The Holy Spirit is the Helper that Jesus promised to send us. All of Scripture is inspired by the Spirit and that Scripture bears witness to our Savior. The Spirit empowers us with Gifts that are to be used to preach the Gospel and build up the Church. It is impossible to follow God unless we are led by the Spirit. He is our Counselor that guides us. He is our Comforter that prays for us. He is the third member of the Trinity: God the Spirit.
Category Archives: Doctrine
Timely Truths – Who is Jesus
Jesus is Lord. He is the Creator of All Things. He is the second member of the Trinity. He is our Savior and our Redeemer. The Great Commission tells us to go into all of the world and preach the Good News of Jesus Christ. The next time someone asks you who Jesus is, confidently tell them that he died on the cross for the sins of all those who believe in his great name!
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Timely Truths – Who is God?
Has anyone ever asked you, “Who is God?” Have you ever been stumped for a good answer? We should always be able to answer questions like these. Yet, when put on the spot it is some times difficult to organize all the thoughts that run through our heads when someone is talking about God. In this Timely Truth, the question of “Who is God?” is answered in a concise, three minute video. Hopefully after watching this presentation, the next time someone asks you about God, you will be able to describe our Almighty Creator with both gentleness and respect (1st Peter 3:15).
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The Great Story – Week 22: The Messiah is Born
Silence. For 400 years, the Jewish people had heard nothing from God. Malachi had promised a prophet that would proceed the long-awaited Messiah, but the wait seemed endless. Finally, John the Baptist was born. He was filled with the Holy Spirit even while he was in the womb. He was to be the voice crying in the wilderness, “Make Straight the way for the Lord”. If only the people had accepted their Messiah.
Mary was a virgin. She was betrothed to Joseph, but they had not yet come together as man and wife. When an angel appeared to Mary and told her that she would conceive a child and that He would be the savior of her people, she was confused. How could a virgin conceive a child? The angel told her that this would be the work of the Holy Spirit and to not be afraid. Her child was born in Bethlehem, in a manager, without the fanfare that should have accompanied the coming King. The Shepherds came to worship Him, but Herod tried to kill him. The hand of God was on this child, and nothing could prevent Him from fulfilling the plan of God.
Jesus was born in Bethlehem, called out of Egypt, and named a Nazarene. Even as a child, He fulfilled messianic prophecies. There has never been another person in history that claimed to be Messiah and proved it as He did. Jesus is God incarnate. He is the Messiah. He came to earth as fully man and fully God, becoming the second Adam. He took upon Himself the punishment of sin for all who believe in Him. He is the Lamb of God. He is the King. He is the Savior. He is the Lord God Almighty! Amen!
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God – Part 3: Lord and God of All
God is the Lord and Ruler of everything. Psalm 90:2 tells us that God is God from everlasting to everlasting. Before Creation He was God, and when heaven and earth pass away, He will still be God. As the Creator of all things, He has infinite authority over what was made.
Isaiah 45:6-7 – That people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the Lord, and there is no other. I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the Lord, who does all these things.
The Bible is full of instances where God interacted with His Creation in a supernatural way so that His will was accomplished. From the Flood (Genesis 7), to the parting of the Red Sea (Exodus 14), to the Resurrection of Christ (Matthew 28) the Bible consistently demonstrates that God is omnipotent and in complete control of everything and everyone.
Romans 9:21 – Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?
This verse from Romans clearly references back to Isaiah 64:8. Here, mankind is likened to clay that was molded by potter. The clay has no influence over what the potter makes, but rather the clay conforms to the potter’s will. This verse also opens up discussions on Predestination and the Doctrine of Election (Ephesians 1:4). Proverbs 16:4 tells us, “The LORD has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble.” It is clear from these verses that God has a plan for everything. Both the Righteous and the wicked abide by the will of God. The Lord did not simply create this existence and then turn His back. He is active in His Creation and uses each person to fulfill His sovereign plan; a plan that was established before the foundations of the earth was laid.
Psalm 8:1-4 – 1O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.2Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger. 3When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,4what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?
When put into perspective, the fact that we exist at all seems pretty inconsequential in comparison with the rest of Creation. The Psalmist even asks why God cares for us given everything else that He made. Later in Psalm 113:6, it is described how God has to “stoop down” just to interact with us. We are created infinitely low compared to our infinitely supreme God. The mere idea that we somehow can mock His ways, deny His existence, and escape His Judgment is the pinnacle of human arrogance. “The Fool says in his heart that there is no God” – Psalm 14:1
God rules beyond contestation in His Creation. Everyone and everything is subject to His will. Colossians 1:15 describes Jesus as being the “firstborn of all creation”. This statement speaks of His singular authority over the Creation. Unbelievers may contend that “He is not my God”, but when the Day of Judgment comes, all of Creation will be held accountable to Jehovah God. There is no “opting out”. If you haven’t done so already, I encourage you to search the Scriptures so the truth of God will be revealed in your life. God Bless You!
God – Part 2: The Creator of All Things
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). This is the passage that begins our Holy Scripture. This single verse establishes the framework for every other concept and command in the Bible. Because God created all things, He is the ultimate authority over Creation. He established the laws by which believers and non-believers alike are to abide. Therefore it should be the upmost desire of mankind to learn as much about Him as possible so we can uphold His standard. Thankfully, the Bible describes to us, repeatedly, the nature of God’s unending goodness.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:1-5)
The Bible is very clear when it speaks on Creation. God was in the beginning and He made everything! At no point does the Bible describe an evolutionary process by which the universe came into existence ~20 billion years ago. The Bible speaks of and consistently reaffirms a 6 day process of Creation that occurred 6000 years ago.
“Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance? Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord, or what man shows him his counsel? Whom did he consult, and who made him understand? Who taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding? Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust.” (Isaiah 40: 12-15)
The Old and New Testament alike speak of God as the Creator. No one counseled the Lord in His task. He alone possesses the infinite knowledge and wisdom to bring everything into existence and sustain all things (Colossians 1:17). How can God, so awesome in power, be limited by anything? The Bible says that God has to humble Himself just to look down at things in the earth (Psalm 113:6). There is no way to contain God. If we disregard God’s role in the Creation, then we ignore His omnipotence which is proclaimed throughout Scripture.
Herbert Spencer was not a Christian man. In fact, he was a strong believer in evolution and was known for coining the phrase “survival of the fittest”. Yet this man put forth an interesting system of categorization. He said, “Everything fits into one of these categories, time, force, action, space, matter,” Bible teacher, John MacArthur, points out, “In the beginning,” that’s time, “God,” that’s force, “created,” that’s action, “the heavens,” that’s space, “the earth,” that’s matter. Everything that Herbert Spencer discovered in 1903, or before that, was in the first verse of Scripture”. It’s amazing that as much as mankind tries to ignore the existence of God, they only prove their own ignorance as God is clearly seen through His Creation (Romans 1:20).
If we are to know why or from what we need to be saved, we must first understand that the Creator has infinite authority over His Creation. In breaking His law, we have corrupted the perfection of His work. As such, we are not worthy to enter the presence of our Holy Creator. Thankfully, the Bible tells us that there is a mediator between God and men who was able to ransom Himself for all (1 Timothy 2:5). That mediator is Jesus Christ, our Messiah. Do you know Him today? God Bless you.