The Folly of What Noah Preached

Paul wrote, “the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). In Noah, we have an Old Testament illustration of this. Ponder how Noah’s warnings about fantastic “events as yet unseen” (Hebrews 11:7) must have sounded to his hearers (I’ve imagined two, Talmai and Bakbukiah).

“This is madness!” Talmai was alarmed by the huge piles of logs around the vast clearing and all the hired men cutting and hauling them. “How long will this boat be?”

Noah braced for a deluge of ridicule. “Three hundred cubits.”

“Unbelievable!” Bakbukiah laughed incredulously. “Three hundred? You were right!” he said slapping Talmai’s back. “I said, ‘No one’s that stupid.’ But I stand corrected!”

Talmai shook his head in disbelief. “Noah, you’ve lost your mind! No one can build a boat that big!”

“You are an idiot!” shouted Bakbukiah. “You’re building a three hundred cubit boat six-day’s journey from the sea?”

“It won’t need to be near the sea,” Noah replied.

“Oh, come on, Noah!” said Talmai exasperated. “You’ve been preaching about this flood of divine judgment. But look around! You seriously believe all this is going to be under water?”

“Talmai, I don’t base my faith merely on what seems plausible to me,” said Noah.

“Well, that’s obvious!” Bakbukiah scoffed.

Noah held up his hand and continued, “I base my faith on what God says he will do.”

“Whose god, Noah?” said Talmai flatly.

“The only God there is, Talmai: Elohim, the Almighty, the Creator,” said Noah.

“So Elohim is a mass murderer then?” said Bakbukiah mockingly.

“Bakbukiah, you’re speaking foolishness,” said Noah firmly.

“I’m speaking foolishness!” snapped Bakbukiah. “You’re building a colossal boat in the middle of nowhere because some bloodthirsty god told you to and you’re calling me foolish?”

“Yes, I am! because you’re assuming that what looks foolish to you is foolish,” replied Noah unwaveringly.

“Building this ark doesn’t just look foolish, Noah,” said Talmai curtly.

“Tell me what foolishness is, Talmai,” countered Noah intensely.

“Foolishness is that, my friend,” said Bakbukiah, gesturing toward the site.

“No, I want you to answer the question. What is foolishness?” said Noah.

“It’s believing something that isn’t real!” exclaimed Talmai. “Basing your life on a delusion!”

“Exactly!” said Noah. “Foolishness is basing your life on a delusion.”

Both men looked at Noah for a moment perplexed.

Talmai snorted. “You’re saying that we’re the deluded ones?”

“Yes. What makes you certain that you’re not deluded?” asked Noah.

“Common sense, Noah!” Try it! Comes in handy in boat building,” chortled Bakbukiah.

“Common sense? Whose common sense, Bakbukiah?” responded Noah. “Yours? The common sense you exercise when beating your wives when you’re angry? Or when you try to take advantage of every customer you can? Or perhaps it’s the common sense of your friend, Jobab, who extorted sex from the wife of a man indebted to him? Or the common sense of that man to cut Jobab’s throat? Or, Talmai, was it your common sense in working your slave into the ground and beating him mercilessly for petty infractions? Or your slave’s common sense in raping your daughter before he escaped? Or, Bakbukiah, was it the chief’s common sense to run your father through with a spear for laughing at him?”

“Watch your tongue, old man, if you want to keep it,” threatened Bakbukiah.

“Point made then,” replied Noah. “Depravity is rampant everywhere. We always carry our weapons because we can’t trust anyone. And when we’re honest, we know we aren’t trustworthy. The most common sense we share is our evil selfishness.”

“Listen, that besides the point!” asserted Talmai. “The point is there isn’t going to be any flood and this huge ark is a waste of time, money, and trees!”

“It’s not besides the point,” said Noah. “Elohim has been warning us for generations to forsake our evil, self-absorbed sin and return to him. No one has listened! We have only gotten worse. We’re consuming each other! The point is that your perception of reality is distorted by self-centeredness, Talmai. Elohim created the predictable world you know. And it’s foolish to presume that he can’t turn this plain into a sea.”

