We have been sharpening the grace-edge of the two-edged sword of the Word of God for the past few weeks as we have investigated Jesus’ words in Matthew 18:3, “ Unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” I believe that Jesus’ use of the word “converted” does not imply “becoming a Christian,” or “deciding to believe in Jesus” in this verse. I believe He means converting to a whole new way to…
Last week we concluded with what I believe are two of the three indications that I am learning to walk by faith and not by the unconscious performance addiction that is always lurking in the shadows to grab me. Those first two indications that I am doing so are: 1. I am learning to live by hearing, and then doing, what my Heavenly Daddy is telling me to do in my heart, like a little child.2. 2. I am learning to “walk in the…
We were created to rule over the earth, and rule we will! However, we have a problem. We were irreparably addicted to wanting to be like God, determining good and evil for ourselves, when we ate of the forbidden fruit IN ADAM in the Garden of Eden But God’s mysterious, inscrutable plan provided just the solution! He placed us all IN CHRIST when He died on the cross. All of us old, performance addicts who fell at the Tree in the Garden, died on…
In 1525, Martin Luther preached a sermon explaining how God preaches only two sermons in the whole Bible. In his sermon, Luther said: “Now the first sermon, and doctrine, is the law of God. The second is the gospel. These two sermons are not the same. Therefore, we must have a good grasp of the matter in order to know how to differentiate between them….The law commands and requires us to do certain things. ..The gospel does the very opposite, and says, ‘This is…
While randomly perusing the “Recommended” section on YouTube a few days ago I stumbled on a beautiful rendition of “Because He Lives.” I was home alone at the time, and as I listened I found myself having an incredible emotional experience with the Lord! Hands lifted, tears running down my face, I was shouting and praising God with all my heart! I watched it a second time with the same reaction. As I was telling Jill about the experience when she got home, it…
The stage is set. Last week we proposed a biblical Constitution to put in place. As we do so, the nation itself is now ready to join in our attack on the Gates of Hell which “shall not prevail against us” (Matthew 16:18)! Here’s a suggestion as to how I believe that will occur: .General Functioning 1. All laws passed by Congress or the State Legislatures must explicitly or implicitly reflect biblical truth. The Bible is recognized as our ultimate standard. 2. Congress will…
Since there can be no neutrality in civil government, all nations worship a “final authority” that is their god. There are only two options—Satan and Jehovah, the Triune God of the Bible!. ALL nations are therefore ultimately theocratic and worship one of these two gods! Although it seems like a far-fetched pipe-dream now, one day I believe a majority of the citizens of the United States will want to be governed by God’s Word, the Bible. When this fact is realized, there are a…
Last week I laid out a biblical case for all civil governments being theocratic (a single god) rather than pluralistic (diverse gods), because there is no neutrality in all of life: “He who is not with Me is against Me” (Matthew 12:30), and that is true of nations as well as individuals A nation’s constitution expresses how a nation’s god wishes that nation to function. Today, I want to look at how we can realistically adjust our Constitution, and then our civil government, to…
Regardless of our personal experience with God, our nation’s civil government reflects the god we follow nationally. This “final authority”-source of the nation is its “god!”. Does its civil government align itself with the biblical model? Nations have only two broad categories of government as possibilities, as we have discussed previously on this blog—THEOCRACY and PLURALISM. A nation that is a theocracy has a single “god” or authority source, while a pluralistic one can have any number of gods or sources of authority. “Theocracy”…
After last week’s posting of “the Elephant in the Room,” which was a look at what I believe the Bible teaches about a woman’s ministry in the New Testament church, several readers cancelled their subscriptions. The posting was not a detailed study but just a brief survey of what I believe the Lord has shown me in my heart. That insight seems to be antithetical to today’s feminist culture and an unpopular position to a vast majority of today’s church-goers. Surprisingly, I discovered I…