Worthy Words

In John’s third Epistle, he gives a shout-out to Gaius because of his Christ-following character. “Some of the brothers recently returned and made me very happy by telling me about your faithfulness and that you are living in the truth” (3 John 3 NLT).  The truth was in Gaius, and Gaius lived the truth. If the first had not been true, the second could never have occurred. Therefore, if the second could not be said of him the first would have been a mere misrepresentation of the truth. Truth must enter into the depths of your being, penetrate and saturate it, or it is of no value. Doctrines held as a matter of devotion are like bread in the hand, which provides no nourishment to the body. But doctrine accepted by the heart, is like food that has been digested. It is absorbed sustaining and building up the body.    So it is for Christ-followers that truth must be a living force, an active energy, an indwelling reality, a part of the fabric of our lives. If it is in...

What’s the best way to tell if your faith is real? The apostle Peter, who was an expert in this area, says that the best way to tell if your faith is authentic is when it encounters hardship. “These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire test gold…so when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.” (1 Peter 1:7 NLT) If your faith has not been tested, you may have faith, but rest assured it will be little and likely will remain that way as long as it goes on without trials. Faith never prospers until situations come up against it. The storms of life are good trainers to condition and strengthen your faith. Jesus reminded the disciples of their undersized faith when they woke Him up from sleeping during a terrible thunderstorm at sea (Mat. 8:26). Christ then demonstrated how potent faith can be by rebuking the winds and the sea and all...

The apostle Paul in Ephesians 2:8 tells us that salvation is a “gift.” The process of acquiring a gift is by receiving. So then one’s life of faith is represented as receiving. A person simply accepts His free gift. Paul makes clear that there is no deed or “work” on the part of the individual to which one can claim credit for their salvation. “Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord …” (Colossians 2:6). What does it mean to “receive Christ?” It’s like the Texas ground which until a few weeks ago, was drought ridden. But in the last week the skies have opened up and have poured out some much needed rain on this dry and thirsty land. The earth drank in the rain—received it freely. Christ-followers are but containers into which the living water of God’s free grace flows. We are empty dry vessels into which God pours His salvation. The genuineness of this receiving is that Christ becomes real to us.   Christ becomes Lord. The Word is our life of faith and it become...

The word backsliding is found only in the Old Testament in conjunction with the nation of Israel. It was used in two ways. One was related to unregenerate people who turn stubbornly away from God (Jer. 49:4). The second use was for believes who go through times when they do not grow or are set back in their growth by sin (Hosea 4:16). The latter will be used for our discussion here. If you are a backslider and think you have slid too far out of the reach of God’s arms your wrong. You just need a little spark of life to get you started groaning for restoration. Restoration is the process needed to renew your relationship with Christ. When repentance is necessary, then it is His exercise of grace that brings renewal.   When you came to Christ by faith in the first place it was grace that made a way for your salvation the same grace is what you call on now to bring you back to the arms of Jesus. It is the flesh that has become great in you. Therefore, you need the greater work...