“Well, if he does, this Elohim of yours is as wicked as the rest of us. He’s just going to drown us all like dogs,” replied Bakbukiah. “Except you, of course, being so righteous.”

“Not true, Bakbukiah! It is not Elohim’s blood thirst and selfishness that is bringing the flood. It’s his justice. It’s what our sin deserves! Don’t you see? In his mercy he has been warning us over and over. But the ark is a sign that he will not wait forever. And God isn’t sparing me because my nature is any better than yours. He’s sparing me because I trust him. I believe what he says. And this ark will shelter anyone who will trust him. Join me, brothers! You don’t have to perish in Elohim’s judgment! Believe him and escape!”

Talmai looked blankly at Noah. “Build your boat, crazy man. But keep away from me and my family.”

“Me too,” added Bakbukiah. “If Elohim’s going to wipe out everyone I know and love, then I want to go where they’re going. I’m not going on a boat ride with a murderous god, religious fanatics and a bunch of wild animals!”

The clever and contemptuous mockery of those who find the gospel simply ridiculous stings us. And it can stir up fears and doubts that we might really be foolish after all and tempt us to keep our mouths closed.

God knows this and prepares us by explaining that the gospel will sound foolish to the world because he’s “[making] foolish the wisdom of the world” (1 Corinthians 1:20). Then he repeatedly tells us not to be ashamed of it (Luke 9:26; Romans 1:16; 2 Timothy 1:8).

Like Noah, who was a “herald of righteousness” in his age (2 Peter 2:5), we also are heralds of “events as yet unseen” (Hebrews 11:7). Jesus tells us that Noah’s flood was a foreshadow:

For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. (Matthew 24:37–39)

But in this greater judgment a greater, more perfect Ark has been provided: the crucified and risen Son of Man. All who are in him when the flood of God’s wrath comes will be saved. But only those who believe his word can enter this Ark.

If Noah’s warning and gospel sounded foolish to his hearers, how much more does our warning and gospel sound to our hearers? We must not be surprised when others ridicule it, for “the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing” (1 Corinthians 1:18). But “it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe” (1 Corinthians 1:21).

Our call is not to be respected by the unbelieving world. Our call is to trust our Lord’s word over the confident contempt of those who are blinded (2 Corinthians 4:4), endure the reproach Jesus endured (Hebrews 13:13), and preach the gospel for the sake of those “who are being saved” (1 Corinthians 1:18).

Written by Jon Bloom

Posted by Kachi

Building Your Home ( keeping Jesus at the center)

Photo by Werner Kunz

We already talked about the need for us to reach out to others. But a part of the ministry that God has prepared for us is found within the four walls of our homes.

The verse for today is a sobering truth. A woman has the power to destroy her home, or create a dwelling that is beautiful and strong.

The Christian’s home should be a sanctuary to those who live there; a place where people are safe from the seductions of the world, where the weary find rest, the sad find comfort, and where character is formed. The home should be joyful, peaceful, and filled with love.

Does this describe your home? No? Well, It doesn’t describe mine either. Not that often. It is easy to look at our homes, see all the things that are not meeting this standard, and feel discouraged and frustrated. But God has not left us alone and without help or hope in home-building!

But how does a wise woman build a home that is God-honoring and uplifting to those who walk in the front door? Here are two ways.

Build it on God’s Word

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man
who built his house on the rock.”
Mt. 7:24

Like the whole of our spiritual life, to build a godly home means building it on the foundation of God’s word. Such a home will remain strong and healthy even in the midst of storms and struggles. But to do this we must first begin with a little deconstruction–repentance. We must tear down and turn away from all those things we have built in our homes that threaten them. Maybe it is our attitudes, our words, our actions, or the absence of love. Notice I’m talking about us here.

It is so easy to find fault with everyone else who lives in our homes from the behaviour of our children to the attitude of our spouses. But as we focus on the shortcomings of others we begin to become complaining, nagging, critical, and discontented women.  Building a godly home begins with repentance and continues with pursuing godliness.

