My heart goes out to any nation brutally attacked as what happened to Israel, who has a right to defend themselves. And there is certainly nothing wrong with supporting our allies. But now the MCM, the Mainstream Christian Media, has gone into an eschatological frenzy over this war in Israel. Netanyahu is invoking Amalek and... Continue Reading →
PEOPLE ARE PEOPLE
There is one thing that will never change. People will always be people - no matter their personal level of sanctification. We have been given by God peculiar (some more peculiar than others) particular personality traits, which often conflict with the New Man, who is supposed to reflect the image of Christ. Some Believers are... Continue Reading →
The Exceeding Greatness of God’s Power To Us-Ward Who Believe
This is my all-time favorite of J.C. O'Hair's articles. It's totally epic. You're welcome. -Joel THE EXCEEDING GREATNESS OF GOD’S POWER TO US-WARD WHO BELIEVE What is the measure of God’s power toward believers? What can be accomplished in the believer by that power? How can the believer appropriate and apply that power? THE MEASURE... Continue Reading →
Adam vs. Christ
I love the contrast between Adam and Christ in Romans 5:12-19 and 1 Cor. 15:45-49. Adam is the first Adam whereas Christ is the last Adam. Adam was made a living soul whereas Christ was made a quickening spirit. Adam was the First Man, earthly, whereas Christ was the Second Man, heavenly. Sin entered the... Continue Reading →
Necessary Food
My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined. [12] Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food. - Job 23:11-12 One thing in life that is so very important is a correct diet. ... Continue Reading →
Grace Goodies!
How about some link love to a lot of free grace goodies I adore? (I'm a bit of a link-a-holic.) Shawn Brasseaux has written over 4,500 grace articles each fewer than 333 words. My church’s website has a wonderful list of many grace newsletters including the Berean Searchlight, which has a new October issue (and... Continue Reading →
How many issues were at Corinth?
What a thrill it was to participate last weekend in the Twin Cities Grace Fellowship Conference! I had a blast! The theme was The Gathering of Christ’s Body. My first message, called "For Better or For Worse," used 1 Cor. 11:17 as the base text. I had pointed out that in my sermon prep, I... Continue Reading →
Joel’s Dream Come True
I have for years been telling Pastor Hal Bekemeyer he needs to write a book called "God Don't Make Junk!" That's a phenomenal title, which he is known for saying on occasion (along with "Words mean things!") Of course, a book with that title would be all about our glorious identification with Christ, who you... Continue Reading →
God Don’t Make Junk!
[This article is taken from Hal's NEW FREE booklet called "God Don't Make Junk!" Download the free pdf. Read it. Smile. It's awesome. I love it! -Joel Hayes] We are New Creatures. 2 Corinthians 5:17 – “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all... Continue Reading →
There’s a Scandal in my Church!
So what does Paul teach us about how to handle a scandal in a church? Let’s say you have discovered that your beloved grace pastor has been doing something really, really stupid for a long time. How should you and your church handle a scandal? The Dangers of Secret Sins First, how about we address,... Continue Reading →
AGREEING TO DISAGREE?
OK, first off, I would like to have a show of hands to demonstrate how many people agree with any other person 100% of the time. OK, do I have any takers at 50%? That is what I thought. You can hardly find two people who agree on more than a few key issues. Everyone... Continue Reading →
His Power Upon Me
2Co 12:7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. 2Co 12:8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from... Continue Reading →
Universal Forgiveness
Do people go to Hell with their sins forgiven? Two quick comments: I would not break fellowship with saints who hold that view, even though I strongly disagree. I’ve also seen some extremely disgraceful behavior over this debate. In some cases, I think awful behavior merits being marked and avoided (Rom. 16:17), because they're offences... Continue Reading →
My, My, My x 3!
It’s often easy to see how a person can get caught up in performance based religion. Simply put, people tend to look at a single verse, without context, and build their doctrine based on the incomplete knowledge they have been given. One such instance can be found in Psalm 18:20: The Lord rewarded me according... Continue Reading →
A J.C. O’Hair Sermon… Written by A.I.
Greetings, saints! Did you hear that a church in Germany held a service with an A.I. giving a sermon, which the A.I. had also composed? 300 people showed up for this! They were lined up around the block an hour before it started! And what was their reaction? Meh. Cold. Soulless. Boring. Of course, it... Continue Reading →
A One New Man & in One Body
The administrations of the Lord are manifold. Christ created them. Christ not only created the heaven and earth, but He created governmental authority in each dominion. God’s eternal purpose is for all authorities in both places to be gathered together in one – in Christ Jesus. God’s eternal purpose is grand and glorious. His works... Continue Reading →
5 Aspects of Our Heavenly Bodies
First, let’s read 1 Cor. 15:39-49 1Co 15:39 All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. 1Co 15:40 There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the... Continue Reading →
People Are People
One of the realities that is often so hard for people to fathom is that each and every person in the world is, in fact, an individual. Individual habits, individual appearances, individual diets, even individual preferences of clothing and automobiles. There are no two people alike - even identical twins! There is no single physical... Continue Reading →
THE “UGOTTA” DISEASE
There is a dreaded disease that strikes at the heart of every person in the world. This disease also is the most devious of all, because it psychologically makes one think they are actually well. This disease, unfortunately, can be found in many churches. It is nothing new, but has been around even before there... Continue Reading →
Tried AND True!
I remember hearing a Christian radio broadcast several years ago. The subject of it was regarding music. The premise of it being that the music leader of a church is one of the most difficult positions there is in the church, a premise that I do not hold on to, by the way. So you... Continue Reading →
