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The Bible speaks about salvation. But what is salvation, and how can I be saved? “For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation.” 2 Corinthians 7:10. Be saved by repentanceThis verse gives us a very clear explanation of how we can be saved. It is repentance that leads to salvation. Repentance means turning from sin and the lust of this world to God. This verse also shows us that it is godly sorrow that produces this repentance. Paul tells us in the same verse that the sorrow of the world produces death—that is a sorrow over wanting more of what this world can offer. But godly sorrow is a sorrow over my own sin and over my lack of what belongs to God: goodness, love, mercy, patience etc. The first fruit of this repentance is that I receive the forgiveness of sins. And when this repentance is born out of a godly sorrow, then I will make a conscious decision to put an end to my old sinful ways and begin seeking the things of God. Be saved by overcoming sin“Therefore, layi...

What actually happens when I commit to following Jesus? This is a tremendously important question. Most of us have very incomplete knowledge of what's involved in the transformed life at the time of our decision to follow Christ. But it is essential that we quickly grow in that understanding. According to the Bible we are "born again" when we take certain steps in faith: Acknowledge we have been separated from God -- living independently from Him -- and repent for staying separated. ("Repent" means to stop and completely change direction.) Turn toward God and away from our former way of living Personally, and verbally, ask Jesus Christ to be our Savior -- receiving Him as the One who by His death, burial and resurrection made it possible to come back to God Give ourselves fully to Him, recognizing that Jesus is Lord -- the One who is entitled to all authority in our lives This act of believing, the term used most commonly in the New Testament, is not mer...

1. If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved ... Rom 10:9. 2. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life ... John 3:16. 3. These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world ... John 16:33.  4. Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also ... Matt 6: 19-21. 5. Delight yourself in the Lord and He shall give you the desires of your heart ... Psalm 37:4. 6. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you ...

If you're saved, praising and worshipping the Lord is an important part of our fellowship with the Lord. After all, what a great gift we have been freely given by the Lord Jesus Christ. Below is a list of praise and worship verses, and you will notice that many of the verses are from Psalms. After all, God said David was a man after His own heart ... Acts 13:22. How great if God thought that about each of us! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Praise the Lord  1. The LORD is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation; This is my God, and I will praise Him; my father's God, and I will extol Him ... Exodus 15:2. 2. Who is like You among the gods, O LORD? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, awesome in praises, working wonders? ... Exodus 15:11. 3. He is your praise and He is your God, who has done these great and awesome things for you which your eyes have seen ... Deut 10:21.  4. Hear, O kings; give ear, O rulers...

1  God Loves You! The Bible says, "God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life" The problem is that . . . 2 All of us have done, said or thought things that are wrong. This is called sin, and our sins have separated us from God. The Bible says “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” God is perfect and holy, and our sins separate us from God forever. The Bible says “The wages of sin is death.” The good news is that, about 2,000 years ago, 3  God sent His only Son Jesus Christ to die for our sins. Jesus is the Son of God. He lived a sinless life and then died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. “God demonstrates His own love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.” Jesus rose from the dead and now He lives in heaven with God His Father. He offers us the gift of eternal life -- of living forever with Him in heaven if we accept Him as our Lord and...

The origins of Easter are rooted in European traditions. The name Easter comes from a pagan figure called Eastre (or Eostre) who was celebrated as the goddess of spring by the Saxons of Northern Europe. A festival called Eastre was held during the spring equinox by these people to honor her. The goddess Eastre’s earthly symbol was the rabbit, which was also known as a symbol of fertility. Originally, there were some very pagan (and sometimes utterly evil) practices that went along with the celebration. Today, Easter is almost a completely commercialized holiday, with all the focus on Easter eggs and the Easter bunny being remnants of the goddess worship. In the Christian faith, Easter has come to mean the celebration of the resurrection of Christ three days after His crucifixion. It is the oldest Christian holiday and the most important day of the church year because of the significance of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the events upon which Christianity is based. E...

When trying to decide what, if any, Christian imagery is appropriate to place in our homes, a good place to begin is the Ten Commandments. When God first gave His law to mankind, He began with Himself, a statement of who He is: “the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt” (Exodus 20:2), and a warning that we are to have no other God but Him. He immediately followed that by forbidding the making of any image of anything “in heaven above or on earth beneath or in the waters below” (Exodus 20:4), for the purpose of worshipping or bowing down to it. The fascinating thing about the history of the Jewish people is that they disobeyed this commandment more than any other. Again and again, they made idols to represent God and worshipped them, beginning with the creation of the golden calf at the very moment God was writing the Ten Commandments on tablets for Moses (Exodus 32)! Idol worship not only drew the Israelites away from the true and living God, it led to all manner of sins includi...

The definition of idolatry, according to Webster, is “the worship of idols or excessive devotion to, or reverence for some person or thing.” An idol is anything that replaces the one, true God. The most prevalent form of idolatry in Bible times was the worship of images that were thought to embody the various pagan deities. From the beginning, God’s covenant with Israel was based on exclusive worship of Him alone (Exodus 20:3; Deuteronomy 5:7). The Israelites were not even to mention the names of false gods (Exodus 23:13) because to do so would acknowledge their existence and give credence to their power and influence over the people. Israel was forbidden to intermarry with other cultures who embraced false gods, because God knew this would lead to compromise. The book of Hosea uses the imagery of adultery to describe Israel’s continual chasing after other gods, like an unfaithful wife chases after other men. The history of Israel is a sad chronicle of idol worship, punishment, restor...

