Eternally Minded

Most of us in Christian circles have heard something about perseverance (also referred to Biblically as endurance). We know that 2 Peter 1:6 says that perseverance brings godliness and that it's an important quality to have. We know or have heard of someone who seems to have mastered perseverance, like Paul, William Tyndale, or even the persecuted church. Sometimes we think that perseverance is this big thing that only super Christians can do. But how do we actually develop perseverance? I think the answer lies in 2 Peter 1:3: "His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence." Because Christ gave us life, we have a knowledge of Him that only He can reveal to us. And it's through that knowledge that He enables us to escape corruption that comes from evil desires as He makes us more like Him. So, Paul tells us to strive to supplement our faith with certa...

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 ...

Berea was relating to me how empty and hopeless the gospel is without God. "Well obviously," you might say. What she was getting at was when we only talk about certain attributes of God and not others we actually change the gospel into something it isn't. That's serious. And after a week of hearing this type of preaching, I could see the anger in my friend's face. Friends, if we pick and choose God's attributes and modify the gospel to make it more"acceptable", we are in danger of the wrath of God. Look at how Paul addresses the Galatians when they tried to modify the gospel to incorporate the traditions of men and in turn make a legalistic gospel. "I marvel that ye are soon removed from Him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you , and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we h...

The Holy Bible isn't just a rule book. Many read the Bible to know how God wants us to live our lives. Which is true; it contains God's detailed will for every aspect of our life, but if were just a rule book we would be hopeless: because we cannot keep God's law. The Holy Bible isn't just a story. It is a story of God's redemption for sinful people, but we don't read it just for information or to study history and good literature. The Holy Bible does not save you by reading it. We must hear the gospel in order to believe it, but reading it does not satisfy the wrath of God or undo the punishment for our sin. The Holy Bible isn't just to learn about God. We don't read it to know about, we read it to know God and draw near to him in gratefulness,worship,fear and love. The Holy Bible isn't read to gain more favor with God. As Christians we cannot be any better in the sight of God, because His Son's righteousness is laid on our account. So we s...