Can religion become an addiction? Can it offer an escape from reality? Worse yet, could it give someone a false sense of security concerning their relationship with God? What would a religious addiction look like? And could churches today be full of people suffering from religious addiction?
Also, read about how the Israelites tried to justify living life their own way and then tried to avoid the consequences of doing so. Could we be doing the same thing today?
Do you truly understand what is meant by the gospel? If you died tonight, do you know that you would go to heaven, or do you have doubts about where you will spend eternity? And what can you do if you’re not sure? These are important questions! Please don’t leave your eternity to chance!
Also:
What do believers need to remember as we share the gospel with our friends and family?
We live in a world where the Bible and religious liberty are under siege. Many people point to the Old Testament, in particular, and say it’s outdated and irrelevant. Others want to discredit the Bible all together as something devised by men. They call those of us who hold to it everything from ignorant to mean-spirited.
Is the Bible and the Old Testament, in particular, still relevant? Does it have something to say to New Testament believers? If so, why are some Old Testament laws still valid and others are not?
It’s easy this time of year to see how the message of Christmas has been blurred or almost obliterated in many places. Schools schedule a “winter break” instead of a “Christmas vacation.” Candy canes and Christmas trees are out, to say nothing of nativity scenes and wise men. Even Santa and reindeer are out in some places as guilty by association.
We can’t control what others do but we need to ask ourselves, what are you and I doing to personally shine the light of Christ into the world in which we live? Are we so focused on long lines and long to-do lists that we fail to share the most important thing about Christmas … the gospel of Jesus Christ?
Yet, maybe the idea of sharing the gospel at any time of year is intimidating to you. Check out today’s post to learn about a simple resource and some other suggestions that can help you share your faith this Christmas season.
May is Mental Health Awareness month and there is much being written on the subject. In this and the two previous posts I want to compare psychology and biblical counseling. In the process, I hope to answer two questions:
Has psychology, as we know it today, affected the spread of the gospel?
And has it hindered spiritual growth in believers?
In the first post, I laid some groundwork about the roots of modern psychology. In the second post, I discussed ten presuppositions of modern psychology and some of the problems with them. And today, we’ll look at the presuppositions of biblical counseling and theology, the differences between the two, and how I believe the answer to both of my questions is “yes.”
May is Mental Health Awareness month and there is much being written on the subject. But I would like to pose a couple of questions that I believe need to be asked as we think about people’s mental and spiritual well-being. Has psychology, as we know it today, affected the spread of the gospel? And has it hindered spiritual growth in believers?
When I speak of psychology, I’m referring to it in the counseling or therapeutic sense. This has to do with diagnosing problems and seeking to change a person’s behavior, thinking, attitudes, values, and beliefs in an effort to solve those problems.
I don’t mean to imply in any of my comments that counselors of all kinds don’t want to help people. But as followers of Christ, we need to hold everything up to the light of God’s Word. I hope to do that in this post.
May is Mental Health Awareness month and there is much being written on the subject. But I would like to pose a couple of questions that I believe need to be asked as we think about people’s mental and spiritual well-being. Has psychology, as we know it today, affected the spread of the gospel? And has it hindered spiritual growth in believers?
When I speak of psychology, I’m referring to it in the counseling or therapeutic sense. This has to do with diagnosing problems and seeking to change a person’s behavior, thinking, attitudes, values, and beliefs in an effort to solve those problems.
I don’t mean to imply in any of my comments that counselors of all kinds don’t want to help people. But as followers of Christ, we need to hold everything up to the light of God’s Word. I hope to do that in this post.
We’re working our way through the book of Colossians in these weekly posts. In this lesson, we’ll talk about how Paul could rejoice in suffering, what he meant when he said he was “filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions,” how persecution can be like murder when it’s a crime of passion, the unfolding plan of God, and the mystery that had been hidden from earlier generations.
We’re working our way through the book of Colossians in these weekly posts. And even though we are still in chapter one, speaking for myself, I have learned so much. If you missed the previous posts, I’ll add the links below. In today’s passage, Paul moves from his beautiful hymn about the preeminence of Christ and a sweeping view of His reconciling work in the new creation to a closer look at the people of God and a summary of the Christian life.
As I mentioned in the introduction last week, I have had a desire for some time to really dig into the book of Colossians. And this year I’m one of several teachers who will be taking our women’s ministry through this powerful little epistle. So I thought I would share some of the truths we are learning with you all, as well.
Colossians is all about Jesus. It calls us to worship Him, understand who He is, and live in light of that truth. It’s both theological and practical. And it contains one of the most quoted and most taught portions of Scripture, especially when it comes to Christ.
Studying the book of Colossians will help us answer some very important questions. For starters, what does it mean when we say that Jesus is preeminent? That He is sufficient? And how should we live in light of who He is? So, I hope you will come back each week and grow with me through Paul’s letter to our first-century brothers and sisters.
Today we’re going to look at how He is preeminent and sufficient. And what it means that we should preach the gospel to ourselves.
