KNOW YOUR ENEMY : The Origin Of Satan. We know that God existed from all eternity. The Bible begins with the statement, "In the beginning God.... (Genesis 1:1). Those are the first four words in the Bible.That is referring to the ages of eternity past - so far back that our minds cannot even understand it, because our minds can only comprehend time. God existed before time began. But Satan did not exist before time began. Satan is a created being. But does that mean that God created an evil being? No. That would be impossible. God can never create anything evil. Everything that He creates is perfect. Even Adam and Eve, when they were created were perfect. Likewise, Satan too when he was created, was perfect. He was known then as 'The morning star', or Lucifer (Isaiah 14:12). name has a bad connotation now. But it was not so, way back then when he was first created. He was created as the head of the angels, to lead the angels in the worship of God. God gave him...

KNOW YOUR ENEMY: The Deception Of Satan. In Genesis 3, we can see how Satan attacks. It says there that the serpent was the craftiest of all the animals. Satan entered that serpent (just like the demons entered the pigs when Jesus cast them out of the man of Gadara). And Satan spoke to Eve through the serpent and asked her "Has God indeed said - You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" When Eve said that this was indeed what God had said, Satan countered God's Word and said, "You shall not die". Notice how Satan comes. First of all, he questions God's Word. That is how he comes to us too. "Has God really said that we are not to do that?", he asks, "What's wrong in doing this? These Biblical commands are old-fashioned. They were written for that time and that culture in which Paul lived. They are not meant to be literally obeyed by us in the 20th century", etc., etc. We find young and old people asking such questions...

ON THE THINKERS CORNER. UPLIFTING FOR THE DOWNCAST. THE LORD UPHOLDS ALL WHO FALL, AND RAISES UP ALL WHO ARE BOWED DOWN.”PSALMS‬ ‭145‬:‭14.  This life is full of ups and downs. The reason there are all sorts of narcotics, alcoholic beverages and paraphernalia that are known to cause more serious problems is because of the crises of the human mind. Apart from the mind suiting substances, religion plays another role in our efforts to find the peace for our minds. But even with all these things, we are still unable to reach the land of comfort. The Psalmist, who is the author of our text, was not a stranger to the crises of life.  “In God we boast all day long, And praise Your name forever. Selah But You have cast us off and put us to shame, And You do not go out with our armies. You make us turn back from the enemy, And those who hate us have taken spoil for themselves. You have given us up like sheep intended for food, And have scattered us among the nations. You se...

ON THE THINKERS CORNER. THE LANGUAGE OF FAITH. “But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ down from above) or, “ ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”” Romans‬ ‭10‬:‭6‬-‭11.  Language is central in the human existence. Language expresses the thoughts of the mind. Language is the coordinator of the five senses or faculties. Language is what connects or divides societies and cultures. “Now the whole ear...

KNOW YOUR ENEMY (Part 5): The Methods Of Satan If you as a young person do not know how to resist Satan in your life, it can not only ruin your life on earth, it can also affect your eternal destiny. Satan won't wait until you have grown up, before he begins his attacks on you. He will start on you right now. So you must know something about his methods. Unfortunately, most peoples' idea of the devil comes more from the advertisements of Television programs than from the teaching of God's Word. And so they think of Satan as a harmless prankster with horns and claws and a forked, green tail. But we read in the Bible that Satan does not have such a hideous form at all. Satan is a spirit and he is not a fool to come in such a way as to make people run away from him. How would he be able to lead them astray then? Satan is more like a confidence trickster who first wins your confidence and then cheats you. The Bible says Satan comes as an angel of light - as one who ...

Four Things God Does Through Scripture Evangelist of the Church of Christ:   “I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified” (Acts 20:32 NIV). You have an inheritance coming to you. If you read God’s Word, the Bible promises one for you . The Bible says in Acts 20:32, “I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified” (NIV). An inheritance is what you get for being part of a family that’s rightfully yours. Pretend your father is billionaire Warren Buffet, and he dies. If you never took the time to read the will, you’d be foolish. You wouldn’t get what was rightfully due to you. You wouldn’t benefit from what belongs to you as a child of Warren Buffet. When you become a follower of Jesus, you’re not just a believer — you’re a belonger. You become a part of God’s family. Family privileges come...