We’ve all heard the idea that the woman sets the tone of the home. There is much truth in this. Therefore we need to examine ourselves and where we need to grow. What virtues are we lacking? Are we kind, patient, gracious, fun, calm, attentive, hard working, loving, affectionate, and generous? I know I’m not, and yet the word of God calls me to this for his glory, my good, and the good of those around me.

Without the word of God we cannot build, or rebuild our homes, into happy, healthy dwelling places.

Keep Jesus at The Center

It is a mistake commonly made today when children become the center of the home. Where schedules and priorities revolve around their interests and desires. It is equally as dangerous when the home revolves around the father or the mother. You see, even though I believe that my husband is the head of our home, and that we work together to lead our children well, there is one Lord over all things, including our home. Jesus must be the center of our home, or we are making someone or something else the priority. What does this mean?

For Jesus to be the center of our homes means that the priorities and pursuits, and the rhythms and rituals, of our homes are done in light of his presence and worthiness. It means that for me, as a wife and mother, I am not only serving my family, but my God, in what I do.

Practically speaking we keep Jesus at the center of our homes when we keep him at the center of our own lives. When we are submitting to his word, following his ways, and seeking his glory.

Home is the true wife’s kingdom. There, first of all places, she must be strong and beautiful. She may touch life outside in many ways, if she can do it without slighting the duties that are hers within her own doors. These are hers, and no other one’s.
- JR. Miller

Looking to Jesus,

Written by Jen Thorn

Posted by Kachi

Does God Judge Nations Today: Will America be judged?

The reason the gospel of Jesus is precious is that it offers joyful rescue from furious judgment. The Bible speaks of the “fury of the wrath of God the Almighty” (Revelation 19:15). And the Bible exults that “Jesus delivers us from the wrath to come” (1 Thessalonians 1:10).

It is God the Father himself who sent Jesus to rescue us from his own wrath: “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. . . . Therefore we shall be saved by him from the wrath of God” (Romans 5:8–9).

How the Scriptures Speak of God’s Judgment

There are at least five ways the Bible talks about God’s judgment.

1. In judgment, God hands over the impenitent to hardening in this life.

The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. . . . Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity. (Romans 1:18, 24; see Romans 11:7–8)

2. In judgment, God punishes nations in history, both Israel and others.

“You [Jerusalem] shall be a reproach and a taunt, a warning and a horror, to the nations all around you, when I execute judgments on you in anger and fury.” (Ezekiel 5:15)

“My sword descends for judgment upon Edom, upon the people I have devoted to destruction.” (Isaiah 34:5)

3. There will be a final judgment of all people at the end of history.

Because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. (Romans 2:5)

4. The death of Jesus was God’s final punitive judgment on all who believe in Christ.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” (John 5:24)

“By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh.” (Romans 8:3)

5. Individuals are sometimes judged in this life, but, for Christians, all judgments are disciplinary, not destructive.

An angel of the Lord struck Herod down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last. (Acts 12:23)

Many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. . . . But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world. (1 Corinthians 11:30, 32)

This means that all of us should live sober lives of faith, and holiness, and serious joy. “If you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile” (1 Peter 1:17).

Does God Judge Nations Today?

But what about judgment on nations today? What about America as a whole? Are there biblical pointers to how God deals with nations today?

First, the Bible portrays God as sovereign over the nations and ruling them for his purposes. This includes ethnic peoples as well as the political states that emerge around them: “Kingship belongs to the Lᴏʀᴅ, and he rules over the nations” (Psalms 22:28).

Second, the Bible portrays God’s relation to nations as tolerating sin up to a point, and then bringing calamity. God said to Abram that his descendants would spend 400 years in a foreign land as slaves (Genesis 15:13). Then God would “bring judgment on the nation that they serve” (Genesis 15:14). Why such a long delay before God gave the promised land to Israel? God answers, “Because the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete” (Genesis 15:16).

In other words, there was a level of corruption that would be reached among the nations of the promised land that would justify God’s judgment on them when Israel returned from Egypt.

So God taught his people not to say, “It is because of my righteousness that the Lᴏʀᴅ has brought me in to possess this land.” Rather, “it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lᴏʀᴅ is driving them out before you” (Deuteronomy 9:4).

