NCarolinian

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...

The fact of the matter is not that our past influences us today, but what part of it and in what manner do we allow it to impact our now. That statement is deep for me, I know, but it follows along with what we choose to set-up and what we do not choose to establish as memories that effect our present day. Back in Biblical days there were ways of remembering more positive life events - the building of stone altars and the naming of them. Men like Noah (Genesis 8:20) , Abram (Genesis 12:7) , Isaac (Genesis 26:25) , Jacob (Genesis 35:1-3) , and Moses (Exodus 17:15) all used the altar as memorials to God’s great work(s) in their lives at that time. They would experience the intervention of God in their lives in some way and then to remember it they would construct an altar and worship The Lord. They typically named or titled the altar to signify the miracle or provision God had granted (i.e. “The LORD is My Banner” – Exodus 17:15 ). And the altar was made from stone not earth. Earth-made ...

There are prayers within all faiths of the world, especially Christianity, that were written and taught to be repeated word for word, syllable for syllable. I believe many of these same prayers can be and are used as a template for how to pray for the experiences the believer is currently navigating. Then there is prayer to God that is not written, but is straight, raw communication from the heart, mind and circumstances in order to receive direction or clarity. I think many times believers and seekers of any faith get entangled in chanting the words of a prayer for divine involvement in their situation. For Christians, what is commonly known as The Lord's Prayer (Luke 11:1; Matthew 6:9-13) , could easily be spoken like a mantra. Spoken like this the words hold the power and not the Messiah who taught them the prayer. From all the astonishment, from all the amazement, from all the difficulty the Disciples encountered with the teachings of Jesus - there was one thing they asked to b...

During His ministry on earth, Jesus had a variety of challenging personalities on His team. From John calling himself "the beloved" disciple, to Peter riding the roller coaster of emotions on everything to who we call Doubting Thomas - Jesus had a lot to deal with besides the general populace. However, one "disciple" that was in the tight circle from the beginning was an individual that Jesus knew, in the end, would betray Him - Judas Iscariot. Why ask him to join knowing this?  Hebrews 4:15 tells us that Jesus experienced all our temptations, including the wrong way to respond to betrayal, but did not sin or rebel against God's Way. Jesus could have been betrayed a number of different ways throughout His life and ministry without it leading to His death. This was not the plan, this was  the fulfillment of prophecy  in Zechariah 11:12-13 and Psalm 41:9 . The amazing observation about Jesus is that Jesus could have passed Judas off as just the fulfillment of the...

The stone-door, rolled away at the entrance to the tomb of Jesus, was not moved for the sake of Christ. This displacement of two tons worth of a disk-shaped rock, from a trough to keep it in place, by an angel of God, three days after the brutal suffering before the Cross and eventual crucifixion - was for humanity's benefit. The empty tomb is not a matter of faith, the emptiness is a fact. This is verifiable by anyone. History records the religious leaders and teachers of the day approached Pontius Pilate after the death of Jesus and requested a guard be placed at His tomb out of fear that Christ's disciples would steal the body, hide it and claim His resurrection. Pilate agreed, but ordered they use their own guards, which some consisted of Roman soldiers (Matthew 27:62-66) . Matthew 28:1-6 records what happens next. "After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for a...

There is a person whose sole existence is to keep humanity from having a personal relationship with God. This person also strives to attack the believer in Christ until death with the effort of trying to destroy their faith in the Lord. I call this person "Stupid". Ephesians 2:2 calls him "ruler of the kingdom of the air" . So, the air has a kingdom and he is the ruler of it. John 12:31, 14:30 and 16:11 all refer to him as "the prince of this world" . Not a king or god, just a prince. This being was the closest created angel to God at one time. An account of his position before his mistake, during his mistake and afterward is found in Ezekiel 28:11-19 . He is now a bothersome frustration to God and the Lord's family as the Accuser of the Brethren. He fulfills other titles also like - Liar, Father of Lies, Murderer, Thief and Destroyer of everything, especially humanity. However, the only power and authority "stupid" can ever have is that wh...

Every new year, I do not make resolutions, I make requisitions of and to God. This year one of several things I am asking the Lord for is His help in making better decisions. I have observed, the heart drives many, if not most decisions. Heart here means an emotional response to whatever situation is presented. The problem that arises is a disproportionate discernment. The emotional side within me or us is so biased that it seems to be the first to react and strongest to make it to our mouth or actions. The mind or rational side of us does not receive a fair opportunity at attacking the decision at-hand. In Paul's letter to the believer's in Philippi, he wrote, "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:7) However, the believer must read the verse before to observe the action that warrants such a blessing from God - "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, b...

God's Word has not changed over the millennia. The same words are on the same pages and should carry the same meaning. People are the ones who change and believers specifically attempt to adjust or modify God's Word to fit their situation or the culture of the day. Speaking to the Head Position of a Church - the Shepherd, Overseer or Pastor - "God has ordained that only men are to serve in positions of spiritual teaching authority in the church. This does not imply men are better teachers or that women are inferior or less intelligent. It is simply the way God designed the church to function. Men are to set the example in spiritual leadership—in their lives and through their words. Women are also to set an example in their lives, but in a different way ( 1 Peter 3:1-6 ). Women are encouraged to teach other women ( Titus 2:3–5 ). The Bible also does not restrict women from teaching children. The only activity women are restricted from is teaching or having spiritual authori...

The New King James version of the Bible uses the word "appointed" in Hebrews 9:27 to describe the last day that each individual has on earth, no matter how short or long the duration. The verse reads - "And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment," . God has many record-keeping books in Heaven according to Revelation 20:12 . In addition, this Hebrews 9:27 verse alludes to an Appointment Book that has documented everyone's detailed information of death - who, what (cause), when, where, why and how of their expiration.  However, there is an exception to this appointment with physical death and this is called The Rapture. The Rapture,  described beautifully in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 ,  is the snatching away of the dead in Christ and living believers by Jesus, who has descended from Heaven to mid-air, to bring them all back to live with Him forever via a glorified body. This "mid-air" coming is FO...