Far As the Curse is Found
There is a magnificent line in the hymn, “Joy to the World.” Jonah Chitty discusses the line and points us to the Scriptures as we consider how Christmas through Jesus brings us joy.
There is a magnificent line in the hymn, “Joy to the World.” Jonah Chitty discusses the line and points us to the Scriptures as we consider how Christmas through Jesus brings us joy.
We are now in the advent season, so we are looking at different Christmas songs and Scriptures to prepare our hearts for Christmas. Christmas reminds us that God intervenes and is active in his world throughout history, and Henry Longfellow penned a verse about this truth in his hymn, “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.” Where is God? He is on his throne, where he rules over all things.
Give Thanks
Thanksgiving should be characteristic of God’s people. We have much for which to be thankful. At the top of the list is God himself.
What is marriage? Who defines it? God has given it as an order of creation to mankind. It is a gift! He defines it, not Caesar.
God receives worship from all religions, including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. This statement was affirmed by 56% of American Evangelicals in a recent survey conducted by Ligonier Ministries and Lifeway Research. It doesn’t matter how many agree with this statement; it doesn’t make it true. The Bible is clear that there is one way to God and that God defines how he will be worshipped and served.
Old heresies die hard. The ancient Arianism heresy claim that God created Jesus is still circulating today. An eye-popping 73% of American Evangelicals polled in a recent State of Theology survey conducted by Ligonier Ministries and Lifeway Research agreed with the statement, “Jesus is the first and greatest being created by God.” Thankfully we don’t go to the court of public opinion for our theology but to God’s word. David Christensen faithfully walks us through several Scripture passages showing us the testimony of Scripture that, indeed, Jesus was not created but eternally existed as God the Son.
Everybody has an opinion on heaven. If we’re not careful, some of our thinking can be more informed by popular culture than Scripture. Derek Riley talks to us about heaven as we wind down our series of Big Bible Words in today’s devotionable.
An alarming number of American Evangelicals, 43%, affirmed, “Jesus was a great teacher, but he was NOT God.” The state of our theology is sad and scary. The Biblical authors of the New Testament believed and affirmed in their writings the deity of Jesus. The early church codified this belief, and many died for their faith—the historic teaching of the church and our only who is that Jesus Christ is God.
There needs to be some clarification regarding the person and work of the Holy Spirit. In a recent survey, 60% of American Evangelicals agreed with the statement, “The Holy Spirit is a force, but is not a personal being.” We go to the Scriptures to quickly correct this erroneous thinking. The Holy Spirit is not a mere force but the co-eternal, co-equal third person of the Godhead.