Why we should Love the People Outside the Church?

Marcantonio: An Atheist perspective: My conversion to Christianity

 It was this time five years ago — with the weather cooling and Thanksgiving approaching — that my Christian journey began to take shape and focus.

At 19-years-old, I was a college student who, aside from adjusting to the biggest cultural shock in the world moving from Massachusetts to Louisiana, was particularly normal. My hobbies included the usual from a college student: drinking, moderate drug use, cussing and sports.

God Answered Her Prayer In The Most Amazing Way!

Brenda was a young woman who was invited to go rock climbing. Although she was very scared, she went with her group to a tremendous granite cliff. In spite of her fear, she put on the gear, took a hold on the rope, and started up the face of that rock.

Well, she got to a ledge where she could take a breather. As she was hanging on there, the safety rope snapped against Brenda’s eye and knocked out her contact lens.

4 Barriers to Getting Through to God

Have you been having a hard time lately getting through to God? If so, it's not because He has gone anywhere. He is right where He has always been. But things can come between us and God, especially when those issues go unresolved.

Here are 4 barriers to getting through to God:

 1) Harboring secret sin.

Oswald Chambers writes, "If a man cannot get through to God, it is because there is a secret thing he does not intend to give up." This involves a stubborn refusal to turn away from a hidden sin. We relish our sin too much to renounce it. But until we do, there is no getting through to God with any meaningful prayer. We have to be real with God if we want to experience His mighty power in our soul on a daily basis.

How to Pass through Tough times

At one time or another, all of us have experienced a setback or endured a significant loss. Maybe that's where you are today; perhaps you've lost a job, a relationship, or even someone or something you love.

If so, I want to encourage you with Matthew 5:4 (AMP). Jesus says, "Blessed and enviably happy…are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted!"

I used to think this was odd. I wondered, "How can we be blessed if we are mourning?" Then God helped me understand that our times of pain are actually perfect opportunities to receive and experience His supernatural comfort.

Turning off Facebook, Plugging into God

It only lasted about 30 minutes. And here in America, it occurred in the middle of the night. So when Facebook went down briefly last week, it was not a highly significant event. Or was it?

During that down time, someone tweeted: “Hold me Twitter. Hold me close. Please get me through this.” Hmm. Humorous yes, but also revealing. That person was experiencing a temporary void. And one that people seem determined these days to constantly keep filled with some form of social media.

India and Israel: Friends of Future

At first glance, Hindu-majority India, with approximately 1.2 billion people and an entire subcontinent, would seem to have little in common with Jewish-majority Israel, which has only about eight million people living on territory that’s just roughly 15 times the size of India’s capital city. While full diplomatic relations were established between Jerusalem and New Delhi only in 1992, the two countries actually have much in common.

End Time Prophecy of War

How many and when will they happen?

Every time a war breaks out in the Middle East, I receive a flurry of phone calls and email messages asking if it could be the War of Armageddon. This question is prompted by the fact that most people are familiar with only one end time war — the one that has been popularized in movies and novels as the “Battle of Armageddon.”

The concept comes from the book of Revelation where it says that armies will gather in the end times at a place “which in Hebrew is called Har-Magedon” (Revelation 16:16). This term literally means the Mount of Megiddo and refers to the ancient fortress of Megiddo that controlled the Valley of Jezreel. In English the word was transliterated as Armageddon, and the term came to be applied to the Valley of Jezreel which lies in front of Har-Magedon, running diagonally across Israel from Haifa to the Jordan River.

Are you too Busy for Love?

I knew I had a problem with busyness when every time someone prayed for me they would mention the verse ‘Be still, and know that I am God’(Psalm 46:10).

