Category Archives: Faith

Articles about God

Faith

What is Reality?

by Tim Leahy

Webster defines reality as the quality or state of being real. What’s real? Webster defines real as having objective independent existence; not artificial, fraudulent, or illusory: GENUINE; occurring or existing in actuality.

Reality is that which exists and is true. Just because something exists, doesn’t mean that it’s true. In this article, I claim that Christianity is real and true, which means that following Jesus is living in reality.

I believe the most profound statement that Jesus made was, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). I say profound, because of its implications.

If Jesus is the only way to the Father/God, then by implication, all other “truth claims” that contradict Jesus’ statement would have to be false. Further implications are that if Jesus is the truth, then everything contrary to what Jesus and the World of God say would also have to be false.

If God’s Word, and Jesus, the living Word are true then it also sets the parameters for reality. Since the evidence for the life of Jesus is solid[1], and the evidence for the Bible being the Word of God is solid[2] then the belief that the God of the Bible is the Author of reality is a logical conclusion.

Therefore, if we want to live in reality, then we need to live God’s way. I believe it’s safe to say that all the problems and all the confusion stem from our failure to follow God His way. Another way of saying this is, if we did things God’s way would we have the problems we currently have?

Of course, many of the problems we have stem from the fall (the first act of disobedience – Genesis 2:15-3:24) and the consequences of the fall (sin, separation from God, loss of perfection, and death); while others come from the choices we make or don’t make.

The bottom line is that if we had followed God His way, we wouldn’t be in the mess we’re currently in.

Chew on that for a while.

The Good News is that God did something about our mess. He sent His Son Jesus to clean up our mess so we could live in reality now and for eternity. Click here for additional details.

Check out the LMIQ.org website for other informative articles and resources about life and reality.

[1] https://lmiq.org/jesus-existence/

[2] https://lmiq.org/evidence-that-the-bible-is-the-word-of-god/

Faith

Jesus’ Existence

by Tim Leahy

In talking to people about Jesus, they will say things like: ‘Is there any evidence for His existence?’

The reality is that there is. It has been said that the evidence for Jesus’ existence is beyond a reasonable doubt to the point that most scholars believe that Jesus was an actual person who lived in history.

So, what is the evidence for His existence?

I would say that one of the best and foundational evidence is creation itself. Since the universe exists, there must be a Creator that created the universe[1]. This line of thought is important because if a Creator does not exist, then Jesus’ existence is irrelevant.

The reason for this is that Jesus and those who bore witness to His existence testify that Jesus is the Creator (John 1:1-3, 14; Colossians 1:15-16). Jesus said that He and the Father are one (John 10:30). Jesus told His disciples that since they have seen Him, they have seen the Father (John 14:9-11).

John testifies that Jesus is God (John 1:1-3, 14), Paul testifies that Jesus is God (Colossians 1:15-16), Thomas testifies that Jesus is God (John 20:28), and Peter testifies that Jesus was God (2 Peter 1:1).

This leads us to the question of the reliability of the eyewitness testimony. How do we know that these supposed eyewitnesses actually said these things?

The reliability of the eyewitness statements is directly tied to the evidence for the Bible being the reliable Word of God. See evidence for the Bible being the Word of God[2].

We should not find it hard to believe that the Creator of the universe could communicate with His creation. In fact, that’s exactly what the Word of God testifies to (2 Peter 1:20-21; 2 Timothy 3:15-17).

Therefore, if the Bible is the Word of God, then we have excellent evidence that Jesus is God and that He lived in a specific place during a specific time. One of the things or evidence that Jesus existed is that those who wrote about Him used specific places and people that connect Him to a specific time and place.

If people were going to make up a fictitious story about a fictitious person, they would not use specific people, places, and events that could be historically confirmed or denied. They would have used fictitious people and places so their story could not be disproven. This was not the case.

The eyewitnesses used specific people, places, and events that have all been confirmed which is known as “historical accuracy”. This on top of the archeological evidence proves that Jesus was a real person, who lived in a real time and place in history.

The icing on the cake is that unbelievers (those who rejected Jesus as the Messiah) wrote about Him (Josephus) and confirmed the facts that the eyewitness testified about. Therefore, the conclusion is that Jesus was a real person who existed in history as the historical documents say.

Therefore, Jesus existed. Since Jesus existed, we can then look for evidence to see if He is who He was.  That evidence again is given to us by the eyewitness who lived with Him for over the last 3 years of His life.