Third, numerous texts in the Bible mention the kinds of iniquity God has in mind when he says, “the wickedness of these nations.” Judgment to Israel and other nations is threatened for arrogant hearts (Isaiah 2:11; 3:15; 13:11), idolatry (Jeremiah 16:18; Ezekiel 23:20), bribery (Isaiah 1:23), extortion (Ezekiel 22:12), and the oppression of the poor (Isaiah 10:2; Malachi 3:4).

The Sequence of Sin in Leviticus 18

But there is a remarkable sequence of sins in Leviticus 18:20–25 that sounds very much like the progress of iniquity in the modern Western world. Moses writes that by these iniquities “the nations, which I am driving out before you, have become unclean, and the land became unclean, so that I punished its iniquity, and the land vomited out its inhabitants” (verse 25).

What brought the nations of Canaan to that point of judgment? Here are the sins Moses was referring to:

1. Adultery.

Verse 20: “You shall not lie sexually with your neighbor’s wife . . .”

2. Child sacrifice (we call it abortion).

Verse 21: “You shall not give any of your children to offer them to Molech, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lᴏʀᴅ.”

3. Homosexual intercourse.

Verse 22: “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.”

4. Bestiality.

Verse 23: “And you shall not lie with any animal and so make yourself unclean with it: . . . it is perversion.”

In the West, we have moved to the point of open approval of adultery, child-killing, and homosexual intercourse. Will the open approval of bestiality be next? Probably. Last week, the Huffington Post reported a woman finding on her boyfriend’s phone pictures of him having sex with her dog.

Fifty Years from Now?

Our reaction to this is probably about the same as most people’s reaction to so-called homosexual “marriage” fifty years ago. Is there any good reason to doubt that in fifty years the laws against bestiality (zoophilia) will have fallen the same way laws against homosexual intercourse have fallen in recent years? (And as for “marriage,” Wikipedia already has an entry on “human-animal marriage.”)

It would not be unwarranted, therefore, to suppose that God would bring to ruin the nations that follow this course of corruption the way the Canaanites did.

Of course, history is not a straight line of inevitabilities. God himself may step in and bring to his church a great revival of radical obedience, and a great awakening to the countries of the West. He is able. He has done it before. We should pray that he does. Vengeance belongs to the Lord, not to us (Romans 12:19).

Even if the present rush to increasingly public and approved iniquity continues, the gospel of Christ remains the power of God unto salvation for all who believe (Romans 1:16). No individual in Christ needs to fear God’s judgment. We may be killed proclaiming biblical holiness, as Paul said in Romans 8:36, but in all these things we will be more than conquerors through him who loved us.

Written by John Piper

Posted by Kachi

5 Truths about The Death of Jesus

Grace is at the heart of the Christian faith. Nowhere is this more clearly seen than at the cross of Christ. It is grace that the Son of God took on flesh, and grace that he taught us how to live — but it is especially grace that he died on the cross in our place.

Moreover, this climactic grace shown at the cross has a specific shape — it has edges. These edges help us see what exactly happened when Jesus died. And it’s important that we see because seeing leads to worship — you can’t worship what you don’t know.

So in hopes of more clarity — fuel for worship — here are five biblical truths about what Jesus accomplished on the cross.

1. The death of Jesus was for his enemies.

God’s love is different than natural human love. God loves us when we’re utterly unlovable. When Jesus died, he died for the ungodly, for sinners, and for his enemies. Paul gets at how contrary this is to human nature when he writes, “For one will scarcely die for a righteous person, though perhaps for a good person one would dare to die, but God shows his love for us in that while we were sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:7–8).

2. The death of Jesus purchased a people.

The death of Christ was effective in its purpose. And its goal was not just to purchase the possibility of salvation, but a people for his own possession. Hear Jesus’s words: “All that the Father gives to me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out… And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day” (John 6:36, 39).

