everlasting gospel ministries

One of the best in christian fantasy

2011-06-22T09:45:00.000-07:00

This book i found very interesting to read. Imagine being true prophet knowing the intentions and reasons behind every thought! please link and sample it for free.By the way what if it is true that that is what the prophet goes through..
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/51595?ref=defendingthefaith

Compromise Will Always Cost You!

2011-06-15T03:20:00.001-07:00

Compromise Will Always Cost You!
by Steve Countryman
6/08/2011 / Christian Living

Compromise is never free. You must be willing to give up something when you compromise. Compromising your faith, beliefs, common sense and freedoms for the sake of public pressure or public opinion as stated by faulty news agencies is just a form of deception. To compromise by giving away land for peace has not brought Israel any peace! Now they are told to give more land away for peace!?! Compromise is to blend other beliefs or plans with your own while giving away some of your beliefs or plans to come into an agreement with another party. It is dangerous to come into agreement with your enemies! This will weaken or dilute your position, power, authority, defenses and beliefs.

No other time in history has Christians in America been faced with more opposition and spiritual battles then what is gong on now and what could be waiting for us in the near future. Christianity is under attack and the opposition wants to silence us! Now is not the time for compromise. We Christians have been too accommodating in silence for way too long. Compromising our beliefs in silence while watching our freedoms slip right through our hands. No where in the Bible does it say that Christians are to be submissive, quiet, obedient, peace loving at any cost to our sworn enemies, the wicked minority groups who have no authority over us! We have given away too much of our authority and freedoms to those groups by our silence and apathy. Every time Christians compromise we lose a freedom! The Bible says, "the meek will inherit the earth" not the weak!

So you ask what have we lost by our silence and apathetic attitude? We have compromised away our freedoms! Freedom to pray in school. Freedom to recite the pledge of allegiance in school. Freedom to discuss politics, name names and endorse/criticize politicians from the pulpit (IRS 501c). Freedom to say yes to life instead of legalized abortion. Freedom to recite the Bible in public without fear of being arrested for "hate crime/speech". Freedom to have creationism/intelligent design taught in our schools instead of evolution without teachers being fired. Freedom to raise children believing that marriage is between one man and one woman. Freedom to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus at Christmas in all public and government places. Freedom to display the "Ten Commandments" in all courtrooms, prisons, jails, schools and government judicial buildings. Freedom for pharmacist to decline the dispensing of "morning after" pills on religious grounds without being fired. Freedom for military chaplains to witness or share the Gospel and pray in the name of Jesus to enlisted personnel without being disciplined. Freedom to study and use the Bible in the classroom as much as the Koran is. Freedom to choose our own healthcare provider and treatment without government interference. Freedom to die of natural causes rather than government assisted suicide. Under government provided healthcare the politicians decide if you are not healthy enough or too old to save, then they will provide assisted suicide to fix your health problems. Freedom to make schools ask for parents permission to vaccinate any child for STDs. Freedom to withdraw your child from any sex education program. Freedom to deny your school the ability to hand out any birth control medicines or prophylactics to your child. This isn't all of our lost and soon to be lost freedoms. Historically, socialist governments have had zero tolerance for Christianity all the while preaching tolerance and diversity.

Closet Christians are a thing of the past and are doomed for destruction! I used to get very frustrated about all of the injustices allowed in our wonderful and God blessed country. I felt like my hands were tied and that there was nothing I could do to change it. Until I found out that that was their whole idea. To make all of us believe that we are helpless, hopeless and useless. What a lie! Too many Christians have bought into that lie and been deceived. Since when do we have to apologize for being Christian? Main stream media will try to make you feel like second class citizens or a nut case for believing in God. They are the ones who are deceived! We can make a difference if we will stand up and be counted! When you look at recent history, when the evangelicals got out and voted in 2004, what a difference was made on Election Day. A simple start is to vote! Voting is your right. Vote for the judges who will uphold Christian values. Vote for politicians who are God fearing men and women who will appoint God fearing judges. Vote for laws and ordinances that do not restrict or hinder your Christian values and beliefs. DO NOT vote for anyone who supports abortion, socialist government, euthanasia or government provided healthcare! We don't have to lose anymore freedoms. We can get back those we have lost! Voting, along with prayer, is a simple but powerful thing to do and you can make a difference!