With this being said, I believe the internal and external evidence clearly communicate who Jesus was and what those who followed Him or were around Him thought of Him.

Another roadblock that people throw up regarding Jesus being God comes from the Old Testament where the Word of God says that there is only one God (Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 42;8, 43:11, 44:6). This idea is also spoken of in the New Testament (1 Corinthians 8:6; 1 Timothy 2:5; James 2:19).

However, as mentioned above, Jesus and His followers testified that He was God. I believe that the best Old Testament evidence for the trinitary view of God is given in Genesis 1:26 where the Word of God says that God speaks in the plural form when He says, “Let us make man in our likeness…”.

The obvious question is, who was God talking to? As mentioned earlier, Colossians 1:15-16 answers that question when it says, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

Therefore, when God says He is one, it must mean that there is one God comprised of 3 essences – Father, Son, and Spirit. Once again, who are we to say that’s not possible when God is all-powerful and unlimited? After all, an all-powerful, unlimited God can be anything He wants.

In this case, it’s referred to as the Trinitary view of God – see  What does the Bible teach about the Trinity?

So, when questioned about the existence of God/Jesus, point them to the fact that creation demands a Creator, that Jesus and His followers (eye-witness) communicated that Jesus is God and that the Creator God exists in trinitary form as communicated by the Word of God.

Of course, this should naturally lead to the question as to the evidence for the Bible being the written revelation of God to which you can point them to Evidence That The Bible Is The Word Of God[3].

Therefore, based on the above-listed evidence, Jesus exists, and the testimony about Him is reliable. With this being the case, what will you do with it?

I pray you will believe and receive Jesus as King of Kings and Lord of Lords – See Gospel for more details[4]. Also see LMIQ.org[5] for additional free resources about God, Jesus, and the Word of God.

[1] https://lmiq.org/evidence-for-god/

[2] https://lmiq.org/evidence-that-the-bible-is-the-word-of-god/

[3] https://lmiq.org/evidence-that-the-bible-is-the-word-of-god/

[4] https://lmiq.org/category/gospel/

[5] https://lmiq.org/

 

Faith

Living God’s Way

Living God’s Way

by Tim Leahy

As I talk to people about the chaos in our culture, I ask them one question: “If we lived God’s way would we be living with the chaos in our culture?” The answer is usually no.

Before I share what I mean by “God’s way”, let me define “chaos in our culture”. Chaos in our culture is referring to the political division and anger we have towards one another, the inability to dialog without name-calling, crime, addiction, poverty, homelessness, divorce, broken and dysfunctional families, and the list goes on.

I believe that if we live God’s way, we would see a dramatic decrease in the chaos because of God’s promises that he wants all people to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9), and that He transforms the lives of those who are saved (2 Corinthians 5:17; Ezekiel 36:26; Philippians 1:6; Luke 6:43-45). I also believe it because my life has been transformed and I am not alone. The lives of countless people, communities, and nations have been transformed because of Jesus. The good we see in society is because of those whose lives were transformed.

So, what is God’s way?

God’s ways are revealed to us by Him in His Word (Bible) and they are many. For the sake of the short answer here are the tops ones:

God is love and His commandment is to love others as Jesus loved us (sacrificially and continually). The essence of the command to love is what is referred to as the Great Commandment (Mt. 22:36-40) where Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment in the Law was.

 Matt 22:36-40

36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’   40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

As we connect the dots of God’s Word we see that love for God should lead us to love others. If we love others we will not participate in the chaos I mentioned previously. This does not mean that we will not experience bad things, evil exists in our fallen world and no one is immune to this. My point is that as communities live God’s way the chaos decreases. I guarantee that chaos is directly related to godlessness; that there is a direct correlation between chaos and not following God His way.

Jesus also said that love for God is obedience (John 14:15; 1 John 5:1-5). One of the ways God commands us to share His love is by telling others about Jesus and what He did to fix our sin and separation problem with God. This is known as the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20).

If we live God’s way we should desire to hear from God daily from His Word so that we would learn how to live His way.  See “Why Read The Bible?” We would also be pointing people to Jesus and teaching them how to follow Him His way and people’s lives would be transformed (Romans 12:2). Sadly, many professing followers of Jesus do not allow God to speak to them regularly (daily), and they do not share the Gospel. Click here to learn how to share the Gospel.

Another aspect of following God His way is what is known as the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).

Gal 5:22-23

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

When we follow God His way we will experience the fruit of the Spirit in proportion to our level of obedience.

