April 26, 2011
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If you are a professing Christian and this is your first visit to our site, this is where you want to start…
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April 25, 2011
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Sound Crazy? Maybe even offensive? Don’t get angry just yet! Instead, read this challenging article
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April 24, 2011
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Great video! A “must watch” for all who go by the name Christian! Check it out…
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April 23, 2011
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Have you ever heard it said, “What’s true for you isn’t necessarily true for me”? This is a common belief in our day and age, but can it even be possible? Can absolute truth be relative to each person?
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May 12, 2012
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Did you receive one of our “Election 2012″ gospel tracts? If so, what did you think of it? This year so many are investing time, work and worry into the election because they feel that the next President might bring them hope. But any hope, improvements or rescue the next President brings really won’t be the kind of rescue we all truly need! They are politicians, not saviors, and they all have one thing in common – they are all guilty of sin! We can say this with certainty because we find it taught plainly in Scripture. In Romans 3 we learn that there is none righteous, not even one, we are all guilty of breaking God’s law (which is sin)…every one of us! In that same chapter, we see that obeying God’s laws now will not make us right with Him. This makes sense since God is a just judge, and obedience now in no way pays for crimes in the past. So no matter how much we “shape up” or start attending church, it is too late! The sin we have already committed has condemned us! If we read the entire chapter of Romans 3, we learn that all are completely lost and without any hope at all…except the hope of Christ on the Cross.
Hope in a politician is hope in a sinful man, but the hope that is in Jesus Christ is quite different. The modern preachers often tell us Jesus came so that we might live a fulfilled life, an exciting life, or even a prosperous life. But the Bible tells us that Jesus came to die on the Cross, and the reason He had to die was so that God would remain just, and punishment for sin would be paid. Do you see now how horrible sin really is? It is so wicked that nothing would satisfy justice except the blood and death of a sinless sacrifice. Jesus, the second person of the trinity, God-in-flesh, humbled Himself to be small and fragile like His creatures so that He might be tortured and killed…all to rescue His people by paying for their sin!! Sin is that bad, and God is that loving!
After considering these things, do you recognize how serious it is to break God’s commandments? Are you willing to give up any hope of saving yourself by being a good person or trying to start living a cleaner life? Are you ready to humble yourself on your knees and ask God to forgive you, putting all hope and trust in Him that He will rescue you and count Jesus’ payment as your own? Are you ready to live the rest of your life in humble submission as a servant & slave of your new Master Jesus Christ who has paid the price for you and is now your Lord? Are you prepared to abandon all sin (even your favorite ones) because each one is a wicked and traitorous rebellion?
May 12, 2012
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We will be out and about handing out some Gospel tracts this weekend, and will no doubt have our actions called into question. For the street evangelist, it is common to be viewed as judgmental or arrogant as we share biblical truths with folks on the street. Is it possible these folks are right? Are we really being loving or are we pushy and unloving when we explain the guilt of sin and the atonement offered by Christ? What about those who don’t get involved in evangelism? Are they loving or unloving? What about you?? Before making up your mind, take this quick little quiz:
Question #1). You’re sitting in a coffee shop when a woman at another table gets up–leaving her coffee unattended–to get a napkin. As she does, a man walks by her table, pours a powdered substance into the woman’s coffee and quickly exits the shop. You immediately warn this woman of what just happened. Your reaction is… Continue to DefendingContending to read all six quiz questions. Click HERE
May 7, 2012
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To determine the genuineness of one’s faith in Jesus Christ, you must turn to the Bible and examine the objective biblical evidence that identifies authentic salvation. In the Book of 1 John, the Apostle John gave a list of spiritual character traits of biblical salvation. The third characteristic of the genuinely saved is a lifestyle of obedience to the Word of God (1 John 2:3-6). In fact, the lifestyle of the believer should reflect the obedient life of Jesus (2:6). In His incarnation among men, Jesus was the model of perfect obedience to God the Father (Heb 4:15). He never once violated the Word of God. Without a doubt, Christians are not perfect like Jesus, for we commit acts of sin. However the believer’s life will be characterized by an ongoing pattern of obedience to the Word of God. There will be an ongoing desire to please the Lord (Col 1:10).
