A new year has started, and with it new possibilities. I know, that sounds like a corny Hallmark card. Like the happily-ever-after of a fairy tale. Some people have a right to be skeptical. But not Christians. With a risen Savior, a happily ever after is guaranteed. Because God is for us and His mercies are new every morning, every day that begins with faith in God’s promises is a fresh start. Continue reading
About 700 years before the Word was made flesh, God revealed details about the Savior of the world so we would know what He would be like. In Isaiah 9:6–7 we find these words:
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.
He is given several names here to whet the Jews’ appetites for the promised Messiah. We can see these names when Jesus shone His light in the darkness during His ministry throughout Israel. Continue reading
What does faith feel like? How do you know when you have it? As I was praying about my faith, several aspects of my faith over the years came to mind. I had demonstrated faith in different ways, but they all had one thing in common: they all moved me to action or to making decisions that honored God and His word.
Faith’s definition in the Bible does not mean to believe without proof. It means to have a conviction that something is so. So make sure you don’t apply modern definitions to this book written thousands of year ago.
Why is it important to examine our faith life? Because Hebrews 11:6 tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God. Also, the Holy Spirit in the believer teaches us that salvation is played out in a life of faith, as Roman 1:17 tells us, “the just shall live by faith.” This means that we are living unrighteously if we live according to our five senses and feelings, as though the unseen world does not exist. Living by faith means that we live our lives with the unseen God in view. Continue reading
After I finished reading In Christ Jesus: The Sphere of the Believer’s Life, by Arthur Tappan Pierson, I gained a greater appreciation for the salvation that Christ has accomplished for us. I highly recommend you read the free, online version of this short book here: https://www.whatsaiththescripture.com/Voice/In.Christ.Jesus.1.html The thoughts in that book gave rise to a new perspective on the Armor of God for the Christian, which follows. Continue reading
Excerpt from Life in the Kingdom, book 1
https://stevehusting.com/alivetogod/steves-books/
Pray Like This
Matthew 6:9a Pray like this
Notice that Jesus does not say “pray these words,” but “pray in this manner.” There’s nothing wrong with praying these words; we just don’t need to pray exactly these words. We don’t need a script. We don’t need a book of prayers. We may speak to God as naturally as we speak to one another. Jesus has opened the way. When He died on the cross, the veil in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. This means God opened the way into His presence through faith in Jesus. This is the true kingdom of God: we can talk directly to Him.
Now let’s see in what manner Jesus wants us to pray. In verses 9-10 Jesus starts the prayer with God and His will. I don’t know about you, but I usually start with me and what I want! When we pray in Jesus’ manner, however, we pray for God and His will first and our needs second.
Our Father
Matthew 6:9 Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.
We don’t find “Father” used of God very much in the Old Testament. The Psalms uses it twice in reference to God being a Father to the fatherless. Isaiah calls him The Everlasting Father in 9:6, referring to Jesus, and he calls God “our Father” in 63:16 and 64:8. But when we come to the Gospel of John we find God referred to as “the Father” over a hundred times! The Gospel of John is unique in that it persistently portrays Jesus as the Son of the Father. Jesus loved to use this term when addressing God. Continue reading
Edited contents taken from Living with the End in View, book 2, by Steve Husting
http://www.lulu.com/shop/steve-husting/living-with-the-end-in-view-book-2/paperback/product-753096.html
The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the defining aspect of the Christian faith. No other religion has this story of God dying for sinners. Yet the result of that resurrection — the aftermath of power available to us through the resurrection — is missing from the lives of most Christians. It’s like we heard enough of the gospel story to accept Jesus as our Savior, but not enough to live by the resurrection life and power He came to give us. When He ascended to heaven, He did not intend for us to fend for ourselves until we die and wait to be raised up to heaven. No. His death, burial and resurrection have an immediate effect on those who believe; He sends the Holy Spirit to dwell in us and make that new life a reality. Let’s look closer at the work of the resurrection in our lives. Continue reading
Here is the passage in Matthew 5:17-19:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
Yet in the gospels Jesus does not appear to be preparing us for a time when the law or any portion of it will be done away with. In apparent contradiction to Jesus, Paul teaches that the law has come to an end (Romans 10:4; Galatians 3:13; 5:1-4). How do we reconcile Jesus’ words with Paul’s? Continue reading
“As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him” (Colossians 2:6).
How did we receive Christ the Lord? When we heard the gospel and received it by faith. We realized that we were in need of a savior to save us from our sins. We knew we did not have it in us to save ourselves. God presented His Son to us and we believed, and were saved.
It was not supposed to stop there. We were not to go on in our own strength. We were to continue to believe. The Spirit will continue to show us where we are lacking. In those cases, we are to acknowledge our inability and find in Christ the ability. Continue reading
[This is a book excerpt from Life in the Kingdom: The Gospel According to Jesus in the Book of Matthew, by Steve Husting, in print now, then ebook soon.]
Introduction
Normally, we think that we can be happy only when certain pleasant conditions are met, such as everything going our way, or doing a fun activity we like to do, or just having peace between times of stress.
With the kingdom of God, the times of happiness are dramatically broadened. The verses at the beginning of Matthew chapter five begin with the word blessed, which means happy, fortunate, or well off. Therefore, in the kingdom of God people can be happy though poor, mourning, meek, hungering for righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, a peacemaker, or persecuted. These are not normal areas for happiness. Who is happy when they have been mistreated or wronged? Rather than being merciful with a smile, the normal response is revenge, anger, or be scared. How can there be happiness in these situations? Continue reading
Some Christians are frustrated when using arguments of logic and reason, such as from nature, to prove the existence of God or convince a person to become a Christian. The problem with this approach is that it does not take into account the corruption of our faculties, including our reasoning faculties, by sin. Our reasoning abilities don’t exist in a vacuum. Because of the polluted root at the base of our reasoning, our arguments will be co-opted by the flesh and not formed on purely logical grounds. Let’s see some examples. Continue reading