In John 15:1-14 Jesus talks about God’s desire that we bear fruit, much fruit, and more fruit. I believe that this is directly connected to the fruit of the Spirit. That as we follow God His way, we will increasingly and abundantly experience the fruit of the Spirit. I believe this because Jesus said that He came to give us life and life abundantly (John 10:10).

There is much more that could be said about living God’s way, but I believe I’ve made my point.

So, do you believe that if we lived God’s way we would be living with the chaos in our culture?

If you have not trusted and committed your life to Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins and reconciliation with God then your next step is to repent and place your trust in Jesus. Click here for details.

If you are a follower of Jesus but are not living His way your next step is repentance (change directions – obey) and training (discipleship).  Click here for free resources about God’s Word. Click here for free discipleship resources.

Please contact us at Reach.LMIQ@gmail.com if you have questions.

Faith

Finding the Right Church or Ministry

How to Find the Right Church or Christian Ministry

by

Tim Leahy

The short answer to finding the right Church or Christian Ministry is that it is biblical. That means that the Church or ministry believes that the Bible is the Word of God (1 Thessalonians 2:13). That the Bible is the only inspired, infallible, inerrant revelation the Creator gave to humanity (2 Peter 1:20-21; 2 Timothy 3:15-17). It means that the Church or ministry believes and teaches what God’s Word says, and is committed to living out what God says about following Him His way.

A biblical Church or ministry believes that Jesus is the Messiah, the Savior of the world (Luke 2:11, Matthew 1:21; Acts 4:12), and the only way to God (John 14:6), the Creator of the universe (Genesis 1:1).

Click here for additional biblical beliefs that are essential in finding the right Church or ministry.

Finding the right Church or Christian ministry takes time and patients to find. Just because they say they’re a Christian Church or ministry does not mean they are. Unfortunately, not every church or ministry is biblical in its belief and practices.

Before going to the Church or ministry, check them out online. Go to their “About” page and read through their “Statement of Faith” or “beliefs” to make sure they line up closely with an orthodox historical statement of faith like this.

About, Faith

The Problem with Sin

by Tim Leahy

The problem with sin is that it separates and destroys. It destroyed humanity’s relationship with God, it destroys relationships between people, and it destroys us individually.

Before we go further let me define sin. Sin is disobedience/rebellion. It is doing what we have been told not to do or failing to do what we have been instructed to do by God.

Let me also clear up a common misrepresentation of God. He is not a control freak or the Divine cop waiting to bust us. He is our Heavenly Father (Ephesians 1:2-3) who loves us and wants what’s best for us.

As our Heavenly Father, He has provided rules for us to live by because He knows what’s best for us and He doesn’t want us to be destroyed by sin. This is no different than us as parents. We don’t let our kids play in traffic or play with venomous snakes because we don’t want harm to come to them. We want to protect them, just as our Heavenly Father wants to protect us from the destructiveness of sin.

The Origin of Sin

According to God, sin came about because the first humans (Adam and Eve) disobeyed Him. In Genesis 2:15-17, God told Adam not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and warned him if he did he would die. The word “die” (death) means separation. God was telling Adam if he disobeyed (sin) he would be separated from Him (spiritual death) [Isaiah 59:2] and he would begin physically dying and would be physically separated from his body and life on earth (Genesis 5:5).

This one act of disobedience destroyed the perfect relationship between God and man, and affected all of humanity (Roman 5:12). Because God is our loving Heavenly Father He did not leave us in our separated and destructive condition. He did something about it. He provided a Way to restore our relationship with Him and a Way for us not to have to live with sin’s destructive consequences. This Good News is called the Gospel – click here for details. God’s solution was Jesus.

What Constitutes Sin?

As I previously mentioned, sin is disobedience/rebellion. It is doing what we have been told not to do or failing to do what we have been instructed to do by God.

Sin is what God says it is in His written revelation known as the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21). It’s not a matter of opinion. Humans don’t determine what is and what isn’t sin, God does. Therefore, it is important to know what God says (Click here to read “Why Read The Bible”).

There are sins of the mind (Matthew 5:28-29; 1 John 3:15); sins of the mouth – taking God’s name in vain, lying, cursing, being mean to others (Ephesians 4:29, 5:4, Colossians 3:8) there are sins of the flesh – theft, drunkenness, murder, rape, fornication, adultery , homosexuality (1 Corinthians 6:18; Galatians 5:16). This is not a complete list, but you get the general idea. All sin damages and destroys. It damages our relationship with God, our relationship with others and even how we feel about ourselves.

