"OUR LIGHT AND MOMENTARY AFFLICTIONS"

"And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness." Acts 4:31 (ESV) It IS possible. We can, as a Church, "walk and chew gum" at the same time. You've heard that phrase before. I've used it sarcastically when, in an attempt to convince my wife that I can do more than one thing at a time, I play with my Blackberry and watch TV with her and the kids. This leads to lots of family frustration - mostly because of me requesting rewinds every 3 minutes. It doesn't go over well. Ask my kids or Cathy about it. That being said, the Holy Spirit is not plagued with Attention Deficit Disorder as I am. I've never been diagnosed with this condition - but then again, I was never tested. Back in the 60's if you had no self control, they'd lock you in a closet for a couple of hours. So, I just have a sneaking suspicio...

This post consists of an abbreviated version of my sermon from Sunday, December 12, 2010. (These are my notes. The preached message itself has a lot of variation and augmentation!) As I went back to this text during the week, it struck me that it is not a “disembodied” truth.Romans 8:28 cannot be separated from the rest of the chapter and just tossed out to our hearts content.I mean, really, why should I expect all things to work together for good right? Do they work together for good for everyone – regardless of what they do? And, more importantly, why do they? How does God do this in us? The thing is, this promise will only bring comfort and joy if we really believe it right? And if we’re loving God…and called according to His purpose. So I started reading from verse 1 this week and discovered this amazing thing about Romans 8. It is the testimony of a man who is in love with the Holy Spirit! Read verses 1-4 Jesus said that the first and greatest commandment is ...

I am beginning to write a book on the Book of Revelation – a sort of practical commentary that focuses on the value of the book for today. From time to time I might dabble in some speculation about future meanings of the prophecies and visions in the book, but, for the most part I am going to stick to what this amazing book means to a believer in Jesus Christ today. This in fact was the reason why the Revelation was given to John in the first place – the Revelation was meant to “bless” Christians, real Christians, living in first century Asia Minor, who were in need of encouragement, edification, and correction. God’s gift to those beleaguered Christians was a Revelation – but specifically a Revelation of Jesus Christ the King, and His coming Kingdom. This is why the “angels” of the churches (messengers) are instructed to read the book out loud - and, to heed the things written in it. The word for “read” speaks of a public reading. Robertson, in his “Word Pictures in the New Tes...