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The Rapture of Believers
Those Who Vanish On March 7, 2014, Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 disappeared from radar in flight and never was seen again. In 2018, the investigation of its disappearance ended with no one really knowing what happened to the plane with its passengers and crew. The families and friends of those missing are left to grieve and mourn the vanishing of their loved ones. The mysterious disappearance reminded me of the movie, “Left Behind.” That movie depicts the time when Jesus will return to collect all believing Christians from the earth and take them to heaven with Him. In the movie, the plane remained in flight with just some of its…
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Dare to Be Different—A Commentary on Romans 12:1-2
Are you familiar with the toys called “Transformers?” Each one starts out looking like one thing, then various parts move so the whole thing becomes something totally different. Some parts stay the same; others change to take on the appearance of something with a different purpose—a powerful robot. But, it’s not rightly named. The toy gets transformed by me—not itself. It should be called “transformable.” This toy makes a good visual of how, in real life, I am not a transformer either, but one who is transformable in the hands of the living Christ and His transforming power. And, while this toy won’t resist me because it has no will…
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What God Says about You
One of the top search phrases leading people to Bible.org is this question, “What does God say about me?” That could be a natural question for anyone to ask who does not already know the Bible’s teachings. But, a lot of times, that question is wrapped up in mega insecurity, even among Christians. Perhaps this question is constantly rolling over in your mind. Looking at stuff on the internet and reading through some devotionals and Bible studies, it’s obvious that there is a lot of shallow teaching out there that focuses constantly on our sinfulness (and, yes, every human is prone to sinfulness) but leaves out the good news of…
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REGENERATION: Made Alive…No Longer Dead
Are you overwhelmed by failure, discouragement, and insecurity resulting from your attempts to live as a Christian by your inadequate human effort? Did someone promise you that your life would be a whole lot better if you just got saved, but you aren’t seeing any difference? Do you keep trying to live “a Christian life,” but your woefully inadequate human efforts leave you feeling defeated? You might be like many Christians who have a lack of understanding of two vital truths: (1) Christ’s finished work on the cross to secure your complete acceptance before God, and (2) “Christ in you” as the reality of daily Christian living. You may have…
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SANCTIFICATION: Perfected…No Longer Flawed
I was once an uptight perfectionist. Yes, I admit it. My whole self-image depended upon being perfect in grades, piano performance and whatever got me awards for achievement. Yet, my flaws kept getting in the way of getting straight A’s one six weeks so that I missed out on the “straight A’s” award for that school year. I was horrible in athletics so PE was my nemesis. Then, in college, physics knocked me down big time—I just couldn’t see how to get the answers to those problems. My flaws were ever before me, and I sobbed when I couldn’t achieve perfection—which happened a lot. My self-image was tied to a…
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JUSTIFICATION: Righteous…No Longer Guilty
As a teen, I wrestled with the notion that I was not good enough to please God. I could never measure up to His standards of perfection. I was always guilty of not doing something right, of falling short of whatever it was He expected of me. Then, I heard some good news when I committed my life to Christ and chose to follow Him—God declared me “not guilty” of all my sin. Not guilty? All my sin? Really? Yes, dear believer, God declares you “not guilty” of all sin, once and for all, based on your faith alone in His Son. It is an amazing plan that is totally…
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FORGIVENESS: Forgiven…No Longer Burdened
Like the woman washing Jesus’ feet with her tears in Luke 7, many of us carry the guilt of our sins with us like a heavy burden, weighing us down. The continual reminder of our sins keeps us from experiencing freedom and from enjoying the relationship with God that we have by faith in Jesus Christ. We don’t just need a teacher. We need a Savior who comes in and does for us what we can’t do for ourselves: forgiveness. All of our debt of sin before God is enormous; we are incapable of ever paying it back. You and I need to understand how complete and continual is God’s…
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REDEMPTION: Released…No Longer in Bondage
Bondage. No one likes being in bondage. Whether it is to a person, a contract, a debt, or something controlling your life, bondage stinks. It stifles. It discourages. It makes you a slave of whatever is holding you “in chains.” Every person who is in bondage longs to be released from those chains. Released. Did you know that every human being born on this planet is born into bondage? I don’t care how much money or status you have. You were born into bondage. Bondage to what? Colossians 1:13 calls it “the kingdom of darkness.” Romans 6:15-18 describes it as being a “slave to sin.” The slave master “sin” calls…
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RECONCILIATION: Relationship Restored…No Longer Broken
At some point in our lives, we will all experience a personal relationship that is broken. You can probably think of one such conflict right now. Broken relationships cause pain and often leave us confused about how we can possibly fix them. Most people want to be reconciled so that the relationship can be restored in some fashion. How sad it is when a broken relationship continues to remain broken and isn’t reconciled. What joy we experience when we see a broken relationship repaired and healthy again. Reconciliation is certainly a reason for rejoicing, especially in our relationship with God! But, what does it take for reconciliation? Six terms describe…
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PROPITIATION: Satisfied…No Longer Angry at You
It comes up time and time again. Women who know Christ, have trusted in Him for salvation and new life, struggle with the notion that God is still angry with them because of something they’ve done in the past. Maybe that is how you feel. Do you wonder if you have a flawed understanding of salvation? Is salvation just getting eternal life when you die? From what are Christians saved? When you study the New Testament, you see that we are saved from many things, ourselves and our own flawed righteousness for example, but especially we are saved from the wrath of God. But, what does that mean? And, how…
