God has an appointment with each of us, and it is critical that every man and woman know this. He will stop our steps when it is not our time, and He will lead us when it is. This is a reassuring truth to know for every believer, and a necessary trust for anyone who ministers in areas of great risk.
Perder la fe es espantoso porque nos despoja de la esperanza e incluso amenaza el amor.
The radically changed behavior of the disciples after the resurrection is the best evidence of the resurrection,” declares Thomas C. Oden of Drew University. “Some hypothesis is necessary to make plausible the transformation of the disciples from grieving followers of a crucified messiah to those whose resurrection preaching turned the world upside down. That change could not have happened, according to the church’s testimony, without the risen Lord.
Evil is to life what contradiction is to reason. If an argument is contradictory, reasoning breaks down. If life is consumed by evil, life breaks down.
The game is played not to protect the rules; rather, the rules are made to protect the game. That.
Philosopher William Lane Craig reminds us that an infinite regress of causes is like trying to jump out of a bottomless pit. How do you start if you never reach the bottom? On the other hand, one might well ask, if every birth is a rebirth, what kamma was paid for in his first birth?
To deny the Christian the privilege of propagation is to propagate him or her the fundamental beliefs of another religion.
David talked often about how discouraged or fearful he would become at times. Then he would interject these words, “But then I entered the sanctuary... ” Being in God’s presence affects all other relationships for the better. To have first seen her husband in prayer surely remained a cherish moment for Rebekah.
A worshiping community should be the fountain from which life flows and the ocean into which your efforts are merged. That is where identity is defined, refined, and consolidated and where continuity remains.
More often than not religious rites are performed out of fear or superstition. And they are seldom questioned or examined.
As Paul Little has pointed out, “If God were to stamp out evil today, he would do a complete job. His action would have to include our lies and personal impurities, our lack of love, and our failure to do good. Suppose God were to decree that at midnight tonight all evil would be removed from the universe – who of us would still be here after midnight?” 23.
Culture is critical in marriage because in a real sense, culture is the behavioral expression of one’s values, appreciations, tastes, and relational style in both simple and serious matters of life. Add to this the dimensions of language and cultural memory, and you have worlds within worlds. In effect, culture provides the how and why of an individual’s behavior.
The world was made for the body, the body was made for the soul, and the soul was made for God. When that discovery is made and the soul is restored in a disfigured culture, we find the greatest treasure of all–and it is nearer to us than we realize.
In the early days of marriage, joy precedes the act. Tragically, as the years go by joy can be severed from the act until finally, the act itself is no more. This ought not to be. Over time it is the companionship that brings joy, and service is the natural outworking of the joy of commitment. Failure to act kills it.
We are neither just brains floating around nor just hearts bouncing about.
Even the once-doubting Sir Lionel Luckhoo, identified by the Guinness Book of World Records as the most successful attorney in the world, was forced to conclude after an exhaustive analysis of the evidence, “I say unequivocally that the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ is so overwhelming that it compels acceptance by proof which leaves absolutely no room for doubt.
Tragically, I cannot help but wonder if we have now abandoned truth to return to the palace, and rather than sitting alone under a tree waiting for enlightenment, we gravitate to mass entertainment under lights that cater to mass ignorance.
We are at a time when postmodernism defies certainty, truth, and meaning; when spiritualism dabbles in quantum theory; and when randomness has become the order of the day. Isn’t it ironic that at the same time, the world is on the edge of financial bankruptcy because we have conducted our financial affairs in a random fashion, as if there are no absolutes?
Young dreams may be wild ones, but they are never corrected by ridiculing them. They must be steered by a loving voice that has earned the right to be heard, not one enforced by means of power. This is a very difficult lesson for parents to learn. And as cultures lose their restraining power, there will be greater need for mutual love and respect between parents and children if a relationship of trust is to be built, rather than banking on authority because of position.
The purpose of prayer and of God’s call in your life is not to make you number one in the world’s eyes, but to make him number one in your life. His calling is perfect, and he has a specific place for each one. Every member of the body has a particular role, and we find our fulfillment in filling that role.