Year: 2018

The Garden of the Soul 

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The Garden of the Soul Song of Solomon 1:6 “…they made me keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard I have not kept.” _____________________________________________________________ Solomon’s sweetheart lamented the fact that because of the demands placed upon her, her garden had gone to shambles. God would tell us to be careful to tend the gardens of our heart and home. A house that is overgrown with weeds and vines announces that very little time has been spent maintaining that home. The outside weeds speak of what could be going on inside. A heart left alone and starved of the Word …

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Take a Look at Your Future (It’s Beautiful!)

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Take a Look at Your Future (It’s Beautiful!) Long, long ago, before man was created, the universe was flawlessly beautiful. The morning stars sang together and the angels shouted for joy. That is how God Himself describes the wonder of creation before angels fell and man sinned (Job 38:7). In that glorious day there was no sorrow or pain in God’s creation. Joy and peace reigned everywhere. But when sin entered the universe through the fall of Satan and spread to the human race, God predicted that sorrow would replace joy. To Eve He said, “I will greatly multiply thy …

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Holy Foresight

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Holy Foresight Nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of Heaven (Matthew 26:64) Ah, LORD, Thou wast in Thy lowest state when before Thy persecutors Thou wast made to stand like a criminal! Yet the eyes of Thy faith could see beyond Thy present humiliation into Thy future glory. What words are these, “Nevertheless – hereafter!” I would imitate Thy holy foresight, and in the midst of poverty, or sickness, or slander, I also would say, “Nevertheless – hereafter.” Instead of weakness, …

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God Speaks . . . We Respond

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God Speaks . . . We Respond 1 Samuel 16:14-23 14 But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him. 15 And Saul’s servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee. 16 Let our lord now command thy servants, which are before thee, to seek out a man, who is a cunning player on an harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well. 17 And Saul …

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Some Not-So-Subtle Sermon Suggestions 

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Some Not-So-Subtle Sermon Suggestions In Defense of the Faith Tuesday, May 29, 2018 Steve Schmutzer According to a recent “Twitter survey,” the average length of a sermon anymore is about 36 minutes.  I said “average.” That means roughly half of the sermons every Sunday are shorter than that. It’s fast food for the frenzied flock. I suppose I could be persuaded to accept those parameters more if those 36 minutes were filled with substance and pith. You know – the “chewy stuff.” I need those elements that make me think, that convict me, that expand my view of God, that …

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The Finished Work

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Reflections The Finished Work God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them. (II Cor. 5:19) God has already forgiven the entire human race because of Jesus Christ. Because Jesus Christ has FINISHED His redemptive work, God is finished forgiving. And His forgiveness is total for every sin ever committed, or that will be committed, by every human being. Our faith does not contribute to this finished work. Nor can our unbelief undo it. It is a finished reality for the entire human race in Christ — regardless of whether even one person believes …

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The Stages of Our Christian Life

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No matter how long we’ve walked with God, He is always challenging us to become more like Him The Stages of Our Christian Life PHILIPPIANS 1:5-7 5 in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. 7 For it is only right for me to feel this way about you all, because I have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and …

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A Little Leaven…

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A Little Leaven… Pete Garcia A believer moves through three stages in life: salvation (a one-time event), sanctification (a life-long event), and glorification (a permanent event). Satan actively attacks all three of these areas to either prevent a person from hearing the truth to become saved or by perverting the truth to keep a believer’s growth in Christ stunted. The best tactical strategy an adversary could ever have is to keep his enemy in a state of both confusion and disarray. We know that Satan (i.e., the adversary) has used this strategy of corruption generously over the course of human …

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The True Church Loves Israel By Grant Phillips

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The True Church Loves Israel By Grant Phillips We have so much to thank Israel for. This Jewish nation should always be on our lips in prayer, thanking God for her existence. Without her, we would not exist. Because of the Jew we have not only the Old Testament that informs us about the one true God, but also the New Testament that clarifies Him even more. Everything about the Bible we Christians cherish, came from our Jewish friends. Almighty God chose a man named Abram (later changed to Abraham by God) and began the nation we know today as …

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Reconciled to God

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Reconciled to God God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them. (II Cor. 5:19) Reconciliation is the bringing of two parties together – the Greek word means, “to exchange enmity for friendship.” But take note: You will NEVER read in the Bible that God needed to be reconciled to man. God was never at enmity against man. Rather, it is man who is at enmity against God, and thus, it is man who needed to be reconciled to God. Jesus Christ reconciled the world to God by His finished work. But not by …

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The Process of Sanctification

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Spiritual growth is slow. But if we are committed to maturing, we will see fruit The Process of Sanctification HEBREWS 5:11-14 11 Concerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. 13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is …

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Humble Appointment

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Humble Appointment 1 Samuel 16:12-17 12 And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the Lord said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he. 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah. 14 But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him. 15 And Saul’s servants …

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China to host Iran leader amid nuclear deal upheaval

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President Xi Jinping will meet Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani together with Russia’s Putin on the sidelines of Shanghai Cooperation Organization 05/28/2018 BEIJING, China — Iran’s president will attend a summit with his Chinese and Russian counterparts next month, officials in Beijing said Monday, as they try to salvage the nuclear deal thrown into upheaval by US President Donald Trump. China, Russia and the Western European powers of UK, France, and Germany, all of which signed the 2015 Iran nuclear accord, are scrambling to save the pact following the US president’s decision to quit the agreement and reinstate sanctions. China’s President …

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