If we say that Christ only purchased the opportunity of salvation for all men we gut biblical words such as redemption of their meaning. John Murray writes: “It is to beggar the conception of redemption as an effective securement of release by price and power to construe it as anything less than the effectual accomplishment which secures the salvation of those who are its objects. Christ did not come to put men in a redeemable position but to redeem to himself a people” (Redemption Accomplished and Applied, 63).

3. The death of Jesus is on our behalf.

Jesus’s death was substitutionary. That is, he died in our place. He died the death that we deserved. He bore the punishment that was justly ours. For everyone who believes in him, Christ took the wrath of God on their behalf. Peter writes, “[Jesus] himself bore our sin in his body on the tree that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed” (1 Peter 2:24).

4. The death of Jesus defines love.

Jesus’s death wasn’t just an act of love, it defines love. His substitutionary death is the ultimate example of what love means, and Jesus calls those who follow him to walk in the same kind of life-laying-down love. John writes, “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:16). John Piper explains: “Jesus’s death is both guilt-bearing and guidance-giving. It is a death that forgives sin and a death that models love. It is the purchase of our life from perishing and the pattern of a life of love” (What Jesus Demands from the World, 266).

5. The death of Jesus reconciles us to God.

Justification, propitiation, and redemption — all benefits of Christ’s death — have one great purpose: reconciliation. Jesus’s death enables us to have a joy-filled relationship with God, which is the highest good of the cross. Paul writes, “And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him” (Colossians 1:21–22).

Think about how this works in our relationships with other people. When we sin, not only do we hurt the person we sin against, we harm the relationship. It will never be the same until we seek forgiveness. So it is with our relationship with God. We enter this world sinful, and as a result, we’re alienated from God. Only forgiveness — forgiveness which was purchased at the cross — can heal the relationship so that we are able to enjoy fellowship with God.

Written by Joseph Scheumann

Posted by Kachi

The Insanity of Trusting Ourselves

Let’s go back to the Garden of Eden. The one tree in the garden that humans were forbidden to eat from was not, interestingly, the tree of life (Genesis 2:9). It was not life that God denied human beings. He forbade them to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17).

The point of this prohibition was not to keep humans ignorant but, as John Piper says, “to preserve [for us] the pleasures of the world.” It was as if God was saying,

If you eat of that one [tree] you will be saying to me, ‘I’m smarter than you. I am more authoritative than you. I am wiser than you are. I think I can care for myself better than you care for me. You are not a very good Father. And so I am going to reject you.’ So don’t eat from the tree, because you will be rejecting me and all my good gifts and all my wisdom and all my care. Instead, keep on submitting to my will. Keep on affirming my wisdom. Keep on being thankful for my generosity. Keep on trusting me as a Father and keep on eating from these [other] trees as a way of enjoying me.

You see, in order to handle the knowledge of good and evil, one must possess 1) the ability to completely comprehend all possible options and contingencies (omniscience); 2) the righteousness and wisdom to choose the right course; and 3) the power to make reality conform to the right course (omnipotence).

In other words, only God can handle such knowledge.

What this means is that it is not the one who trusts in the Lord that is irrational, but the one who leans on his or her own understanding. It is insane to trust such pitifully limited understanding when one can trust the unlimited understanding of God.

The Joyful Sanity of Trusting the Lord

So many of the things that cause us the most difficulty and heartache in life, the source of so much of our anxiety, fear, doubt, and anger with others and with God, is the result of leaning on our own understanding.

God does not want us to be miserable, even in this fallen, futility-infected evil age. He wants to relieve our anxiety (Luke 12:12; Philippians 4:6–7), fear (Psalm 118:6; 1 Peter 3:6), doubt (Matthew 21:21; Luke 24:38), and sinful anger (Ephesians 4:31). And so he gives us Proverbs 3:5–6 as a priceless gift.

In exercising faith — trusting fully in the Lord and not leaning on our own understanding — we’re not setting aside our intellect. We’re resting our intellect upon the intellect of God. Nothing is wiser or saner. To do so is to allow him to direct our paths, which not only lead to ultimate joy, but also make the journey itself, even when laden with sorrow, joyful (2 Corinthians 6:10). And it preserves for us all the pleasures God provides us in the world. To not do this is the height of foolishness and the path to misery.

