Free! Free Palestine! [part 2]
Has God ever blessed you in the past? Did you ever keep a diary, or a journal of those events? Have you ever forgotten events in the past? Or did you ever keep a journal of times when you MESSED UP? Well, that is exactly what Job did, and Believers in God have benefited for over 4 MILLENNIA from his experience. Let's examine....
A Remembrance Journal
Has God ever blessed you in the past? Did you ever keep a diary or a journal of those experiences? Have you ever forgotten things that happened in the past? Well, Job not only kept a journal, but he wrote done some good things, AND how he royally MESSED UP in the past. And Believers in God have been blessed for FOUR MILLENNIA by the things he learned about God. Let's examine....
"Mission-ing"
This past week my wife and I spent some time in Tucson, Arizona, visiting and helping out our Deaf son, Reggie, and HIS son, Malik. In this study, we will talk a little about the importance of caring for family members, and what the Bible says about those who do not.
If you would like a fuller report of the details of our mission work in Arizona, you can click on this link for the God's Hands Agency blog post about it: "Mission-ing in Tucson"
Raptured from Wrath
Their are 4 major positions that promote a specific timeline of when the Rapture will happen. But there IS consensus on Jesus' coming again at the end of the seventieth week, the seven years prophesied in the book of Daniel that mark a time of turmoil right before Jesus returns. Let's examine some of the events within those 7 years, to STUDY these End Times as instructed by Jesus Himself in Matthew 24.
Four Thousand Three Hundred Twenty
After a lively discussion last week, this week we explored what makes a discussion valuable, or fruitless, and what our strategy should be for studying sticky issues in the Word of God.
Should we study? What should be our attitude? How do we DECIDE what is most important to study? What does GOD value?
4320 is the number of minutes in 3 days....if we only had 3 days to live, what would we decide to do with limited time? Let's check it out.
I Won’t Complain
Rev. Don wrote, and Rev. Paul made popular the song, sung at many Black funerals: “I Won’t Complain!” But what exactly IS complaining? Is it a sin? Many of the Psalms seem to be David complaining....to God. Does that make it okay? Let’s explore....
Chief of Sinners
A Pharisee, a free Roman Citizen, Saul was a unique and brilliant man – half of the New Testament is attributed to his authorship. And yet, he called himself the CHIEF of sinners. Why? Over 14 years and 4 missionary journeys, Saul, now named Paul, is believed to have traveled about 10,000 miles....on foot! Let's examine what made Paul the humble man he was.
A good Judge, or a bad Judge?
The prolific occurrence of BAD things happening in this world, is DISCOURAGING, and we all want God to DO something about it! But what if He did? What would be left? Anybody? Anything? A BAD judge will let anything slide....but a GOOD judge, knows that there MUST be consequences....for sin. Let's explore this train of thought....and we might discover that He has ALREADY done something about it!
It just makes SENSE to avoid clowns with chain saws! But are there things that you are NOT avoiding, that you should?!? If God IS all-wise, maybe there ARE some things that we can learn about life....from HIM! Let's look at some of God's actions toward us, and what He might be promising for OUR future.
Comfortable, or NOT comfortable
Okay, here's the deal: our AC at the church has not been working very good the past few weeks, if at all, and we have been a little “warm.” But many of the Floridian seniors remember when they were growing up, almost NONE of the churches or homes had AC! Now, the BIBLE says that God WILL rescue us...but maybe the question is, how fast? And then He promises that we WILL have trials and tribulations! How can God send us physical or mental distress, AND rescue us at the same time? We need to talk about this!
March 30, 33 A.D.
How smart IS God?!? How much does He know REALLY?!? How many details does He know about YOUR life? One of the greatest examples of God’s sovereignty takes place in the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament. In Chapter 9, one of God’s mighty angels explains the meaning of one of Daniel's dreams. The angel amazingly discloses that the Anointed One [obviously Jesus] will enter Jerusalem as a humble RULER and KING, 500 years in the FUTURE, yet will be killed shortly afterwards....and he identifies TO THE DAY, exactly when it will happen. How can this be?!? Let's check it out!
Silence and Whispers
Near the end of his life, the prophet Elijah accomplished several amazing, spiritual victories. God used him as a powerful conduit for His purposes....but even after that, Elijah experienced fear, and discouragement.
However, God continued to display grace and mercy to the aged servant, supplying food and rest, eventually leading him to Mt. Sinai, the mountain attended by Moses and the rescued Israelites. There God revealed himself to Elijah – but HOW did He reveal Himself? And what was the significance of HOW He did it? Let’s explore....
Obedience and Gratitude
Strange?
Weird?
Compelling!....
Early Christians, especially Jews who repented and believed, were persecuted horribly. And yes, they were even called strange, and weird. But they KNEW the One in Whom they believed. And as Peter said in his first letter to these persecuted Christians:
“Stand firm against him (the devil), and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the WORLD are going through many of the same kinds of sufferings that you are also experience.” Let's explore that....
When God Will Not Hear
We pray and we pray....but sometimes it seems that God doesn't even exist. Why isn't He answering our prayers!?! Or...is He?!
God CAN see us. God CAN Hear us. But.....are there certain conditions when He chooses NOT to listen to us? Is God being mean? Well, let's explore that.
Joy!
We have been hearing a lot about JOY the past couple weeks, but what exactly IS joy? An emotion? A feeling? Or something more.
Nazi Germany had something back in the 1930s called "Kraft der Freude." (I actually took German in high school, and I remembered this.) It meant ”strength through joy,” and it was a way for the Nazis to promote themselves through activities, and entertainment, and the arts, at free or reduced rates. It was a propaganda tool to denigrate the Jewish people, and present the Nazis as affable and worthy of aspiration.
But what does the BIBLE say that joy is? Here we also find a connection with strength, but other aspects as well, such as love, satisfaction, and purpose. Let's check out what it says.