DISCIPLE

  World Cup???? A modern idol?  Why would anyone who follows the Lord Jesus Christ want a " world cup"?  Scripture clearly warns us about the world, what it is and what it offers!   1 John 2.15-17  15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.  17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.  Demas loved the world and turned away from serving the Lord with the apostle Paul (2 Tim. 4.10). Many other potential disciples have been lost to the world, enchanted by it, taken up with it, seeking  happiness and fulfilment in it. Are you one? God says that t he whole world lies in wickedness (1 Jn. 5.19). Not a pretty picture. Do you agree? The world is a vain, dec...

by Alan Summers (Scotland) This is a subject that divides Christians. Some believe that a Christian should be involved in politics so that the Christian's view of the world and Christianity's moral values can be brought to bear on the legislative process. Others believe that Christians should not be involved in politics because the aims of Christianity are not political. They feel that since Christians will never command the support of the majority, there is little point in trying to influence a process that can never conform to Christian values. Who is right?      In New Testament times authority was largely in the hands of kings whose authority was based on hereditary right or military power. Rome may have had its Senate and Israel its Sanhedrin, but parliaments elected by the citizens of a country were completely unknown. Hence when we read passages that discuss the Christian's relationship with "the powers that be" (Rom. 13:1), we will not find gu...

     Should a Christian become engaged in politics?     Those who say yes invariably quote the familiar aphorism, “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” If that does not clinch the case, they cite Joseph, Moses, and Daniel as examples of believers who were involved in the political system.      Although the aphorism sounds convincing, we should remember that it is a statement of human wisdom, not divine revelation. We should not give it the authority of Scripture. As for Joseph and Daniel, they never ran for office but served as government employees. Moses was more of a gadfly to the government than a part of it. The Biblical Answer        If we go to the Word for an answer, what do we find?      The Lord Jesus did not engage in politics. If anything, He found Himself in an adverse relationship to the system. The disciples did not engage in poli...

The world population has increased by another billion since this was first written in the 1980’s, and now exceeds seven billion. W e cannot imagine that many people.  For us a stadium with twenty thousand is a lot – a mere drop in the bucket compared to seven billion.  And the worst news is, most of them are lost and headed to perdition, eternal doom.  With this comes the staggering death statistic, now calculated to be 1.78 people per second, 107 per minute, 6,390 per hour, and daily 153,000!  While you read this hundreds will pass to their destiny.  Every hour thousands more pass into eternity, never to return.      Onward marches the grim reaper, respecting no one, employed by Satan in the destruction of Adam’s race.  Wars and famines are just some of his special harvesting techniques.  False religions and “isms” help placate the doomed with false hopes and vain works until the grim one can reach them with his fatal scythe....