So let us choose joy today by not leaning on our own understanding but in sweet, childlike trust on the sure foundation of our loving Creator’s omniscience.

written by John Piper

Posted by Kachi

How to Process Pain When People Wound You Deeply

One of the most honest things you can tell people is that you will sin against them. Because of our brokenness, we will fall prey to the flesh. If you don’t persuade your will with the gospel, something else will. And therein lies the problem of many conflicts we experience. But there is hope. Here are four proper ways to process wounds made by people:

1. Realize Your Depravity. We need to understand that before Jesus saved us, we hated God. We wanted nothing to do with Him. So when people hurt or wound us, it is painful but it should not be surprising. Not too long ago, we were with the angry crowd yelling “crucify Him,” instead of “come to Him.” The more you realize the depth of your depravity, the more you will be satisfied with the gospel.

When we begin our relationships not by putting people on a pedestal but rather seeing another human being who will sin against you – it changes our entire perspective of how we will handle issues and conflicts.

2. Remember The Cross. Every time someone wounds you, remember the Cross. We are often surprised why people who are the closest to us, can cause the most damage to us.

Jesus spent over three years with Judas, yet he betrayed Jesus even after having many dinners with him.

We are often upset when people misunderstand us. Jesus’ disciples constantly misinterpreted what He was saying to them. They argued about who was greatest among them, all the while oblivious of the looming cross upon which our salvation would be wrought.

We often don’t understand how people who were so close to us, can hurt us so much. But when we look to Scripture, there are stories of similar events. Just think of the pain that King David went through when his third born son Absalom rebelled against him. Jesus Himself said that in this world, you will experience tribulation.

But behold, Jesus has overcome all. This is why He will get you through what you are going through.

3. Resemble Your Savior. Jesus said greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends (Jn. 15:13). We were at one time foes of God and through Jesus, we become friends with God.

How do we process wounds made by people?

We resemble Jesus by casting our cares and anxieties upon Him.

We pour our heart out to Jesus, instead of pouring out our discontent upon another person.

We realize that no matter how much we have suffered, how much we have been wronged, how much we have been maligned, how much we have been criticized, how much we have been misinterpreted, how much we have been misunderstood – we don’t even come close to experiencing what Jesus experienced – on our behalf – for our sake.

Use every wound as an opportunity for the advancement of the gospel. Press into Christ and He will continue to pour out His Spirit unto you.

4. Release The Grace. Because we know people will sin against us, we need to be grace releasers. Seriously. The Bible reminds us that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Rom. 5:6).

 

The amount of debt that Jesus forgave us is in no match to the amount of sin people could have committed against us. Yes it is painful. Yes it is uncomfortable. Yes it is unfair. But it is not insurmountable.

As Christians, we need to be grace releasers and not grace-hoarders. Freely it was given unto us and freely give it unto other people.

When you refuse to forgive another person, you are drinking poison and wishing for the other person to die.

When you refuse to forgive people, you are consciously declaring that Jesus’ death on the cross was not sufficient to forgive the person that supposedly hurt you.

When we refuse to forgive people, we become blind guides who have forgotten that the supernatural salve has cleansed our eyes in order to see people who need grace.

Being a Christian is first and foremost being like Jesus. It means seeking the things that are above. Seeking things that perpetuate reconciliation. Seeking things that further love and unity. Seeking things that will honor our fellow brother and sister. Seek out the Great Physician and allow Him to heal your wounds.

Written by Bogdan Kipko

Posted by Kachi

Are You Drifting? ( People do not drift towards holiness)

Do find yourself drifting away from what you know is right?

Do see you all the warning signs and not doing a thing about it?

Here is a thoughtful quote my friend, Pamela Leding, shared recently that will make us think twice:



"People do not drift toward holiness. Apart from grace-driven effort, people do not gravitate toward godliness, prayer, obedience to Scripture, faith, and delight in the Lord. 

We drift toward compromise and call it tolerance; 

we drift toward disobedience and call it freedom; 

we drift toward superstition and call it faith. 

