CONTRIBUTIONS


God never stops loving us!

Do you know that most people who believe in God have a hard time believing that God loves them? People find it easy to envision God as Creator and Judge, but terribly difficult to envision God as the One who loves them and cares deeply for them. But the truth is that our infinitely loving, creative and perfect God creates nothing that is contrary to himself, that is in opposition to himself. Everything God creates...

History of Jeremy

Jeremy was born with a disfigured body, a slow mind, and a chronic, terminal illness that had been slowly killing his entire young life. Nevertheless, his parents tried to give him a normal life as much as possible and therefore sent him to a private school. At the age of 12, Jeremy was only in the second grade. His teacher, Doris Miller, was often in despair with him. He shifted in his chair and...

Poverty and generosity

In Paul's second letter to the Corinthians, he gave an excellent illustration of how the wonderful gift of joy touches the lives of believers in practical ways. "But we make known to you, dear brethren, the grace of God that has been given in the churches of Macedonia" (2 Cor 8,1). Paul wasn't just giving an insignificant account—he wanted the Corinthian brethren to respond to God's grace in a manner similar to that of the Thessalonian church. He…

The future

Nothing sells like prophecy. It's true. A church or ministry can have a stupid theology, a weird leader, and ridiculously strict rules, but they have a couple of world maps, a pair of scissors, and a stack of newspapers, along with a preacher who can communicate reasonably well, then, it seems people will send them buckets of money. People fear the unknown and they know the future...

Mercy for all

When on the day of mourning, on 14. On September 2001, , as people gathered in churches across America and other countries, they came to hear words of comfort, encouragement, hope. However, contrary to their intent to bring hope to the grieving nation, a number of conservative Christian church leaders have inadvertently spread a message that fueled despair, discouragement and fear. Namely for people who lost loved ones in the attack...

Where does Jesus live?

We worship a risen Savior. That means Jesus is alive. But where does he live? does he have a house Maybe he lives down the street - as the volunteer at the homeless shelter. Maybe he lives in the big house on the corner with foster children. Maybe he lives in your house too - as the one who mowed the neighbor's lawn when he was sick. Jesus could even wear your clothes like when you gave a woman...

God - an introduction

For us as Christians, the most fundamental belief is that God exists. By “God” – without an article, without further details – we mean the God of the Bible. A good and powerful spirit who created all things, who cares about us, who cares about our doings, who acts on and in our lives and offers us an eternity of goodness. In his totality, God cannot be understood by man. But we can make a start: we...

Get to know Jesus

There is often talk of getting to know Jesus. However, how to go about it seems a little nebulous and difficult. This is especially because we cannot see him or talk to him face to face. he is real But it is neither visible nor touchable. We cannot hear his voice either, except perhaps on rare occasions. How then might we go about getting to know him? Recently, more than one source have…

A better way

My daughter recently asked me, "Mom, is there really more than one way to skin a cat"? I laughed. She knew what the phrase meant, but she really had a real question about that poor cat. There is usually more than one way of doing something. When it comes to getting difficult things done, we Americans believe in "good old American genius." Then we have the cliché: "Necessity is the mother of invention". If…

The spirit world

We think of our world as physical, material, three-dimensional. We experience them through the five senses touching, tasting, seeing, smelling, hearing. With these senses and the technical equipment we have devised to reinforce, we can explore the physical world and harness its potential. It has taken humanity a long way, today more than ever. Our modern scientific achievements, our technological ...

God in a box

Have you ever thought you got it all and found out later that you had no idea? How many try-it-yourself projects follow the old adage, if all else fails, read the instructions? I was still having trouble even after reading the instructions. Sometimes I read each step carefully, do it as I understand it and start over because I didn't get it right.…

Jesus said, I am the truth

Have you ever had to describe someone you know and struggled to find the right words? It has happened to me and I know it has happened to others as well. We all have friends or acquaintances who are difficult to describe in words. Jesus had no problem with that. He was always clear and precise, even when it came to answering the question "Who are you?" There is one passage I particularly like where in the Gospel of John...

Only ONE way?

