The Gospel Of Repentance

                                                          THE BOOK OF JONAH Commentary: Jonah was a Hebrew prophet  whose name means dove. He was the son of Ammitai. The time of Jonah’s one prophecy was in the latter part of the eighth century B.C. God commanded Jonah to prophecy against Nineveh; an evil gentile city in the country of Assyria. Jonah refuses to travel there which was eastward, so instead, he heads to a town named Joppa (today Jaffa), boards a ship, and heads west toward Tarshish he hopes to run from the presence of the Lord.                                                     The Lord caused a great  tempest on the sea while Jonah was sleeping at the bottom of the ship.  The captain and other men on the ship are in a panic and call upon their gods. They awake Jonah and command him to call on his God.  As the men throw the cargo into the sea to lighten the load, the tempest becomes worse.  They cast lots to see who it will fall on; the lot fell on Jonah. Once

There is a disturbing verse in Mark 13:32 that reads, “But of that day and that hour know no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven,  neither the Son (italics added), but the Father.” Now you as well as I believe Jesus Christ knows all things since he’s God manifested in the flesh correct? So why doesn’t he know the day and the hour of his return to the earth? I’ve come across some views for the reader to think about.  1. Jesus is not God – This would be the view of non-believers and skeptics of the gospel. Looking at       the verse on the surface without further examination, would lead many to believe that this erroneous claim is true. Everything time Jesus uses the phrase, “I am”, he’s affirming his deity. He uses this phrase seven times in the gospel of John. Even the Father God calls Jesus God twice in Hebrews 1:8-9. View number one is thrown out. 2. Jesus chose not to know – Jesus in his humanity chose to reserve t

Often times the rapture of the Church and second coming are used interchangeably. That is a mistake. These are two distinct events in the future regarding the Lord Jesus Christ and his Church.  Let’s break it down. The English word rapture does not appear in the bible. It’s a transliteration of the Latin word Rapio which means to seize, snatch away with force. The Greek term is Harpázō which contain the same meaning, to spoil, to seize, to catch away. The verses that deal with the rapture are I Corinthians 15:51-53 and I Thessalonians 4:16-18. I Corinthians 15:51-53 – Behold, I show you a mystery: We shall not all sleep (a euphemism for death), but we shall be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall all be changed. For this corruptible shall put on incorruption, and the mortality must put on immortality. I Thessalonians 4:16-18 – For the Lord himself sh

Dear Heavenly  Father, I lift up our ladies this evening. I pray that they'll understand that their allurement isn't just what they can provide for a man physically only, but they'll understand that their value is their virtue, character and modesty. Help them to realize how wonderful they are and fearfully you've created them for your glory. Apparently some of our ladies have no sense of value for themselves and their priorities are out of whack. They're not being taught by older women how to behave when they're in the presence of adults or how to properly  respond to boys when they're girls and how to respond to men when they're grown. Help our ladies to understand that a man does not complete them and not to settle for any man just for the sake of saying they have one. However, a good godly man can compliment them and ad spice to a healthy relationship that can blossom into a lifelong love affair that can bring fulfillment to their lives. I u

The question was recently asked, “Since the Ten Commandments were instituted under the Mosaic Law, do they have relevance today? The answer to that question is a resounding YES!!. Here are some reasons why. When reading the commandments or  Decalogue , one must keep in mind that all of these commands have universal application for all people for all time. For example, Exodus 20:13 says, “Thou shalt not murder”. This command obviously is inclusive and man knew if he committed murder he was guilty and had sinned against the Lord no matter whether he was a Jew or Gentile. A perfect example of the violation of this command was when Cain killed Abel. This account occurred before the written Mosaic Law (Genesis 4:8). So  this  command once again has exclusivity. Cain knew what he had done was sin because when God asked him where Abel was, he was sarcastic and pretended not to know. So he lied (Genesis 4:9). Even a child knows when he/she has done wrong even though they don’t know th

Precious Lord, Help us to earnestly contend for the faith once for all delivered unto the saints. Let your children know that it is not unloving to confront error in regards to doctrine. Lord your word commands us to test the spirits to see if they're of God because many false prophets have gone into the world. Not to confront error is disobedience. Although it's uncomfortable, we need to overcome our fear, and do what you have commanded. We must speak the truth in love, and not be concerned with the reaction of the person we're confronting as long as our motives are pure in our approach. It's critical that we say the same thing the word of God says so that we're not leading people astray or being misled ourselves. Help the Church not to be lazy in studying to show themselves approved unto God, a worker that need not be ashamed rightly dividing the word of truth. In Jesus name, A men!

When we hear or read the word Joy,  what’s  the first thought that comes to mind? Happiness, satisfaction, a cheerful heart? A lot of people look at it as an emotion based on happy feelings.  Let’s  define the term and find out what it really means.   The New Oxford American Dictionary describes Joy as: a feeling of  great pleasure  and happiness.   The Greek word for Joy is  Chará . It means: to  rejoice .   Another Greek word is  Cháris .  It means several things. Here are a few: favor, acceptance, a kindness granted or desired, a benefit, thanks, gratitude, grace.   Jesus  stated  in the gospels that the joy he gives is a joy no man can take away from us.  It’s  an everlasting, abiding joy.  That’s  a wonderful reality.  But  what is God’s joy based on?   Unlike human joy  that’s  based on happy feelings alone, true Christian joy  has to  be based on facts; facts that  can’t  be tossed  to and  fro  based on our whimsical feelings.   Reasons why we are to have joy   Our names are wr