On the day of Pentecost, the apostle Peter declared to the crowds in Jerusalem, "Jesus of Nazareth being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain" (Acts 2:22-23).
What did Peter mean by saying this? One Greek dictionary translates his words this way: "Jesus was handed over to enemies, given over to death according to the determined plan of God."
There has been a lot of talk in recent years about great conspiracies - schemes purportedly aimed at destroying both democracy in America and Christianity. These stratagems have included the Trilateral Commission, Communism, the New Age movement, Secular Humanism, the Illuminati and cults. Yet I believe none of these conspiracies has ever troubled the heart of God. With just one tiny whiff of his divine breath, he could blow them all into oblivion!
Not long ago, Newsweek magazine featured a cover story entitles, "A World Without Fathers." The focus was primarily on African-American families and the alarming increase of children being raised without father. Consider, for example:
"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God....
"For if by one man's offence death reigned by one, much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1-2, 17).
[This message was delivered in the seventeenth century by Thomas Manton. We have paraphrased it in modern English, and its message is just as potent today as then. Composed Christians are those who have learned to rejoice in any and all circumstances.]
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!
There is a media blitz aimed at the destruction of the Christian home. Satan is out to wreck every marriage, to break up every Christian couple and destroy the God-ordained concept of "faithful...till death do us part."
“O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?” (Galatians 3:1, KJV). If you’re a devoted servant of Jesus, there’s something you need to be absolutely sure of. It’s that Satan tries to bewitch everyone who sets his heart to go deeper with the Lord. The enemy of our souls is constantly setting demonic traps for all who are desperate to know more of Christ.
The prophet Isaiah pronounced a woe on Israel: “‘Woe to the rebellious children,’ says the Lord” (Isaiah 30:1, NKJV). The Hebrew word Isaiah uses for “rebellious” means backsliding, stubbornness, a turning away. What, exactly, were God’s people turning away from? And what caused their backsliding?
This message is for anyone who is suffering pain, affliction or tribulation. It is for the unemployed and those facing financial trials. It is for people who live each day with an anxious foreboding about their future. I want to say to each of you right now: GOD KNOWS ABOUT IT ALL.
