When you are feeling Blue.

Sometimes in life, we are faced with situations that seem to be out of our control. There are many things in life that are unpleasant, but I have found that there is freedom in facing our problems instead of running away from them. We live in an instant society and when we are faced with distress we want instant relief from our painful emotions. In the parable of the prodigal son in the bible, after the younger son's return home the elder son cannot deal with the reality that his disenfranchised brother is welcomed back into the family. He refuses to participate in the reality, (which is actually the eldest son's reality as much as it is everyone's else's) to take part in a party that the father chose to throw for his son who returned.

Much pain in our life is the result of our refusal and resistance to accept reality as it really is. When we are faced with hardships in life that are the result of our own choices, some people try to deny that their reality is actually the way it is. We like to play the blame game, like that famous scene in the musical "Into The Woods" where the characters are all blaming each other to find out who is responsible for the predicament that they are all in. In reality, it was all of their faults and no one was to blame. The meaning that we should get from the story of the prodigal son is a personal one. Instead of blaming the sinful child for his wrong choices, which is what most of us do, God welcomes us to see and accept the Kingdom of God in the middle of our hardships, and the hardest part is to accept them without trying to change them.

When we see that our problems might not end, or work themselves out the way we thought they would, life gives us a choice. We can fight reality and try to manipulate others or our situation or we can see the good in a bad situation, and fight for the Kingdom of God by possibly showing kindness to our enemies. When we act in a way that reflects acceptance of our worst possible enemy, we begin to see that God lives in that kind of a person.

The Bible teaches that all mankind is made in the image of God, but do you really want to see a sinner in that light. It could actually save that person. This is Mike.

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On Christian Marriage. (Short)

On Christian Marriage. (Short) The modern co-habitation crisis has produced a lot of single moms and dads, and has fractured "family units" allowing other family members and relatives to take a bigger role in these "Separated families." There isn't a "one cause" why families have separated or divorced, it is a complicated issue, sometimes resulting in very hard emotions for Society to process. Things like the "millennial sexual revolution" have contributed to the widespread "non-committal" attitude, which in turn has given the traditional marriage the "black eye" it currently has and has turned many Christian men away from seeking a life partner. The more society devalues "traditional marriage" the more co-habitation you will see in all the other generations as well as the Millennials. This is Mike.

Why Christians must show Mutual Concern for One another.

Look and see, there is no one at my right hand; no one is concerned for me. I have no refuge; no one cares for my life. Psalm 142:4. Christians in the church should have mutual concern for one another, this is what it means to be part of the body of Christ, 1 Corinthians 12:25. It’s takes good pastoral leadership to foster this sense of concern, and where it is missing, individuals who are suffering in the church are overlooked and not supported. Every believer needs support and encouragement, but when this is missing, the church divides and loses it power and testimony. Christians live like the world, and become vulnerable to Satan’s attacks when nobody is supporting them outside the church. I used to belong to an evangelical church which had great leadership, and something called small groups. This church felt like a family and I had people who shared my Christian walk with me when I was not in the church building. I have been attending a different denomination that doesn’t hav...

The Biblical Meaning of “Life in the Spirit.”

“Life in the Spirit” is an example that the Apostle Paul gives in the book of Romans starting in chapter 5 and going through to chapter 8. He begins by telling us we are justified by faith (5:1), and have gained access by faith into the grace of God (5:2). We have been delivered from God’s wrath (5:9) and we have been reconciled to God through the death of His Son (5:10). He goes on to explain that through Adam all die (5:12), and that the free Gift of God brings justification and righteousness to the believing sinner (5:15-17). Through our conversion we are baptized into Christ and into his death, which frees us from the law and makes us dead to sin (6:2-4). He explains that just as Christ was raised from the dead, we are given new life in Christ (6:4). Our old unregenerate self was crucified with Christ so that our body of sin might be done away with (6:5-6). Because we have died to sin, we now submit ourselves to God being that we are now under grace, not the law (6:8-1...

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