My name is Steve and I was born and raised in a good Christian home in Phoenix Arizona. In 2004 God spoke to me to let me know that He would start sharing things with me that I would share with others. Little did I know how powerful and meaningful those things would be! Thank you Lord!!

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS

What to Do In The Midst Of a Storm to Overcome Today

2011-06-15T03:19:00.001-07:00

by Ngozi Nwoke
6/09/2011 / Christian Living

"When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee" - Isaiah 43:2. Storms or challenges are real to life. Kenneth E Hagin said you can only escape them when you die. The question is not when will challenges stop in your life but what do you do in the midst of a storm? This article gives what to do in such situations.

Taking a case study of the patriarch Abraham (Romans 4:17-22), who didn't have a child for many years; we can learn what to do when faced with any challenge:

1. Believe in hope

For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion - Ecclesiastes 9:4. You must have hope that joy will surely come in the morning. A hopeless person sees no future or better tomorrow. Hope is simply a choice to take action - Anna Lappe. Make that choice NOW.

2. Have faith

Have faith in you and in your maker (God) that you will overcome the storm (John 14:1). Faith enables you to see what to do next in the midst of a storm. You must believe that God will do what He said He would do (Isaiah 46:11). The scriptures tell you what God will do in any situation for you.

3. Don't focus on the storm

You are to focus on the solution and not the challenge. When Peter stopped looking at Jesus (his solution to walking on water) and looked at the storm, he started sinking (Matthew 14:28-30). Focusing on the challenge magnifies it the more but when you focus on the solution in the midst of a storm, the challenge eventually disappears.

4. Have a heart of gratitude

An important aspect of what to do when faced with a challenge is to be thankful. There is always the temptation to forget what is working and focus on what is not working. A thankful and praise-full heart will always overcome challenges faster. When you thank God for what are working around you, you build up your faith in God for Him to solve the challenge. Also a heart of gratitude provokes God's intervention and perfection (Luke 17:15-19)

5. Hold on and be patient

"For you have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise" - Hebrews 10:36 (KJV). You need to hold on to your faith and patiently walk into your answer. Don't stagger with unbelief. Furthermore, you need to be fully persuaded that God will certainly calm the storm and give you victory as He had said.

Now, Abraham received his son Isaac 25 years after the promise was made. He acted on the above what to do steps and eventually received his heart desire. What I love about Abraham's victory is that he lived long enough to enjoy his victory. He lived to see Isaac married at least. Furthermore, his victory is still speaking today; many people are receiving their victories too by holding unto Abraham's testimony.

Challenges truly are inevitable. This is not to scare you but to make you prepare to face and overcome them. The good news is that God knows you can handle it, that's why He allowed it in your life in the first place (1 Corinthians 10:13). Therefore, wipe your tears in the midst of the storm, brace up, act on the above steps and walk into your victory today.

Ngozi Nwoke Is a teacher and a counselor. A product and distributor of love. She has a passion to teach people how to enjoy God's love and fellowship for more fulfilling life. Want more fulfilling life? subscribe for free email updates today. http://stepswithgod.com

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS

sowing the seeds of righteousness

2011-06-15T03:18:00.000-07:00

Everyday we have an opportunity to help sow the seeds of righteousness in the hearts and minds of others. God puts people in our lives at certain times throughout each day to be lifted up by our words and actions. It is up to us as believers to let the words of encouragement flow out of our mouths freely.

Everyone of us has been blessed with special gifts by God to use for the good of others. Is your's wisdom of the Holy Scripture? Are you a mighty prayer partner? Do you show love and compassion for others even when you are down?

Pray about what God wants you to do with your special gifts today. Then believe that He will give you an opportunity to exercise your gifts. Imagine each morning that you put on the back pack of the Gospel, filled with the seeds wisdom, faith, love, and encouragement. As you go forth throughout your day, spread generously the seeds given you by the Holy Spirit in the words you speak. It may be all that someone in your life needs to spark hope and turn their day around positively.

Chris is the author of the inspirational book "Spiritual Basic Training" Learn more at spiritualbasictraining.com to complete missions for a Spirit-filled life.
God Bless

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS

THE FEFFCT OF INTERNET TO CHRISTIANITY

2011-06-05T08:15:00.001-07:00

The internet is a great blessing to Christianity. First to Christianity the internet is prophecy fulfilled. .The bible predicts that in the last days knowledge shall increase. Who could have thought it: that there is no way now in the planet and I believe in the future to disperse information than the internet. Many Christian ministries have websites through which the gospel is preached. One can easily log into the internet and search for whatever topic he is interested in; there are many Christian sites which give information for free. One can download a song, book, sermons or an article. All that is available at the click of a button. I have personally benefited from the internet because the course am doing is free online and one cannot imagine how such things could be achieved during those days of sniall mail.

