According to Scripture, we will not know the hour when the Lord will return to take us home. But we can know when the time is right. When all the prophecies leading up to the Rapture have been fulfilled. This book takes you through the last century and the fulfillment of prophecy. What will be the next Prophetic event? Will it be the Rapture?
In 2011, LifeWay Research interviewed discipleship experts from eight countries, as well as surveyed 1,000 pastors and more than 4,000 Protestants from North America.
The intensive research revealed eight attributes of discipleship that consistently show up in the lives of believers who are progressing in spiritual maturity:
1. Bible Engagement
It should go without saying that believers will be engaged in studying the Scriptures. Transformation can be recognized in people when their minds are sharpened by the Bible, their perspectives are shaped by the Bible, and their actions are directed by the Bible.
2. Obeying God and Denying Self
Discipleship is the process of obedience to one who is in authority over you. In their study, they found people progressing in their faith prioritize God’s desires over self-will. Transformation can be seen in them, because they progressively set aside earthly delights for Kingdom priorities.
3. Serving God and Others
Just as Jesus said He had come to serve and not be served, so must believers. The choice to serve others is just that—a choice. It highlights a maturity of soul that we allow the needs of others to trump our own. Transformation is evident when personal needs and even life goals are set aside for the needs we see in others.
4. Sharing Christ
Inherent in being a disciple of Christ is the making of other disciple makers for Christ. Even with the need to live out the effects of the gospel, maturing believers know speaking about the message is a necessity. Transformation is evident when we talk about the source of it.
5. Exercising Faith
Can you measure a person’s faith? Probably not. But you can see it when it is put into action. Believers participating in the research noted they knew the importance of living by faith as opposed to living by personal strength. Transformation is seen in believers when risk aversion is set aside and lives are characterized by faithful obedience to God’s will.
6. Seeking God
People become disciples of Christ because they intend to follow Him and become like Him. A continuous hunger should arise from this life. It is referred to in Scripture as our “first love,” and believers are commanded to return to it. Transformation is seen when we desire to know God more deeply and experience His work more fully.
7. Building Relationships
Our faith is personal, but it is not intended to be private. Jesus established the church for our collective good and our collective growth. After all, humans are naturally relational. Spiritually, we are no different. As believers, our horizontal relationships with others should develop just as our vertical relationship with God does. Transformation is occurring when relational maturity is evident in our lives.
8. Unashamed
The research noted that believers felt it appropriate and even necessary for others to know them as Christians and be held accountable for a life exemplary of that name. Transformation is evident when a believer is unashamed in presenting his own life as being aligned with Christ.
Learn what it is like to walk joyfully with the Lord, basking in His presence every minute of every day. This book is all about having and enjoying that deeper experience of knowing God. It will take you through the steps necessary to truly know the Lord. Whether you are a new Christian or an old saint, you can enjoy a closer walk with the Lord, living in His presence every second, knowing how much He loves you.
I do not believe that people who are in heaven are looking down on us, seeing everything that is going on in our lives. Having said that, there are scriptures that show that those in heaven do know at least some of what is happening on earth.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith” (Hebrews 12:1-2).
The great cloud of witnesses that the writer of Hebrews is speaking of is the saints of God that have gone on before us and are in heaven now. Are they in heaven watching us and cheering us on?
Throughout the Old Testament you will see a reference to “the angel of the Lord”. Who is the angel of the Lord? The angel seems to be not only of the Lord, but the Lord himself.
The first time we read about the angel of the Lord is in Genesis 16:7-13. In verse 10, the angel tells Hagar that he will increase her descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count. Could an angel do that? In verse 11 He refers to himself as Lord, and in verse 13, Hagar refers to Him as God.
“You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me”
In Genesis 22:11 we see the angel of the Lord stopped Abraham from killing his son. In verse 12 He refers to Himself as God.
“But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he replied. “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” (Genesis 22:11-12)
Then in verses 15, the angel of the Lord again speaks to Abraham.
“The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore.” (Genesis 22:15-17).
When the angel of the Lord appears to Moses in the burning bush (Exodus 3:2-6), He leaves no doubt about who He is, with His many references to being God.
“There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”
“When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
And Moses said, “Here I am.”
