NCarolinian

Recently I read a quote by Mother Teresa that a friend of mine, Gail Tiffany, posted on Facebook. I'll get to the actual quote later, but at this moment I would like to paraphrase and elaborate her words and then show Scripture that accompanies that thought to encourage my brothers and sisters in Christ to action. First thought is this world is getting more and more irrational and inconsiderate. With the whole spectrum of people not thinking things through and not caring enough to even give their best - how are we to respond? Forgive.  For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. - Matthew 6:14-15 Secondly, many have the mind-set that everything positive that comes their way is just-to-good-to-be-true . These individuals have a nasty habit of reading-between-the-lines when there is nothing to read. They are conspiracy minded, not very trusting peopl...

Wow! I feel like now-a-days the speed of life is like being on a train going at the speed-of-light and the brake manual is in another language. I observe people around me executing this kind of break-neck-speed lifestyle all the time. It's not such a wonder to how individuals running this race of life - the sprint - ever have time for family, friends, themselves, or God. Paul talks about this sprint lifestyle when he wrote the first time to the believers in Corinth. He said, Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. - 1 Corinthians 9:24-25 The word "race" in this verse is the Greek word Stadeeon meaning stadium or a race within the stadium that was measured out to be 220 yards long. This would mean the race was a faster paced...

Recently an image and it's description prompted a study of a particular Scripture verse and passage. Here is the image and description. The medieval village of Craco is part of an incredible region with undulating shapes and vast farmland. Since the sudden abandonment of the village, rumor has it that the ruins have become inhabited by ghosts. [http://news.distractify.com/culture/rather-unknown-but-really-special-places-on-earth/] With the setting of the village residing in an arid landscape and the mention of the habitation of spirits, The Holy Spirit dropped Matthew 12:43-45 into my mind and spirit. "When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condit...

Can you think of times in your own life when your walk with Jesus put you in an unpopular position with your peers? What did you do when you realized your commitment to the Lord was going to jeopardize your job or your status with your friends? Did you sacrifice your friendship and your status, or did you sacrifice your commitment to the Lord? As long as Pontius Pilate thought he could stand with Jesus and keep his own position as well, he protected Jesus. But the moment Pilate realized that saving Jesus would mean he would have to sacrifice his own position in life, he quickly changed his tune and gave in to the demands of the unsaved mob who were screaming all around him. Who was Barabbas? He was a notorious rabble-rouser who had been proven guilty of “sedition” in the city of Jerusalem. What is “sedition”? It comes from stasis , the old Greek word for treason, which refers to the deliberate attempt to overthrow the government or to kill a head of state. It is interesting that ...

For those who say "life all works out how it's meant to" - what a cop-out on taking responsibility for anything. According to your view, everything has happened by chance - there has been no governing force. In that statement there is no belief in a god or a G od, there is just "what will be will be". Where is the hope in that? There is none! Allow for a better perspective, one that is filled with hope and a future.  The governing force I believe-in demands that I have faith and that without faith it is impossible to please and/or understand God ( Hebrews 11:6 ). I don't have The Universe telling me what I should do next in my life by some event just happening to work out in some way, shape, or form. I do have the Creator of the universe as my God and friend - leading, guiding, and directing my footsteps and/or decision-making. I am here to tell you, there is no life in living a "just let the chips fall where they may" kind of lifestyle. The...

Among the many things that Isaiah 53 prophesied about Christ's sacrifice for humanity, a few stand out - "Surely he took up our pain  and bore our suffering,... he was crushed for our iniquities;  the punishment that brought us peace was on him,  and by his wounds we are healed." If you have ever seen the movie The Green Mile, I imagine Christ's taking up and baring our pain and suffering much like how Michael Clarke Duncan's character John Coffey dealt with people's sins and struggles. The exception to my imagination would be - Jesus did not start to manifest all that He was absorbing until the night at the Garden. The sorrow and anguish Jesus Christ started taking upon His mind, body, and spirit for the world in the Garden of Gethsemane was almost enough to bypass The Cross.   Matthew 26:38 says, " Then He said to them, 'My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.' " Jesus was...

Luke 6:38 , starts off with the first two words - "Give and..." .  For my teaching purposes today I want to stop right there and really emphasize what many miss to begin with - "Give" . This word in the original Greek is the word Didomi , meaning to commit or minister .  Committing and ministering involves the prolonging of giving.  This calls for a serious, considerate, and moved heart/mind. To change from a mainly receiving mode of operation to now a giving mode of operation is going to take acceptance of a certain mind-set, lifestyle and spiritual law. It is a mind-set in that we first have to acknowledge this kind of giving is needed. Then we acknowledge our own need to operate in this manner.  Then we should purpose to change and watch for opportunities to give with longevity. The lifestyle of giving is not just a dedication to a charity for life.  The lifestyle is not just years of service in a choir.  These are valid displays of a giving lif...

I am grateful for The Cross.  However, anyone back then could have died in this manner.  The difference is our faith in the person and their life that is hanging on the cross.  Therefore, my faith in the person, life and sacrifice of Jesus Christ is validated in The Resurrection. I am thankful for the torture and death by crucifixion that Jesus Christ, Son of God and Son of Man, took upon Himself in my place. "In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness." - Hebrews 9:22   However, "...if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead." - 1 Corinthians 15:14-15   "But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the res...

Names - they are given and they are changed; they are kept and they are rejected; they are embodied and they are not. Usually parents are the ones responsible for identifying us with the combination of names we will be known by for the rest of our lives. Then there are those like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah who had their names changed by a king. You might remember the last three as - Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Daniel's name was changed by the king to Belteshazzar, to reflect belief in the king's god. ( Daniel 1:7 ) For those who believe in Jesus Christ - The King of Kings - there will come a day when The King will be delivering and inscribing new names. Allow your imagination to be structured by Christ's words as He promises to those "who overcome" - He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on...

There is a King who rules over all that was, is, or ever will be.  His servants, which He deems as swift as the wind and as passionate as fire, saw He and His Son build everything.  And once everything was built the servants shout for joy.  The Kingdom experienced the best of times for countless number of years. Then one day the King's Chief Servant reasoned he could usurp the King and His Throne.  But The King would have none of it.  The King made a special place of discomfort for those who rebelled with no hope of appeal or parole.  The one-third of servants that the Chief Servant had recruited for his cause were demoted, exiled, and damned to that place.  The Chief Servant now was a wanderer, still allowed to come before The King, but stripped of all previous titles and privileges. Many years passed and The King decided He desired like-company.  So, His Word went forth, in a certain part of His kingdom, and a man came to His court offering ...

Good people finish last.  This is a familiar saying. However, these same people will not even start their good living  until it is dedicated to God's purpose and utilizing His potential ( Romans 8:11 ).  And if they don't ever really start their good lives they will end up one day - Beyond Last Place. There are many people throughout history whose life overall was a good life. Their contribution to humanity was positive and they made a great influence on the lives of others. However, these alone - being good and good works - accounts for nothing when staring in the face of living eternally with God and in His Heaven. There is no amount of good anyone can do, for a truly all-powerful, all-knowing, all-present God, to fulfill the requirements for obtaining perfection and/or the right to enter Heaven. Nobody can live a perfect life except if God came in human form and lived out life according to His rules - perfectly.  All of the Old Testament commandments, rules, an...

"I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." (John 10:7-10) When a shepherd needed to stop for a while, the Hebrew people would set-up a stone pen with an opening at one end.  One way in, one way out and a shepherd as the gate.  The sheep would be accounted for by not being able to pass the shepherd unaware and predators would have to go through the shepherd first to get to the flock. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. (John 10:9)   "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. T...