Phillips Brooks, a great preacher of the 19th century, said, "Sinners have no right to condemn Christianity - because it hasn't been tried yet...."
I agree! I don't think any human on earth has yet discovered the power and glory that is available in Christ, here and now!
We all have distractions in life, but let’s face it—men are the worst when it comes to sports. I don’t mean playing sports, which would actually be good for a lot of couch potatoes, but keeping up with sports. Smart phones and the ESPN app have turned once-attentive husbands into screen-gazers. All a guy has to do is silently press the “refresh” button and dozens of scores are instantly updated. Every date night is at risk from constant under-the-table glances.
I know what it’s like to believe the promises of God and not see them realized. I know the promise of unspeakable joy and also years of discouragement and even depression. I know what it’s like to hear God’s promise of an overcoming, victorious life and spend long seasons overwhelmed and defeated. I know the promise that we’ll know his love—the height, depth and breadth of it—and yet not sense that love but instead feel driven to earn it.
I am convinced there is a hunger throughout the world for the uncompromised grace of Christ. Scripture attests to this hunger. Luke writes that when Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount, crowds of thousands “had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those troubled by evil spirits were healed” (Luke 6:18, NLT). These masses came because they had heard a rumor about a man of grace who would heal them.
The question mark in my title is intentional. As Christians we know that Jesus won the victory for us at Calvary. He defeated death, Satan and the power of sin. The question remaining for believers is, “Now what? I know Jesus won my victory on the cross. But what about my present conflict? Where is his victory for the battle raging in my life right now?”
Jesus said, "I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you" (John 14:18).
When Christ said this, he was addressing his disciples just before he went to the cross. He had gathered his chosen ones for a last moment of communion before being crucified.
What a sad, sorrowful lot these men were. Their sole source of comfort on the earth was being taken from them. Jesus was their guide, their teacher, their joy and peace and hope. And now he was physically leaving them.
This message is about the almighty power of God’s presence and how his children can lay hold of that power. Scripture provides endless examples of how the presence of the Lord empowers his people to live for him. One of the most powerful examples is the life of Moses.
“He went out from thence, and came into his own country [Nazareth] …and many hearing him were astonished, saying…what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands? … And they were offended at him…. And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief” (Mark 6:1–3, 5–6).
Most readers know that the Supreme Court of the United States has ruled the Ten Commandments cannot be displayed in any government courthouse. This landmark decision has been covered exhaustively by the media. But what does the ruling mean?
A courthouse is where laws are enforced. And the Ten Commandments represent God’s moral law, which never shifts or changes. It is as fixed as the law of gravity. If you defy that law, it’s like stepping off a high building. You can deny that the law affects you, but there are consequences sure to be paid.
Exodus 14 describes an incredible moment in Israel’s history. The Israelites had just left Egypt under God’s supernatural direction. Now they were being hotly pursued by Pharaoh’s army. The Israelites had been led into a valley surrounded on both sides by steep mountains, and ahead of them was a forbidding sea. They didn’t know it yet, but these people were about to experience the darkest, stormiest night of their souls. They faced an agonizing night of panic and despair that would test them to their very limits.
