NCarolinian

In is second letter to the believers in Corinth, Paul encouraged and taught all in one verse some key identity characteristics of a Christian and who to hear praise from about them. Paul in 2 Corinthians 9:13 said, "Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else." Another way for Paul to have said this is - " I have noticed your generosity in sharing and obedience to God which has been displayed in your service to Him. I realize that it was started because of your confession of the gospel of Christ. And if I notice it, you know others will and will praise God for you."  I say it like this because even thought Paul places an emphasis on the proven service record of the believer(s), the next phrase is the as-the-result-of phrase ( "others will praise God for..." ). Howev...

1 John 1:9 says, " If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." For a Christian, under Salvation, this confession is an admittance of wrong and apology wrapped in one. The rest of the verse is the pointing to The Cross to re-assure the believer that every sin - past, present and future - has been paid for by Christ and will accept our apology. An example prayer based on this verse could go like this, "Lord, I confess I have done you and others wrong recently. Please accept my apology. I believe you have forgiven me at The Cross and even now. I thank you for your forgiveness in Jesus' Name, Amen." Solomon said in Proverbs 28:13 , " Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy." Notice the status of child of God or believer of God is not revoked because one sinned or concealed their sin. Instead, God's blessings ...

Some people base their lives on superstition, chance, luck or the alignment of the stars. I am so glad that there is an option not to live by such an uncertain thing as luck or chance and such an impersonal thing as superstition or astrology. I would hate to walk through life walking on eggshells . However, that is exactly what someone is doing when you depend upon each egg being chance, luck, superstition or the stars as your governing force. I choose to lean on God's Providence, Plan and His help with my effort in living life. You see, I view The Word of God (Bible) as Life's Manual. My walk of life can always be metered and adjusted by what God's Word says is proper and Holy about any situation in my life. However, a great first step off the blocks in this race of life is advice from Paul to the believers in Rome. Paul said,  "Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The c...

Many times I have seen the wisdom of someone's last words given the utmost attention and consideration. Within our culture, whether it be due to movies, television or other influences - the words of people departing are valued highly. Whether the person is leaving for a short while, an extended period of time or on their deathbed - Parting Words hold a lot of weight. This got me thinking about Christ's Parting Words to His Disciples. Luke says right off the bat in the first chapter of Acts that " After his suffering, he [Christ] presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God." (Acts 1:3) In fact, the last day before Jesus ascended to the right hand of Father God, according to the Gospel of Luke, Jesus spoke to His Disciples about disbelief, his mission as fulfilled prophecy and the sending of The Promise - The Holy Spirit ( Luke 24:36-53 ). Again, ...

Revelation 19:11-16 "I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:  King of kings and Lord of lords." 2 Thessalonians 2:6-8 "And now you know what [The Holy Spirit] is holding him [The Antichrist] back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now...

The word Guard and its forms like -  guards, guarded, and guardian -  are used many times in Scripture. You can see the word being used in the very beginning as a Cherub protects the way back to The Tree of Life by guarding it with a flaming sword ( Gen 3:24 ). Many Psalms and Proverbs speak to guardianship over something in our lives. Some of these are prayers to guard our life (Ps. 25:20;86:2) and a few are for our language or word choice (Ps.141:3; Prov. 13:3; 21:23). There are things that God guards in our lives and there are things that we are to be a sentry for in our lives. God totally surrounds the believer in a bubble of His Presence. In fact, Luke said as he wrote Acts -   " in him we live and move and have our being." (Acts 17:28) .  However, God desired us to know in particular that He's got our back. In Isaiah 52:12 and 58:8 - God as our rear guard is portrayed.  An angel guards the way in  Exodus 23:20 . I am sure He could use and does...

When really hard and difficult times come into our lives many believers may point their fingers at the devil as the cause. Some would be right, the remaining would have themselves, others or another worldly influence to correctly assess the cause. In other words, our challenges in life are not always from the devil. However, for those tests and attacks that can be discerned as coming from the devil, 1 Peter 5:8 says, " Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." What? "Be alert and of sober mind" you have an enemy that prowls around. Who? The Devil, also called The Serpent or Satan. Why? Because he is looking "for someone to devour". His job description is to steal, kill and destroy. When? Full-time.  Where? "Around." He has a pride (lion reference). Interesting that the word "prowl" means  to rove or go about stealthily, as in search of prey, som...