by Jason Bradford | Feb 4, 2022 | Articles, Testimonies
Purpose seems to be largely made up of two questions: Why I exist (noun)? and What is my objective (verb)? Success is determined by whether or not I accomplish these things. If success is determined by whether or not purpose is accomplished, then purpose drives success. And therefore, being Biblically successful means determining a Biblical purpose and executing on it. In examining my existence, I ask, why am I here? Romans 8:28-30 tells us a bit about God’s purpose, His purpose for us, and why we exist. While the emphasis in these verses has nothing to do with anything we do, the elect are on some level Biblically successful in that they exist for His purposes. We are called, foreknown, predestined, conformed, called, justified, and glorified. This is all certainly part of our purpose; because of what He has done we can exist with a very Biblical purpose; for Him and His purposes. This is why we exist. Being Biblically successful also means accomplishing our aim or purpose, and that the objective of that purpose was Biblical. Therefore, in addition to existing for Him, I must also determine for myself Biblical intentions and objectives. These intentions and objectives are revealed in Scripture. He enables us to understand this revelation, to get to know Him, and frame up what He wants from us. There are many ways to say this, and many synonyms for the following words, but the Bible seems to indicate our intentions and objectives ought to focus on: holiness, ministry, and profit. We ought to be determined to conduct ourselves in holiness (2Corinthians 1:12), ‘put on’ holiness...
by John MacKay | Jan 20, 2022 | Articles, Testimonies
Let’s take a moment to walk thru Hebrews 12:1. This verse divides itself into six simple parts. The first part is “Therefore.” Of course, we must ask what is therefore, there for? This is leading us from the previous verse, and probably Chapter 11, which emphasizes faith. You could also say this references the entire previous part of the book of Hebrews. Hebrews is the “Christ is better than book.” He is better than angels, Moses, Melchizedek, and the Aaronic priesthood, and more. It is about the power of Jesus and appeals to the converted Jew. The second part is “since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us.” The literal meaning of witnesses surrounding us is “martyrs lying around.” The men and women described in chapter 11 lived out their faith. They committed before they would know what would transpire. Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Sampson, David, and Samuel trusted God facing significant trials and even death. God delivers believers either from trials or thru them. This concept of these heroes of the faith “lying around us” should encourage us to stay in the race. The idea of these men and women observing us from heaven is not evident in Scripture, but their example and many others that have gone before us, should encourage us to stay the course. The believer must trust God in trials knowing He has purpose in it. Have you considered others in your personal hall of faith? The third part is “let us also lay aside every encumbrance.” This literally means to cast off...
by Rob Amerine | Jan 6, 2022 | Articles, Testimonies
Who really wants to talk about failure? A recent article reported the phrase “fear of failure” as one of the top internet search items, so it appears to be on the mind of many today. Years ago, I experienced a failure “trifecta.” After nearly 10 years of sweat equity and short-lived successes, my business venture with many investors failed financially. Despite much prayer and counseling, my marriage of 12 years ended in a difficult and costly custody battle involving our 3 young kids. My body started to fail as financial and emotional stress coupled with sleep deprivation further diminished my ability to do even simple tasks. My thoughts became cloudy and my emotions often got the best of me. While it didn’t happen overnight, it all came crashing down in a matter of a few months. I had been walking with Christ for over 10 years at this point but often found myself fearing failure more than fearing God. In one of my worst days while I was cycling through deep anger, sadness, and doubt, I was crying out to the Lord and searching His Word for answers when I came across this passage in 1 Peter 5:6-10. “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren...
by Nigel Pink | Apr 20, 2020 | Articles, Testimonies
Throughout history, from the shut gates of Eden to the present, there has been disease. Disease literally means discomfiture, and each bacterium and virus, God-made and God-given, is divinely designed to discomfort men and women at ease with themselves. God says through his prophet, Amos: When disaster comes to a city, has not the Lord caused it? (Amos 3:6b) And through Isaiah: I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things. God uses many agents; he uses wind, rain and fire. He ignites volcanoes and shakes the foundations of mountains with earthquake. He commands disaster and calamity. To think otherwise, can only mean one of two things; either God is not omnipotent or that he is indifferent. Both positions would require us to find an alternative object for worship. With the former, we would necessarily seek the higher power; and for the latter, there can be no use for a careless deity. That is all very well, but to what purpose is this suffering? Unless we trust God there can be no good purpose. We must know: The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works. (Psalm 145:17) Unless we trust God to act in our best interests, hardship is the product of an indifferent cosmos. It can only have meaning if God purposively directs the hardship: …do not despise the Lord’s discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves him whom he loves… (Proverbs 3:11-12) Any agent, however unpleasant, painful or inconvenient is visited on us by God, not randomly or cruelly but restoratively and redemptively. Regretfully for humankind, correction can only be achieved by agents...
by Joe Govern | Feb 17, 2020 | Articles, Testimonies
Matthew 11:28… Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. I find that in spite of my best efforts and intentions to focus on our Lord in my life, life (in this world) still often times becomes burdensome. I often get caught up in the issues of “being in this world” and lose my focus and where my focus ought to be. For me, this most often involves either business or family issues that often make life feel “very heavy.” During my morning quiet times, when I sometimes find myself feeling sorry for myself, our Lord reminds me and convicts me of others in my life who have “real burdens!” Two fellow believers who are battling cancer and another brother whose wife, in her mid-50s, has just been diagnosed with early on-set Alzheimer’s just as she retired from teaching a year ago! As a result of much meditation and discernment, I have felt a strong call to edification in my ministry. Even committed Christians often get tired, discouraged and overwhelmed from carrying the weight of worldly responsibilities. They need to be reminded of where their true hope is in Jesus and his promises. They need to be told that you care about them and are praying for them! No one will doubt that Paul was a great evangelizer! But he also constantly edified the Christian communities he established. How many times do we read in Paul’s letters that he is thinking of them, thanking them, showing appreciation and encouraging them to trust God to help them work through the difficulties they...
by Don Whaley | Jan 20, 2020 | Articles, Testimonies
Because we walk by faith, it must have challenges; otherwise, we would not need the God-given faith. Our only evidence that our faith is in God is how we walk by faith. Everyone does walk by faith; the question is, “faith in what?” The evidence of faith illustrates whether our faith is in God or elsewhere. God intends us to love Him as He loves us. He loves us unconditionally—we are totally undeserving of it. God’s love is a matter of choice. God gives us our faith to walk with Him regardless of the challenges and to love Him as a matter of choice. Joni Eareckson Tada is perhaps the greatest example of this in our time. As a quadriplegic, she has demonstrated this choice of faith in God and impacted countless lives. Her ministry of Joni and Friends distributes wheelchairs and other aids to indigent people all over the world. They share their faith while doing so. She has influenced the lives of many people who had no reason to hope. (Joni has published a book telling her story.) She had every worldly reason to run from God but has stayed the course, even though in tremendous pain. She says she simply turns it over to Jesus. I believe that if you intend to walk with Jesus there are some commitments you must first make: 1. The bible is the infallible Word of God and the inerrant Word of God. The giant question for those who do not agree with this, yet profess Christianity is what then is your source for knowing God? 2. You must continually work...
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