Therefore, antichrist describes a people discontent with and disconnected from the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, who make their own rules, and present to the world a counterfeit Jesus made after their own image by counterfeit teaching. John did not make a dry observation about antichrist. It carries a strong note of warning through the book.
There exist many lists of the gifts of the Holy Spirit to be found in the Bible, none exhaustive, and each gift has a bearing on our RELATIONSHIPS with others. “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34).
The Bible positively affirms that creation includes more that just the material world. This is hard to grasp considering the overall materialistic outlook of the 21st century world. Our excessively material outlook is in large part an overreaction to the medieval superstitions. In the Dark Ages, everything that happened on earth had a spiritual cause; milk spoiled because an evil spirit visited you, and walking under a ladder would disrupt the trinity, giving bad luck. Today, the intellectual consensus is that all things can be explained on a strictly physical level and therefore spiritual things do not exist.
The past couple of decades in brain research has yielded amazing and unexpected discoveries. Using MRI technology, brain researchers have better refined our understanding of the brain’s structure as well as how the brain responds to various stimuli. For example, to better understand how the brain of a smoker works, scientists would tell the test subjects to think about cigarettes and observe how the brain responds through MRI. All good research requires not only test subjects but also a control group. In such studies, the control group would be told to empty their minds and think of nothing. What we accidentally discovered is that the human brain does not default to think about nothing. Our “default setting” is to think about the future.
“Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:5-7).
As you know, the above are well-known and well-loved verses intended to impart comfort to those of us flailing in the grip of anxiety and fear. You may wonder how such dreadful feelings as anxiety and fear could be a blessing to anyone. “Really?” you ask.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivered his first inaugural address to a nation in the throes of economic depression. In this first speech FDR proclaimed, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” From a spiritual perspective, his words are not entirely accurate. There are some fears that are legitimate and necessary. However, FDR did…
From the moment God breathed into man’s nostrils (Genesis 2:7), it has been readily apparent that there is something sacred and precious about life. This fact has been consistently reflected and protected in the laws, institutions and instructions that God has given His people. Well before the Law of Moses, we find examples and commands…
If God is willing, as the calendar changes to 2017, approximately 45% of Americans will resolve to make a change in the upcoming year. Most will resolve to lose weight. Others will endeavor to better organize their lives, spend less money, quit smoking, or spend more time with their families. Twenty-five percent will give up…
Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they…
Some people are ashamed of their parents. Some parents are ashamed of their children. Some are ashamed of their family, or where they came from, and some are ashamed of their church. Some people are ashamed of the place they live or their income or their job, or lack of a job. Some people are…