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.
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?
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.”
Everyone wants to go to heaven. The joy and peace that we will have when in heaven will be far greater than anything we can imagine. Being with family and friends who have gone before us and spending eternity with them. Living in a place of perfect love.
But if we miss heaven — well, it’s not something we want to think about — an eternity in hell.
Thankfully, God has made it easy for us to go to heaven. He sent His Son to die on the cross and redeem our sins with His blood (John 3:16). Jesus paid the price for our sins and redeemed us from the death that we deserve. He made it possible to someday stand before God.
Life’s most important question should be, “Are you going to heaven when you die?” If Jesus returns tomorrow, will you be ready?
What was the world like before the flood; the climate, plants, animals, and the geology of the earth? What were the effects on the Earth from the flood? Was the flood worldwide? Where is the Ark? Do we really know how old the world is? Jerry uses the research and findings of geologists, biologists, microbiologists, paleontologists, paleobotanists, astronomers, physicists, astrophysicists, biophysicists, geochronologists, biochemists, and many other experts to answer these questions and many more.
Sharing Jesus 