Category: Bible Study

THE CALLED

“Greetings from Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart to proclaim the gospel of God.” –Romans 1:1 Paul, “called to be an apostle,” wrote to those who had “been called to belong to Jesus Christ” (Rm 1:6) and who had been “called to holiness, grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (Rm 1:7). The New Testament Greek word for “church” is “ekklesia,” which literally means “called out.” Consequently, we, as members of Christ’s Church, must “live a life worthy” of our calling (Eph 4:1) in the “one hope...

THE LAST COMMANDMENT

“There is one thing more you must do.” –Mark 10:21 If we love Jesus, we will obey Him (Jn 15:10). Therefore, a life of love is “a life of obedience” (see 1 Pt 1:2). As our lives on earth come to their conclusion, we reach the point that there is one thing more we must do. This last command is: a “must” (Mk 10:21), hard (Mk 10:23, 24), humanly impossible (Mk 10:27), and often includes persecution (Mk 10:30). Because this is the devil’s last chance to rob and enslave us, he will do everything he can to make our obedience...

“DECIDE TODAY” (Jos 24:15)

“Crowd upon crowd in the valley of decision; for near is the day of the Lord in the valley of decision.” –Joel 4:14 Enduring the trials of life is called walking through “the valley of the shadow of death” (Ps 23:4, RSV-CE). Life can be a “valley of tears” (Hail, Holy Queen prayer). As difficult as these valleys are to endure, they are nothing compared to the test we will undergo in the “valley of decision” (Jl 4:14). In that valley, the “Valley of Jehoshaphat,” a name which means “Yahweh judges,” our eternal destiny will be decided by God on...

The Person You Can Become

However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9 There are two sides to your personality: the person you are, and the person you would like to be. If these are in conflict with each other, you will experience bitter frustration and disappointment. There is no harm in dreaming about the heights that you can achieve, provided that you take steps to make your dream a reality. You have the potential for spiritual growth that is beyond your wildest imaginings....

RADICAL AND FANATICAL

“Blow the trumpet in Zion, sound the alarm on My holy mountain!” –Joel 2:1 Imagine walking into church only to find your pastor prostrate before the altar, weeping and wailing in repentance for his sins and those of God’s people (Jl 1:13). “The wages of sin is death” (Rm 6:23). We are beginning to receive our wages. In fact, we are getting not only death but what the popes call a whole “culture of death.” We have even more reason to cry and repent than did the people of Joel’s time. We must not minimize or euphemize the deadly effects...