Can God be trusted? More and more I am convinced that this is the fundamental question of life: “Is God good and can he be trusted to do what is right?” If the answer is yes, then we can face the worst that life has to offer. If the answer is no, then we’re no better off than the people who have no faith at all.
Text: Genesis 15In the day of battle you only have two options. You can fight or you can flee. Abraham was willing to fight and that’s why he won the victory. Our only hope is to turn our eyes on Jesus. Hebrews 12:1 exhorts us to fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. He faced the same battle and because of it, he went to the cross.
Text: Genesis 14 / Hebrews 7Do you believe it was just a myth? Do you think Jesus somehow staged his own death and then faked his resurrection? Why did the Jews concoct a plot while Jesus was still dead? Why were they so afraid? Why were the grave clothes left in such an odd position? If he didn’t rise from the dead, what happened to his body? These are the questions you need to think about. After you are through, then it’s time to make up your own mind. When Jesus stood before Pilate he declared, “Everyone on the side of truth listens to me” (John 18:37). Whose side are you on?
Text: Matthew 28:11-15When the famine comes, remember that God has not abandoned you. He sends the famines of life in order to see if you will trust him even in the most difficult moments. We should say, “Here is another opportunity for me to trust God. I wonder what wonderful things he is going to do for me this time.” It’s not easy to say that. Sometimes it takes more grace to stay in the Promised Land than it does to get there in the first place.
Text: Genesis 12:10-20“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” This is one of the strangest statements in the Bible. It is a paradox and a mystery. “Blessed are those who mourn,” said Jesus. Happy are the sad! What do these strange words mean? Who are the mourners, why are they sad, and how are they comforted?
Text: Matthew 5:4The signs are everywhere. Time rushes toward its appointed climax. The first rays of dawn streak the eastern sky. The countdown has begun. In heaven, the sound of trumpets and a King prepares to leave his palace. On earth, his children pray with new excitement and new understanding of the words he taught them so long ago … “Thy Kingdom Come.”
Text: Luke 21:25-29This is the first promise given after the Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. It is also the first gospel sermon ever preached on the face of the earth. Theologians call it the protoevangelium–or first gospel. These words spoken by God contain the first promise of redemption in the Bible. Everything else in the Bible flows from these words in Genesis 3:15. As the acorn contains the mighty oak, so these words contain the entire plan of salvation.
Text: Genesis 3:15Our only reliable source of information regarding the spirit world is the Bible. Outside of the Bible, we have no sure knowledge of angels or demons. That must be the touchstone of truth for the Christian. But that fact shouldn’t discourage you since the Bible has a great deal to say about angels and demons. In fact they are mentioned in 34 different books of the Bible in over 300 different places.
Text: VariousTo be saved, you must first realize that you can’t save yourself. As long as you hold on to your self-righteousness, you cannot be forgiven. Being a Christian means you’ve come to Christ and you’ve come by faith to the cross. It means that He’s the one that will come into your heart and forgive your sin and change your way of life.
Text: VariousIf we start with the biblical record, we find it fundamentally incompatible with evolutionary naturalism. Three words summarize where we come from–created, not evolved. We need to teach those three words to our children and make them a bulwark of our own personal faith.
Text: Genesis 1