The Amazing Power of Peer Pressure...

When I was fourteen I was invited to go rappelling with my friends. Rappelling is a sport where a person descends a cliff or rock face using a harness and ropes to assist them in their descent. It's sort of like rock climbing in reverse. It sounded like a lot of fun and I was very excited to go.

A New Day Dawns, Christ's Church Is Restored...

In an earlier post, I talked of the early church of Christ and how that church was lost through apostacy (Apostacy Was Foretold). Some in my faith refer to this as the primitive church, but I don't like that designation because it connotes a rough, unfinished, or incomplete condition which simply was not the case. Christ's church was complete and perfect both in its organization and in its theology. It was, after all, instituted by the master Himself. But if the sole intent of the term primitive is to signify early or first, then why not use those less ambiguous terms instead of  the more nuanced, and thus, less clear term which might convey unintended meanings. Clarity, in principle, is a simple thing, but on occasion can be difficult to achieve.

Can Mercy Rob Justice?

Most of our sins directly affect others in one way or another and have a negative impact on their lives. As an example, when we speak unkindly or in anger, the wounds inflicted can be very deep. They may be hidden, but the effects of this sin are real and the damage to self esteem can be real as well. Even if the person being attacked in this way is strong, and secure enough that our words don't impact their self esteem directly, those hurtful words certainly color the thoughts and feelings of those who hear them.

Faith Without Works Is Dead...

Scriptural Base: James 2:14-26

14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

When works, which means doing good, are mentioned in some Christian circles, eye-brows are raised and the subject carries with it a stigma and a large amount of prejudice. Grace is the redeeming battle cry of many and they simply refuse to consider salvation outside that context. It is believed that works, when factored into redemption somehow diminish what the Savior did for us. That somehow, if a person believes that good works may be important, they are less Christian or their faith less anchored in the Lord. Many even take talk such as this personally feeling that to speak of these things is blasphemous. That grace and grace alone is all there is.

It Is No Accident that Sin Brings Despair...

Sin colors a life and leaves its mark. It has a very real way of altering our perceptions and changing the way we think and feel. Sin has the power to narrow one's view of the world and of themselves and therefore, is limiting, robbing a person of possibility and hope, diminishing their very potential. And make no mistake, these limits placed by sin are real because perception is reality, at least for that person. Therefore, sin quite literally is damning by its very nature. Sin also limits our potential in God's kingdom and in the next life and therefore, if not repented of, has eternal consequence. But in this post, I want to focus on the consequences of sin on our lives right here, and right now.

Apostacy Was Foretold...

One of the things Christ did while he walked among us was to establish His church. His church was organized with prophets, apostles, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. The Lord organized His church to perfect the saints, to carry on the work of the ministry, and to edify the body of Christ, the body of Christ being those who had joined His church. Its purposes included bringing men and women to a unity of the faith and to a knowledge of the Son of God, that we would no longer be deceived by false doctrines or the cunning and craftiness of men who lie in wait to deceive (Ephesians 4:11-15).

We Are Saved By Grace...

Grace is a term used frequently throughout the Christian world. It is commonly understood as coming through our Savior and is the gift and the means by which the guilty are redeemed despite the fact that they have not fully lived the law of the gospel and kept all of God's commandments. It is a gift offered freely by God to all people and is made possible because the Lord, who is perfect, offered himself as a sacrifice, and out of His love for us, and His father, atoned for our sins, paying the awful price of our redemption.

Pride, the Universal Sin...

I believe pride is something with which most, if not all, struggle, or, perhaps not. But even if you don't struggle to remove it from your life, pride can be a part of who you are without your even being aware of it. It is something that I seem to be able to detect in others easily, but something which I struggle to see in myself. Yes, I am a hypocrite. I know I'm filled with pride and I struggle to find ways to rid myself of it. But honestly, I'm not sure how.