As Jesus gathered with the disciples on the night before His death, He knew they were filled with sorrow and fear. Their love for Him was so intense that they were convinced that they would rather die than live without Him. But Jesus wanted them to understand that they would not have to face the world’s opposition in their own strength. In John 15:26-16:15 Jesus shares with the disciples that the Holy Spirit’s empowering of Christians will enable them to live the Christian life, and share the word of God with a richness and victory that can not be accomplished by their own power. It is important for us to understand that the Spirit of God will enable us to not only know the truth but live in it. This is why we are “different” as a believer. Not because we are better, but because the Holy Spirit has come to transform us into the image of Christ. The power to live the Christian life in is not in us, it is in the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, and is unlocked by our submission to the Word of God. May we learn what the Word of God says, … READ MORE

Psalm 100:4-5 says, “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; Give thanks to Him and praise His name.  For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.”  I am reminded that thankfulness to God is a recognition that God in His goodness and faithfulness has provided for us and cared for us, both physically and spiritually.  It is a recognition that I am totally dependent on Him! Failure to give God thanks is not just a mistake, it is a sin of the deepest magnitude.  Yet, it is the tendency of our hearts to usurp the credit that rightfully belongs only to God.  An attitude of thankfulness is the work of the Holy Spirit, and it also comes as a result of personal effort on our part.  We must cultivate the habit of always giving thanks for everything.  This is brought about by staying focused on God’s Word and hiding that Word in our hearts. An ungrateful heart must be transformed by the renewal of our minds.  This transformation is the work of the Holy Spirit as we fill our minds with the Word of God.  May God give to … READ MORE

Why must we think rightly about God? – The mightiest thought the mind can entertain is the thought of God. Our idea of God may lie buried under the rubbish of conventional religious notions and may require an intelligent and vigorous search before it is finally unearthed and exposed for what it is. A right understanding of God is basic not only to systematic theology but to practical Christian living as well. our understanding of God is to worship what a foundation is to any building, without a proper one everything built on top of it will crumble. There is scarcely an error in doctrine or a failure in applying Christian ethics that cannot be traced finally to imperfect and ignoble thoughts about God. I agree with A. W. Tozer when he says that “the Christian conception of God in the days we live is so decadent as to be utterly beneath the dignity of the Most High God and actually to constitute for professed believers something amounting to a moral calamity.” We need to take the time to walk through the Bible to understand how God reveals himself to us. Developing a right view of our God will give … READ MORE