The internet has allowed Christians all over the global to connect and share ideas fast. Imagine posting some lines on my facebook wall it is instantly read by many from any part of the globe that are connected to my account. The idea of an online church of an online could not be thought of some few years ago. Indeed the benefits of the internet to Christianity are many.

As much as the internet is good to Christianity there are bad effects it has caused to Christianity. Indeed the internet has helped good ideas to spread fast ; remember also bad ideas spread at the same speed..False teachers who thwart the gospel are also busy deceiving many, through information spread through their websites. Evil is easily available just at the click a button.

Even if one wants to learn on how to assemble a bomb and detonate that information is available. .The witches and church of Satan also have websites to disperse information .witchcraft is sold online and one can order and even go and be taught. As Christianity celebrate the internet and its massive benefits .it should also be remembered that the evil world d is also celebrating that they have a chance to derail the good work of the church .this days of the internet when your child owns a phone that is connected to the internet you cannot control which sites he or she logs into. .some go to the pornographic sites through their mobile phones. This proves to be a challenge to Christian parents. However, now as Christians you should be aware that things will not be reversed we live during the times of information overload and prepare our children choose what is right.

BIBLE STUDY: CORNELIUOS

2011-06-05T08:14:00.000-07:00

The story of Cornelius is recorded in book of Acts chapter 10. Corneliuous was a resident of Caesarea. he was a leader of Italian battalion, he was a man who honored God. He helped Jew people. He was gentile who was worshipper of Yahweh. Indeed the commissioning of the preaching of the good news had passed by. The Jewish nation had great privileges of hearing Jesus preaching among them. However, many did not believe him. The idea that Israel was the only chosen had been overemphasized. the Israelites prided themselves as the chosen nation until they thought that God was not interested in the gentle nations. This pride and arrogance made the whole nation to miss the reason he chose them as special people. Repeatedly Yahweh had told Israel that He chose them so that what they learn they can teach other nations. How to worship the true GOD. That is why a Gentile was invited to take the Passover.

The case of Cornelius shows how God struggled to inform Israel of how times had changed God wanted the disciples and the whole Israel whosoever believed in Jesus Christ should be saved. Whether a Jew, Gentiles or Barbarians; all had an equal chance. God demonstrated this to Peter in a vision that God had informed Peter that what was considered unclean is now clean. God was telling Peter that the gospel was for all.

When Peter and his team were in Cornelius house they were amazed that also the Gentiles can receive the Holy Spirit. This clearly shows that He wanted both Jews and Gentiles to be in one church Peter then under stood that God does not show partiality. The gift of the Holy Spirit was given to the gentiles. This was good news within good news among the Jewish believers. Paul calls this a mystery. That the Gentiles and the Jews were now one in Jesus Christ. What happened at Cornelius and what happened to Paul and Barrnabus as they preached to among the Gentiles led to the great Jerusalem council reported in Acts Chapter 15. The Apostles discussed how they were to handle the Gentiles believers.

In conclusion Cornelius is the Gentile that God used to demonstrate to the Jews believers that the Gentiles were now included in the house hold of God.

FAITH IN THE MODERN WORLD

2011-06-05T07:51:00.000-07:00

The Webster dictionary defines faith as the unquestioning belief, especially in religion. That definition has some weakness. The Bible defines faith as:

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Heb 11:1)

How does one arrive at such a faith that one is assured of things hoped for and is convicted that even things not seen will be a reality. The Bible gives an answer:

“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” Romans 10:17

Faith develops when one hears the word of God. When one sees what God claims He can do in His word. Abraham started walking in relationship with God and his faith developed from sometimes doubting to a complete surrender to the directives of God. This is the assurance of things hoped for talked of in Hebrews 11:1. Faith has to deal with the object of faith. It is not just unquestioning believe. These believe must be based on facts that the object of faith is actually true. One may have unquestioning faith that a stone can hear and help during trouble. However, much that person will believe that stone to be hearing and that it will help will not change the fact that it can’t hear and help. Faith is violational commitment of an informed intellect. That is why Yahweh of the Bible calls man to come and reason with Him. It is not faith in a false object. That is why the writer of Hebrews continued to say:

“And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6).