Here is the difference between a Christian and non-Christian, a person genuinely saved will repent of their sin (1 John 1:5-10), and again seek to live in obedience to the Word of God. The true believer will never perfectly obey the Word of God, but his life will be characterized by an ongoing pattern of obedience (1John 2:3,5). In contrast, the non-Christian’s lifestyle will be characterized by ongoing disobedience to God’s Word. The unregenerate individual does not genuinely concern himself with living in obedience to the Word of God.
The truth is many people believe themselves to be a Christian, but in reality they do not routinely obey the Lord to keep His word or to do His will, thus betraying their unregenerate condition (Matt 7:21-22; Luke 6:46). A note of clarification, people are not saved because they seek to obey the Lord by keeping a list of do’s and don’ts, but genuinely saved people will seek to live in obedience to the Lord.
The Apostle John’s point is those who profess faith in Jesus Christ and yet do not live in ongoing obedience to the commands of the Lord (1 John 2:4) are lost. He stated that they are liars and do not possess saving faith. American churches and society are full of individuals who adamantly profess faith in Jesus Christ yet their lives are not characterized by an ongoing pattern of obedience to God. Once more, those who know the Lord will seek to live in obedience to His Word (2:5). The Lord Jesus stated “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine…” (John 8:31b).
For your own sake, honestly evaluate yourself to see if there is an ongoing pattern of obedience to the Word of God in your life. Ask yourself the question, ‘Is there a pattern of ongoing obedience to the Word of God in my life?’ Many who profess to be a Christian and yet their life is not characterized by an ongoing obedience to the Word of God are self-deceived and lost. Consider the words of the prophet Isaiah, “The Lord said: Because these people approach Me with their mouths to honor Me with lip-service– yet their hearts are far from Me, and their worship consists of man-made rules learned by rote—“ (Isaiah 29:13 CSB).
“To believe in Christ is to obey Him. Not to believe in Him is to disobey Him”. (by Steven J. Lawson).
Read Part 1 of this series HERE
Read Part 2 of this series HERE
Read Part 3 of this series HERE
April 29, 2012
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Plan ahead! On May 10th New Life Baptist Church will kick-off a Bible conference featuring David Miller. If you have never heard him preach, you are missing out! He delivers thoroughly prepared, biblically sound messages aimed at bringing out the full meaning of a passage. These sermons will not be of the self-help variety nor will they qualify as spiritual pep-talks. Instead, these messages will be rich travels through Holy Scripture, gleaning every morsel of truth from God’s inerrant word. If there is one thing we can guarantee, it is that you will learn and be challenged. The conference will be held at New Life Baptist Church, 3001 W. Hawkins Pkwy at 6:30 pm every evening for three evenings, starting on Thursday May 10th with the fourth and final session being held Sunday morning May 13th at 10:45. We will see you there!
April 4, 2012
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A friend sent me this quote from John Owen’s book, ‘Spiritual-Mindedness’. John Owen lived and ministered in the 17th century and yet this quote is spot on concerning many in the church of the 21st century. American churches are full of individuals fitting Owen’s discerning description.
”Many greatly deceive themselves when hearing the Word preached. They agree with the holy truths in their understanding and assent to them as good ‘ideas’. But these truths are not allowed to impress themselves on their consciences nor to judge their present state and condition before God. They think they believe, but in reality they do not. They hear, understand, assent to, and often approve of the things preached, but still they do not believe them so that the truth rules in their hearts. If they really believed the truth as they say they do, then they would judge themselves in the light of it. They are like a man who looks at himself in a mirror, and then goes away and immediately forgets what he has just seen (James 1:23-24). They hear the Word and agree with it, but their minds are so filled with other interests that they soon forget what they have heard.” —, John Owen
John 8:31 “So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine…”
Does this describe you? Is your life ruled by the Word of God?
January 17, 2012
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It’s that time again! It’s the time of year when many local churches start filling their front yards with little white crosses symbolizing all the children that have died in abortions. That’s good, right? Shouldn’t the church publicly denounce sin (murder)? Well….yes. And shouldn’t the church try to encourage those considering abortion to instead seek other options? Again, yes. Absolutely yes! So while I agree with these statements, let me perfectly clear about something else: We are only telling half the story, and to tell half the story is to tell the wrong story.