As I mentioned earlier, because God loves us, He does not want our relationship with Him (1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9), or others to be damaged and destroyed, so He provided a Solution.

God’s Solution for Sin

If you took the time to read The Gospel you discovered that God sent His only Son, Jesus, to die in our place to pay the penalty for our sins (John 3:16; Romans 4:25) so we could be freed from sin’s destructive consequences now and for eternity (Romans 6:18).

We do not have to live separated from God or be captive to sin’s destructive consequences. He has given us the choice to receive Jesus’ gift of forgiveness and restoration through faith (Romans 6: 23; Ephesians 2:8-9).

Our Choice Regarding Sin

The choice is yours. You can trust that Jesus died for your sins to reconcile you to God and commit your life to living God’s Way, or you can reject God’s gift and live your way. God will honor your choice. To receive Jesus, please click here.

As followers of Jesus we do not have to live in sin (Romans 6:1-5). That doesn’t mean we won’t sin, it just means we don’t have to continue to live in sin. He has given us a new nature (2 Corinthians 5:17; Colossians 3:9-10), His Spirit lives in us (1 Corinthians 3:16; Romans 8:11), and He given us His Spirit and His Word/Bible to transform us (Romans 12:1-2).

Therefore, as followers of Jesus we can choose to live His way – believing and following His way, or we can live in sin and live a defeated, destructive and unfulfilled life. The choice is ours. Jesus said He came to give us a full and abundant life (John 10:10), therefore, why live in sin? If you have questions and want to talk to someone about all of this, please click here.

Click here for more articles about sin.

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Faith

Power Failure

by Tim Leahy

Many Christians struggle to live the abundant life (John 10:10) God created them for because they fail to grasp the abiding principle found in John 15:1-12. Jesus tells us that we are branches that must remain attached to Him (The Vine). In other words, we must realize that our life depends on being attached to Jesus at all times in order to live His way. It’s His power (Spirit) that allows us to live His way.

A modern way of communicating this truth is that Jesus is the power outlet, we are the cord. If we are not plugged in to Him we have no power. We are a light that doesn’t work.

We are either attached or we are not. We can’t attach or un-attach ourselves, it doesn’t work that way (John 6:44). However, things can block the power or nutrients from getting through. Things like allowing others things consume our time, minds, and emotions.

Example: We decide we don’t want to read and study God’s Word; we decide we don’t want to do what we know God has told us to do; we decided to do things our way and not His way. Another name for this is self-reliance, rebellion, sin. We may have a time management issue – we fail to make time for God; we allow other things to crowd/push God out. Reality Check – we make time for the things we want to make time for. We choose other things over God (Luke 6:46)

Christians fail to live the abundant life (John 10:10) that Jesus died to give us because they are living their way and not His. Repent, turn from self-sufficiency to Christ-sufficiency.  Stay connected to the Vine (John 15:1).

Why do people fail to live the abundant life God created them to live? One, they don’t want to (they have rejected Jesus). Two, they don’t know or understand the Gospel (the good news that through Jesus – God Offers Salvation Providing Eternal Life). Three, they have a blockage – they are allowing other things to separate them from God’s power.

Click here to get plugged into Jesus.

Click here to learn about one of God’s power sources. Click here for additional information about this power source.

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Faith

Evidence For God

Intelligent Design – An intelligent design needs an intelligent designer, buildings need a builder, and an intelligent creation needs an intelligent Creator (Gen 1:1).

Science – The laws of science support the existence of God and His created universe.  The Law of Biogenesis says that only living things can produce or create living things (Gen 1:1). The 2nd Law of Thermodynamics says that everything goes from order to disorder – everything falls apart (Gen 3-5). Mendel’s Genetic Laws verify that animals reproduce after their own kind (Gen.1:21-26).

 The Bible – The Bible tells us about God because the Bible is from God (2 Pet 1:20-21  & 2 Tim 3:16-17). See “Evidence that the Bible is the Word of God.”

Jesus claimed to be God (John 14:9), people understood that He claimed to be God (John 10:30-33), Scripture confirms that Jesus is God (Col. 1:15-17). The Existence and Life of Jesus of Nazareth is historically indisputable. If Jesus is who He said He is, then God exists.

The Existence of Christianity is historically indisputable. The
original followers of Jesus would not have suffered and died for a lie. If Jesus did not claim to be God in a human body, did not die and rise from the dead on the 3rd day as He and Old Testament prophecy predicted, then those who witnessed these things would not have wasted their lives proclaiming the Gospel, enduring persecution throughout their lives and then die for what they saw and heard. 12 of 13 Apostles were murdered for their faith.