God has given able evidence that he exists (Romans 1:19-21). Whatever He has claimed to do for us is there clear in the Bible to be proofed whether it is right. When He claims, “I am Yahweh your healer.” Have you proved that He heals? Or you believed that He heals unquestioningly? When He claims, “I am He that gives you power to get wealth have you proved that promise to be true? That is what will make you have unquestioning and firm assurance in what the word says, God has not declared come to me and don’t question! He wants one to come with all the questioning and end up like Abraham who ended up without question. That is faith settled and secure in the word of God.

Is such a faith relevant in the modern world? Yes indeed. When one knows that God is faithful one can claim what God has promised to be a reality in his life. When one has doubt as concerns the faithfulness of his God; one may not claim the promises of God upon his life. Faith that is the calling of those things which are not as if they are is relevant in the modern world (Rom 4:17).You claim the promises of God because you know He is faithful that as promised.

THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ISLAM AND CHRISTIANITY

2011-06-05T07:46:00.000-07:00

On the surface it may appear that there are no major differences between Islam and Christianity. This is because in Christianity. There are major differences between Islam and Christianity such as:

One the sacred text of Islam is the Koran. The sacred text of Christianity is the Bible both old and new testaments. Islam argues that yes Jesus was given the gospel (injil) but it has been corrupted. Hence according to Islam the bible is corrupted and it should not be relied upon for religious teaching. The Christians on the other hand when they peruse through the qurianic text and see the differences it has with the Bible; they doubt whether Muhammad received the qurian from the same source as their Bible.

Secondly the birth, life and death of Jesus Christ is a major difference. In the quarian Mary the mother of Jesus is a sister to Aaron. The death of Jesus Christ is denied that it did not happen. If he did not die his resurrection is not even mentioned. While in Christianity the birth, life and death of Jesus Christ is the central and grand subject of the entire Bible;without Jesus Christ there is no good news to world and all is lost. Jesus took the body so that He can condemn sin in the flesh by living a perfect life (John 8:44). This perfect life fitted Him to be the perfect Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world. To the Christian Jesus Christ has redeemed all including Muslims. What is needed is for one to accept this gracious gift in Jesus Christ. Without Jesus Christ Christianity loses its taste, especially atoning sacrifice. So when the quarian affirms the following.

“And because of their saying: We slew the messiah Jesus son of Mary, Allah’s messenger – They slew him not nor crucified, but it appeared so unto them; and lo! those who disagree concerning it are in doubt thereof they have no knowledge thereof save pursuit of a conjecture; they slew him not for certain: But Allah took him up unto Himself. Allah was ever mighty, wise.” surah 4:157-158.

That verse clearly knocks down the central pillar of Christianity and all is lost.

Thirdly the human nature is defined differently by Islam and Christianity. In Christianity the human nature was completely married by sin when Adam disobeyed in the garden. This necessitated a saviour and reparation of man’s nature. In Islam is born with an equal ability to do good and evil. There is no original sin. Man has the ability to be either good or bad. That is why good works is emphasized as a means of attaining heaven. There is no need of a saviour and reparation of man’s nature.

The trinity is one of the highly controversial topics in both Islam and Christianity. The quarian does not mince words as it declares that if one associates partners with Allah is an infidel. While in Christianity a triline God is served. God the father, Son and the Holy Spirit is worshipped as one God in three co-equal and co-eternal persons.

Lastly the characters of Yahweh and Allah are worlds apart. Allah gives a word in the quarian and withdraws it later. Like when Muhammad was facing stiff opposition from the Arabs in Mecca, Allah accepted Lat, mannat and Al-uzzah as gods to be worshipped with Him. Later on it is said Allah recalled that verse. Yahweh of the bible does not alter what has gone out of His mouth(psalm 89:34). As He told Adam that if you eat from this tree you will surely die. He maintained that word until He Himself came and died on the cross instead of man dying forever. He became just and yet the acquitter of the unjust. This character is not seen with Allah. How Allah dealt with Adam after the fall is different from what Yahweh did.

THE STATUS OF JESUS IN ISLAM

2011-06-05T07:42:00.005-07:00

The word status is defined by Webster dictionary to mean rank or condition. This leads to the question how is Jesus Christ ranked in Islam?

