We know who someone is only by what they tell us about themselves. Why is it so hard to be who we are? We try to hide in plain sight of the people around us. No one wants to be singled out, and no one wants to be wrong. Yet we cannot hide who we truly are from God. Psalm 139:12 says, “the darkness shall not hide from You, but the night shines as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to You.” Sin causes us to attempt to hide who we really are from God, others, and also ourselves, and as a result we pervert those things which God has created as “very good”. To begin to understand who we really are, we must come to understand who we are before God. We cannot hide the reality of that, and yet, we must remember God loves us the way we are right now, and He will help us to become what we need to be, as we learn to walk with Him. Turn to Him and follow Him starting today. … READ MORE

As a follower of Jesus Christ, we are not who we were, nor are we who we are, we are becoming new in our heart, through the renewing of our minds. 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us, “If anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” The “new” that is spoken of here does not mean new in the sense of “renovated” but new in terms of species. I am not what I was (1 Corinthians 6:11), He transforms me from the inside out, and that transformation will manifest itself in what I do and say. I am different, I no longer live for myself, and the deceitful lusts that tempt me to live for this world. I am a pilgrim and stranger in a place, that God uses to conform me into the image of His glorious Son! I am not just a cleansed person, I am a new type of person, I am declared holy before God, and righteous before men, not because I am a better person than those around me, but because of the work of Jesus Christ through his death, burial, and resurrection. The … READ MORE

In 2 Thessalonians 2:7 we see that, one day the restraining ministry of the Holy Spirit will be removed. But that leads to some questions. Does that mean that the Holy Spirit will be removed from the world? If not how can that removal happen? This phrase “taken out of the way” does not refer to the removal of the Holy Spirit from the world, but rather to the cessation of HIs restraining work. One of the clearest passages to look at to understand this is Romans 1:18-25, where the wrath of God is revealed against all ungodliness. When we think of God’s wrath, we think of lighting, storms, and devastation. Interestingly, in the Bible the wrath of God is usually accompanied by God withdrawing himself from mankind and allowing them to move in the bent of their own thinking. Since men are sinners by nature, they do what is natural and sin against one another. The manifestation of this is a downward spiral of society and culture toward evil. Often what we see is that people call good evil, and evil good! The Bible clearly indicates this event will occur during the tribulation period, and will allow the rise … READ MORE