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Repentance " Godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation… —2 Corinthians 7:10 " Conviction of sin is best described in the words:My sins, my sins, my Savior, How sad on Thee they fall.Conviction of sin is one of the most uncommon things that ever happens to a person. It is the beginning of an understanding of God. Jesus Christ said that when the Holy Spirit came He would convict people of sin (see John 16:8). And when the Holy Spirit stirs a person’s conscience and brings him into the presence of God, it is not that person’s relationship with...

Always looking for Sunday morning music while I get ready to go to church, I came across this very pleasing (to me) playlistI hope you enjoy

“My Rainbow in the Cloud” " I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. —Genesis 9:13 " It is the will of God that human beings should get into a right-standing relationship with Him, and His covenants are designed for this purpose. Why doesn’t God save me? He has accomplished and provided for my salvation, but I have not yet entered into a relationship with Him. Why doesn’t God do everything we ask? He has done it. The point is— will I step into that...

“The Temple of the Holy Spirit” " …only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you. —Genesis 41:40 " I am accountable to God for the way I control my body under His authority. Paul said he did not “set aside the grace of God”— make it ineffective (Galatians 2:21). The grace of God is absolute and limitless, and the work of salvation through Jesus is complete and finished forever. I am not being saved— I am saved. Salvation is as eternal as God’s throne, but I must put to work or use what God has...

ROME – On his flight back to Rome after visiting Turkey, the Roman Catholic Pontiff known as Pope Francis told reporters that Islam should not be equated with terrorism and violence–a statement that some may disagree with considering the teachings of the religion. “On Islamophobia, it is true that when one sees these terrorist acts, not only in this region, but also in Africa, there is this reaction [of], ‘If this is Islam, I am going to get angry,'” he said. “And so many Islamic people are offended.” “Many, many [Muslims] say, ‘No, we are not this. The Koran is...

The Law of Opposition " To him who overcomes… —Revelation 2:7 " Life without war is impossible in the natural or the supernatural realm. It is a fact that there is a continuing struggle in the physical, mental, moral, and spiritual areas of life.Health is the balance between the physical parts of my body and all the things and forces surrounding me. To maintain good health I must have sufficient internal strength to fight off the things that are external. Everything outside my physical life is designed to cause my death. The very elements that sustain me while I...

Sandro Magister at his blog Chiesa has a fascinating look at the relationship of Pope Francis with the evangelicals who have made such devastating inroads among the Catholic populations in South America: ROME, November 19, 2014 – With the mastery for which it is known all over the world, the Washington-based Pew Research Center has conducted a survey on a massive scale that gives substance to a fact that was already known in general terms, the startling decline of Catholic membership in the Latin American subcontinent: > Religion in Latin America. Widespread Change in a Historically Catholic Region In the...

“Not by Might nor by Power” " My speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power… —1 Corinthians 2:4 " If in preaching the gospel you substitute your knowledge of the way of salvation for confidence in the power of the gospel, you hinder people from getting to reality. Take care to see while you proclaim your knowledge of the way of salvation, that you yourself are rooted and grounded by faith in God. Never rely on the clearness of your presentation, but as you give...

Moscow, December 3, Interfax - The Moscow Patriarchate is still not ruling out a possibility of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia meeting with Pope Francis, but pointed to the factors that impeded dialogue on this matter. "The subject of a meeting between the Patriarch of Moscow and the Pope is on the agenda of the two Churches, and the Holy Patriarch highly values the balanced and genuinely Christian position of Pope Francis on many problems faced by present-day society," Patriarchate spokesman Deacon Alexander Volkov told Interfax-Religion. This makes both Churches "strategic partners" in the attestation to the Christian...

Christian Perfection " Not that I have already attained, or am already perfect… —Philippians 3:12 " It is a trap to presume that God wants to make us perfect specimens of what He can do— God’s purpose is to make us one with Himself. The emphasis of holiness movements tends to be that God is producing specimens of holiness to put in His museum. If you accept this concept of personal holiness, your life’s determined purpose will not be for God, but for what you call the evidence of God in your life. How can we say, “It could...

