Our Spiritual Battle

Ephesians 6:10-12 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.   12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

It is tempting for the Christian to focus on the physical things of life.  Being physical beings, this is natural.  So, we concern ourselves with how we look, maintaining our homes and cars, performing the chores we need to do, etc.  There is nothing wrong with this.  However, human beings also have a spiritual side.  This is where we will find the most difficult areas of our life. Continue reading

How To Face Temptation

During His earthly ministry, the Bible is clear that Jesus Christ faced temptations as we do.  One of those instances is documented in Matthew 4 (a parallel passage is Luke 4) where He is tempted by Satan himself.  In accordance with His perfect life, Jesus did not give in, but rather provides us with a primer on how to deal with the temptations we face. Continue reading

He Is Risen!

Luke 24:1-7 Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.  2 And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre.  3 And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.  4 And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: 5 And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?  6 He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, 7 Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.

After Jesus died on the cross, paying the price for our sins, He rose again on the third day, just as He said He would.  Hallelujah!  He conquered death, hell, and the grave!  He did what we couldn’t do for ourselves.  He paid the price for our salvation and made a way for us to spend eternity with Him.  All we need is to accept His gift of salvation (John 1:12; John 3:16; Romans 6:23; Romans 10:9, 13).

This Is My Blood

And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. (Matt 26:27-28)

And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many.  (Mark 14:24)

Countless animals were killed in Jewish history to provide the blood required for the proscribed sacrifices.  This is because blood is required to remit sin (Heb. 9:22).  However, none of those sacrifices provided the actual blood that was required.  Those sacrifices were only symbolic of the ultimate sacrifice provided by Jesus Christ (Heb. 10:4, 10-14). Continue reading