All the various forms of modern idolatry have one thing at their core: self. We no longer bow down to idols and images. Instead we worship at the altar of the god of self. This brand of modern idolatry takes various forms. First, we worship at the altar of materialism which feeds our need to build our egos through the acquisition of more “stuff.” Our homes are filled with all manner of possessions. We build bigger and bigger houses with more closets and storage space in order to house all the things we buy, much of which we haven’t even paid for yet. Most of our stuff has “planned obsolescence” built into it, making it useless in no time, and so we consign it to the garage or other storage space. Then we rush out to buy the newest item, garment or gadget and the whole process starts over. This insatiable desire for more, better, and newer stuff is nothing more than covetousness. The tenth commandment tells us not to fall victim to coveting: "You shall not covet your neighbor'...

Born-again virginity is the claim that after having sex, a person can be restored to virginity by a spiritual renewal, vowing sexual purity until marriage and asking God for forgiveness. Some women have taken the idea of born-again virginity so far that they actually have had surgery to physically restore themselves to a “virgin” physical-sexual state. The pressure upon some Christians to become "born-again virgins" is likely due in large part to the fear of condemnation from Christian brothers and sisters, or perhaps fear that God will not accept them unless they take steps to become “born-again virgins.” Neither of these reasons should be a concern because God offers forgiveness and grace to all who ask with a sincere heart (1 John 1:9). We need not try to restore for ourselves what God has already restored in us spiritually. The Bible says that when we are born again, we are new creations, our old selves are dead and gone, and we have new life given to us by the Holy Spi...

When we think of sexual purity, our culture brings to mind a maiden, sitting in the forest, with a unicorn’s head in her lap. Others think of a bride presenting herself for the first time to her groom on their wedding night. But keeping sex for marriage is both more and less sacred. Virginity is not something to be worshiped. It’s not about cultural shame. It’s about the way God designed us and the really hard battle of following Him. There are three serious reasons to save sex for marriage. First, because as believers, we are to obey what God tells us to do. 1 Corinthians 6: 18-20 states, “Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” If we are in Christ, we have allowed Him to purchase us with...

Preparing oneself for marriage biblically is the same as preparing for any life endeavor. There is a principle that should govern all aspects of our lives as born-again believers: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37). This is not a flippant command. It is the centerpiece of our lives as believers. It is choosing to focus upon God and upon His Word with our whole heart so that our soul and our mind are occupied with the things that will please Him. The relationship we have with God through the Lord Jesus Christ is what puts all other relationships into perspective. The marriage relationship is based upon the model of Christ and His church (Ephesians 5:22-33). Every aspect of our lives is governed by our commitment as believers to live according to the commandments and precepts of the Lord. Our obedience to God and to His Word equips us to fulfill our God-given roles in marriage and in the world. And the role of every...

There is no biblical reason why we can’t light candles while we pray or while we do anything else, for that matter. Candles are inanimate objects. They have no power, no strength, and no mystical or supernatural abilities. They are nothing more than wax and a piece of string with maybe some scent added in. Candles—and other lights such as Christmas decorations—can remind us that Jesus is the Light of the World. Candles can remind us to put our “trust in the Light so that [we] may become sons of Light” (John 12:36). Having a candle burning while we pray might serve to focus our prayers and thoughts on Jesus as the Light of the world. What candles cannot do, however, is accompany our prayers to heaven, make our prayers more powerful or effective, add anything to our prayers, or pray for us in any way. Candles burning in a Roman Catholic church, for example, are thought to continue the pray-er’s petition long after he/she has left the church. This is unbiblical. Prayer is a conversation...

Everyone wants their prayers to be “effective,” so much so that when we focus on the “results” of our prayers, we lose sight of the incredible privilege we have in prayer. That people like us can speak to the Creator of the Universe is itself an amazing thing. Even more astounding is the fact that He hears us and acts on our behalf! Now, the first thing we need to understand about effective prayer is that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ had to suffer and die on the cross to even make it possible for us to approach the throne of grace to worship and pray (Hebrews 10:19-25). Although the Bible offers a great deal of guidance as to how we can deepen our communication with the Creator, effective prayer has more to do with the one doing the praying than it does with “how” we are to pray. Indeed, Scripture reveals “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” (James 5:16), and that the “eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer” (1 Peter 3:...

The Bible presents several different resources to aid us in our effort to overcome sin. In this lifetime, we will never be perfectly victorious over sin (1 John 1:8), but that should still be our goal. With God’s help, and by following the principles of His Word, we can progressively overcome sin and become more and more like Christ. The first resource the Bible mentions in our effort to overcome sin is the Holy Spirit. God has given us the Holy Spirit so we can be victorious in Christian living. God contrasts the deeds of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:16-25. In that passage we are called upon to walk in the Spirit. All believers already possess the Holy Spirit, but this passage tells us that we need to walk in the Spirit, yielding to His control. This means choosing to consistently follow the Holy Spirit's prompting in our lives rather than following the flesh. The difference the Holy Spirit can make is demonstrated in the life of Peter, who, before being...

While there is not a Bible verse that specifically states we commit a sinful act each day, we do have verses that remind us that we have inherited the capacity to sin at any moment. "Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned" (Romans 5:12). "Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me" (Psalm 51:5). In addition, we have commands that we know we never keep, much less on a daily basis. For instance, who can claim to love God with all his heart, mind and soul every moment of every day? No one. Yet, that is the greatest commandment (Matthew 22:36-38). Failing to love God completely at all times is a daily sin for all Christians. We also have a verse that warns us of the deceitfulness of our old sinful nature, which in a sense is warning us of the potential, if not the likelihood, of daily sin. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked:...