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How the Prodigal Son Teaches Us God’s true heart about Reconciliation.

  The bible is not just a book about forgiveness but it is also about reconciliation as well. It teaches us how to be reconciled to God and it gives us instructions about how to be reconciled to others. In Matthew 5:23-24 the bible says:   23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you,   24 leave your gift there before the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.   Another example of reconciliation is found in the story of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). In this story the younger son asks for his share in his father’s inheritance, while his father is still alive, in order to travel to a distant country. While he is there, he spends all the money on loose living and partying. He becomes destitute and reasons with himself that if he returns to his father’s house, he would be provided for and wouldn’t starve to death. The bible says he came to his senses, which m...

When Our Faith is Weak.

  Sometimes our faith gets tested in life but we don’t have to see these tests as being evil. How we respond to the test is very important because if we feel our faith isn’t strong enough, we might want to give up. The Bible teaches us that God doesn’t give us more than we can handle, 1 Corinthians 10:13 says “There hath no temptation taken hold of you but such as is common to man. But God is faithful; He will not suffer you to be tempted beyond that which ye are able to bear, but with the temptation will also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” Although this is referring to temptation, it can also refer to the tests and trials that we all face in life! With God’s help through our faith, we can face whatever life sends our way. When we don’t know the answer to something, we don’t need to close our eyes in shame, we need to learn to trust God by faith. The Bible actually teaches that we are justified by our faith, Romans 5:1 says, “Therefore, since we have been ju...

Free will and Man’s Moral Culpability.

  Man has complete free will. God doesn’t restrict man’s free will. If the Lord suspended or controlled man’s free will at any point, mankind would no longer be fully responsible for their sins. In this case God would have had an active role in conditioning our choices. It would also eliminate the punishment and existence of Hell because mankind could say to God that they weren’t totally responsible for their choices.   In Christ man submits their will to the will of the Creator, and obeys and follows the will of God through the Holy Spirit’s help. At any time, a man in Christ can take up their free will again and choose not to follow the will of God. This is why Heaven is a reward for the souls in Christ, who surrendered their will to the Saviour right until the end.  In Heaven the sinner’s will is actualized or ratified where they can no longer take up their free will ever again to choose to follow Satan. In the same way the Angels choice to follow God was actualized af...

What Keeps you out of God’s Presence?

  Some might say if God is omnipresent then we can never be out of His Presence? If this is true, then God never leaves us! We don’t experience God’s omnipresence because it is an attribute of God, and we are not God, but we do experience his real presence or manifest presence. God is holy, and in order for humanity to live in the presence of God, we must be on the path of salvation! Anyone claiming to know God, must be on the path of holiness or sanctification, for their is no other way to experience His love and presence besides this. God will not come to you if you are living in sin or promoting it. You will constantly doubt the existence of God, no matter how many religious exercises you do, if you are not actually living a holy life. I like to tell a joke about this. “Did you hear of the church congregation that panicked and fled out of their church? It was because God actually showed up there!” Unfortunately this is a reality for a lot of professing Christians. They actually ...

Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness.

  To seek something implies that you are giving importance to that thing. We naturally seek things that will benefit us, things that will improve our lives. What we seek or seek first can give a clear indication of what we prioritize in life. Jesus said in Matthew 6:33 “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.” Jesus wasn’t just saying nice words to make us feel better, He was setting forth a strong and sincere Kingdom principle that we as his followers are to put into practice. Jesus wasn’t laying down a hard law for his followers, he was showing us what he expects of his disciples. What we prioritize clearly defines who we are. Jesus said to seek the kingdom, and his righteousness, what did he mean by that? When we seek his kingdom we seek the things that advance God’s kingdom. We seek his kingdom first, it has to be first priority in order for us to eventually receive the other things, or these things that many of us se...

Why are People Forgetting God?

  In Romans chapter 1:18 it says; “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness.” It is because of people’s sin that they suppress the truth about God. In verses 19 and 20 it says; “since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.  20  For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” When people sin and choose not to repent, not only do they stop believing in the Lord, but they are left with no excuse for their error. The Bible says that God is made plain to them, through the creation and through their conscience, God is revealed.   Verses 21-23 says; “ For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and t...

What is the Sabbath Day?

  In history religion has taught that God created the world in six days, and on the seventh day God rested from His work. In the Ten Commandments God originally told the Israelites to rest on the seventh day, because God rested from His work on that day. Throughout time, mankind has chosen to honour God’s word by resting on the seventh day. What we need to understand is that the Sabbath day is not forced rest. Jesus said in the New Testament, Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. (Mark 2:27) What Jesus was saying is that God created the day of rest for man. It was His way of Blessing mankind for the work that we do during the week. God wants mankind to take one day a week, traditionally it was Sunday, and to go to church.   God knows this life is hard, so He ordained one day a week that we should rest. For some it can be a Saturday, but the principle exists, not to make us lazy, but to change the rhythm of our lives, so that we don’t for...