Beyond the Broadcast: Believers’ Greatest Hope
Living without hope is like sailing on the open ocean with no wind. It’s hard to get going with nothing driving us toward our destination.
Living without hope is like sailing on the open ocean with no wind. It’s hard to get going with nothing driving us toward our destination.
What the great earthquake is to the Californian the great Tribulation is to the whole world. You will not escape it.
When the rapture occurs, 1 Thessalonians 4 tells us that Christ is to bring the souls of those who have died from heaven to earth. He’s going to resurrect their bodies, and their souls will re-enter their bodies permanently in resurrection.
Building up others means to edify, encourage, and uplift them so they will be strengthened inwardly to persevere despite difficulty. Encouragement seeks to infuse difficulty with meaning. Without that sense of meaning, hope and the will to go on fades.
Being left behind is a bad feeling. No one likes being out in the cold. But there will come a day when many people will know that awful feeling. It’s the day of the Second Coming when those without Christ will be left behind. This is a lighthearted look at Christ's return.
Far too many Christians have bought into the “pursue pleasure at all costs” philosophy. Marriages are breaking up at almost the same rate inside the Church as outside. Christian leaders often create just as much scandal as any movie star. And many churches no longer place holy living at the top of their priority list. But purity, as Paul explained in Romans 6, is a powerful alternative to our culture’s formula for living.
At God's appointed time, Jesus will come a second time to earth and establish His kingdom. His return could occur at any moment. Are you prepared?
Sexual promiscuity is neither new nor novel. It is as old as humanity, always promising more than it can deliver. More palatable words have replaced the obsolete and ugly ones. Inviting terms cause the ugliness of illicit sex to be veiled in mystery, fascination, and excitement.
Far too many Christians have bought into the “pursue pleasure at all costs” philosophy. Marriages are breaking up at almost the same rate inside the church as outside. Christian leaders often create just as much scandal as any movie star. And many churches no longer place holy living at the top of their priority list. But purity, as Paul explained in Romans 6, is a powerful alternative to our culture’s formula for living.
The Bible says, “give thanks in all circumstances…” (1 Thessalonians 5:18 NIV). But being thankful for trials doesn’t seem right and we wonder if that is what God really wants of us.