Building on the Foundation

What is the most common conversation you might have with a Christian?  I'd wager that somewhere in a conversation with a Christian, no matter the denomination, a relationship with God will be mentioned. We might even be the ones who bring it up! This is a natural topic of conversation since that is the most important relationship we have, but there is a hidden danger in this discussion. The main danger is the fact that there are usually two different gods being referenced, especially when you get out into mainstream Christianity. What I mean is that many remake God in their own image, essentially making themselves, or the relationship, God  Philippians 3:18-19 KJV — (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.) Our relationship with God is vital. It is the most important relationship w...

Lately, I've gone back and studied something a little more in-depth than I have in the past that has a tremendous bearing on our spiritual walk with God. I've studied this in the past, but I didn't have the same context in my own life then that I do now. It has to do with some commands from God, and with marriage. Now, when God gives us a command or tells us to do something, that means that whatever He is telling us to do is against our natural nature. It's not something that would be natural for us to do without Him telling us to go do it.  This statement might appear a bit confusing on the surface so let me explain a bit more. Think of breathing. God didn't have to tell us to remember to breathe every ten seconds, it's a part of our natural, uncorrupted, God-given nature. God didn't have to tell us to sleep at night, that's natural for us to do. We get tired, so naturally we go and sleep.  Now, no one likes to think that without being told to do somet...

  At first glance, it appears as though God’s Word says little about the Feast of Pentecost. We do find four different names for it in Scripture: the Feast of Weeks (Ex. 34:22), the Feast of Harvest (Ex. 23:16), the day of the firstfruits (Num. 28:26), and Pentecost (Acts 2:1). Yet observances of this day are seldom mentioned in Scripture by name. Only once, in fact. Only one time, in all of Scripture, are we specifically told that something happened on Pentecost, and that’s in Acts 2:1-4: 1 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. However, there ARE several other Pentecost observances detailed in Scr...

  If you grew up in the industrialized world, especially in the United States, during the 1960s, ‘70s, or ‘80s, then you probably don’t remember seeing many obese people back then. You probably remember most children playing outside and being active during the evenings, weekends, and summers. You probably remember your mothers making home-cooked meals largely from scratch. Video games and TV channels were few. The Internet didn’t exist yet. There was no YouTube, Netflix, or Hulu. Fast food and other forms of “junk food” were occasional treats, not daily staples. In short, people of past generations tended to be more active and eat healthier food than those of today. From 1960 to 1980, the US obesity rate hovered around 15% or below. Today, it’s north of 42% — nearly triple! Also today, the biggest cause of death each year in the US is heart disease — largely a result of obesity. But that’s not all. Strokes are the fifth leading cause of death, diabetes the eighth, and kidney diseas...