ISTANBUL, Turkey — Sometimes what a pope doesn’t say can be just as important as what he does, and such was the case in Turkey on Sunday as Pope Francis laid out his vision for unity between Catholics and Orthodox Christianity. Francis offered several motives for pursuing closer ties, yet conspicuously absent was the imperative most often cited by more conservative Catholics and Orthodox: Making a common stand against secularism, especially permissive sexual morality. In effect, the pope’s case rested not on the wars of culture, but on the social gospel. The official reason for the pontiff’s Nov. 28-30 trip...

The Law and the Gospel " Whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. —James 2:10 " The moral law does not consider our weaknesses as human beings; in fact, it does not take into account our heredity or infirmities. It simply demands that we be absolutely moral. The moral law never changes, either for the highest of society or for the weakest in the world. It is enduring and eternally the same. The moral law, ordained by God, does not make itself weak to the weak by excusing our...

(Google Translate)(Full Speech below) Vatican City (kath.net/KAP/red) Francis Pope has spoken out against a common celebration of the Eucharist by Catholics and Protestants. "If we have to hide our Eucharistic faith under the pretext of a certain accommodation by, then we take our own treasure neither nor our interlocutor seriously enough," he said on Monday in front of the Swiss bishops at the Vatican. In ecumenical dialogue, the bishops should make sure that the believers of all faiths could live their faith "unambiguous and free of confusion" and "without the differences at the expense of truth wegzuretuschieren". At the same...

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I embraces Pope Francis at a celebration of the Divine Liturgy in Istanbul - REUTERS (Vatican Radio)  In an address upon conclusion of the Divine Liturgy celebrated by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I at the Orthodox Church of St. George in Istanbul, Pope Francis said “the one thing that the Catholic Church desires and that I seek as Bishop of Rome…is communion with the Orthodox Churches.” Below, please find the complete text of the Holy Father’s address:             When I was the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, I often took part in the celebration of the Divine Liturgy of...

“By the Grace of God I Am What I Am” " By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain… —1 Corinthians 15:10 " The way we continually talk about our own inabilities is an insult to our Creator. To complain over our incompetence is to accuse God falsely of having overlooked us. Get into the habit of examining from God’s perspective those things that sound so humble to men. You will be amazed at how unbelievably inappropriate and disrespectful they are to Him. We say things such as,...

Calling Pope Francis his “beloved brother in Christ,” the head of the Orthodox Church, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I on Sunday recalled their gathering last May at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem on the fiftieth anniversary of the historic ecumenical meeting of their predecessors, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras. Welcoming the Pope after a celebration of the Divine Liturgy at the Patriarchal Church of St. George in Istanbul, Patriarch Bartholomew said “the path toward unity is more urgent than ever for those who invoke the name of the great Peacemaker.” Citing the “diverse divisions, conflicts and animosities,...

Pope Francis this afternoon celebrated Mass at the Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Istanbul. Present at the Eucharistic celebration was the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, along with several Catholic and Orthodox patriarchs from the region. During his homily, Francis said: "Only the Holy Spirit is able to kindle diversity, multiplicity and, at the same time, bring about unity. When we try to create diversity, but are closed within our own particular and exclusive ways of seeing things, we create division. He added: "When we try to create unity through our own human designs, we end up with uniformity...

Pope asks Patriarch to 'bless me and the Church of Rome'The full text of the Pope’s address to the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, at a prayer service in Istanbul, courtesy of Vatican Radio: Your Holiness, my dear Brother, Each evening brings a mixed feeling of gratitude for the day which is ending and of hope-filled trust as night falls. This evening my heart is full of gratitude to God who allows me to be here in prayer with Your Holiness and with this sister Church after an eventful day during my Apostolic Visit. At the same time my...

The Supremacy of Jesus Christ " He will glorify Me… —John 16:14 " The holiness movements of today have none of the rugged reality of the New Testament about them. There is nothing about them that needs the death of Jesus Christ. All that is required is a pious atmosphere, prayer, and devotion. This type of experience is not supernatural nor miraculous. It did not cost the sufferings of God, nor is it stained with “the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 12:11). It is not marked or sealed by the Holy Spirit as being genuine, and it has no...

The Riches of the Destitute " …being justified freely by His grace… —Romans 3:24 " The gospel of the grace of God awakens an intense longing in human souls and an equally intense resentment, because the truth that it reveals is not palatable or easy to swallow. There is a certain pride in people that causes them to give and give, but to come and accept a gift is another thing. I will give my life to martyrdom; I will dedicate my life to service— I will do anything. But do not humiliate me to the level of the...