One He is the miracious son of Mary. This son was given by Allah to Mary by through Angel Gabriel. This is clear in the following verses.

“And make mention of Mary in the scripture, when she had withdrawn from her people to a chamber looking east, and had chosen seclusion from them. Then we sent unto her our spirit and it assumed for her the likeness of a perfect man.

She said: Lo! I seek refuge in the beneficiary one from thee, if thou art God-fearing. He said: I am only a messenger of they Lord that I may bestow on there a faultless son.

She said: How can I have a son when no mortal hath touched me, neither have I been unchaste?

He said: so (It will be). Thy Lord saith; it is easy for me. And (It will be) that we may make of him a revelation for mankind and a mercy from us and it is a thing ordained.” (Surah 19:16-21)

It is there in the quranic verses above that Mary conceived by the power of Allah’s spirit.

Secondly Jesus is the word of Allah. Allah’s word became a human being. This is clear as one reads the following verses:

“(And remember) when the angels said: O Mary! Lo! Allah giveth thee glad tidings of a word from Him, whose name is the messiah, Jesus, son of Mary illustrious in the world and the hereafter, and one of those brought near (unto Allah)”. (Surah 3:45).

Indeed in Islam as it is in Christianity Jesus is the word of Allah and as stated above He is the spirit of Allah that was clothed in human flesh.

Thirdly Jesus in Islam has to been permitted by Allah to create. He has creative ability. This is found in the following verses:

“When Allah saith: O Jesus, son of Mary! Remember my favor unto thee and unto thy mother; how I strengthened thee with the Holy Spirit, so that thou spakest unto mankind in the cradle as immaturity; and how I taught thee the scripture and wisdom and the Torah and the Gospel; and how thou didst shape of clay as it were the likeness of a bird by my permission and thou didst heal him who was born blind and the leper by my permission; and how didst raise the dead by my permission; and how I restrained the children of Israel from (harming) thee when thou camest unto them with clear proofs, and those of them who disbelieved exclaimed. This is naught else than more magic! (Surah 5:110)

It is said in the above verse that Jesus son of Mary was the creator and a miracle worker. However, there are arguments that He did that with the permission of Allah not out of his own power. In Islam the little of creator is only given to Allah not anybody else. It should also be noted that the only person that Allah has given permission to Create is Jesus son of Mary. This permission Allah gave voluntarily. The bird that Jesus created is still part of Allah’s creation, it is not wrong to ascribe the little of the Creator to Jesus.

Jesus in Islam is also given the title of Lord or lordly in the quriah. Read the following verse carefully.

“And the Angels called to him as he stood praying in the sanctuary: Allah giveth thee glad tidings of (a son whose name is) John, (who cometh) to confirm a word from Allah, lordly, chaste, a prophet for the righteous (Surah 3:39).

That the Angels of Allah called Jesus “Lordly;” He is lord that means master or, noble. This title is also given, to Jesus Christ in Christianity. He is the Lord of Lords. He is a prophet.

In Islam again Jesus is considered to be only a human being but not God. Yes it is clear from the quarian that He is the word of Allah and Allah’s spirit helped Mary conceive, Jesus is denied divinity in Islam.

“They surely disbelieve who say: Lo! Allah is the messiah, son of Mary. The messiah (himself) said: O children of Israel worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord. Lo! Whose ascribeth partners unto Allah, for him Allah hath forbidden paradise. His abode is the fire. For evil-doers there will be no helpers. ---The messiah, son of Mary, was no other than a messenger, messengers (the like of whom) had passed away before him. and his mother was a saintly woman. And they both used to eat (earthly) food. See how we make the revelations clear for them, and see how they are turned away.” (Surah 5:72-75)

Lastly Jesus in Islam He is not the saviour. The very concept of salvation by atonement is not there. The death of Jesus Christ is completely denied.

It did not occur. A person the appearance of Jesus was crucified instead. Allah took Jesus to heaven as they were heading to Golgotha. The whole world was cheated for over 500 years until Muhammad came and told the world the truth again that Jesus was not crucified. It was a person who had the same appearance as Jesus that was crucified. The people plotted and Allah plotted but Allah is the best. His plot succeeded. This raises many questions In ones mind. Read the following passage from the quarian.

