Linda and I went to the funeral home last night to pay our final respect to Mr. Jeanes.
The parking lot was full when we arrived as this man touched a lot of lives. He was well known in the community, in church, at the local school, and in the county. Continue reading
And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. Acts 8:2
I look at obituaries quite often and usually find myself reading several and learning about people I never knew. Continue reading
A friend said to me recently, “Our Keeper is deeper than my mind can fathom,” our Keeper being the Lord God.
I agree! God is a deep subject as His thoughts and actions are far beyond mine; and every day I learn something new about Him and His ways. Continue reading
Sunday night the Dallas Cowboys were playing the Greenbay Packers. It was quite a game.
The game came down to a fourth quarter play in which the Dallas receiver caught the ball around the goal line.
The catch was contested and overruled. It appears he wasn’t in totally in control of the ball when he hit the ground. Continue reading
There are so many people up one moment and down the next. It’s like a rollercoaster of emotion.
Everything is going so well, and then nothing ever goes well. Sounds like life to me!
There was a woman in the Bible that felt that way. She was married with two grown sons and daughters-in-law. But the men-folk died and she found herself a childless widow with no one to take care of her.
Living in a foreign land, she decided to move back home. When Naomi arrived everyone was pleased to see her.
But she said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, and the Lord has brought me home again empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?” Ruth 1:20-21
God never promised you easy times but He promised to see you through all times.
Like Naomi, many have bitterness over how things have turned out. They jumped to the conclusion to quickly that nothing is going to change.
But it did for Naomi and it will for you.
The Lord has a purpose for you. Sometimes you just have to wait for the fruition of it. As it is written,
Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord! Ps 27:14
Abba, You have promised never to leave me or forsake me. And I believe Your promise. In Jesus name, YES&AMEN
Paul’s entire set of epistles seem to be nothing but Christian apologetics – he defends the faith.
Each letter is written to a group, region, or church that seems to be going through problems, questions, or false teachings.
For instance to the Corinthians Paul defended the resurrection, spiritual gifts, Communion, marriage and divorce, hair length, and law suits just to name a few.
To the Galatians, Paul had to defend against Judaizers that came with a different gospel of following the Law.
In Ephesians he defended the family.
And I could go on but you can read each for yourself and experience what Paul was saying.
Probably one of the best lines from Paul on apologetics is given in Colossians –
Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one. Col 4:5-6
Apologetics demands wisdom and patience. It demands grace in what you say and how you say it so that the answers you give will be received.
Abba, I want grace and salt in my speech today. In Jesus name, YES&AMEN
Over three years had passed since his conversion to Christianity from Judaism. He had visited Arabia, Damascus, and finally the birthplace of the church – Jerusalem. Continue reading
Christian apologetics did not come easy for Paul. After his salvation and conversion he was now going to need to build up what he previously had been tearing down.
You will have to do the same. Continue reading
Christian apologetics is just another way of saying “defending the faith”. For me, that’s not debating or arguing – it’s an explanation of the scripture, including the Gospel. Continue reading
My church gathered to watch God’s Not Dead on New Year’s Eve. Many told me it was the best movie they have ever seen.
It is an excellent movie.
I think about how the student defended his Christian faith against the college professor. That’s called Christian apologetics. While I am a Christian and I will defend my faith, I’m not sure I would or could do it in the same method as the student in the movie.
He did a lot of reading to find out the belief of different philosophers and scientist in order to defend the faith.
I, on the other hand, prefer not to cloud my mind with antichrist thoughts and ideas. I prefer to read the truth that is God’s word.
I found in the Bible one of the first Christian’s to get into apologetics – Saul, who became the apostle Paul.
After his salvation, he turned his attention to preaching Jesus as the Son of God. How did he do this being such a new Christian and freshly converted from Judaism?
This verse gives the key.
But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ. Acts 9:22
He increased!
I believe that means in knowledge and strength of the Holy Spirit.
He confounded!
This increased knowledge of the scripture gave him the ability to confound the knowledge of others.
He proved!
By using the scripture he was able to show that Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s word.
This is Christian apologetics and it’s something you need to do also.
The church can no longer shrug when people question the faith or have questions about the Bible or doctrine. You must know what you believe and why you believe it.
Next time I will reveal through the scripture how Saul (Paul) was able to do this.
Abba, use me today to prove that Jesus is the Son of God and the only Way of salvation. YES&AMEN
Morning Thought with Pastor Tim 