I was a speedaholic – too busy for God, too busy to build any strong or even close relationships and my health was suffering. I wasn’t alone. I interviewed more than 1,000 people for my book and discovered that:

The Astounding Growth of the World’s Largest Religion – Christianity

A very different picture emerges contrary to MSM about the real state of Christianity ~ just-out Pew report, “The Global Religious Landscape.” There are a number of fascinating realities and details in the study, but it’s worth examining what it indicates about the place of Christianity in the world. And, based on this data, the world’s largest religion is doing just fine. For simplicity’s sake, let’s examine what the visualizations of Pew’s research show us. (You’ll notice that the data is from 2010; it’s not up-to-the-minute, but, given the challenges of a global survey and the slow rate at which global trends move, it’s still relatively current.)

The Role of the Holy Spirit

 How do we receive God’s spirit? And how does it work in the life of a Christian?

Exactly what is a Christian? How does the Bible define a Christian in the most accurate sense?

The Scriptures clearly identify who belongs to Christ—that is, who we might term a true Christian. Notice the apostle Paul’s teaching in Romans:8:9: “Now if anyone does not havethe Spirit of Christ, he is not His” (emphasis added throughout). The Holy Spirit, then, is an essential aspect of the biblical definition of a Christian. Further, only those who are led by God’s Spirit have access to eternal life.

The Holy Spirit: God’s Power at Work

 Most people don’t understand the working of the Holy Spirit. As a result, they don’t recognize its power to transform our lives.

At this time of year almost 2,000 years ago, a miraculous, momentous event occurred—the New Testament Church was founded on the Feast of Pentecost. What made this occurrence so astounding—and Acts 2 records that the circumstances of that day were truly dramatic—was the giving of God’s Spirit to the followers of Jesus Christ as He had promised (John:14:16-17, 26; 15:26; 16:7-14; Acts:1:4-5, 8).

How to Overcome Sin

 You need to understand this vital biblical formula for overcoming sin.

A vital aspect of God’s purpose for us involves our coming to repentance, recognizing our sinful state and how far short we fall of God’s standards, and determining to begin living God’s way of life. We strive to identify and overcome our sins and live a sin-free life.

However, when God helps us recognize the enormity of our sins, a natural human response is dejection and discouragement. Even the apostle Paul struggled with his weaknesses, lamenting that “in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find . . . The evil I will not to do, that I practice” (Romans:7:18-19).

How to Raise Good Children in a Bad World

Standards all around you may be slipping, but here are some principles to help you stay in charge of your child’s moral upbringing.

It’s 11 o’clock at night and Ted and Joyce know where their children are: safely in bed. At 11 o’clock in the morning they also know where their children are: underfoot.

Ted and Joyce, who both work at home, see plenty of their children. Sometimes they feel they see too much of Steve, 5, and Millie, 2, even though they can afford an efficient nanny to help look after them.

True Love of God

How do we show that we love God? Many believe that Jesus Christ came to bring a new way to worship God. But what does the Bible say?

 Jesus Christ, the founder of Christianity, sprang from humble beginnings, although He admitted He was born to be king (John:18:37). During the few short years of His ministry, He was known by many as a great teacher. But what did He teach?

Did He come to do away with the laws of old? Was Jesus a rebellious son? Did He bring a new set of commandments to replace those the Israelites had received at Mount Sinai? Is God’s law no longer valid, useful or necessary?

Gentleness: The Mark of a True Christian

 Gentleness, so sadly lacking in this world, should be evident in the life of a Christian. What is gentleness, and how can it be a part of your life?

 I love those dear hearts and gentle people who live in my home town. Because those dear hearts and gentle people will never, ever let you down.” The words of this song, written 47 years ago by Bob Hilliard, call to mind a time when the world was (at least in our collective memory) a more neighborly place. Do you sometimes find yourself wishing for those times? Do you yearn for a return to civility?

Facts about the Sluggards (Lazy Men)

1. They are unteachable, careless and in-different – Pro 6:6-9.
2. Love excessive sleep – Pro 6:9; 19:15; 24:33.
3. Irritating to others – Pro 10:20.
4. Servants to others – Pro 12:24.
5. Too lazy to cook food – Pro 12:27.
6. Wishful thinkers – Pro 13:4; 24:34.
7. Life full of troubles – Pro 15:19.
8. Great wasters – Pro 18:9.
9. Are lazy – Pro 19:24; 24:30-34; 26:14,15.