“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. (Exodus 3:2-6)
We see the angel of the Lord again in Numbers 22:21-38, when He confronts Balaam and his donkey. Here He reproofs Balaam and instructs him. In verse 38 Balaam refers to the angel of the Lord as God.
In Judges13, the angel of the Lord tells Manoah and his wife that they will have a son, (Samson), and gives them instructions for raising him. Later Manoah said to his wife, “We are doomed to die….We have seen God.”
In John 6:46, Jesus says that: “No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God”.
So who is “the angel of the Lord”? Obviously, it was not the Father who came as the Angel of the Lord. If it were God and it was not the Father, then it must have been the Son, our Lord. The Angel of the Lord is no ordinary angel.
What do we know about “the angel of the Lord”?
1. He is not an Angel.
2. He is not God the Father, because no man has seen the Father.
3. He is God, because the scriptures say He is.
4. He appears to be God, but separate from God (the Father) as Christ (the Son) and the Holy Spirit are.
5. He forgave sin, which only God can do.
Is this Christ? Did Christ walk upon the earth centuries before He was born a baby in Bethlehem? Not all Bible scholars are willing to say it is the Lord, but it certainly could have been, He was with Father from the beginning.
J. M. Wilson writes that while identifying him with God the Son is most tempting, “..it must be remembered that at best these are only conjectures that touch on a great mystery……The appearances of the angel of the Lord…..culminated in the coming of the Savior, and are thus a foreshadowing of, and preparation for, the full revelation of God in Jesus Christ. Further than this it is not safe to go.”
Most Bible scholars and students don’t hesitate to make that claim however. Calvin wrote:
“I am rather inclined however, to agree with the ancient writers, that in those passages wherein it is stated that the angel of the Lord appeared to Abraham, Jacob, and Moses, Christ was that angel.”
C. F. Dickason stated that the angel of the Lord “According to all evidence……seems to be the preincarnate Son.”
Billy Graham writes: “There are no grounds for questioning the very early and traditional Christian interpretation that in these cases there is a preincarnation manifestation of the second person of the Trinity.”
We know that Christ was here from the beginning, (John 1:1-4), and we can assume that “the angel of the Lord” was most likely Jesus.
Basic Christianity is one book covering many different subjects. Subjects that will help you live your life to the fullest. whether you are a long-time Christian or a new believer. This book can guide you through the steps to a mature, Godly life, equipping you for the Lord’s work, while living a joy-filled life, basking in God’s presence. Basic Christianity is like fourteen books in one
All throughout the Bible, we read about angels. They seem to be everywhere, carrying messages, helping people, battling the devil and his demons. We hear about angels appearing as humans and coming out of nowhere to rescue people. Were they really angels? Do we have guardian angels?
Many believe that as Christians, we have our own guardian angel to protect us. One verse that contributes to this thinking is this verse concerning children, Jesus said;
“see that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my father in heaven” (Matthew 18: 10).
In Psalm we are told that the angels will protect us.
Daniel was truly a man of God. We first read about Daniel shortly after Judah was captured by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. Daniel, along with other young men, was taken from Judah to Babylon to be trained for the king’s service.
We are probably more familiar with the story of Daniel being thrown into the lion’s den, than we are of his prophecies, which predicted the future. Be that as it may, his predictions of the future are much more important to us. They were so accurate, that critics of the Bible claimed they had to be written after the fact. They claimed the book of Daniel was a book of history rather than prophecy. However, the discovery of ancient manuscripts, some dating back to 250 BC, have quieted those critics.
These words were spoken by God to Moses when He called him to go down to Egypt and bring the children of Israel out of bondage. You remember how Moses tried to excuse himself. He said he wasn’t didn’t speak well — he wasn’t this and that — and he couldn’t go. Like Isaiah, he wanted the Lord to send someone else. Finally, the Lord said to Moses, “What is that in your hand?” He had a staff in his hand. It was just a stick that he had cut for the purpose of driving the sheep with. He could probably have gotten a better or straighter stick for a staff. Yet with that staff, he was to deliver the children of Israel. God linked His almighty power with the staff, and that was enough.
I can imagine that as Moses was on his way to Egypt, he may have met someone who might have asked him where he was going. “Down to Egypt.”
Really? Are you going down there again to live?”
“No, I’m going to bring my people out of bondage.”
Sharing Jesus 