Month: February 2010

This discussion sheds light on what Heaven is, and what it is like.

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Each local congregation must decide to be steadfast in the face of opposition and false doctrine; Zealous in the Lord’s work; and, work for Unity and Peace.
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It’s Superbowl Sunday and for the first time in the history of the franchise, the New Orleans Saints will be playing for the NFL Championship. The game has been referred to time and again as a needed balm as the city of New Orleans continues its recovery from hurricane Katrina in August 2005.

New Orleans is a city of sin. It is a party city, with its famous Bourbon Street in the French Quarter, and the Mardi Gras celebration. It is a mixture of French decadence, Southern hospitality, voodoo, narcissism and Roman Catholicism. Mardi Gras is an interesting example of these influences. The word Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday, referencing the common Catholic practice of eating rich and fatty foods in the days before the fasting of the Lenten Season, starting with Ash Wednesday.

Continue reading “In the News: New Orleans – Super City” →

One of the most admirable qualities of the apostle Paul was his zeal. That zeal was present before he became a Christian, and in fact was partly responsible for his destructive work as a persecutor of God’s people. Paul said as much in Galatians 1:14, “And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers.”

We readily accede to the fact that zeal alone is insufficient to ensure admirable action. In fact, Paul admonished the Jews despite their zeal. He said, “For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God” (Romans 10:2-3).

Continue reading “Paul’s Example: A Zealous Life” →

One interesting area of Bible Evidences is Archaeology. Archaeology helps to provide a background for the characters and events described in the Bible. It serves to corroborate the Bible as a dependable and inspired text. One caveat: The fact that archaeology has not corroborated a specific event, place or person is not evidence that it doesn’t exist. I came across this recently:

“The Hittites were unknown outside the Bible until late in the 19th century. Some critics had denied the existence of such a people. A.H. Sayce proposed that certain inscriptions in Syria were Hittite, then the Hittite capital at Boghazkoy was excavated by Hugo Winckler in 1906. About 10,000 Hittite and Akkadian texts were found. It is now possible to get a graduate degree in Hittite civilization at the University of Pennsylvania.” (Ferrell Jenkins, Introduction to Christian Evidences, pg. 60).

1 John 1:5-10

Here John relates to his readers a most important message, “God is light” (vs. 5).

This truth has far reaching implications. For example, if we are tempted and sin, it is not God’s fault. He is not responsible for temptation, and we are solely responsible for our own sinful actions (cf. James 1:13-15).

Second, (and the point of these verses), we can not practice sin and be in fellowship with God. As there is “no darkness” in him, those who “walk in darkness” can have no part with God.

That’s not to say that we never sin. In fact, John here says we are lying to ourselves, and also accusing Christ of lying if we say we are not guilty of sin. The fact that Jesus came to earth to die for our sins indicates that we all are guilty. John here affirms the same.
What this does indicate is that God requires us to seek to live righteously. When we sin, we are required to confess those sins to God, and ask forgiveness. God is gracious and faithful in forgiving us upon our repentance.

Have you sinned? Ask God’s forgiveness! We must walk in the light to have to have fellowship with Him.