NCarolinian

The bottom line is to represent my Savior, Christ Jesus, well. I believe this idea begins with the realization of Christ's sacrifice for each of us, then moves to an attitude of passionate desire and need to serve and represent Him for life. He died for me, I'll live for Him should be every Christian's life-formula. Whenever humans represent another individual, business, government or the like - usually that means the party we are representing cannot physically be present. The burden then falls hard on The Ambassador of the person, company or nation to reflect the other party accurately. There is no doubt that we have failed miserably at portraying our friend, work, country and God to others in the past. But there is a Helper, especially for presenting Christ to people. God's representation method is slightly different from humanity's. With humanity, where the represented party is not present when we personify them, God is. His Holy Spirit is standing next ...

I was reading about King David's plans to build the first Temple of God and was reminded in my study that - He bought the temple site Gathered materials Appointed 24,000 Levites to work on it Appointed 6,000 to Oversee the construction Ordered 4,000 to Guard the structure while it was being built Here's the kicker - and Ordered 4,000 people to play instruments and sing praises to God during the building. Ever heard the expression "Whistle While You Work"? The notion is to make the day easier and more light-hearted by whistling or humming a tune. The exception here is I encourage a Godly Whistle, hum or song to come forth. That is my impression to all who are taking on new responsibilities or remaining in old ones in your church, work and community.  As you minister - hum, sing and praise the Lord. Let there be an Atmosphere of Praise and Worship established Before, During and After the service or whatever event is before you. This praise will lay the ...

Of all the things and people to believe in today, Christ Jesus is The Difference. So, many faiths require you to work toward your salvation, if it is truly obtainable in the end. Jesus Christ only asks you to accept His love gift - His very life, death, and lifestyle to be a part of His family. Jesus is The Difference among other gods and He made The Difference to those who would believe in Him. Christ could have just lived the perfect, Godly obedient life while displaying God's power of miracles through Him and teach God's Word only to die a martyr's death. History would not have a Savior if this were the case.  When John recorded Christ's last moments on the Cross, he stated, "When He [Christ] had received the drink, Jesus said, 'It is finished.' With that, He bowed His head and gave up His spirit." (John 19:30) . The phrase "It is finished" in the original language is teleo (tel-eh'-o) meaning paid or to discharge a debt . ...

In 1 Kings 19:11-13 the voice of the Lord is described as "a still small voice" or "a whisper" . However, most of the encounters with God's voice leave the recipient and the reader of God's Word quite awestruck. When a thunderstorm arrives in my area, I will often step out on my front porch, not only to assess the severity, but to listen to the thunder and watch the lightening. I stop and imagine it as God's voice speaking to me. You might think I'm crazy or at least unsafe but observe what God said to David in Psalm 81:7   -  "In your distress you called and I rescued you, I answered you out of a thundercloud; I tested you at the waters of Meribah." Then in John 12:29 , Jesus speaks to God the Father and Father God audibly replies - "The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him." Other verses that speak to God's voice as thunderous are... Job 37:4 "...

To me, there is no sound like that of the trumpet. I like all the horned instruments, but the trumpet grabs my whole being and demands my attention. The trumpet has an atmosphere of declaration or proclamation whenever its sound goes forth. The uses of the trumpet are varied. The trumpet has been used to introduce the presence of a king. The trumpet has been used to signal troops to charge into battle. The trumpet has been used for signaling the rise of the sun and the going down of the same (Reveille and Taps). The trumpet is even used as an instrument of musical enjoyment alone or within a symphony.  In Scripture, many times trumpets are a battle cry of the immediate demonstration of The Lord's power. Trumpets were sounded before the people shouted at Jericho and the walls fell down flat at the power of God (Joshua 6:16-20) . Also, trumpets were sounded first then the jars that were in the hands of Gideon's soldiers were broken. The entire Midianite camp was throw...

In John 5:44-47 , Jesus said to the Jewish religious leaders of the day -  "How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?" Between the time that The Law and all the prophecies about The Messiah were written and the time Jesus arrived, many individuals in history claimed to be The Anointed One of God; The Messiah; The Savior. Every one of these claims failed to be supported. However, Jesus Christ of Nazareth not only backed up His own words as He spoke them, but fulfilled His prophetic Word spoken years earlier through the prophets by fulfilling everything written about The Christ. Here in this confrontation with the Pharisees, Jesus att...

I am guilty at times of perceiving Miracles as instant acts of God. Survey says, (buzzer sound) wrong! Not that God does not work instant miracles, but some miracles are processes. In this sin stricken, death and decay ravaged world, our faith must be lived out through our trials. The first miracle Jesus ministered, the water turned into wine, was a process. Let us look at the Scripture. "Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, 'Fill the jars with water' ; so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, 'Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.'" (John 2:6-8) So, we have six stone water jars, vats or containers. The stone vats were empty otherwise Jesus would not have instructed for the servants to fill them -  'Fill the jars with water' . The reasonable assumption here is that  the servants went...