Godward Thoughts

Many today reject the church as vital or even necessary for Christians. There are multitudes of people who consider TV, books, magazines, devotionals, or podcasts as their “church.” Is it possible to have a vibrant spiritual life and successfully nurture our relationship with God apart from a local church? Is it just tradition that tells us we much be a part of one? Is it possible to move closer to God and farther away from the church? Are there lots of alternatives to the church when it comes to our spiritual growth?

The answer to all of those questions, according to Scripture, is a resounding no! Far from being one of many options for the Christian, the church is the primary means through which God accomplishes His plan in the world. It is His instrument to evangelize the world and to sanctify those who are born into His family. Therefore God expects a commitment to the church from everyone who claims to know Him.

Key Verse:
1 Timothy 3:15 “But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.” Read more »

God willing, I’m finishing a sermon series on Nehemiah tomorrow morning. The following is from Warren Wiersbe summarizing the leadership qualities of Nehemiah.

1. He knew he was called of God

Before you quickly move into a place of ministry, be sure God has called you and equipped you for the job. You may not think you can do it, and others may have their doubts; but if God calls you, have no fear: He will see you through.

2. He depended on prayer

The Book of Nehemiah starts and ends with prayer. And in between, Nehemiah oftens sends up quick prayers to heaven and asks for God’s help. “Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers,” said Phillips Brooks. “Pray for powers equal to your tasks.” One mark of true spiritual leaders is their honest acknowledgment of their own inadequacy and their humble trust in the power of God.

3. He had vision and saw the greatness of the work

No matter what God has called you to do, it’s a great work because it’s part of the building of His church; and that’s the greatest work in the world. If you lose the greatness of a vision, you will begin to cut corners in your work, stop making sacrifices, and start looking for something else to challenge you. Nehemiah realized that what he was doing was far bigger than simply repairing gates and rebuilding walls. He was serving the Lord God of heaven and getting the holy city ready for the coming of the Messiah! Read more »

The GOLDEN RULE of interpretation is still true.  WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE OF SCRIPTURE MAKES COMMON SENSE, SEEK NO OTHER SENSE!!!!

This is a good rule of interpretation to follow. With this in mind some have erroneously taught that various verses in Genesis suggest that Eve had children prior to the Genesis Fall and that people and entire cities existed before the children of Cain and Abel. Some have gone so far to say that some kind of Pre-Adamic race or previous earth-age existed before Adam that was destroyed because of sin and they actually call it a previous earth age. This reasoning is faulty. First, In Genesis 1:31 God said that all His creation (including the angelic world) was good. This could not be true if there was a previous Adamic race existing on earth prior to Adam’s creation that was deceived by Satan. Second, if God allowed death to occur before Adam, then God is the author of death.  The Bible says Adam (not God or Satan) is the author of death (I Cor. 15:21); therefore, no human race fell before Adam’s time.  Not until man deliberately rejected the known will of God did death make its first appearance on this planet (Romans 5:12). Third, and more importantly, the Bible clearly tells us that Adam was the first man that God created. Let the Bible speak for itself. Read more »

Prelude to Judgment (Genesis 6:5-7)

“Only evil continually.” Now that is a perfect description of unredeemed men and women of any era—including our own. Human beings are not basically good. Because of the curse brought about by Adam’s sin (see Gen. 3 and Rom. 5), human beings are basically bad—completely sinful. How can I say such a thing? We can look around the world and see good things being attempted and noble tasks being achieved. But the problem is not simply with our attempts and our achievements. The problem is with our hearts. Until we come to bow the knee to Jesus Christ as King of the universe, our own agendas remain on the thrones of our hearts—we are without God in the world. And that means that even our best acts are godless acts. And for all the good that homeless shelters, cancer research, or AIDS orphanages will do on this earth, those efforts will not carry over to eternity unless they are done in the name of the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Read more »