Stay Encouraged!
Discouragement fills the environment you live in. People at times promise much, but do not deliver. Heartache, tragedy, trauma and anxiety easily turn into depression. The world you live in is a far cry from the place where God dwells; in never ending peace and everlasting joy.
So what do you do? Do you cope with life and keep your expectation at a minimum to stop from being let down?
Undoubtedly, the greatest weapon against discouragement is overlooked by most believers. When I say MOST, we're talking about 99 percent of Christians!
Out of all the Gifts that you receive from God, the most important gift that will keep you encouraged is the Gift of Tongues - also called 'Praying in the Spirit'.
Traditional ideas about the gift of Tongues somehow being 'outdated' cannot change the reality that this biblical gift operates in the lives of multiplied millions of believers today.
The gift of tongues is often labeled as being 'the least' of the nine gifts of the Spirit mentioned in 1Corinthians 12. This is only true when we are in a meeting with others. Obviously, tongues without being interpreted will not benefit anyone who hears it. When a gift is used incorrectly, it won't fulfil the purpose for which it is given in the first place.
If you use your car to take it for a swim in the ocean, you won't enjoy the benefits for which it is designed. In the same way, tongues are given for personal benefit; and how great that benefit is!
The late Oral Roberts recounts the time when God spoke to him about what would later become the ORU Campus in Tulsa, OK. He remembers standing on this large vacant property with zero dollars in the bank. It all looked so impossible. The Holy Spirit whispered in his heart. "Pray in tongues." With some reservation, he began to speak in that heavenly language. Then... something happened. Oral began to see building after building as he looked around the vacant property he stood on. Every single building he saw while praying in the Spirit, is reality today. It came out of his spirit-man, as he prayed in the Spirit.
For personal encouragement, maintaining passion and having a joyful spirit, there is no gift so great as praying in the Spirit. The apostle Paul said he spoke in tongues more than any Corinthian. He knew the value in his personal life of the gift of tongues. Less people would burn out, quit the ministry and settle for a mediocre vision for their lives if they regularly and for extended periods pray in the Spirit.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
What about Hell?
You may have heard the saying, "The methods may change, but the message stays the same." Unfortunately, in modern day Christianity, the message - not just the methods - is being altered.
Not all that long ago, the use of the word 'hell' was replaced by expressions such as; 'A Christless Eternity', 'Eternal Separation' or simply 'Missing Heaven'. After all, no one wants to be a 'hellfire and brimstone' fanatic.
More recently, there is a growing trend promoting the possibility that God is simply too loving to allow anyone to go to hell, or at least not forever. Many plead ignorance when asked if someone will end up in hell if they don't believe in Jesus.
The Bible has one great theme: It is the story of Jesus. Take Jesus out of the Bible and humanity is hopelessly lost forever. Eternity is all about absolutes. There is nothing 'temporary' or 'momentary' about eternity.
In 1912, the Titanic set sail to cross the Atlantic. Not only was this ship labeled 'The Unsinkable Ship', the Captain had been commissioned to set a new transatlantic record for its maiden voyage. Almost 100 years later most people have heard something about the tragedy of the 1500 passengers that drowned in icy-cold waters, just hours after the ship hit an iceberg. No one died because they were evil or the worst of sinners. No, they died because they had boarded the Titanic and failed to be rescued. If a rescue boat had been sent in time, ALL could have been saved, providing they had stepped off the Titanic and stepped on to the rescue boat.
What the Bible teaches about Salvation is that every person born into the world, will die a sinner and face judgement and eternal punishment in hell, unless they receive Salvation through Jesus Christ.
We can't vote on it. God doesn't ask us if we like it. And the notion that there is an additional 'escape hatch' would indicate that God isn't really telling the truth in the Bible.
1Corinthians 15:22 says; "For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all shall be made alive." (emphasis is mine)
By birth a person is doomed, yet by the miracle of the re-birth a person is forever saved.
Questioning God as to WHY He allowed sin, and WHY He doesn't make hell go away, are the wrong questions that will not be answered. God has given all the answers as to HOW a person can be rescued from going to hell. He wants every person to be saved from eternal punishment, and has offered all of that and more in His Son Jesus Christ.
You may have heard the saying, "The methods may change, but the message stays the same." Unfortunately, in modern day Christianity, the message - not just the methods - is being altered.
Not all that long ago, the use of the word 'hell' was replaced by expressions such as; 'A Christless Eternity', 'Eternal Separation' or simply 'Missing Heaven'. After all, no one wants to be a 'hellfire and brimstone' fanatic.
More recently, there is a growing trend promoting the possibility that God is simply too loving to allow anyone to go to hell, or at least not forever. Many plead ignorance when asked if someone will end up in hell if they don't believe in Jesus.
The Bible has one great theme: It is the story of Jesus. Take Jesus out of the Bible and humanity is hopelessly lost forever. Eternity is all about absolutes. There is nothing 'temporary' or 'momentary' about eternity.
In 1912, the Titanic set sail to cross the Atlantic. Not only was this ship labeled 'The Unsinkable Ship', the Captain had been commissioned to set a new transatlantic record for its maiden voyage. Almost 100 years later most people have heard something about the tragedy of the 1500 passengers that drowned in icy-cold waters, just hours after the ship hit an iceberg. No one died because they were evil or the worst of sinners. No, they died because they had boarded the Titanic and failed to be rescued. If a rescue boat had been sent in time, ALL could have been saved, providing they had stepped off the Titanic and stepped on to the rescue boat.
What the Bible teaches about Salvation is that every person born into the world, will die a sinner and face judgement and eternal punishment in hell, unless they receive Salvation through Jesus Christ.
We can't vote on it. God doesn't ask us if we like it. And the notion that there is an additional 'escape hatch' would indicate that God isn't really telling the truth in the Bible.
1Corinthians 15:22 says; "For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all shall be made alive." (emphasis is mine)
By birth a person is doomed, yet by the miracle of the re-birth a person is forever saved.
Questioning God as to WHY He allowed sin, and WHY He doesn't make hell go away, are the wrong questions that will not be answered. God has given all the answers as to HOW a person can be rescued from going to hell. He wants every person to be saved from eternal punishment, and has offered all of that and more in His Son Jesus Christ.
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