10 Reasons To Believe In The Bible

1. ITS MIRACLES
Israel’s exodus from Egypt provided a historical basis for believing that God revealed Himself to Israel. If the Red Sea did not part as Moses said it did, the Old Testament loses its authority to speak in behalf of God. The New Testament is just as dependent upon miracles. If Jesus did not rise bodily from the dead, the apostle Paul admits that the Christian faith is built on a lie (1 Corinthians 15:14-17). To show its credibility, the New Testament named its witnesses, and did so within a time-frame that enabled those claims to be tested (1 Corinthians 15:1-8). Many of the witnesses ended up as martyrs, not for abstract moral or spiritual convictions but for their claim that Jesus had risen from the dead. While martyrdom is not unusual, the basis on which these people gave their lives is what’s important. Many have died for what they believed to be the truth. But people do not die for what they know to be a lie.

100 Facts about Jesus

1) Jesus claimed to be God – John 8:24; 8:56-59 (see Exodus 3:14); John 10:30-33

2) Jesus created all things – John 1:3; Col. 1:15-17

3) Jesus is before all things – Col. 1:17

4) Jesus is eternal – John 1:1,14 ; 8:58

5) Jesus is honored the same as the Father – John 5:23

6) Jesus is prayed to – Acts 7:55-60

7) Jesus is worshipped – Matt. 2:2,11; 14:33; John 9:35-38; Heb. 1:6

100 End Times Bible Prophecies

 “Behold, the former things have come to pass, And new things I declare; Before they spring forth I tell you of them.” 

–(Isaiah 42:9)

“Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure’.” 
— (Isaiah 46:9-10)

“Now I tell you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I am He.”
— (John 13:19)

The Bible – Miracles!

 The year 2011—the 400th anniversary of the King James Version of the Bible—is a perfect time to celebrate the “book of books” and its numerous translations. Let’s reflect on the many miracles, over a span of several thousand years, that had to happen to make the entire Word of God available and affordable in many languages!

The Bible has probably had a greater impact on the world than all other books combined! The history of the Bible is amazing and fascinating. Let’s consider just a few of the major highlights.

God’s Recipe for a Fruitful Life

Counting Our Blessings

As we approach the Thanksgiving Season which the Puritans set aside in gratitude to God for His goodness to them, we, too, should count our many blessings, “name them one by one,” to “see what God hath done.” No, we cannot name them all. We cannot even comprehend them all, for His infinite love and care are beyond human comprehension, but we are beneficially humbled and vastly strengthened whenever we pause to meditate on what He has done.

50 reasons why we are living in the End Times

The Bible says we cannot know the time of the Lord’s return (Matthew 25:13). But the Scriptures make it equally clear that we can know the season of the Lord’s return (1 Thessalonians 5:2-6):

“You yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night… But you brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night or darkness; so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober.”

Seven Prophecies that must be fulfilled before Jesus Christ’s Return

Previous generations have thought that Jesus Christ would return in their lifetimes, but they were proven wrong. Many people alive today think that Christ’s return is imminent. Certainly, the Bible contains prophecies that could not have been fulfilled until this generation.

Shortly before His crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus Christ delivered a major prophecy of end-time events, recorded in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21. He was asked by His disciples: “When will these things be? And what will be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?” (Matthew 24:3).

Kingdom of God

What is the Kingdom of God? The gospel or good news of the Kingdom of God was the heart and core of Jesus Christ’s message. What did Jesus mean when He talked about the Kingdom of God?

A careful examination of the Bible reveals that the next phase of the Kingdom of God is nothing short of a world-ruling monarchy that God will establish on this earth through Jesus Christ!