Doers of the Word

Posted on June 11, 2016 by Doug

James 1:22 says: “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” It is not enough to merely study the bible as an intellectual exercise or as we would read a novel or some other work of man. We must study the bible with the necessity of applying what we learn to our lives, so that we may be doers of the word and not hearers only. We truly do deceive ourselves if we study the bible and listen to countless sermons thinking we are doing what we are required to do, yet not applying what we learn to our lives so that we may be led by the Spirit of God and our lives shaped and molded to be what God would have us be. Jesus put it another way when He said: ” Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21). We may say Lord, Lord to our Savior by studying the Word of God, but if we do not apply it to out lives and thus do God’s will, we will not be saved in the end. Continue reading →

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The Authority of Christ

Posted on May 31, 2016 by Doug

Jesus, just before He ascended to the Father, said: ” All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” (Mathew 28:18). By this He meant that God had given to Him the right to exercise all authority in matters pertaining to heaven and to the earth. It is under Christ’s authority that we serve God today. What Jesus has spoken, both in the Gospels and through His representatives in the rest of the New Testament, is the law by which we live as Christians today. We serve God through Christ and by doing Christ’s will we do the will of God. Often we say that we seek to do God’s will, but more literally, we are doing the will of Christ, which is the same as and does not differ at all from the will of God. Continue reading →

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Psalm 27

Posted on May 26, 2016 by Doug

Seldom, if ever, will any of us be beset with troubles that are like those David describes in this Psalm. We will not have an army encamped against us or enemies that seek to eat up our flesh, but we will have struggles and temptations that seem to us as significant as these. Can we be like David in this Psalm and turn to God to be out light and our salvation, the strength in our life? Indeed, if we allow God and His word the place in  our lives that it should have, we will find in God our deliverance from woes, our light by which we may see to walk the proper path and the very source of our strength as we deal with the problems and temptations that beset us as we go through this life.  Continue reading →

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What is Sin?

Posted on May 16, 2016 by Doug

Sin is defined as anything that violates God’s law or Christ’s law, which is what we live under today, as defined in the New Testament. God has the right to tell us what He would have us do, since He created us and wants what’s best for us. He also gave us free will and the ability to choose whether to follow His law or not. He has, however, defined the consequences of sin or our unwillingness to follow Him, which of course is also a sin. We may think that if we don’t follow God’s law that it doesn’t apply to us and so we do not sin, but God, who created us, demands that we follow Him and obey Him and will one day judge all people based on what they have done in this life (Hebrews 9:27). Continue reading →

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Life Without God Two

Posted on May 9, 2016 by Doug

Not too long ago I did a post dealing with how it is impossible in this world to have a life completely without God since He is seen in everything He created and works to maintain the earth and is even involved in world affairs. There is, however, another sense that we can be without God in this life. When we choose to cut ourselves off from God and live our lives as if there is no God, we are essentially living a life without God. God is ever near us if we seek for Him, but He can be far away if we choose to live without Him in our lives. Continue reading →

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