What is the solution to life's toughest problems? Poverty, injustice, greed, corruption, hatred, violence, suffering, death? What is the answer to YOUR problems?
Here is the answer, and if you truly believe it your life will be radically different.
Paul and his companions were at a Jewish Synagogue in Antioch one Sabbath day, and they were asked to speak a word of encouragement, so Paul stood up and gave a sermon about Jesus being the Christ, their Savior. This is how it concluded:
"Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to us has been sent the message of this salvation. For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they did not recognize him nor understand the utterances of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him; And though they found in him no guilt worthy of death, they asked Pilate to have him executed. And when they had carried out all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead, and for many days he appeared to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people. And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm,
"'You are my Son,
today I have begotten you.'
And as for the fact that he raised him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he has spoken in this way,
"'I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.'
Therefore he says also in another psalm,
"'You will not let your Holy One see corruption.'
For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid with his fathers and saw corruption, but he whom God raised up did not see corruption. Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses. Beware, therefore, lest what is said in the Prophets should come about:
"'Look, you scoffers,
be astounded and perish;
for I am doing a work in your days,
a work that you will not believe, even if one tells it to you.'"
As they went out, the people begged that these things might be told them the next Sabbath. And after the meeting of the Synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who, as they spoke with them, urged them to continue in the grace of God." (Acts 13:26-43 ESV).
When Paul was asked to say some words of encouragement to this Jewish congregation, he was very eager to tell them about Jesus. He reminded them of God's gracious promises to their people, how He had dealt with them, and the leaders who had led them to Canaan. When Paul spoke to them about King David, who's offspring was promised to be a ruler forever. Paul made it clear to them that God had fulfilled that promise in Jesus. He told them of His death, and also of how God had raised the Lord Jesus from the dead. This is how Paul presented the solution to life's biggest problem:
"Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses." (Acts 13:38-39).
My biggest problem is the same as your biggest problem; our sins have separated us from God. That includes eternal separation from God in hell forever, which is described as a lake of burning sulfer. But God has provided a way to remove our sins, to justify us, to free us from our sins by forgiving them through His Son Jesus Christ. His death is the payment for all our sins if we beleive. How do we know this is true? We know because God has raised Jesus from the dead.
"But God raised him from the dead, and for many days he appeared to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people." (Acts 13:30-31).
Now, we can know Jesus was in fact raised from the dead, because there were eye witnesses who saw Him risen. They spoke to the people, and they have left us a record of what happened and of what they said. That record is the New Testament. There always will be scoffers and doubters, but when the Living God awakens faith in your soul, you will see that God is satisfied with the death of His Son for your forgiveness, and that He has indeed raised Him from the dead as King and Savior forever. This is true for you if you have hidden yourself from the coming wrath of God in Jesus, who's blood was sacrificed.
That is the solution and answer to all of life's biggest problems, including all the pain and suffering you and I experience. Pain, death, suffering and difficulties are the result of man's fall into sin. Christ is the ultimate solution, because it is through Him that we find forgiveness of all our sins. He will come again to make all things new, and there will no longer be death and pain. When God promised Christ would come the first time, He fulfilled that promise. We know that He will also fulfill His promise again, that Jesus will come to save His people forever, and will judge the world.
We certainly have a lot to be thankful for, as well as a lot to look forward to. Praise the Lord! Amen.
I've been hearing a lot about cults these days, reading about them, too. Perhaps one of the most pervasive cults in our day is the 'cult of self'. Yes, that's right!... The one leader that has a lot of people brainwashed, is that liar called Self. With all the self-love doctrine being commanded and forcefully taught in American churches, I thought this 1977 article by John Piper was relevant to the core. Please read it, because this is really a serious issue for us today.
Check it out here: The Cult of the Self and the Command of Jesus
Get wisdom; get insight;
do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth.
Do not forsake her, and she will keep you;
love her, and she will guard you.
The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom,
and whatever you get, get insight.
Prize her highly, and she will exalt you;
she will honor you if you embrace her.
(Proverbs 4:5-8 ESV).
That is good advice! Only a fool would neglect such a prize.
Remember that Christ is our wisdom from God (1 Corinthians 1:22-24).
The Proverb continues a few verses down:
My son, be attentive to my words;
incline your ear to my sayings.
Let them not escape from your sight;
keep them within your heart.
For they are life to those who find them,
and healing to all their flesh.
(Proverbs 4:20-22).
Compare those words with the words of the Lord Jesus:
"It is the Spirit that gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life." (John 6:63).
Truly, "No one ever spoke like this man!" (John 7:46).
Some people have been hearing about two Bible studies that I am involved with. If you live near either of these two locations you are welcome to contact me and I will give you more info.
Location: Parkesburg
Upper Octarara Presbyterian Church
The Well
Begins Friday, April 4 at 7:00pm.
This is every 1st and 3rd week of the month.
The teen Bible study is in Havertown (just a short distance from Upper Darby).
It is every Sunday eve. (dinner starts at 5:15 or 5:30, and the study begins at 6:00pm.).
If anyone who received a card for this website is interested, you can contact me by email, and I will let you know more about this study.
