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That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.  Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.  Much was lost when Adam and Eve fell in the garden. Perhaps most significance was our intimacy with God. The first man and woman walked and talked with Him in the garden. It was a reason they were created, to be friends with God. Our general feelings of emptiness, the hole in our soul, are based on the loss of that intimacy. So much so that Paul yearned, “that I may know Him.” We are to “seek first” the Kingdom of God. If we are yearning for God and are focused on Him, our other perceived needs melt away. Much of what we think we want and need are simply substitutes for the God we were created to know and serve. That desire to know Him is fired by the Holy Spirit who […]

32 And it shall come to pass       That whoever calls on the name of the LORD       Shall be saved.       For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance,       As the LORD has said,       Among the remnant whom the LORD calls. Joel 2:32 21 And it shall come to pass      That whoever calls on the name of the LORD      Shall be saved.’ Acts 2:21 13 For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. Romans 10:13   The phrase, “Whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved,” is used three times in the Bible—once in Joel 2:32 as part of a prophetic account, once in Acts 2:21 by the Apostle Peter during his address at Pentecost, and once in Romans 10:13 by the Apostle Paul in his address to the Roman church. There must be something to calling upon the name of the Lord. I just finished watching a video taken during the tornado which struck Joplin, Missouri. Several people took refuge in the rear of a convenience store. There is little light in the video so not much can be seen. But the noise of the savage storm can be heard as […]

12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.  Philippians 2:12-13 Spiritual maturity is a step-by-step process. The process is often stunted by early misconceptions. For example, we often act as if the goal is faith in Christ leading to salvation. It’s a little like the student for whom the goal is graduation. Graduation is just the beginning. Salvation is just the beginning. God’s goal, and thus ours, is for us to be transformed into the image of His Son. Some never get past this misconception.  Others, recognizing that something more is expected, try to be conformed to the image of Christ on their own. They try to do good deeds and ultimately fail. It is at this point that we often go astray. We think we are suppose to do something for God in gratitude for what He has done for us. God has everything, including all power. He doesn’t need for us to do for Him. […]

Christianity taking over planet?Evidence suggests it’s fastest growing faith on Earth What is the fastest-growing religion on Earth? Most news reports suggest it is Islam. But the evidence suggests a new, or, perhaps, original form of biblically inspired evangelical Christianity is sweeping through places like China, Africa, India and Southeast Asia – making it, by far, the fastest growing faith on the planet. In “Megashift,” author Jim Rutz coins a new phrase to define this fast-growing segment of the population. He calls them “core apostolics” – or “the new saints who are at the heart of the mushrooming kingdom of God.” Rutz makes the point that Christianity is overlooked as the fastest-growing faith in the world because most surveys look at the traditional Protestant denominations and the Roman Catholic Church while ignoring Christian believers who have no part of either. He says there are 707 million “switched-on disciples” who fit into this new category and that this “church” is exploding in growth. “The growing core of Christianity crosses theological lines and includes 707 million born-again people who are increasing by 8 percent a year,” he says. So fast is this group growing that, under current trends, according to Rutz, […]

I spent the afternoon listening to the Cajuns play softball. They are playing in the regionals in Austin, Texas. They lost yesterday, so they had to win twice today to keep playing. Their pitcher, Ashley Brignac is a Christian. She pitched yesterday. She was supposed to rest in the first game today, but the starting pitcher got hurt early in the game and Ashley had to pitch. She pitched that game and won and then pitched the next game against Texas the number 3 team in the country at their field and won. It was an exhausting but inspiring effort. She gave more than could be expected. Sometimes we don’t expect enough from ourselves. We don’t give 100 percent. We should give our all for Our Lord who gave His all.  But other times we are too hard on ourselves. Often, even when we’ve given our all, things don’t work out like we believe they should. We play hard, but we don’t win. In those times, we need to be happy with our best effort. When we don’t do you know who sets unrealistic standards? Who  sets the bar beyond reach? We do. Our Heavenly Father doesn’t. Our problem […]

Some are saying Jesus is returning on Saturday. I don’t think so. I believe He is returning soon; but I also believes no man knows the date. The sad thing is that these false prophecies detract from the very real truth that He is returning. That’s not a wild-eyed fringe view but is the belief of nearly every denomination. So what does the bible say about His return? What will it be like? What should we be doing while we wait? The bible has much to say about Jesus’ return. One out of every 30 verses in the Bible mentions the subject of Christ’s return or the end of time.  Of the 216 chapters in the New Testament, there are well over 300 references to the return of Christ.  23 of the 27 New Testament books mention Christ’s return. In the Old Testament, such well-known and reliable men of God as Job, Moses, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, as well as most of the minor prophets mention Christ’s return in their writings. Christ often spoke specifically about His own return to earth. Throughout the centuries, Christ’s disciples and followers have adamantly believed, written, and taught that Christ would someday return to earth. […]

So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” —Matthew 14:29–30 You can be fearful or faithful; but not both. It all depends where you are looking. As long as Peter was looking at Jesus, he was faithful enough to walk on water. When he began to focus on the storm, he began to sink.  I know it sounds simple: just look to Jesus; but it’s not so simple in practice. Because circumstances are so visible, so in-your-face and Jesus isn’t. I remember being in a storm at see. I wasn’t in a small boat like Peter. I was on a huge aircraft carrier. U. S. S. Ranger, with 5000 other men. We had been stationed off of Viet Nam for months and we were scheduled to be in Hong Kong. That was a great port and we all needed some good liberty. However, at the last minute we had to move away from that port. The night before our scheduled docking we […]

26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:26-28 (NIV) Servanthood is ignited by the agape love of Christ. Once touched by His love, we are compelled to pass it on, to do onto others as was done onto us 2 Corinthians 5:14-15, For the love of Christ controls us [hems us in, directs us, compels us], because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. Servanthood is not the first thing a new Christian jumps into. Most pastors will testify how difficult it is to get their flock to do something. Perhaps its a church culture which believes that Christianity consists of going to church. Maybe it’s our churches designed like theaters where folks go to watch and be entertained.  Perhaps it’s that immature believers have simply not had enough […]