“And because of their saying: we slew the messiah Jesus son of Mary, Allah’s messenger. They slow him not nor “crucified, but it appeared so unto them; and lo! Those who disagree concerning it are in doubt thereof; they have no knowledge thereof save pursuit of a conjecture; they slew him not for certain.

But Allah took him up unto Himself. Allah was over mighty, wise.” Surah 4:157-158.

They crucified him not; it just appeared to them as if they have crucified him. Allah is mighty wise. He took him a way from the midst of the Roman soldiers and the thronging multitudes. As if that is not enough; it took Allah over 500years to inform the Roman empire and the Jews that the one they crucified on Golgotha was not Jesus the son of Mary Allah’s word and messenger.

EVOLUTION AND RELIGION: COMPATIBILITIES AND DIFFERENCES

2011-06-05T07:40:00.000-07:00

Evolution is only compatible with religion on only one point; they are both metaphysical systems. They are belief systems. Evolution will never be in agreement with a religion that teaches that there is an intelligent designer who designed everything that is seen. Without going deeper in giving the differences it is important that the term is vaguely defined by scientists that it may only mean that things change. Evolution means change by mutation (Darwin called it variation) from one genre to the next. That means chimpanzees changing to humans, reptiles slowly and gradually changing to birds. The speculative theory of evolution is best explained by the blind watchmaker thesis by Dawkins.

This kind of evolution will never agree with the Christian religion. That reptiles slowly and gradually changed into birds is untenable. This is how evolution can produce a bird from a reptile!

“For the blind watchmaker (Natural selection) to make a bird from a reptile, he must craft not only wings and feathers but also a distinct respiratory system and a mechanism for regulating the temperature of blood.”

That must be a very gradual process. Many mutations will be defective and not produce the result needed. This will go on and on and by chance a good mutation appears that favor a limb changing into wings. Dear reader don’t you see that by the time that reptile changing to be a bird it could be dead because at the intermediary stage when it is not a reptile or a bird how will it be surviving. Imagine that reptile is in water and it is changing to a bird. What happens to it when its reptilian adaptations are gone and it is not yet a bird that can fly? It will die.

This is a theory not what can be proved by scientific experiments. There is no scientific prove for the blind watchmaker thesis. Religion supports that for everything we see around there is a designer who brought it into existence. Evolution argues that everything we see around evolved slowly and gradually from lifeless chemicals. There has never been proof in the laboratory that lifeless chemicals can produce life. It is true there are Mavericks out there who are claiming they have created life; but that is not true. Religion teaches that God created everything after its kind and it remains that way to today. Evolution teaches that there have been transmutations from genre to the next. especially from the lesser to the higher. Religion believes for everything we see there was an initial first cause. Evolution proposes there was a very big bang and the process of life started from a single cell.

Conventional science badly needs outside assistance on the subject of evolution, because scientists have fallen into some illegal habits of thought that are so pervasive within the profession that they escape criticism. One of these habits is to buttress the shaky blind watchmaker thesis with subjective judgment and theological speculations rather than, to confront the genuine scientific difficulties in that thesis. It is important that we ask ourselves how scientists threw away their standards of scientific experimentation before agreeing with any proposition to believe that cannot be scientifically proofed. how did they write forty doctoral thesis on Piltdown man. Only to be later on be discovered that those bones belong to a pig!

CHRISTIAN LOVE

2011-06-05T07:32:00.000-07:00

If there is an English word that has been misunderstood is love. Love as we use it in day today communication is very different from what it is from the Christian point of view and especially the Biblical point of view. In this article we will give the biblical definition of love. We will explain from scripture how this love can be practical in the life of every believer. We will show from scripture that since the fall of man. God has wanted to reproduce this love in man. Come with us and let see how God defines love and how He plans that love to be our character.

The Bible defines love in the following ways:

a) God is love.

b) Love is the fulfillment of the law (Romans 13:10)

From the above definitions of love from the scriptures, there are lessons we can learn about Christian love.

a) God is the origin of love and love is God. That means if we want to understand love we should let God to teach us what love is.

b) When Paul concludes that love is the fulfillment of the law in Romans thirteen verse ten. What does he mean? Paul starts in verse eight and concludes in verse 10

“Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For this you shall you shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet” and if these is any commandment, it is summed up in this saying. “you shall love your neighbor as yourself” Love does no wrong to a neighbor, therefore love is the fulfillment of the law” Roman 13:8-10 (NASB)

That when God spoke to the whole congregation of Israel at Mt. Sinai. The message was only one love. God as He starts in Chapter 25 of the book of exodus to give them instructions on how they should handle each command. He was telling them love thy neighbor as yourself. In the New Testament Jesus Christ, God incarnate, revealed this when he was asked, what is the greatest commandment?” He summarized the Ten Commandments into two:

a) “You shall love the lord your god with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, this is the great and foremost commandment.

b) The second is like it “you shall love your neighbor as yourself”

c) Jesus Christ concluded:

“On the two commandments depend the whole law and the prophet” Math 22:40 (NASB).

