Biblical Teachings

CALLED TO COURAGE

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Joshua 3:1-17 3 And Joshua rose early in the morning; and they removed from Shittim, and came to Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over. 2 And it came to pass after three days, that the officers went through the host; 3 And they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it. 4 Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two …

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A New Creature

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“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (2 Cor. 5:17) We are saved when Jesus Christ joins us to Himself. Since He is THE LIFE, then when we are joined to Him, we are ALIVE in Him. We are planted together with Him in His death — and then what is birthed through His resurrection is the new creature in Christ Jesus. “For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his …

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Genesis Message 58 The Abrahamic Covenant Transfers to Jacob

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The fact is that God had determined in advance who should get it and announced that to Rebecca in Genesis 25: 23. Esau had violated his birthright for a bowl of stew and permanently removed himself from consideration. Now it seems that Isaac is about to attempt a reversal of the birthright over a bowl of venison. Perhaps his taste for venison governed his behavior. With Isaac’s action here Rebecca made a crucial decision to correct this. Most Bible commentators and pastors who elucidate these passages find fault with Jacob for “stealing” the birthright. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Esau was not worthy, Jacob had been prophesied as the rightful Covenantal heir and Rebecca saw Isaac’s failure to carry out God’s will. This speaks volumes to the problem we have in Christianity. Most people do not read the Bible carefully. The theological term for letting the text speak to us is exegesis. When we read what we want the text to say instead it is called eisegesis.

Itching Ears

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Reflections For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. (II Tim. 4:3-4) If I have been deceived, there are REASONS – there are reasons why people believe error rather than the Truth. And it is a fact that those reasons are found in our own hearts. Only through knowing Jesus Christ and giving ourselves to Him can our heart be made pure, and can it be …

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Who Will You Tell?

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Romans 10:14-15 “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!’” _____________________________________________________________ Many Christians have made a grave error in failing to live this passage out in their lives. The Christian church at large today believes that telling others about Jesus Christ …

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THE POSITIVE POWER OF COURAGE

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Obeying the Lord requires bravery—a firmness of spirit that can face crises without retreating THE POSITIVE POWER OF COURAGE Joshua 1:1-9(KJV) 1 Now after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord it came to pass, that the Lord spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ minister, saying, 2 Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. 3 Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto …

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“The Lord our Righteousness.” Jeremiah 23:6

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It will always give a Christian the greatest calm, quiet, ease, and peace, to think of the perfect righteousness of Christ. How often are the saints of God downcast and sad! I do not think they ought to be. I do not think they would if they could always see their perfection in Christ. There are some who are always talking about corruption, and the depravity of the heart, and the innate evil of the soul. This is quite true, but why not go a little further, and remember that we are “perfect in Christ Jesus.” It is no wonder …

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Discovering God’s will is a daily process of trust.

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2 Timothy 3:14-17 (KJV) 14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; 15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. God’s plan ensures every believer can reach his …

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The Broken Power of Satan

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Reflections

Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil. (Heb. 2:1)

When Adam sinned and forfeited life from God, he not only died spiritually, but the entire earthly realm over which God had given him dominion was put under a curse. (Gen. 3:17) From that point, nothing could be produced out of the earthly realm that was spiritual. And even the physical that was produced required a great deal of struggle. In addition, Satan was cast down to the earthly realm. He is the god of this world, with access to all that is earthly.
Jesus Christ became a human being and lived a sinless life. He brought the human being into the fullness of what originally intended for Adam. Then He offered Himself to bear the sin of the world – really to bear all that is earthly pertaining to humankind. This all died when Christ died. What was rasied was a new man in Christ. Death had severed the old creation, and resurrection in Christ had birthed the new.

So what we see is that those who are in Christ have a life inside of them that is not of this earthly. Satan therefore does not have access – indeed it is resurrection life which is victory over Satan in every way. But Satan does continue to be able to approach the natural man that continues to exist in us outisde of our union in Christ.

The point is this: The ground of Satan, or his point of access, has been cut out from under him. Not by obliterating it, but by joining us to the Lord in Spirit. The Christian life is therefore one of living FROM new ground — His victory of resurrection life. The only power that remains for Satan is that of deception. This is why we must know Truth.

Guided Into All Truth

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Jesus Christ promised that when the Holy Spirit was given that a primary purpose would be to guide believers into all the Truth. (John 16:13) But we must not limit this to merely an understanding of Bible verses, or the ability to develop a correct theology. No. Jesus Christ is the Truth. In short, being guided into all Truth means that we will be guided into a knowledge of Jesus Christ that will set us free from all error. To be guided into all Truth will eventually result in BEING MADE TRUE UNTO GOD. I will know the Truth and …

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Genesis Message 57 The Struggle for Water

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It is important to remember that Isaac is now an extremely wealthy man. Jehovah God has blessed him as promised by giving him flocks, herds, servants and a great household. Interestingly Isaac simply leaves the city of Gerar at Abimelech’s request and moves into the valley of Gerar without any resistance. He could have argued that this right to stay in Gerar was given to his father under an earlier Abimelech (Genesis 20: 15). Perhaps he wanted to avoid the conflict since he had just experienced the envy of Abimelech’s herdsmen. They closed the wells that Abraham’s men had dug. He moved his extensive entourage to the valley. He immediately began to dig wells, as life-sustaining water must be located immediately. As he dug wells the men of Gerar filled them back in. They were still envious of him and this was how they acted out their resentment toward him. Now Isaac named each of the wells exactly as his father Abraham had. The first well, which they reopened, was a highly desirable artesian spring, which essentially means they tapped into an underground river. The Hebrew literally means “living water” Mayeem Hayeem. The net result of this find was a rekindling of Abimelech’s herdsmen’s resentment. Isaac just gave it up to avoid additional conflict. He did give it a name, which represented his characterization of the situation. He called it Esek, which is the only occurrence of this word in the Bible. There is no definition of it in the Hebrew Bible but in the Talmud it is explained as contention or a disputed title to ownership.

 

The Rapture According to Jesus Christ

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Pete Garcia Not many years ago, famed Reformist and Partial-Preterist theologian R.C. Sproul authored a book entitled “The Last Days According to Jesus Christ”. In it he states that “I am convinced that the substance of the Olivet Discourse was fulfilled in AD 70 and that the bulk of Revelation was likewise fulfilled in that time period” (page 158). Unfortunately, his view is not unique within Christendom. From the fourth century onward, the dominant eschatological view within Christendom had been built upon Augustine’s teachings that the Kingdom was a spiritual one which was already in effect. By the time Augustine …

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Hope: The Anchor of the Soul

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Jesus provides strength for weary bodies, peace for anxious minds, and comfort for grieving hearts Hebrews 6:13-20 13 For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, 14 Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. 15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. 16 For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. 17 Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his …

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Ziklag

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And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire… So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives. Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep. And David’s two wives were taken captives…and David was greatly distressed; for the people …

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