Here is my contact info:
penntomassetti@gmail.com
(717) 385-8458
All are welcome to contact me, and I will be pleased to give you more information.
Blessed is the one that finds wisdom,
Is the Bible's history false because of evolutionary science? Or is evolution a very deceptive way of explaining natural science apart from God? These videos from AnswersInGenesis.org have hit me in the past couple of weeks like a big bang! Everyone should watch these creation scientists explain why the Bible can be trusted, while the world's wisdom is still looking foolish according to God.
IMPORTANT: As you click on the video link, you will see a series entitled "The Great Debate" which is a serious debate that could be confusing if you are not familiar with what these guys are talking about, so I recommend scrolling down and beginning with the video entitled Creation, Evolution, Deception (part 1) by Dr. Monty White.
Click here and enjoy!
This is the fourth study in Romans chapter one. The last half of this chapter sets us up for the second chapter, and will finally lead us to a much fuller and richer understanding of the gospel of the grace of God in chapter three. I believe that understanding the nature of our depraved sinful hearts is foundational to helping us grasp the nature of God's love and grace toward all who will come to Jesus and believe. Praise God for His amazing grace!
Romans 1:18-32
by Penn Tomassetti
Text
Romans 1:18-32 ESV:
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.
And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God's decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
Here is a study I've been researching and learning about for almost two weeks. It is clear from the title what it is about, and I hope that reading it will help make the Bible even more clearly wonderful and amazing as we continue to realize the depths of God's truth. Everything I wrote about in this study is a result of reading numerous articles found at answersingenesis.org.
Click here for:
>>The Bible and Creation Against Evolution
As you read these verses selected from 2 Corinthians 2-4, think of eternal things:
"For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing,..." (2:15).
"Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming form us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but he Spirit gives life." (3:5-6).
"For if what was being brought to an end [law of Moses] came with glory, much more will what is permanent [ministry of the Spirit and righteousness] have glory." (3:11).
"And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing." (4:3).
"For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you." (4:11-12).
"Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, 'I believed, and so I spoke, [Ps 116:10]' we also believe, and so we also speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence." (4:13-14).
"So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." (4:16-18).
Do you get the feel of radical faith, passionate perseverance and endurance full of hope and expectation? In Christ we have the victory! In 2 Corinthians 2:14, Paul exclaimed, "But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere." He said that while describing intense physical, mental and spiritual suffering and persecution. Despite all the "momentary afflictions", we must look to the one who is faithful - Jesus Christ our Lord. Oh, that I was more of the aroma of Christ spreading the knowledge of God to everyone around me! Help me, Lord, to do just that.
This poem was written by my beloved brother, Herman Lee, Sr. Over the past year, he has become a faithful friend of mine. About every Saturday, I see brother Herman appear on the scene, usually when I'm handing out gospel tracts on the corner near the 69th street terminal, or while I'm in a conversation with someone about Christ. Herman will show up. He's always got a poem or a rap he's been thinking about. Here is one, but I wish you could hear him read it himself. This is called "Believe in Love":
When love comes, you're no stranger at all.
When your ears are in tune you'll know when love calls.
You will receive it's warm embrace.
Love is known by it's elegant place.
Don't say this can't be love, I've waited too long.
Embrace love with your heart, thank God and move on.
You're still alive healthy and strong.
And they're still playing your favorite song.
You quickly broad the most luxurious ride.
And the world knows what you feel inside.
Love is like a shadow that fits where it falls.
If you measure up the winner takes all.
No more lonely nights of staying awake.
Because true love shows all others are fake.
© 2008 Poem by Herman Lee, Sr.
"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us." (1 John 4:7-12, esv).
I just got home from being in West Philadelphia, a.k.a. the city of brotherly love, where the brothers are getting tired of all the crime and killing. It isn't as bad as many foreign countries, and my experience has been that the people are very religious in Philadelphia. That doesn't mean that the gospel is understood by too many people. But I've met some people while witnessing on 69th street who seemed to be genuinely filled with the Holy Spirit and faith in Christ. Calvary Chapel has a strong ministry in Philadelphia. Once, I met two young woman from the Antioch church who acknowledged that "Christ did it all" (my slang for "Christ has accomplished full salvation and redemption on behalf of us who helplessly trust in Him").
However, my reason for writing this post is because in recent conversations with my friend Herman, we were talking about poems. Herman is over 70 years, but has the appearance of being in his early 50's. He has lived in the hood most of his life, and has been back and forth from Philly and NYC. He used to play guitar with a friend in the subway underneath the twin towers. Now he lives back in W. Philly and shows up every Saturday to hand out Chapel Library tracts and pray with us in the evening. He was showing me some poems he wrote and telling me he wants to put them into a book or something. I asked him to give me some copies of his poems so I can post them here. Well, maybe soon? But for now, I'm inspired to post a poem I wrote when I was 19 and had been first awakened to the gospel in the Bible:
Oh, Life Everlasting,
You are my home
where Christ Jesus my King
sits on His throne.
To Him I made a vow
to live as a slave,
to serve Him now
and beyond the grave.
I still feel as motivated as I did then to serve Christ Jesus, my everlasting King. This comes solely by His grace both now and in eternity. I am glad to belong to Jesus!
