NCarolinian

Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:27 actually describes the story of Gideon quite accurately when he said, "But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;" (King James Version). Gideon was not a very confident person in himself or the Lord. Yet, the Scripture begins his story with him trying to destroy the winepress of the enemy of the land – the Midianites – by threshing wheat in their winepress (Judges 6:11) . Enter the Lord – “When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, ‘The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.’” (Judges 6:12) Allow me to dissect the Lord’s introduction, albeit a simple and short greeting, the approach is loaded with significance. After the Lord introduces Himself (“The Lord”) , Jesus, “The Angel of the Lord” , comforts Gideon by stating He, The Lord “is with you” . Then Jesus not only gives him a grand title but within this title declar...

The Holy Spirit instructs Christians through Paul - "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." (Galatians 6:9-10) Ah, Famiglia or Family. Later, Paul took provision for one’s family to the next level when he wrote Timothy saying - "If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." - 1 Timothy 5:8 Wow! I did not know that life got worse than being an unbeliever. However, this importance of providing for his/her family has plenty of Scriptural support. If you were a part of a family within Israel, you were connected, you did things as a unit (Judges 16:31; 1 Samuel 1:21) . Therefore, what happened to you, directly or indirectly, affected others in your family also (Judges 8:27; 1 Samuel ...

Since Noah and especially Abraham, faith has been the " confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." (Hebrews 11:1) . Five verses later, the writer of Hebrews continues to explain - " And 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." (Hebrews 11:6) . The arrival of Christ Jesus, the Word of God in our flesh, Son of God and Son of Man not only continued The Faith, but strengthened it. Hundreds of prophecies written hundreds of years before the life of Christ, described in detail The Messiah - Jesus of Nazareth. His life here on earth was full of demonstrations of how our heart, mind, words and actions should align with His in order to be true kids of the kingdom. Fast forward to the end of Christ's mission of salvation, after His resurrection and you will notice He took the time to meet with people. " He appeared to Mary M...

The main thrust of this lesson is to be extremely careful what you entertain or consider in life. This is a huge reason Christ prompted believers to pray – “and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” ( Matthew 6:13 ). The Greek word used here and in many instances is peirasmos , meaning placing under scrutiny, testing or proving. Christ desired for us not even to arrive at the point of temptation. This desire by the Lord is a life-long development process by His believers. I like to call the actual development a Moment of Pause . This temporary halt in action and words when tempted or tested mentally, physically or spiritually should immediately be followed by inquiry of The Lord and/or the Holy Spirit. Temptation is the invitation to sin or rebel against God, not the act itself, so call upon The Lord first. Believers in Christ do have a few things in our favor. First, our bodies are vessels of the Holy Spirit ( 1 Corinthians 6:19 ) who will be advocating on our be...

In the movie Patton , General Patton comes to a point where he charges his chaplain to write a prayer, within the hour, for Patton to pray to God for favorable weather so that their mission would be successful. The chaplain complied and God agreed with the request - the next day the weather was perfectly clear. Patton is then quoted in the movie as saying, "He (the chaplain) stands in good with the Lord and I want to decorate him." Immediately, when I heard this line, my heart, mind and spirit ached for the desire to always be in good standing with the Lord. I do not refer to my justification through faith in Christ, taken care of at the Cross.  However, I refer to the victorious resurrection from death, Hell and the grave that He grants believers daily over other life-challenges as well as backslidings to our old behavior. This is the favor I want to be constantly connected to, saturated with and deserving of - if possible. Examples of people who have "stood in good wit...

Jesus demands Himself as priority in the lives of those who deem themselves His disciples. Grant you, the Holy Sprit instructs through Paul to take care of blood family and your spiritual family, but not at the expense of Christ being everything in your life, especially first in everything.  Paul says in Galatians 6:10 about our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ - " Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." Then again, in his first letter to his protege - Timothy - Paul also stresses the importance of taking care of blood family - " Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." (1 Timothy 5:8) The words of Jesus, recorded in Luke 14:26 use a strong word to convey priority or loving less than Himself - the word "hate". "'If anyone comes to me and does not hate fath...