 I thought that God was consuming fire in the old testament and love in the new testament. When I was a little girl I thought that God was consuming fire in the old testament and love in the new testament. I knew that God was one and the same, but thought He was going to be consuming fire again on judgment day. Now I know that God has shown His love in the old testament just as well. He has always been a loving God, and always consuming fire. I see Him so great and so wonderful. I am amazed every day. The world is and has been in darkness, but He has always been the light. Malachi 3:5-7 “So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me,” says the Lord Almighty. “I the Lord do not change.  So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. Ever si...

I am really at a crossroads in my congregation. The elders have let women run the technology ( filming the worship for shut-in’s etc). When the subject was brought up the elders put a man with a female and said there was nothing wrong, she wasn't conducting worship.   There were men handling these positions prior, so why a woman now. I think it is wrong and am thinking of moving my membership. I could really use some Christians advice on this. I know if I walked into a worship service where a woman was doing this, I would turn around and walk out. I have no problem with this on Wednesday nights Bible study as this is not on the Lord’s Day worship.  Am I wrong with this or am I being too picket? Please advise. Responses And Advice: "These ladies are providing digital worship materials for the elderly. It is no different from placing Bibles or or study materials in a box and delivering it shut-in’s doors. Ladies did not write the study material but they...

GOD-CENTERED PRAYER: To God be the Glory. "For Thine is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory forever.Amen." This prayer begins with God, "Hallowed be Thy Name, Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done", and it ends with God, "Thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory." God has said in His Word, "I am the Alpha and the Omega," (Rev. 1:8). God must be the very first thought and the very last thought in the life of every disciple of Jesus. God must be the centre as well as the circumference of our lives. We live and move in Him, within the circle that He has drawn for us. And within that circle we will always find Him (Acts 17:26,27). The three final statements at the close of this prayer can be compared with the three final temptations that came to our Lord in the wilderness. The Kingdom is God's. First of all, the statement, "Thine is the kingdom." Compare that with the third temptation, where the devil showed Jesus...

GOD CENTERED PRAYER: Freedom From Evil. "Do not lead us into temptation but deliver us from evil"   There are two sides to this petition - one, asking God to protect us, and the other, asking Him to deliver us. Having prayed for deliverance from the guilt of sin in the previous petition, we now pray for deliverance from the power of sin. If we desire only forgiveness and not freedom from sin, it would indicate that our repentance has not been proper. Forgiveness of sins, is meant to be a gateway that leads on to a holy life, and not to a taking advantage of the grace of God. Happiness and Power. All Christians seek to be happy. But Jesus said, "Blessed are the pure in heart." (Matt. 5:8). The word "blessed" also means happy. So what Jesus was saying was that true happiness flows from true holiness. If heaven is a place of infinite happiness, it's only because it's a place of perfect holiness as well. Happiness without holiness is a coun...

GOD-CENTERED PRAYER: Forgiveness of Sins. "Forgive us our debts as we also have Forgiven our debtors" Sin is a debt to God - whether that sin be a coming short of God's standards or a trespassing and going beyond what God has permitted. The Value of Conscience: Only man, of all created beings on this earth, feels the guilt of having done something wrong. This is one feature that distinguishes him from animals. A dog doesn't feel guilty if it has done something wrong, unless it has been trained by its master to feel guilt. But with man, you can go to the jungles, among those who have never heard anything about religion, those who have never been taught by anyone, those who have never come across a Bible, and you will find people there feeling guilty. Their conscience tells them that they have grieved their Creator and so they try to appease Him in some way. But you'll never find a religious monkey or a religious dog anywhere! Our conscience is one of Go...

TEN TOTALLY EMPOWERING QUOTES THAT'LL INSPIRE YOU TO NEVER GIVE UP 1. “If you believe it will work out, you’ll see opportunities. If you believe it won’t, you will see obstacles.” – Wayne Dyer 2. “No one has the power to shatter your dreams unless you give it to them.” – Maeve Greyson 3. “People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can’t find them, make them.” – George Bernard Shaw 4. “What makes you different or weird, that’s your strength.” – Meryl Streep 5. “Stop saying those things that make you weak and ashamed. Say only those things that make you strong. Do only those things that you could speak of with honor.” – Jordan Peterson 6. “There is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” – A.A. Milne 7. “Strength isn’t alw...