VIDEO Time Changer

Aug 25, 2016

The year is 1890 and Bible professor Russell Carlisle (D. David Morin) has written a new manuscript entitled “The Changing Times.” His book is about to receive a unanimous endorsement from the board members of the Grace Bible Seminary until his colleague Dr. Norris Anderson (Gavin Macleod) raises an objection.

Dr. Anderson believes that what Carlisle has written could greatly affect the future of coming generations. Using a secret time machine, Anderson sends Carlisle over 100 years into the future, offering him a glimpse of where his beliefs will lead.

https://stopandpraytv.wordpress.com/videos-visual-bible-movies/

The True Steps To Become A Godly Man

 

What does it mean to be a man of God or a Godly man? It probably depends on who you ask and their unique perception. Some would say that being a man of God doesn’t sound like very much fun, while others would consider a man of this caliber to be utterly weak.

I have personally lived as a “split-rail” Christian for most of my adult life. I was open about my faith when asked and “tried” to live according to God’s word each day. But in reality, I had separated God from my life. I went about my day-to-day business using God when I needed Him and leaving Him out when not convenient. This dichotomy of existence caused internal issues within me that rose to the surface as both the inability to control my temper, frustration and bitterness.

I went on like this for many years thinking that nary a thing was wrong with me. Ultimately, I was forced to examine my life through self-introspection. You see, time after time I was either partially right or completely right in a given situation. But because of the way I handled it, I was typically 100% wrong. Sounds confusing, right? Yet the frustration and hurt of constant conflict had worn me down. And when I was wrong I was wrong but then had the added fuel that I added to the fire.

So two years ago, I committed myself to focusing on what it would take to become a true man of God. Now, I’m not going to lie to you. It has been a hard, tough road to get to where I am at today. But I can honestly say that I wish I had taken these steps 20 years ago. And I know that my family and friends probably wish I had as well!

So how did I start trying to be a man of God? And why is that so important today?

First let’s address the concerns I had about becoming a man of God. These thoughts keep me at bay for years and hindsight they are weak but at the time they were mountains.

My first thought was that it was going to be quite embarrassing to tell my wife that I hadn’t been the man of God I was supposed to be. This was a HUGE stumbling block for me—even though we had established a good relationship. My pride was strong. And if I showed weakness, I wouldn’t be a man’s man.

Looking back, that was a weak excuse. There’s no other way to put it. My wife is my partner, a relationship established by God. And the more she knows, sees, and understands about me, the stronger a relationship we can and will have.

Do NOT let pride keep you from doing what you know is right!

My second thought was that giving control to God didn’t sound like much fun, have you had that thought? Putting God in front of myself and then my wife in front of me didn’t sound like a very good deal. If you do the math, that meant that I was coming in third in my own life. Doesn’t sound good, does it?

As a man, I’ve come to realize that I am naturally an arrogant, prideful, and self-centered person who can easily ONLY care about himself. But what did this get me? A miserable life. And nothing more. Are you currently in that situation?

To overcome these natural human tendencies, you must be confident enough to admit these faults, singlehandedly own them, and vow to work hard to allow God to adjust your human, manly mindset.

My third thought was that it was going to be difficult to keep up the self-discipline to read my Bible daily, develop a prayerful life, and to work to apply God’s principles in my daily life. These all were legitimate fears and worries that required both honesty and humbleness to overcome.

Over time, reading the Bible daily and learning about God has become an enjoyable task. It’s comforting to know you can talk and pray with God about anything at any time. And it’s been life changing to apply God’s principles to my earthly life. Not dealing with life’s challenges and disappointments by myself has truly changed all aspects of my life.

In full disclosure, I struggled for many years with turning full control of my life over to God. Now that didn’t mean that I was consciously rebelling. In fact, I truly wanted to be a man of God. But the thought of getting there was just too much! I didn’t know how to get from A to B. I didn’t have the steps to make the whole process seem less overwhelming. I had convinced myself that the life I had was exactly the life I wanted! So why change? The problem lied in the fact that my life had become devoid of patience and filled with bitterness, anxiety, a short temper, stress, and all of the other wonderful adjectives related to life without God.

What does being a man of God mean to me today?

Life is still full of hardships, bumps in the road, and everything else that comes with life. None of that has changed. Nor will it ever change. But something has transformed: how I handle the issues of life.

The 3-Step Plan to Becoming a Man of God

First, turn everything over to God. Stop trying to be in control of everything. You’re not. And once you admit that and become OK with that, then you’ll start to notice a turn in your life. When stress, anxiety, and hardships come, I now turn them over unequivocally to God. I know that He has a bigger and better plan for my life—a plan that I can’t even imagine! And sometimes it doesn’t always work the first time and persistence may be required of me. I may have to turn the same issue over to Him numerous times throughout a given day, and that’s OK.

Second, an apology can be one of the most healing phrases in human relationships—even more so than saying, “I love you.” My relationships are no longer damaged because of a short temper and bitterness. And when I do make a mistake, I now find it both difficult and easy to turn toward that person and I say, “I’m sorry. I made a mistake,” or “I shouldn’t have said that or done that,” and “I hope you can forgive me.”

Third, putting God and my wife in front of me has proven to be the only way to live. This order of importance has provided me with more bounty than I could have ever imaged. I know that it goes against human nature to put someone else ahead of you. But I promise that if you do, the results will shock you! Your reward will be tenfold.

So, in essence, what is a man of God? He is a man who has decided to let God control his life by applying God’s word to his everyday activities, by obeying God’s lawful commands in all of his doings, and by serving God and showing the love of Christ to others through both words and actions. It’s the only way. And it’s so easy to discover.

