Treasure In Clay Jars

I was reading an article recently on the subject of holiness based on a recent survey by the George Barna Research Group, and a conclusion of the survey was that only about 3 in 10 American Christians viewed holiness as a necessary part of their Christian walk. Holiness is a matter embraced by the Christian Church, but it is not one that many Americans adopt as a focal point of their faith development. This is partially because barely one-third of Americans (35%) contend that God expects you to become holy. A larger share of the born again public believes God has called them to holiness (46%) but that portion remains a minority of the born again population. – The Barna Group, Ltd, 2006 Many it appears, question the possibility that they could be holy. As a result, holiness was not a reasonable goal for which to strive. To be certain, much of this Christian worldview on the un-attainability of personal holiness stems from the image of church and church leaders that have been proffered ...

The title of this post is an age-old question that people have asked for generations: “What will Heaven be like?” Many books have been written on the subject. Countless songs made; as you would expect even Hollywood has attempted to capture the imagination of Heaven’s promised blissful existence. To be sure, there are many who don’t share the idea of a heaven. For some it is a state of mind; to others, a crutch used by ‘weak’ humans to avoid dealing with the harsh realities of a seemingly merciless world. The concept of heaven is mainly developed through the acknowledged existence of God. Given that the Bible has been universally acknowledged as the book that reveals God to people (though some will vehemently disagree and scoff at the simplicity of the notion), I wonder how many of those artists, authors and musicians have actually searched the Bible of God to give them the answer to the question? I mean really search it with an open mind…content to accept what it may reveal, as oppose...

As a Christian, you look at everything that goes on in life within the context of God’s biblical timetable. That said, there is however always the danger of becoming over-zealous in your interpretation of things in order to fit the biblical worldview…particularly as it relates to attempts at ‘time-setting’ the return of Christ. On that point, always keep in mind that Jesus himself said: "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. (Matthew 24:36 NIV). However the Bible makes very clear that there is indeed a biblical time-table for our world, and with each passing day we naturally move closer towards the end. Throughout the Bible, God gives us many clues to observe the behavior patterns that will emerge in people that signify the unstoppable move towards the climactic events at the end of the age. One such human phenomenon that I believe meets this criteria is the explosion of “human branding” or tattoos that has developed...

A reader responding to my recent post on “ The “10 Commandments Illusion” wrote something that I think is worth focusing on: that being the question of to what authority do we submit ourselves during our lives? What benchmark do we use to make judgments about the affairs of the world? The reader, in response to my statement that in our culture “progressives are really anti-God in nature” wrote the following: The ACLU defends Christian displays when the government illegally tries to get them removed. Your claim that "progressive" means "anti-God" is in error. ACLU's position is that of the founders: The government doesn't get to advocate religion. It's not anti-God at all -- it's religiously free, giving everyone the right to worship as their conscience dictates. Is freedom anti-God? I don't think so. The above indicates that the benchmark for deciding whether “progressives are really anti-God, is the “founding fathers”; that progressives generall...

The Danish cartoons depicting the image of the Muslim Prophet Mohammad is just the latest ignition switch for the rage of the Muslim world against seemingly everyone else. However, as you read or hear the headlines about the daily torchings and fire-bombing of Western Embassies by Muslim mobs, do not fail to note the prediction of an all-knowing God about these latter day events during His creation of the Muslim lineage outlined in the first Book of the Bible: The angel of the LORD also said to her ( Hagar - Abram’s wife's maidservant ): "You are now with child and you will have a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the LORD has heard of your misery. He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers." (Genesis 16:11-12; italics mine) So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne. (Genesis 16:15) Ishmael through Abram (who...

I often say that modern day America is a picture book example of the biblical adage “having a form of godliness but denying its power.” (2 Timothy 3:5 NIV) Nowhere is this clearer than in the on-going debate about the display of 10 Commandment signs and symbols throughout the country. On one side you have the progressives (code for anti-God) – the ACLU types who want all current images or references to the 10 Commandments removed from all public property. On the other side is the so-called traditionalists or Christian adherents who fight bitterly to prevent such removals. These fights have occurred over displays in public parks, courthouse buildings and other government property. By and large, the ACLU types generally win these arguments mostly on the establishment of religion clause in the Constitution, although recently, the US Supreme Court ruled that displays that have been in existence for a lengthy period of time could not be challenged. Generally, when the displays are preser...