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...

 Note: The following is not from an actual dream or experience, but simply the use of a story to convey certain thoughts. THE CHRISTMAS THAT JESUS  CAME TO MY HOUSE by Carl T. Knott, Jr. the watercolor illustrations were done by Emily R. Knott de González It was the first morning of the Christmas holidays. School was out, and my wife and children had just left for some last-minute gift shopping. I sat quietly at my desk addressing Christmas cards while "Silver Bells" played on my stereo radio. It was then that I heard a knock on the front door. I put down the pen and listened. There it was again. Who could that be? A friend dropping by for a visit? Maybe bringing a gift? The mailman with a holiday package? One of the neighborhood children? I turned down the stereo, walked to the door, and opened it. There He was. He didn't look like the Bible storybook pictures of Him. He was different, yet, somehow I sensed instantly who He was. Maybe it was the look in His eyes. But whe...

The message of the cross offers eternal life and the blessedness of the Holy Spirit indwelling the soul. These distinguish Christianity from every other religion; and it is significant that these distinguishing marks are of such a nature as to be wholly above and beyond the reach of man. They are altogether mysterious and divine and are unaffected by race, politics, economics or education. The life of God in the soul of man is wholly independent of the social status of that man... ...Undoubtedly Christian groups have been influenced in their moral practices by the society in which they lived, but we should see it for what it is and not try to explain it away. "Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:19a).      That we Christians modify the moral teachings of Christ at our convenience to avoid the stigma of being thought different is a proof of our ba...

by A. W. Tozer “Let me go out on a limb a little bit and prophesy. I see the time coming when all the holy men whose eyes have been opened by the Holy Spirit will desert worldly evangelicalism, one by one. The house will be left desolate and there will not be a man of  God, a man in whom the Holy Spirit dwells, left among them.   The curse of worldliness     I hear Jesus saying, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” (Matt. 23:37). As the Church stands now, the man who sees this condition of worldly evangelicalism is written off as being somewhat fanatical. But the day is coming when the house will be left desolate and there will not be a man of God left among them. I would like to live long enough to watch this develop and see how things turn out. I would like to live t...

  Are All Things Lawful for Believers 1 Corinthians 6:12 by Bob Wilkin "All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any" (1 Cor. 6:12) .     Some people charge those of us who hold to Grace with antinomianism. That is, some say we promote sin and tell people that they can do whatever they want and God won't care since they are in Christ. We don't teach that; but the charge is made nonetheless.     On the other hand, others charge us with legalism. They say that since we call believers to obey God's commands we are legalists. These are those who do say that since we are in Christ there are no laws or rules for us anymore.     Recently while tracking down verses that show that NT believers are under law (e.g., Rom. 8:7; James 1:25), I ran across 1 Corinthians 6:12. What on earth did Paul mean when he said that "All things are ...

THE WAY OF CAIN "And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord." – Genesis 4:16 "Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And why slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous." – I John 3:12   "Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core." – Jude 11   As "the way of Cain" is spoken of by the apostle Jude, as specially the way of the last days, let us inquire what it was. It was evil, not good. He is an open and defiant sinner; and in him sin takes its full swing. He is the first child of the fall, and the offspring of the fallen; he is no common transgressor; he runs no ordinary career of wickedness; he rushes to the extremity of evil. He is given as a beacon, yet as a true specimen of man, of the human heart even in the most favorable circumstances. He came into t...

Our Lord Still Demands New Testament Standards     A. W. Tozer “That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1:10). Not the naked Word only but the character of the witness determines the quality of the Christian convert.  The church can do no more than transplant herself. What she is in one land she will be in another.  A crab apple does not become a Grimes Golden by being carried from one country to another.     God has written His law deep into all life; everything must bring forth after its kind!     It would appear logical that a subnormal, powerless church would not engage in missionary activity, but again the facts contradict the theory.  Christian groups that have long ago lost every trace of moral fire nevertheless continue to grow at home and reproduce themselves in other lands.     There is a weaknes...

Separation From Evangelicals      Let me go out on a limb a little bit and prophesy. I see the time coming when all the holy men whose eyes have been opened by the Holy Spirit will desert worldly evangelicalism, one by one. The house will be left desolate and there will not be a man of God, a man in whom the Holy Spirit dwells, left among them. The curse of worldliness     I hear Jesus saying, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” (Matt. 23:37). As the Church stands now, the man who sees this condition of worldly evangelicalism is written off as being somewhat fanatical. But the day is coming when the house will be left desolate and there will not be a man of God left among them.     I would like to live long enough to watch this develop and see how th...

by Steve Hulshizer      There is much being written today concerning church growth, and we would be wise to heed to some of it. For example, we can not expect poor preaching, an unfriendly atmosphere, and a lack of witnessing to produce either spiritual or numerical growth. Common sense should tell us this.      There are those however, who would urge us to take extreme measures to reach the lost. They would treat the Gospel meeting like a presidential campaign. In such campaigns producing an "image" of the candidate by showing him kissing babies, waving a flag, or having a picnic with his family is more important than discussing the issues of the day. This is because people vote on "images," not on issues. The "Selling of a President" requires the best publicity and advertising professionals and techniques that money can buy. Christians are now using these techniques in the "Selling of the Church." Avoid the issues, but create an "imag...

by William MacDonald                             Spiritually we are in a shocking condition. The status of many local fellowships is bad news, and deteriorating by the minute.     It is fairly well known that there have been scandalous cases of immorality involving even elders and full-time workers. Of course this type of news never gets into the magazines; there everything is sweetness and light. But the awful truth is that some respected spiritual leaders have fallen into gross sin in recent months and the only reaction seems to have been to hush up the whole thing, lest the word get out and our reputation be impaired.     We have been arrogant, and have not rather mourned (1 Cor. 5:2).     And that isn't all. We have become materialists to the core. Supposing that gain is godliness, we have degraded ourselves to the worship of money. ...

by C. H. Spurgeon      An evil is in the professed camp of the Lord, so gross in its impudence, that the most shortsighted can hardly fail to notice it. During the past few years, it has developed at an abnormal rate, even for evil. It has worked like leaven until the whole lump ferments. The devil has seldom done a cleverer thing than hinting to the church that part of their mission is to provide entertainment for the people, with a view to winning them.      From speaking out as the Puritans did, the church has gradually toned down her testimony, then winked at and excused the frivolities of the day. Then she tolerated them in her borders. Now she has adopted them under the plea of reaching the masses.      My first contention is that providing amusement for the people is nowhere spoken of in the Scriptures as a function of the church. If it is a Christian work, why did not Christ speak of it ? "Go ye into all the ...