Eternally Minded

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With...

...His wives turned away his heart. For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the L ORD his God... For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the L ORD and did not wholly follow the L ORD , as David his father had done. Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain east of Jerusalem. And so he did for all his foreign wives, who made offerings and sacrificed to their gods.  And the L ORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the L ORD , the God of Israel...   1 Kings 11:3-9 Take careful note of this passage. What did Solomon do to make God angry? What was his great sin? Idolatry.  I didn't totally realize the concept of this sin until recently. Sure, I ...

In the last few months at my church ( Cornerstone Church ) my pastor, Chris Sippley, has been going though the Gospel of Mark. There are things I'm seeing for the very first time about the reason for the book of Mark, his teachings about Christ, and Christ's teachings about Himself. Not only what Jesus said matters, but also what He did: what He valued and what He prioritized.  I'd like to share with you - as a sort of informal post - my notes taken from the sermon on Mark 5:1-20, spoken on July 29, 2018. (You can listen to this sermon - and plenty more! - for yourself  HERE ) Demons wrecked this man who lived among the tombs. He was rejected, feared, and insane. They made a living hell in him and immediately falls down when he sees Jesus - when the demons see Jesus . They know their fate to hell - they know and try to do as much as possible before they're put away for eternity. They had to have permission from God to go into the pigs. They left the man...

Proverbs 3:13-15: Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her. It stood out to me recently that there are few things in the Bible mentioned as being worth more than gold, silver, or rubies. Wisdom, the Law of the Lord, and good words are some of them.  "The price of wisdom is above rubies." Job 28:18 What is wisdom?  Wisdom, according to the internet, is "the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment; the quality of being wise." The Bible says something else:  The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. (Proverbs 9:10)  Wisdom’s instruction is to fear the Lord, and humility comes before honor. (Proverbs 15:33) What is 'the fear of the Lord'? [God] said, ‘Behold, the fear of the ...

      The religion of the "non-religious" and how Christians can share the gospel with them. I was talking to a classmate one day about what she thought happened after a person dies. She said that nothing happens, that she wasn't religious. "You go into the ground and that's it." Our culture is slipping more and more into this belief. I see it everyday. People live for themselves; for the here and now. The physical day to day is all that matters. Religion is viewed like a hobby, a subject to study, or an activity on a to do list. How do we witness to people who believe this? Below are some common statements and questions that come up and how as Christians we can understand and respond to them in the light of Scriptures. Do What Ever You Feel is Right for You. Do what ever you want regardless of the truth and as long as you believe in it, it's right. The heart of the issue is that they are claiming that truth doesn't matter. Bu...

“For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:38)                                                                                                                                      ...

Three days after Jesus died, God’s plan was fulfilled. His Son rose from the dead. Supernaturally and inexplicably, He once was dead, but became alive again. Death was defeated, its power completely abolished. Death was Satan’s biggest power, the tool that could once stop anything, except the Son of God. “Oh, Death, where is your sting? Oh Hades, where is your victory?” 1 Corinthians 15:55 Just as one man's sin brought death, one Man's righteousness brought life. Because Christ arose from the grave, we now have the hope of eternal life! "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive." 1 Corinthians 15:22 The consequence of sin is death. So because death was defeated, sin can be overcome. "The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 15:56 "For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life...

His name is Jesus Christ. About 2000 years ago, God the Son (the second person of the trinity) clothed Himself in human flesh-- 100% God and 100% Man. He humbled Himself to our human state and was born of a virgin in a borrowed stable. Jesus grew and lived the perfect life we couldn’t. He suffered the temptations we have, but never gave in. His thoughts, motives, emotions, and actions were all kept perfectly holy. He mission on earth was to heal the sick, seek the lost, and rescue the perishing. His mission was to serve, not to be served - to set up a heavenly kingdom, not an earthly kingdom. His whole life led to one event, the event that would provide a way to be made right with God. Jesus Christ willingly was crucified on a cross for accusations that were false. He was beaten and stripped. He wore a crown of thorns and was hung on a wooden cross by nails in His hands and feet. But greater than this was the wrath of God poured out on Him for our sins. The judgement we ...

Adam and Eve, the first humans created, committed the first sin at the beginning of time. God had given them a perfect garden in a perfect world, with no sin. He gave them only one rule: not to eat of the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil which He placed in the center of the garden. The Devil, Lucifer, an angel fallen from heaven, came to Eve as a serpent, and tempted her to eat the fruit of that tree. Eve yielded to him and furthermore Adam did the same. That was the first sin. You may think that if it was you in that situation, you wouldn’t do it. Don’t think that. We are all born with a sin nature. We are pressured with temptation every day. Whether we fall into it or not determines if we sin.  From the beginning it was God’s design for us to live with Him in perfect union. We were to reflect and represent God throughout the whole earth and therefore spread His glory throughout the world. God would walk and talk with us. We would be His people and He would be our G...

Providence. What is providence? Of what relevance is God's providence? Providence simply means to foresee. Pro [before] / videre [to see]. But what good is knowing the future and not doing anything about it? God's providence ties in with His omniscience (all knowing). He sees beforehand everything that is going to happen. Not only that, He knows it and orchestrates it. That being said, if God is truly in control and orbiting every action and circumstance, both for us and around us, why on earth do we have any ground at all to worry? About anything? Simple answer? We don't. "Worry is taking your problems out of God's hands and into your own because deep down you don't think He's capable enough to take care of them." - Voddie Baucham Worry is a sin. Anxiety is a sin. Whatever happened to trusting God, wholly and completely? Easier said than done. Trust me, I know. I'm a worrier. It's probably genetic, but that's no excuse. Consider Ro...