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...

Isn't it awesome that the bible was written thousands of years ago, yet remains so relevant for us today! T aking a familiar passage of Scripture and applying the passage to our lives helps us grow in our daily walk with the Lord. Therefore, let’s look at the story of the rich young ruler from the perspective of Christ calling for acceptance of Him as Savior and Christ calling us into full devotion to Him.  Mark 10:17— As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. "Good teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"  Notice the attitude of the rich young ruler. He ran to Jesus. The young man did not approach Jesus with an arrogant demeanor. The man fell on his knees. This is a clear sign of reverence for Christ. The title "Good" refers to God, as only God is good. This man who had all the wealth anyone could possibly want acknowledges that he is lacking the most important wealth. That treasu...

Have you ever argued with God, trying to deny that you did anything wrong? King Saul did, in first Samuel chapter fifteen! When confronted by Samuel, God’s servant/prophet, to “Stop telling lies” and listen up because the Lord God had a message to share with him concerning his unacceptable behavior, Saul argued that he did not disobey God (v. 15) but rather it was his army that was at fault. How often do we put the blame on someone else and fail to take responsibility for our misdeeds? Samuel rejected Saul’s lies and explained why God couldn’t accept the captured animals as legitimate sacrifices. “What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice.” The prophet was saying that the Lord God wants living obedience from the heart, not dead animals on the altar. God doesn’t need any of our gifts what He desires from us is a broken and repentant heart (Psalm 51:17). Making sacrifices to God w...

The US Treasury has specialist whose job it is to track down counterfeiters. These individuals know a fake bill when they see it. The reason they are able to detect fraudulent currency is because they spend countless hours studying the real thing. They are so familiar with authentic bills they can spot a counterfeit by looking at it or even, more times than not, simply by feeling it. In our world today there are counterfeit Christians that the Bible describes as “children of the devil.” In the same way a Treasury official spots fakes by knowing intimately the genuine article, the Scriptures give a genuine description of Gods children not the characteristics of Satan’s children.   The contrast is obvious. A true child of God practices righteousness and loves other Christ-followers despite their differences. “Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God” (1 John 3:10). Practicing righteousness and loving the brethren is a true s...