In the other words Jesus concluded that this is the message the law (Moses) and all the other prophets both major and minor were communicating to man. That God is love and He wanted us to love Him and love one another.

This is the love that produces the character described in 1^st Corn 13:4-8:

“Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous, love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek it’s own, it is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth, bears all things, believes all things hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails….” (NASB)

Having understood what the bible defines love to be; then we give our understanding of Christian love.

“This is the total character of a Christian as he/she carries day to day responsibilities on earth. It is the character with which a Christian should be known. A self-sacrificing character for the well being of others”

This character is at war with our fleshly desires. It is completely against what we are. It is impossible by ourselves that we cannot count the wrongs done to us, that we can love the truth. The character of 1^st Corinthians 13:1-13 is a character that we are given. It can never naturally originate in us. This love comes from God. When we accepted Jesus Christ as our savior and Lord, a new birth took place, in your spirit God entered. We say this because the bible teaches that man is a three part being:

“Now may this God of peace himself sanctify you entirely, and your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” 1^st Thess. 5:23 (NASB)

After confirming from scripture that man is a three part being. It is important to know that God communicates to our spirits.

“The spirit Himself testifies to our spirit that we are children of God” (Rom 8:16) NASB.

It is clear from the above verse that God communicates to our spirit not to our soul or body. This is spirit to spirit communication. When we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and savior, our dead spirits were quickened (made alive), they started responding to the heavenly communication from the Holy Spirit himself. This is confirmed in the following passage:

“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them were too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God being rich in mercy because of his great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved) Ephesians 2:1-5 (NASB)

Our spirits were made alive together with Christ. The spirit that was working in us was removed. The Holy Spirit of God took control of our own spirits. Our mind needed to learn how to behave with the new master. Indeed sin has been conquered but our minds and body remained in the dreamland of the former master (the spirit of evil). Here there was a conflict between the new master and how the old one had programmed us to behave. Our minds needed to be renewed to operate according to the Holy Spirit. This confirmed in the following passage:

“Therefore I urge you, brethren by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship, and do not be confirmed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is that which is good and acceptable and pefect” Romans 12:1-2 (NASB)

Our minds need to be transformed from the character it had confirmed to. The character had conformed to the loving self. It had to be transformed from loving ourselves to the character of loving God. The character is transformed to love our neighbor as myself. God only can do this in us. This character described below:

“Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous Love does not bring and is not arrogant does not ac an unbecomingly; it doesn’t seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things endures all things.

Love never fails…” 1^st Cor 13:4-8 (NASB).

This character is produced in us by the Holy Spirit. The bible is very clear in this matter:

“But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, fruitfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law…. Now these who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” Gal 5:22-24 (NASB)

The fruit of the spirit is Love…. Love is not the fruit of our will power. It is not the fruit that man can produce. This leads us to our second observation.

Christian love is the character that is produced in us by God himself. This character we get it from God and we maintain it by God’s power not our power. It is the Lord working in us to do according to His will.

When our spirit is regenerated, our mind is transferred by the word of God to our new identity. Then the body is crucified and the result is a character that is described above.

God has given us an example of this love. In that when we were hostile to him. He demonstrated his love and gave Jesus Christ to redeem us from darkness. The cross is the best demonstration of this love:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”

This the love that God wants produced in us. This love is Agape love (the character of heaven).

Jesus Christ said “Love the Lord your God with all your with all your heart, soul and mind Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind. Imagine here Jesus Christ is talking about agape love and He is mentioning the mind; which is in the soulish realm. What God wants for us is his character to be reproduced in us through the power of the Holy Spirit, as indicated in Galatians 5:22-23. This is the character we need so that to stand before a holy God when he comes. The Good news is He is the one who gives us this character. We thank for this. That he has given us what we need when He when he comes to take us home.

God bless you as you consider His love