-
Colossians 2 Studied – Audio
Here we continue on in our study of Colossians. One of these studies would not be normal if we did not go on lots of side topics. They all tie in though, and are not irrelevant. They instead relate to the big picture that the Bible was written to people in covenant with God by those who knew the faith as it had been from the beginning. Thank God we have the same Spirit they did. And thank God He is faithful. His desire is the same, that Christ be formed in the church and Christ in you is the hope of glory! He is our Immanuel. God with us;…
-
How Christians May Be Bound in Mental ‘Strongholds’
In Second Corinthians 10 the Apostle Paul speaks of “strongholds” to describe mindsets in people which are like a fortress locking in falsehoods and keeping out the truth of God. These strongholds are thoughts, ideas, feelings, and the like which help give the person his/her identity, form a worldview of life, or the church, or God, Christ, the Christian life, etc. They may have come from your own reading of the Bible, or someone you trusted to tell you what the Bible says, or anywhere else. Thoughts that form a false picture of things pertaining to God make a person truth-resistant and not even know it. Indeed, they stand to…
-
The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God
1 Corinthians 2:14 – But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. God is love, He loves us, and He sent Jesus Christ to save us from ourselves and the sinful system of the world. We as natural-born people are made in His image, but the Word of God says sin has subtly corrupted humans who apart from Christ are spiritually cut off from Him. Until a person truly comes to Jesus and receives His life, His indwelling Holy Spirit, they are functioning from the basis of who…
-
God does not contradict Himself!
God never contradicts Himself yet today so many Christians “bear witness” to varying pictures of “the truth.” Such variances may be minor and may also include life-and-death differences such as what it means to be saved, who goes to heaven, what God wants of His people, and what we may believe from God. Depending on how you count them, there are upward of 30,000 denominations in the world, and, 1) that violates the biblical command for unity (1 Cor. 1:10) and against sectarianism (1 Cor. 3:3), and 2) it is categorically impossible for everyone to be right! Humans are so fallible, but this article is not meant to harp on…
-
Do You Act From the Old Creation or New Creation?
If you internalize what the Word of God says of the old and new creation, it stands to open your eyes to much that has confounded people about the troubles we see in life and the world of Christianity. It’s little secret that those who name Christ are vastly divided into sects and camps with widely varying pictures of what the faith ought to look like, who God is, what He wants of us, and what we may hope for from Him. From the beginning of the church in the first century, the Bible records the early Christians knew Christ Jesus was “Immanuel” or God with us. Matt 1:23 –…
