Here is Good News for you! God is love!
You were created in God's image to respond to His love! Yet sadly, we all have sinned against our Creator. The result of sin is separation from God!
But God gave His Son Jesus to die for our sins! Christ took our place and suffered for us on the cross! Then He arose from the dead! Jesus is alive - to give life to us!
To be saved from spiritual death, you must turn away from sin and put your faith in Jesus! Ask God to forgive your sins, believing in Jesus to save you. He will be your Lord and Savior! It is this Good News that saves you if you truly believe it!
Back to the Bible!
"According to the grace of God which is given to me, as a wise master builder, I have laid the Foundation."
- The Apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 3:10)
Do you like pizza? Seldom do you find someone who doesn't!
I never get tired of it!
The wonderful thing about pizza, you can build it anyway you like! The different ways of making a pizza are unlimited!
But there is ONE necessity. And without that one thing, you do NOT have a pizza.
You must have the foundation to have a pizza! If you don't have the foundation, the crust, then you don't have a pizza! You need the foundation to build on!
Simple as it may sound, our Christian faith is like pizza in that sense. We have a great deal of freedom in how we worship our Savior. But we must have the foundation!
Our varieties of Christian music are an example of our freedom. Some people like the old hymns, other people like traditional gospel music. Some folks like the praise and worship music - other folks enjoy contemporary songs.
Another example of our freedom in Christ is in choosing a place of worship. Some people choose to congregate with large numbers in large buildings.
Other people like to assemble in humble settings, perhaps in storefront buildings, or even in open-air meetings.
Just like making a pizza, we have a great deal of freedom in our Christian faith. But if we don't have the foundation, the essential truths of God's Word, then we don't have Christ!
We must have the foundation!
"I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you have received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the Word preached to you! Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
"For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: That Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures." (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)
The foundation of the Christian faith is the essential, fundamental doctrines given to us in the Bible. The word "doctrine" means "teaching."
And our faith in Jesus Christ is built upon the essential "teachings" of the apostles and prophets who wrote down the Word of God inspired by the Holy Spirit.
A most disturbing trend among many professing Christians today is this: The doctrines of our faith are being downplayed or thrown out altogether.
This is being done with the faulty reasoning that doctrine is "divisive." The word "doctrine" has become a dirty word in the minds of many Christians because their leaders are telling them "less doctrine is more inclusive."
The trend is toward "unity" - calling anything "Christian" at the expense of sound Christian doctrine.
It's true that doctrine is divisive, but that's a good thing! Sound doctrine, biblical teaching, separates the sheep from the goats.
"Jesus died on the cross for our sins" is CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE, a teaching of our faith.
If you do NOT believe the teaching that Jesus died for your sins, then you do not have Christ. You are NOT a Christian.
Yes, doctrine is divisive. And it is meant to be. It divides the saved from the lost.
"Jesus rose from the dead" - and if you do NOT believe that, you are not saved. We are called to make disciples of people - and to do that, we must give them the essential Christian doctrines.
Jesus said, "Do you think I came to bring peace on earth?
"No, I tell you, division! There will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three." (Luke 12:51-52)
It is the teachings, the doctrines of our faith, that separate the believer from the non-believer.
And yet, many churches are being encouraged by false teachers to abandon Doctrinal Statements. They are being led to give up their commitment to sound doctrine.
All for the sake of INCLUSIVE UNITY.
The trend is to no longer use the words "saved and unsaved" - but rather "churched and unchurched."
For some, it's not about winning souls to eternal life. It's all about packing them in, filling up seats.
Beloved, the move AWAY from sound Christian teaching, AWAY from doctrinal statements - to be more "inclusive" - is a move TOWARD apostasy and confusion in the church.
If the foundation is destroyed, what do you have left? If you build a house without a foundation, how long will it stand?
These words by the leader of the Purpose Driven Church movement, lead the way into the abyss of apostasy and confusion:
"The reformation of the church 500 years ago was about beliefs. Our new reformation is about behavior. I don't care why you do good, as long as you do good. It's not about what the church believes, it's about what the church is doing. It's all about deeds, not creeds. The first reformation divided the church. The second reformation will unify the church."
This is the FALLEN AWAY "church" being built by men who either do not get it or simply do not care. A "church" where it doesn't matter what you believe!
UNITY without the foundation of the church, the Word of God!
