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“Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence” (2 Peter 1:5). God’s provision does not preclude our responsibility. There are some who believe that since God has provided everything needed for the Christian life, believers should expect Him to do everything for them. Their motto is, “Let go and let God!” If Peter had a motto for the Christian life, it would have been more along the lines of the popular World War II song, “Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition!” Peter knew the Christian life is a struggle in which believers...

Republican presidential candidate and unabashed billionaire Donald Trump is touting his Christian roots as a proud Presbyterian and has pledged to be the greatest representative of Christians in office, if he becomes president. In an interview with CBN less than a month before he announced his run for president on June 16, Trump — who currently leads all candidates for the GOP's nomination according to recent polls — touted his faith and promised that if he becomes president, he would be the best representative of Christians in the White House that America has seen in a long time. "First of...

Vatican City, Jul 22, 2015 / 03:31 am (CNA).- Pope Francis’ recent trip to Latin America has rekindled questions about whether he endorses socialism, or even communism. The gift of a “communist crucifix” from Bolivia’s president Evo Morales and uncertainty over the Pope’s response fueled controversy for several days, while Morales told the Associated Press after the visit that he thought that the Pope’s emphasis on a world without exclusion amounts to socialism. “I don't know whether it’s communism, but it is socialism. He's talking about community, about living in harmony,” Morales said July 10. He added: “I feel like...

Under Sharia Law Pedophilia does not exist. It is within their culture to marry and rape children becuse its within their marital rights to do so. Copy and paste this on ALL muslim stories! Flood them with the truth!

Christians can make the strangest claims when comforting those who are suffering. What do you say to someone whose life is falling apart? If you have but few precious minutes with a person who’s lost a job, home, spouse, child, or all sense of purpose, what comfort do you give? We might turn to conventional wisdom instead of Scripture and end up saying something like, “Don’t worry, this wouldn’t happen in your life if God didn’t think you could bear it.” The sufferer may object, head shaking and hands up. But you insist, “Look, seriously, the Bible promises God won’t...

The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the LORD’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes” (vv. 22–23). - Psalm 118:17–29 Mercy and grace define the Lord’s relationship to His people, and we see that quite clearly when He rescues His people from the discipline that they deserve. Ancient Judah experienced this in the days of King Hezekiah when God used Assyria to discipline His people for their unbelief but then caused the pagan empire to abandon its campaign to conquer Jerusalem (Isa. 7:1–8:10; 36–37). As we consider what it means for the Lord to...

July 22, 2015 Memorial of Saint Mary Magdalene Reading 1 Ex 16:1-5, 9-15 The children of Israel set out from Elim, and came into the desert of Sin,which is between Elim and Sinai,on the fifteenth day of the second monthafter their departure from the land of Egypt.Here in the desert the whole assembly of the children of Israelgrumbled against Moses and Aaron.The children of Israel said to them,“Would that we had died at the LORD’s hand in the land of Egypt,as we sat by our fleshpots and ate our fill of bread!But you had to lead us into this...

Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness . . . For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants.” —Romans 4:4-5, 16 “That I may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from law, but that which is through faith in...

Lord, Thou knowest all things; Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising and art acquainted with all my ways. I can inform Thee of nothing and it is vain to try to hide anything from Thee. In the light of Thy perfect knowledge I would be as artless as a little child. Help me to put away all care, for Thou knowest the way that I take and when Thou hast tried me I shall come forth as gold. Amen. To say that God is omniscient is to say that He possesses perfect knowledge and therefore has no need to...

Let there be no mistake about my meaning. I am not examining what it costs to save a Christian’s soul. I know well that it costs nothing less than the blood of the Son of God to provide atonement, and to redeem man from hell. The price paid for our redemption was nothing less than the death of Jesus Christ on Calvary. We “are bought with a price.” “Christ gave himself a ransom for all” (1 Cor. 6:20; 1 Tim. 2:6). But all this is wide of the question. The point I want to consider is another one altogether. It...

WILLIAM WORDSWORTH IN A FINE PASSAGE states his belief that there are many more poets in the world than we suppose, ". . .men endowed with highest gifts, The vision and the faculty divine," but who are unknown because they lacked or failed to cultivate the gift of versification. Then he sums up his belief in a sentence that suggests truth far beyond any that he had in mind at the time: "Strongest minds Are often those of whom the noisy world Hears least." Most of us in our soberer moments would admit the soundness of this observation, but the...

