “their angels.” John Piper explains the verse this way: “The word “their” certainly implies that these angels have a special personal role to play in relation to Jesus’s disciples. But the plural “angels” may simply mean that all believers

We have to separate our human experience from God’s promises that will never be broken. We know that we can trust His promises because of another experience: He has “put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come” (2 Cor 1:22).As a child, I believed that if I was within the walls of that ruined castle, I was safe. I know no

The Pain and Shame of the Crucifixion Any attempt to understand the sufferings of Christ must reckon with the fact that “two thousand years of pious Christian tradition have largely domesticated the cross, making it hard for us to realize how it was viewed in Jesus' time” (Carson, 573). Both the painful and shameful aspects of crucifixion have beco

The Bible Verse in Context First off, any verse in the Bible must be read in context, in the perspective of what is written around it. In this case, we are reading the words of Paul to the church in Rome, and in chapter 6 he is addressing the contrasts between sin and grace, death and life.In this portion of Scripture, Paul is defining how when we

When God tells us to sing and raise our hands to Him, it’s not because He needs our praise to feel good about Himself. It’s for our pleasure in Him. When we express our appreciation of God it enhances our enjoyment of Him. Like when we express appreciation for a great painting, or a great steak. It enhances and completes our enjoyment of it. When G

1. He Learned Responsibility at a Young Age Billy Frank (his name as a boy) was raised on a dairy farm near Charlotte, North Carolina. He was the oldest of three children, so many of the farming chores landed on his shoulders. Seven days a week, morning and evening, it was Billy’s job to milk the cows, which meant waking at 2:30 each morning.For tw

1. The local church is a central part of God's strategic plan for your spiritual growth.I have often heard the statement, “Well, I don’t need to go to church to be a Christian.” On a slight technicality, that may be true, but it is certainly far-removed from God’s true plan.Jesus said, “On this rock [Peter’s statement that Jesus was the Messiah and