The fact is they did give their lives for the Gospel and as a result,
Christianity spread and transformed the world. The existence of
Christianity is evidence for the existence of God.

The Existence of Morals demands a moral lawgiver. Humans have sense of right and wrong because we are created in the
image of the Moral Lawgiver (God) – Genesis 1:26-28.

 The Human Experience – Throughout history all people (mankind) have universally believed in a Creator/God.  Since the time of Christ people/societies throughout the world have experienced universal transformation. This historic and universal belief in a Creator God is evidence for God.

No one piece of evidence is absolute evidence for the existence of God, however the amount of supporting evidence is compelling and persuasive. It certainly provides evidence beyond a “reasonable doubt”.

Click here if you would like to know more about the Creator of the Universe and His amazing love and plan for your life.

For more information check out the following resources:

Click here for additional evidence resources or visit our home page.

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Faith

Trusting God

Link

by Tim Leahy

Life is filled with challenges which cause us to stress and worry about how these challenges will play themselves out.  In life we have the choice of working out these challenges on our own or to trust God.

Trusting God does not mean that we take no responsibility for dealing with the challenges of life, it means we do all that we can do and ought to do, and trust that God is in control and is going to work all things for our good and His glory (Romans 8:28; 1 Cor. 10:31; Matt. 5:16). It’s trusting that God has an incredible purpose and plan for our lives (Ephesians 1:1-12) and not stressing or worrying about how the challenges of life will play out.

Trusting God is what the Christian life is all about: trusting that God exists, that He’s good, that He loves us, that He cares for us, that He’s in control. Another way to explain trust is faith. In Hebrews 11 God reveals what faith is and provides 10 examples how those who were trusting Him lived by faith and what the results of their faith were.

God is Trustworthy because He is Faithful

In Hebrews 11:6 the Word of God says:  “without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

In Hebrews 1:1 the Word of God says: “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” In verse 2 God reveals that faith is what the 10 people that are mentioned in Hebrews 11:2-38 were commended for.

A great way to remember what Faith is, is its acrostic: Forsaking All I Trust Him.

What were those who were trusting God in the Old Testament hoping for, and what are we trusting in and hoping for?

Those who were trusting God in the Old Testament were trusting that He existed, that He’s good, that He loves us, that He cares for us, that He’s in control. Most importantly they were trusting His promise that He was going to send a Savior to fix their sin/separation problem. This promise is foretold throughout the Old Testament. One of the most famous references about the Messianic promise is known as the Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis 12:1-3).  In v. 3 God told Abraham that ‘all the peoples on the earth would be blessed through him.’

This promise was fulfilled by the first coming of Jesus who was a descendant of Abraham (Matthew 1:1-16). Jesus came to fix our sin and separation problem (Romans 3:23; Romans 6:23). Please click here  for complete details of how God fixed our sin and separation problem and what we all must do to live the life that God created us for.

[Click on blue words for addition information]

The Old Testament believers looked forward to the promised Savior (Jesus) and we are looking back at the fulfillment of that promise (Hebrew 11:13). But wait, there’s more. We (Old Testament & New Testament believers) are all waiting and looking forward to the second coming of Jesus (Hebrews 11:39-40; Matthew 24:1-3).

There is much written and believed about the second coming of Jesus and is something every follower of Jesus needs to know and share with those who don’t know Jesus. Regardless of what your end time beliefs (eschatology), both Old Testament and New Testament believers are waiting for the rapture  (1 Thessalonians 4:17) then Jesus’ return for His 1,000 year reign on earth (Revelation 20:1-6), followed by God’s eternal Kingdom (Revelation 20:7-15; Revelation 21:1-4).

In the meantime, whatever your challenge(s) may be, trust God and focus on His Kingdom, His glory, His purpose and plan, and your joy will overflow because of Him. Our circumstances/trials are temporary and they work for our good (Romans 8:28, 1 Peter 1:6-7; Romans 5:3-5; James 1:2-4) and His Glory. God is Trustworthy because He is Faithful.

If you want to learn more about God and His incredible love, purpose and plan for your life please click here.

 

Faith

Are You In the Dark?

by Eddie McDonald

Ever been in the dark?  I mean, pitch black, can’t-see-your-hand-in-front-of-your-face dark?  Besides being a bit frightening, it’s pretty frustrating.  If, walking through a darkened room, you’ve ever caught a shin or knee on the corner of a table, or your foot found a stray Lego®, then you know exactly what I’m talking about.