People sometimes take offense at the Christian teaching that salvation is through Jesus Christ alone. In our pluralistic society, tolerance is expected, even demanded, and the concept of religious freedom (allowing all religions) is sometimes misinterpreted to mean that all religions are somehow equally true. All roads lead to the same God, some claim, as if they have walked them all and from their destination...

Words have power

I can't remember the name of the film. I can't remember the plot or the names of the actors. But I remember a certain scene. The hero had escaped from a POW camp and, hotly pursued by soldiers, fled to a nearby village. Desperate for a place to hide, he finally threw himself into a crowded theater and found a seat inside. But soon he became...

The church

A beautiful biblical picture speaks of the Church as the bride of Christ. This is alluded to through symbolism in various scriptures, including the Song of Songs. A key point is the Song of Songs 2,10-16, where the bride's beloved says that her wintertime is over and now the time for singing and joy has come (see also Heb 2,12), and also where the bride says: “My friend is mine and I am his” (St. 2,16). The Church belongs both individually…

The heavenly judge

When we understand that we live, weave and are in Christ, in the One who created all things and redeemed all things and who loves us unconditionally (Acts 12,32; Col 1,19-20; John 3,16-17), we can cast aside all fear and worry about "where we stand with God" and begin to truly rest in the assurance of His love and directing power in our lives. The gospel is good news, and indeed it is not just for a select few but...

Identity in Christ

Most people over 50 will remember Nikita Khrushchev. He was a colorful, boisterous character who, as leader of the former Soviet Union, slammed his shoe on the lectern while addressing the United Nations General Assembly. He was also known for declaring that the first man in space, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, "went into space but saw no God there." As for Gagarin himself, there is no...
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Tell them you love them!

How many of us adults remember our parents telling us how much they love us? Have we also heard and seen how proud they are of us, of their children? Many loving parents have said similar things to their children while they were growing up. Some of us have parents who have expressed such thoughts only after their children have grown and come to visit. Sad, but a large number of adults...

The miracle of rebirth

We were born to be born again. It is your destiny, as well as mine, to experience the greatest possible change in life—a spiritual one. God created us so that we can partake of his divine nature. The New Testament speaks of this divine nature as the Redeemer, washing away the filth of human sinfulness. And we are all in need of this spiritual cleansing, since sin has taken away cleanliness from every man...

The Holy Spirit - functionality or personality?

The Holy Spirit is often described in terms of functionality, such as: B. God's power or presence or action or voice. Is this an appropriate way of describing the mind? Jesus is also described as the power of God (Phil 4,13), the presence of God (Gal 2,20), the action of God (Joh 5,19) and the voice of God (Joh 3,34). But let us speak of Jesus in terms of personality. Scripture also ascribes attributes to the Holy Spirit...

Jesus: The perfect salvation program

Towards the end of his Gospel you can read these fascinating comments by the Apostle John: “Jesus did many other signs before his disciples, which are not written in this book ... But if one were to be written down one after the other, I think it would that the world cannot grasp the books that need to be written ”(Jn 20,30:2; 1,25). Based on these comments, and considering the differences between the four gospels, it is possible to...

Jesus' last words

Jesus Christ spent the last hours of his life nailed to the cross. Mocked and rejected by the world he will save. The only flawless person who ever lived took the consequences of our guilt and paid for it with his own life. The Bible testifies that Jesus spoke some significant words while hanging on a cross at Calvary. These last words of Jesus are a very special message from our Savior, which He spoke when He…

Born to die

The Christian faith proclaims the message that in due time the Son of God became flesh in a predetermined place and lived among us humans. Jesus was of such a remarkable personality that some even questioned his being human. However, the Bible repeatedly emphasizes that God in the flesh - born of a woman - was actually a human being, that is, apart from our sinfulness, he was like us in every respect (Joh 1,14; Gal 4,4; Phil 2,7; Hebrew

God has nothing against you

A psychologist named Lawrence Kolberg developed an extensive test to measure maturity in the field of moral reasoning. He concluded that good behavior to avoid punishment is the lowest form of motivation to do what is right. Do we just change our behavior to avoid punishment? Is this what Christian repentance looks like? Is Christianity just one of many means of pursuing moral development? Many Christians have...