I pray that this article blesses you, and I pray that you start your daily journey to give God control of your life.

Start today. You’ve got nothing to lose and so much to gain!

 

by NATHAN TABOR

 

original here

What Is the Christian Life?

Titus 3:4-7

The Christian Life is just that—a life, not simply a set of rules. Sadly, a lot of churches preach Christianity as a list of dos and don’ts. Then faith looks like a formula: Jesus’ saving grace plus doing good things minus doing bad things equals righteousness. Most of us have enough problems without worrying about whether we’re following the extra-biblical rules of a church.

A man-made formula for righteousness runs counter to scriptural teaching. Not only did Jesus condemn the Pharisees’ heavy-handed religion, but He Himself offered liberty through grace (Matt. 23:1-4; John 8:36). Neither keeping God’s law by self-effort nor adhering to extra rules makes a person free. Legalistic believers are in bondage and growing ever weaker.

When a person accepts the saving grace of Jesus Christ, he or she receives a new life. (See Rom. 6:4.) This is not an uptight lifestyle of doing good works. A believer is a changed person—the same body but a transformed mind and heart. Christ lives through you. His Holy Spirit flows into your spirit just as sap runs in a grapevine. It’s like getting a spiritual blood transfusion! Strength pumps into places where weakness once prevailed. Why rely upon your frail self when the courage and power to follow God’s will are available through Christ?

I know what it feels like to burn out from trying to do good in my own strength. My desire for you is that you’ll surrender to the Lord. Depend upon Him to change you from the inside out, and trust that He will. Jesus is your life. He will never get tired of transforming you.

My Lord and My God

“And Thomas answered and said unto Him, My Lord and my God.” (John 20:28)

Thomas has been called “doubting Thomas” because of his initial reluctance to believe in the Lord’s resurrection, but neither the Lord nor the other disciples ever viewed him in such a light. His later ministry, as the first missionary/martyr to India, speaks clearly of his great faith.

It is only in John’s gospel that we have any specific insight into Thomas’ character. When the other disciples sought to dissuade Jesus from returning to Jerusalem, it was Thomas who urged, “Let us also go, that we may die with him” (John 11:16). Thomas understood the dangers awaiting them, but was ready to go wherever Jesus desired him to go. In the upper room when Jesus spoke of going away, Thomas, still willing to go with Him anywhere, was the only one to ask, “Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?” (John 14:5). Then, just a few hours later, the Lord had been crucified, and soon “the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews” (John 20:19) as they hid themselves in the upper room.

But Thomas was not hiding! The Scriptures do not say where he was when Jesus appeared in their midst, but he was not hiding there like the others. He may well have been out working or witnessing, doing whatever he could to follow the Lord, but he (like the others) had failed to understand Jesus’ promise that He would rise again.

When the other disciples reported that they had seen the resurrected Lord, Thomas, realizing the tremendous significance of such a miracle if it were true, insisted he must see the proof firsthand. Then, when he saw the Lord, he showed a higher comprehension of what had taken place than any of the others, as he whispered in awe: “My Lord, and my God!” HMM

The Devotional Mood

This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous. —Joshua 1:8

Maintenance of the devotional mood is indispensable to success in the Christian life. Holiness and power are not qualities that can be once received and thereafter forgotten as one might wind a clock or take a vitamin pill. The world is too much with us, not to mention the flesh and the devil, and every advance in the spiritual life must be made against the determined resistance of this trinity of evil. Gains made must be consolidated and held with a resolution equal to that of an army in the field.

To establish our hearts in the devotional mood we must abide in Christ, walk in the Spirit, pray without ceasing and meditate on the Word of God day and night. Of course this implies separation from the world, renunciation of the flesh and obedience to the will of God as we are able to understand it.

And what is the devotional mood? It is nothing else than constant awareness of God’s enfolding presence, the holding of inward conversations with Christ and private worship of God in spirit and in truth.

Lord, keep me constantly aware of Your presence as I meditate on Your Word. I abide in You today. Amen.

Trust God’s Plan

And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God, which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. (Revelation 7:10)

We who believe in God’s faithfulness and in the inspired Scriptures are certain that the world’s redemption does not lie in the hands of mankind. I cannot tell you how glad I am that this is at least one thing that we humans cannot bungle!

The plan of salvation and the day of consummation that is coming are in God’s eternal plan. The power in redemption is God’s power. Only the worthy Lamb of God could die in our place. This is God’s way of doing things, not our way!

Millions have feared the threat of world-wide communism with silly, frightened people declaring they would “rather be Red than dead!” But communism cannot prevail because it is raised in a materialism teaching that there is no God, no Christ, no heaven and no hell. Communism cannot prevail because our God in heaven has His plan and program, not just for this earth, but for all of His vast created universe.

There is no human being and no human philosophy or force able to wrest dominion from our living God. Are we being faithful in our witness and warning of the wrath of the Lamb—the crucified, resurrected, outraged Lamb of God?

Can you measure the love of Christ?

Dost thou think, O Christian, that thou canst measure the love of Christ? Think of what His love has brought thee—justification, adoption, sanctification, eternal life! The riches of His goodness are unsearchable! Oh, the breadth of the love of Christ! Shall such a love as this have half our hearts? Shall Jesus’ marvelous loving-kindness and tender care meet with but faint response and tardy acknowledgment? O my soul, tune thy heart to a glad song of thanksgiving! Go through the day rejoicing, for thou art no desolate wanderer, but a beloved child, watched over, cared for, supplied, and defended by thy Lord.