We cherish the indiscipline of lost self-control and call it relaxation;

we slouch toward prayerlessness and delude ourselves into thinking we have escaped legalism; 

we slide toward godlessness and convince ourselves we have been liberated."


                                                                -D.A. Carson 




And then a wonderful reminder and exhortation from the Scriptures:



"For this very reason, make (every effort) to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.

For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they (keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful) in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."       

 - 2 Peter 1:5-15

In this journey we truly need Christ and His grace, mercy, and forgiveness. 



Are you drifting today? 

Written by Mrs June Fuentes

Posted by Kachi

The Lord Is Your Refuge

1He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust.”

Every day, we are bombarded with news of conflicts, natural disasters, diseases and new strains of drug-resistant viruses. We also hear of people losing their loved ones in freak accidents. And we ask ourselves, “Is there a place where I can take refuge from a world gone mad?”
Yes, there is! God foresaw all these things and He has promised in His Word protection from every evil known to man. There is no trap set by the devil that our Father cannot deliver us from, if we trust in Him and take Him as our refuge. That is His promise in Psalm 91.
Whether it is an earthquake at midnight, a crazy sniper, an unknown virus or a terrorist attack, God says, “You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.” (Psalm 91:5–6)
Because you have made Him your dwelling place, angels are

Psalm 91:1–2
watching over you right now. (Psalm 91:9–11) They give heed to the voice of God’s Word, so you should give voice to God’s Word. This means that you should agree with and speak what God’s Word says about His preserving and protecting you. Then, angels are sent to minister for you. (Hebrews 1:14)
My friend, don’t say, “If it can happen to them, it can also happen to me!” Say, “A thousand may fall at my side and 10,000 at my right hand, but it will not come near me!” (Psalm 91:7) The world says that you cannot but expect danger all around. God says, “You are in this world but not of this world. You have My protection because you are of Me and in Me.” ( John 17:14–23)
You have access by faith into the secret place of the Most High where no evil can touch you. There is no need to fear living in the end times because the Lord is your refuge and fortress. His Word says so. And those who trust His Word completely find His Word completely true! 

Written by Joseph Prince

Posted by Kachi

Going Deeper: Bible Verses that teach us how we should receive secular music

Romans 12:2 ESV / 

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV / 

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Philippians 4:8 ESV / 

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Ephesians 5:10 ESV / 

And try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.

Romans 14:1-23 ESV / 

As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.

1 Corinthians 6:12 ESV / 

“All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be enslaved by anything.

2 Corinthians 6:17 ESV / 

Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you,

Ephesians 5:19 ESV / 

Addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart,

Ephesians 5:1-33 ESV 

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

Hebrews 5:14 ESV /

But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

Matthew 5:16 ESV 

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

1 Samuel 16:7 ESV 

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but theLord looks on the heart.”

Psalm 150:1-6 ESV 

Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals!

1 Thessalonians 5:23 ESV 

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 6:14 ESV 

Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?

1 Samuel 15:23 ESV 

For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king.”

Psalm 14:1-7 ESV 

To the choirmaster. Of David. The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good. The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one. Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers who eat up my people as they eat bread and do not call upon the Lord? There they are in great terror, for God is with the generation of the righteous.

Ephesians 5:3 ESV 

But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints.

Romans 1:1-32 ESV

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations,

1 Corinthians 13:1-13 ESV 

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;

Romans 12:1 ESV 

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

1 Corinthians 14:1-40 ESV 

Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit. On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church. Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up.

Song of Solomon 1:1-17 ESV 

The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's. Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your love is better than wine; your anointing oils are fragrant; your name is oil poured out; therefore virgins love you. Draw me after you; let us run. The king has brought me into his chambers. We will exult and rejoice in you; we will extol your love more than wine; rightly do they love you. I am very dark, but lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon.

Hebrews 10:24-25 ESV 

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Romans 1:16 ESV 

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Acts 2:47 ESV 

Praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Romans 13:8-10 ESV 

Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

Acts 2:43 ESV

And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.

Luke 15:25 ESV 

“Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing.

Posted by Kachi