Let me explain what I’m saying by asking you to wear a different pair of shoes for a moment. For a moment pretend that you are the would-be mom that had her child aborted: You are driving down the street one morning on the way to work 6 years after your abortion and you pass a school. Seeing all the cute little boys and girls running from the bus and into the school with pony tails flopping and hearing shouts of excited children, you suddenly realize that your baby boy or girl would now be old enough to be running into that same school with them if you hadn’t terminated your pregnancy. And then the guilt hits, like it has so many times before. You know in the back of your mind that you didn’t just “terminate a pregnancy”, but rather, you killed a little baby. It seemed like a good move at the time, your career was taking off and the father really wasn’t the right guy, money was tight… but when the guilt came after the abortion, it never went away. You continue driving and are trying to push the guilt and tears back down inside where you keep them buried. That’s when you then drive up next to a church. In the front lawn are rows of white crosses and some banners explaining that each one represents an aborted child. The whole scene is carefully designed like a graveyard to remind you that abortion is murder, and murder is wrong! But the problem is that you already know it was wrong!! You have been living with the pain and guilt of it for six long years! Often you lash out in anger loudly declaring it is a woman’s right to do whatever she wants with her body, and her life, but often it is those very same nights that you cry yourself to sleep. And you wonder to yourself if God could ever forgive a person for killing a little boy or girl like those ones at the school… like the one you killed? But you think to yourself, “I don’t know what to do, all hope is lost… it’s too late. I can’t talk to anybody about this! My friends are all pro-choice and the people at that church think I am a monster and remind me of it every day. Maybe I am a monster?!? I must push this pain down, and try to get through another day…” Read more…
November 15, 2011
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THE FRUIT OF ADDRESSING PERSONAL SIN
As we think about how to determine if one is truly born again, we must continue to examine the biblical fruit which always accompanies authentic salvation. The Apostle John lists another fruit or evidence of biblical salvation as the acknowledgement of personal sin (1 John 1:5-2:2).
What do I mean by a personal acknowledgement of sin in one’s life? John indicates in (1 John 1:5-2:2) that a person who is saved will not continuously live in darkness (sin), but they will consistently seek to walk in the Light where God dwells (holiness, purity). But when a true believer does sin, they acknowledge their sin to God. Also, they do not deny that they have sinned, but confess their sin to the Lord, who forgives and cleanse the believer of all unrighteousness (1:9). The word confess in (1:9) means to fully agree with God concerning the nature and vileness of your sin, as well as, to take full responsibility for your sin. The man Job in the Old Testament is a good example of how a New Testament follower of Jesus Christ will seek to walk before the Lord (see Job 1:8).
The Apostle Paul exhorted people to examine themselves to see if they were truly in the faith. Paul stated, “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you– unless indeed you fail the test?” 2 Corinthians 13:5
Other posts in this series:
Read Part 1 of this series HERE
Read Part 2 of this series HERE
Read Part 3 of this series HERE
Read Part 4 of this series HERE
October 18, 2011
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As a blogger/evangelist, I can’t help but wonder what you the first-time visitor is thinking right now. As you scan the articles and links posted here, what is going through your mind? I am sure there are probably as many different reactions to this website as there are visitors. Let me tell you my fear. I am not afraid that you the visitor will disapprove. I am not afraid of insulting comments or condescending remarks. What I am afraid of is your casual dismissal. Not of me, but of the biblical message presented in these posts. I am painfully aware that many, many visitors will give this site a once-over, and dismiss the teachings as legalistic, fanatical, or irrelevant without ever taking the time to look up the Scriptures mentioned and read them in context for themselves. In an age of consumerism where we only ingest the teachings we agree with and immediately dismiss anything foreign and uncomfortable, I fear that most visitors to this site will never take the time to read the articles, study the Scriptures, and examine their own faith. This scares me. It is frightening to think of somebody who may be my neighbor staring at the true biblical gospel on a screen mere inches from their face, and never taking the time to read it because they think they already “know all about that stuff.” You, casual dismissive Longview web-surfer, scare me more than any Halloween mask ever could! And the fear I feel is for you…
October 10, 2011
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“If the professed convert distinctly and deliberately declares that he knows the Lord’s will but does not mean to attend to it, you are not to pamper his presumption, but it is your duty to assure him that he is not saved. Do not suppose that the Gospel is magnified or God glorified by going to the worldlings and telling them that they may be saved at this moment by simply accepting Christ as their Savior, while they are wedded to their idols, and their hearts are still in love with sin. If I do so I tell them a lie, pervert the Gospel , insult Christ, and turn the grace of God into lasciviousness.”
- Charles Haddon Spurgeon
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Nothing But The Truth