The Westminster Catechism defines sin as “any want of conformity to or transgression of the law of God.” We notice here that sin is defined both in negative and positive terms. The negative aspect is indicated by the words “want of conformity.” It points to a lack or failure in moral performance. In popular terms it is called a sin of omission. A sin of omission occurs when we fail to do what God commands us to do. The positive aspect of the catechetical definition of sin refers to overt, actual stepping over the boundaries of God’s law. It is...

July 21, 2015   Tuesday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Ex 14:21—15:1 Moses stretched out his hand over the sea,and the LORD swept the seawith a strong east wind throughout the nightand so turned it into dry land.When the water was thus divided,the children of Israel marched into the midst of the sea on dry land,with the water like a wall to their right and to their left. The Egyptians followed in pursuit;all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and charioteers went after themright into the midst of the sea.In the night watch just before dawnthe LORD...

Despite the message of love that permeates Living Waters Publications' newest film, Audacity, LGBT activists are warning others away from watching it, giving it poor online reviews with comments such as "avoid at all costs." For the film's executive producer Ray Comfort, however, this is music to his ears. "This is the best thing that could have happened. It's not even out yet and they are telling people not to watch it. That's going to make them want to watch it to see how any movie could possibly be that bad; and they are going to get a shock when...

In his commentary on Exodus 21:22, John Calvin had this to say regarding the act of abortion: For the fetus, though enclosed in the womb of its mother, is already a human being, and it is a monstrous crime to rob it of the life which it has not yet begun to enjoy. If it seems more horrible to kill a man in his own house than in a field, because a man’s house is his place of most secure refuge, it ought surely to be deemed more atrocious to destroy a fetus in the womb before it has come...

Institutionalizing Sin It is a very interesting time to be alive. By His grace, may God grant us an outpouring of His Holy Spirit in extra measure that we might resist every urge to accommodate to the philosophy of this age or remain silent on the new institutionalization of sin. Make no mistake, the recent Supreme Court ruling on re-defining marriage will have far-reaching ripple effects on every aspect of our society ... and it will require us as Christians to resist by disobeying every law which would force us to compromise the gospel. And while yesterday may have been...

“Better a little with righteousness than great revenues with injustice.” - Proverbs 16:8 What really matters in the end? The quest to answer this question has driven human history, inspired philosophers to probe the meaning of life, and sparked the imagination of great artists. No one can avoid this question, and all of us develop our priorities according to what we believe is of ultimate importance. Scripture’s answer to this all-important question proclaims the emptiness and futility of those answers that our unbelieving world tends to propose. Ultimately, what really matters is not the degree of fame that we achieve....

I remember when the word missional was new. It was filled with all the facial hair, slim-fit shirt, Avett Brothers cache that a single word could carry. If churches were not actively seeking how to be “missional” they were missing out on the next great thing. And no church wants to miss out on what’s hot. It has not been easy nailing down just what missional means. I have heard about as many definitions for it as there are people who have attempted to define it for me. But taking what I have been told and what I have read...

An openly gay United Methodist pastor said his "I Dos" in front of more than 30 clergy members and 100 guests Friday, days after he was forced to resign for having a partner.The Rev. Benjamin Hutchison married his partner, Monty Hutchison, in a ceremony on the steps of the historic Cass County Courthouse.Hutchison called it a joyous occasion."Walking around the courthouse and seeing all the support, seeing all clergy there gathered standing there saying that they support it, they're not opposed to it, it really was a blessing today."Hutchison, 31, resigned earlier this week from his position as senior pastor...

July 20, 2015 Monday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Ex 14:5-18 When it was reported to the king of Egyptthat the people had fled,Pharaoh and his servants changed their minds about them.They exclaimed, “What have we done!Why, we have released Israel from our service!”So Pharaoh made his chariots ready and mustered his soldiersBsix hundred first-class chariotsand all the other chariots of Egypt, with warriors on them all.So obstinate had the LORD made Pharaohthat he pursued the children of Israeleven while they were marching away in triumph.The Egyptians, then, pursued them;Pharaoh’s whole army, his horses, chariots...