At the level of human existence, we all crave more unity. We would like to see our nations, our local communities and particularly our churches and families more united. Through Christ, we are joined to the Father. Unfortunately, we live in an environment where some particularly key factors are not united, not “joined as a whole”. As followers of Christ, we have been drawn out of the world and our position regarding unity is decidedly different than the common ideas about unity which … [Read more...] about Godly Unity in The Human Realm
Salvation
The Garden of Eden Prototype
When God created mankind there was a strong bond between the Creator and the Created. This bond extended to the rest of the earthly creation that God had made. Man was to work with the environment to subdue it and have dominion. In other words, he was to dress and keep it. God and man walked together, they talked together, and they worked together. All of those things are contained in the first chapters of Genesis. The Creator, Man, and the environment all worked … [Read more...] about The Garden of Eden Prototype
The Spirit in Man
Humanity has devise many ways to replace their Creator. In ancient times, they did it through the creation of idols made of wood and stone. They created elaborate stories around these idols that “explained” how the creation worked and functioned. Today, man uses astrophysics to explain how the universe, solar system and earth came to be. He uses evolution to understand how life came to be on the earth and eventually exists as it does today. In conjunction with evolution, man studies genetics in … [Read more...] about The Spirit in Man
Predestination
Does God plan our life in advance? Has God predetermined our future? One small step further in this relationship building is to understand better God’s personal plan for each of us. We need some context to set the groundwork to address these questions. There may be some knowledge that we need to unlearn. Two areas of context that are important in theology are the “fall of man" and the “original sin” as they are commonly believed today. The fall of man takes us back to the beginning in the … [Read more...] about Predestination
The Times of the Gentiles
The prophet Amos informed us that “God doesn’t do anything without first revealing His secrets to His servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7). Since God’s plan of salvation is central to messages of prophecy, it is important to look at the writings of the prophets within the context of any section of scripture. Doing so tells us why a particular thing was said. The knowledge imparted by prophecy is meant to be very motivational to those who are or who will be in a relationship … [Read more...] about The Times of the Gentiles
God’s Origin Story
The Judeo-Christian story, when understood and applied correctly, is not founded on the universe but on the One who created it and the purpose for which He created it. There are many man devised theories of origin of the universe such as the Chinese Pan Gu and the Egg of the World, the Greek’s Titans and Gods of Olympus, the story of the Iroquois’ Great Turtle Island and the Mayan’s Popol Vuh story, and lastly the Modern Scientific story call the Big History Project. However, God through Paul … [Read more...] about God’s Origin Story
Guard Against Seducing Spirits
“Forewarned is forearmed,” is an old and wise saying. Thus, the relevant message to believers is that we should always be aware of what is going on around us in our culture from a spiritual perspective. That’s the very thing that the Apostle Paul warned of in 1 Timothy 4:1: “Now the Spirit speaks expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons.” God’s spirit, the Holy Spirit, made it clear that from Paul’s day on down … [Read more...] about Guard Against Seducing Spirits