When it comes to the big questions in life – the ones that can keep us up at night – there is a source little tapped anymore in our culture that sheds light on that seemingly endless black hole. Be it the darkness of suffering, discouragement, pain, loss… this light, in fact, answers those questions, causing that very darkness to flee.*  Yes, this includes the very matrix of success according to God.  The common thread for the Successful Life Series is this foundation.

“What is this wonder source?” you may ask.  Simply put: the Bible.

You may be reading as a skeptic who has concluded that I’ve immediately discredited myself.  Question: have you truly examined the evidence, or are you simply being intellectually dishonest by parroting another skeptic’s talking points?  (Let me suggest a few resources: Why Believe the Bible? and How to Study the Bible by John MacArthur, and The Case for Christ and The Case for Faith by Lee Strobel.

Now, either for arguments sake or because it is a true reality in your life, let’s say you agree that the Bible is God’s revelation to mankind.  Are you still stumbling in the dark?  Do you have more questions than answers of late?  Is the source of wisdom and truth, for you, Hollywood?  Facebook?  Then allow me to suggest to you that you need to turn on the Light – get in the Bible!

Jon Courson suggests four simple yet profound steps to reading the Word:

  • Consistently: Have a specific time and place you can go every day to read; Read cover to cover; Don’t stress parts you don’t understand – you will in time!
  • Expectantly: Don’t go through the motions – read expecting to hear from the Lord (and journal what you find!).
  • Conversationally: If God talks to us through the Bible (and He does), then engage that conversation by praying as you read. After all, a relationship involves dialogue.
  • Obediently: When God convicts you of something or shows you a deep truth to be acted upon – do it!

Why stumble in the darkness of this world’s bankrupt philosophies when you can turn on the light of God’s Truth by simply reading the Bible?  It sure beats damaged shins!

*This needs to be taken in the context of all of Scripture.  All wrongs will be righted; all suffering and pain will cease when this world ends (see Revelation 21:1-4).  Until that time, however, God allows these things to accomplish His perfect plan of redemption (Romans 5:1-5; 2 Corinthians 4:7-18).

If you want to stop walking in the dark please click here.

 

Faith

Rescued

by Tim Leahy

On The Gathering Blog we’ve been talking about Success as God defines it. We have been using the acrostic S.U.C.C.E.S.S. to communicate what success God’s way is. We are now on the E in S.U.C.C.E.S.S.  At this time of year, you may be guessing that the E stands for Easter, but instead it stands for Evangelism.

Now, Easter is not a bad guess. After all Easter is in a few days, and Easter and evangelism go together like eggs and bacon. Evangelism is telling the full story about God’s amazing love, beginning with Christmas and concluding with Easter. The full story of how the Son of God left heaven, came to earth, became one of us, lived a sinless life, and then died on a cross at Calvary just outside the walls of Jerusalem over 2,000 years ago to rescue all mankind from the wages of sin. The wages of that sin is separation from God for eternity. (John 3:16, John 3:68, Matthew 1:23, 2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 Corinthians 15:3-8, Romans 6:23)

Easter is the most important event in human history and evangelism is the greatest responsibility ever given to the human race. It is the message of love, forgiveness, restoration, reconciliation, adoption, joy, peace, and hope.  The fact that God would become one of us to restore us, who rebelled again Him, is incredible. It’s amazing, it’s awesome, it goes beyond anything we could imagine. One who is perfect came to rescue those who aren’t. Now that’s love.

About now you may be asking yourself what does this have to do with success? Everything! As we have already mentioned, The S stands for Salvation, which is the basis for success (see “God Created Us to Be Successful”). As the Scriptures say: What good is it if you have all the success that this word can give, but spend eternity separated from God? (Mark 8:36) Without trusting and committing our lives to Jesus as our Savior and ruler of our lives we can never be successful God’s way, which is the only success that is truly success.

Here’s another truth about Evangelism. It’s the responsibility and privilege of every person who has ever been rescued to become rescuers. It is the Chief Rescuer’s (Jesus) rescue orders for those who have been rescued (Matthew 28:18-20). Here’s the bottom line on success and evangelism – God does not bless disobedience and not telling others about God’s love and rescue plan for mankind is disobedience. Since you’ve been rescued, go rescue others.

If you’ve been rescued and want to learn how to share that with others please click here. If you have never been rescued, or have no idea what it means to be rescued, please click here.