Rhonda Ballance

The Cost of Discipleship

by

Salvation is a free gift of God that comes through faith in His Son Jesus.   Matthew 10:24-42 24 The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. 25 It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household? 26 Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known. 27 What I tell you in darkness, …

Read more

“Beyond the meeting in the air, what is the purpose of the rapture?

by

The rapture allows us to be active participants in the tribulation from heaven rather than mere observers of the tribulation from earth. This conclusion comes from several passages in Revelation. First, Revelation 3:10. The tribulation comes to test those on the earth. But the church has no part in this, because we have already been tested. Whatever constitutes the tribulation, and whatever your view of Revelation 3:10, we all agree that the church is kept, protected, and guarded during this time, in a special way that unbelievers are not. If we were on earth, this would make us observers of …

Read more

The Ultimate Rags To Riches Story

by

A Feature Article by Jack Kelley We all love this kind of story. And as much as we’re encouraged by the experience of an ordinary person who due to personal drive and perseverance rises from humble beginnings to become a leader of business or industry, we’re especially fond of stories where an absolute nobody is plucked from the faceless crowd and instantly propelled to the pinnacle of success. Great Hollywood stories have been built upon this premise, and they’ve never failed to delight us. But by far the absolute best example of this comes from the Bible and is about …

Read more

Hid With Christ in God

by

You are complete in Him…for you are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall you also appear with him in glory. (Col. 2:9, 3:3-4) Christ has not merely given us a new life because He died, but He has given us HIMSELF – if we are in Him, HE IS our life. This is how we are complete in Him. Everything is within life, and nothing is outside of it – and the Person of Christ constitutes the very life of the believer. It is difficult for …

Read more

An Awesome God

by

Oh, what an awesome God we serve, We see His hand everywhere… On land and sea, and in the sky, Wherever we look He’s there; Sometimes, when we expect it least, When all is quiet and still… His presence overwhelms our soul… As the whole room He doth fill. Oh, what an awesome God we serve, He breaks the power of sin… Birthing souls into His kingdom, Giving new life within. How awesome it is to witness The hand of His Spirit there… Drawing the lost to repentance… In His tender loving care. Oh, what an awesome God we serve, …

Read more

Old vs. New Covenant

by

  Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers…for this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, …

Read more

David’s Devotion

by

Psalm 3 3 Lord, how are they increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me. 2 Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah. 3 But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head. 4 I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah. 5 I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the Lord sustained me. 6 I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, …

Read more

The Feast of Shavuot, God's Perfect Timing

by

You shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day when you brought in the sheaf of the wave offering; there shall be seven complete Sabbaths.  You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall present a new grain offering to the Lord.”  (Leviticus 23:15-16)     Traditionally, both Jews and Christians have thought of Shavuot as a “birthday”.  For the traditional Jewish community, this feast was first celebrated around the time when God gave Israel the Torah at Mount Sinai, about fifty days after leaving Egypt (Ex. 19:1). Therefore, …

Read more

A True Friend

by

1 Samuel 23:14–18 14 David now stayed in the strongholds of the wilderness and in the hill country of Ziph. Saul hunted him day after day, but God didn’t let Saul find him. 15 One day near Horesh, David received the news that Saul was on the way to Ziph to search for him and kill him. 16 Jonathan went to find David and encouraged him to stay strong in his faith in God. 17 “Don’t be afraid,” Jonathan reassured him. “My father will never find you! You are going to be the king of Israel, and I will be …

Read more

The Seventy Weeks of Daniel

by

By Jack Kelley The seventy weeks prophecy is one of the most significant and detailed Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament. It is found in Daniel 9. The chapter begins with Daniel praying for Israel, acknowledging the nation’s sins against God and asking for God’s mercy. As Daniel prayed, the angel Gabriel appeared to him and gave him a vision of Israel’s future. The Divisions of the 70 Weeks: – In verse 24, Gabriel says, “Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city.” Almost all commentators agree that the seventy “sevens” should be understood as seventy “weeks” …

Read more

Legalism, License, or Liberty

by

Reflections     You will often hear that life in Christ is a balance between legalism and license. This is patently false. The Truth is outside of both. Life in Christ is exactly what the word suggests: It is LIFE. But most folks are blind to the fact that Christ is in us, and that He is to be our life – that is, that we are to live from out of Him by faith. And frankly, if I am blind to that I can practice either legalism or license until I am blue in the face and it will …

Read more

Cave Dwellers

by

1 Samuel 22:3-23 3 And David went from there to Mizpeh of Moab. And he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and my mother stay with you, till I know what God will do for me.” 4 And he left them with the king of Moab, and they stayed with him all the time that David was in the stronghold. 5 Then the prophet Gad said to David, “Do not remain in the stronghold; depart, and go into the land of Judah.” So David departed and went into the forest of Hereth. Saul Kills the Priests …

Read more