Beloved, the church IS in need of reformation. But not as the false prophets envision it. They lead the church into a wilderness, a never-never land, tossed to and fro.
The first reformation brought division, yes, it divided faithful Christians from paganism. The first reformation brought AWAKENING - because it brought souls TO THE BIBLE.
The people of that time came to know the Word of God.
They came to the FOUNDATION upon which they could build a strong house. Thank God!
Child of God, the Lord is calling us today, COME BACK TO THE WORD OF GOD!
"Before the coming of the great and dreadful Day of the Lord, turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse!" (Malachi 4:5-6)
Young people today are being told by a world-gone-mad that there is no real "truth." They are drawn into "churches" that do NOT teach Christian doctrine. They are encouraged to be pleasure-seekers and self-seekers, not God-seekers.
Beloved, let's listen to the call of God in these last days! His call to Return to the Solid Foundation!
"I will show you what he is like who comes to Me and hears My Word and puts it into practice. He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the Foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it!" (Luke 6:47-48)
"You are members of God's household! Built on the Foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the Chief Cornerstone! In Him the whole building is joined together!" (Ephesians 2:19-21)
Granny Prayed for
a "Bible Family"
I had a godly granny who prayed for me - and I thank God she did.
But long time before I was born - or my daddy was even born - as a little girl, granny had a prayer sent up to Heaven day and night.
"Lord, please let me grow up and have me a Bible family."
God said He would give His child the desire of her heart, and she believed.
My old granny was a remarkable Christian woman. She was born back in the day when the 1800's turned over to the 1900's.
Her daddy was a trader. That's the story I've been told.
He had a little trading post, or what might now be called a little country store.
He married a Native American woman named Dolly - and they traded with folks living in the "hills and hollers" of Tennessee.
The road they lived on was called "Bugg Hollow Road."
Granny was one of many siblings, and as a little girl looking ahead, her adult life was pretty predictable.
She would no doubt marry into a local farm family since all the boys were sons of farmers.
She might well bear many children, good Lord willing, as most farm wives did in those "multiplying" days.
The Lord said, "Be fruitful and multiply" - and multiply they did!
There wasn't much for a young girl like granny to expect out of the ordinary.
But she treasured one big "desire" of her heart. To have a big family and give all her children Bible names.
Then she would have a true "Bible family." A home filled up with born again Bible replicas. Glory!
Granny did marry grandpa, a farm boy, and she did end up bearing eight children. She did the hard work of a farmer's wife.
She helped raise livestock and crops and a garden. She kept busy canning, milking cows, raising chickens, cooking, cleaning and doing a zillion things that must be done around a farm.
All that while pregnant and tending her babies and older children!
Now my grandpa had been married before - to a young wife who died in childbirth. The child was born healthy and he was named Hubert.
I still remember my uncle Hubert's kind disposition, just one of the greatest guys you'd ever know.
So when my granny married my grandpa, she acquired a step-son before ever having children of her own. And naturally, she loved Hubert as much as she ever loved her own.
She was his mama, and the only mama Hubert ever knew.
Granny's firstborn child was my dad, and she named him James.
Grandpa knew of her desire to give all her children Bible names and that was just fine with my God-fearing grandpa.
About 18 months later, granny gave birth to twins - my two aunts - and one was named after Eve and the other was named Christine.
Granny was getting her "Bible family" on its way.
Then granny gave birth to another son and she named him Paul.
About this time, Hubert was growing up into a fine young boy.
And you know little boys, as well as little girls, have the curiosity to find out things as they grow up.
Hubert was soon understanding things that gave him some powerful feelings down deep in his heart.
He came to understand that mama was not his "real" mama and that the woman who gave him birth had died.
And so he came to feel that he was different from the other children.
And he also understood how that his mama was building a "Bible family" - with Bible names.
But his name was not a Bible name.
And my granny was not too busy to see the feelings of a young boy she loved.
And the day came when granny gave birth to a fifth child, another little baby boy.
Hubert came to his mama's bedside and she put the baby in Hubert's arms. Grandpa asked her what name she would give this child.
A big smile came to her face.
Hubert held his little baby brother, looking down into the child's face.
Then Hubert looked back up at his mama as she said, "This little boy is named Gilbert."
Grandpa didn't say a word as he smiled. And Hubert was smiling too.
Thank God, the Lord was giving granny the desire of her heart.
My granny understood that Love is what makes a real "Bible family."
THE WORD OF GOD
