Welcome back to the fourth part of our series on exploring God’s character. At the end of part three we looked at the importance of building ourselves up in Christ, and between then and now, has anyone had numerous opportunities and challenges doing that? (I know that I did!) The pressures of the world and the cares of life tend to scream at us rather loudly, impugning the character and the goodness of God in many ways, and far too often we believe those reports, rather than the reports of scripture. It’s easy to do, right? Because we may read the Bible, but we experience the world around us. And this is the main struggle; the tension between what we read in the scriptures, against what we see in daily life. It’s far too easy to take our experiences, and use them as a litmus test for truth, rather than using the truth of scripture as a reinforcement against the pressures of life. It’s a very difficult habit to break for many of us, and it’s impossible if we don’t know God’s character— in-fact, we may even fall into the trap of letting our experiences define God’s character, if we aren’t careful! So in this final part of our series, we will use the scriptures to see God’s character, and indeed His very heart which He has revealed, so that we may know Him better— not rules, but the true transformative character of God.
Welcome to part 3 of Healing, Faith, Facts and Feelings. The last few weeks we’ve explored the foundation of faith, the reason behind why we can trust in God’s healing; and we also saw how God’s facts can and should change our perspective of our circumstances. Now today we deal with the most destructive feelings of all guilt, shame, and condemnation.
Nearly every day there’s a new popular diet, or a new ‘miracle food’ to help lose weight or solve other issues. While people can be surprisingly decisive about what they eat physically, spiritual diets are far more vital. It may surprise you to learn that God has prescribed a spiritual diet for that has many benefits. So today we are going to look at the spiritual food which God has given us to eat, and how it nourishes us.
Welcome back again to part three of our series on powerful belief. In part one, we looked at the prophetic report of Isaiah about what Jesus’ sacrifice accomplished for us. We also saw some of the common stumbling blocks that people struggle with when it comes to believing. In part two, we continued along that theme, and also saw how the words that we speak are connected with what we believe in our heart. Today, we put all of the pieces from the previous two weeks together, so if you haven’t yet read the last two studies, it might be helpful.  By the end of this study today, you will understand how to have truly powerful belief in Christ Jesus. Let’s get started.
The last couple of weeks, we’ve been examining perspectives and how we see Jesus from a practical standpoint. We’ve seen the importance of looking at Jesus with the proper spiritual lenses, with a proper understanding of what He has accomplished, and your spiritual identity in Him. Today, we will be transitioning into a tangental, but equally essential topic of belief — specifically belief on Jesus, and how to have truly powerful belief that leads to spiritual victory. Join me today, as I’m excited to share this topic with you!
Do you want real transformation? Real miracles? Real change? There is a very interesting section of scripture that explains how real transformation occurs, and I’m exited to share it with you today. So many people are in need of help; spiritually, emotionally and physically. And all of it comes through one specific channel and one specific source. And it’s much much simple than you may realize. Let’s get started.
Welcome back to the third part of our series of studies focusing on seeing Jesus and pictures of Him and His finished work, right there in the first part of His sermon on the mount, known as the Beatitudes. So far we have just begun to scratch the surface as we began looking at the first three of the Beatitudes; and already we have seen some amazing pictures of Jesus. Today we will obviously continue with more of the Beatitudes as we see more pictures of Jesus
Colossians 3:3 contains one of the most amazing of statements. This statement has so many wonderful implications that it would greatly strengthen and bless our lives if we would allow it to. And in-fact, this particular verse of scripture contains a specific truth that is absolutely vital to our understanding of our identity and how we are supposed to live as new creations in Christ – yet sadly I have seen many people rush passed this truth and latch onto the verses following it, and adopt a self-focused mindset that is destructive, due to not taking the time to consider the truth of verse 3. So in this study today, we are going to examine, both verse 3, and the verses which follow it; keeping everything in context, and viewing it all in the light of the finished work of Jesus Christ.
The title of today’s study might seem a bit silly at first, but it’s meant to cause us to honestly stop and think. Each of us carries with us a certain perspective of God – a perspective that has been shaped by the events of our life, the doctrines and traditions we have learned, and the general thoughts and feelings that we have on a day-to-day basis. The question found in the title of today’s study, is one that each of us must ask… Do we actually see Jesus as a provider? – because it is one of the ways which He has clearly revealed Himself. A provider in every single way and sense of the word. In some cases, there has been push-back against the idea of seeing Jesus as a provider, because they say “it makes God into a genie” – some have felt that it is flat-out wrong to ask God for things, or that it is somehow greedy, selfish or worldly. Others have been taught that God really doesn’t care about provision, because that is too carnal, and God only cares about spiritual things. But again, is that how He has revealed Himself? Is that the picture He has painted Himself as in the scriptures? Today we will take a look at the picture of Jesus as a provider, as demonstrated in scripture, and see a crucial aspect of Himself, that is sometimes ignored, but one that He wants us to see and receive, as much as any other.
A very interesting and enlightening statement that Jesus said as we was talking to Nicodemus, is found in John 3:14. It is there that Jesus, describing His sacrifice, says that “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up.” This one phrase is often skimmed over and overlooked in favor of the much more popular verse of John 3:16. However verse 14 is actually extremely significant, and the key to receiving anything from God at all (including eternal life). It’s unfortunate that so many people have missed the incredible meaning of this verse and they key that it holds. I too, missed this verse for many years – never really grasping the real meaning behind it and what Jesus was really saying. So today in this study we will be exploring this statement made by Jesus, and the real meaning behind it – and by seeing this, we will also discover the key to receiving salvation from Jesus, and everything along with Him.