Eternity is a Long Time

  I know that some people make a big deal about Jesus never saying something to the effect of "I am God" and, therefore, try to argue that Jesus was just some guy who said interesting stuff. There are many examples in the Gospels of Jesus claiming to be God and acting like God when one has even the smallest amount of understanding of the Old Testament and Jewish culture. However, I came across a passage I haven't seen in a long time which show's the divinity of Jesus. In John 12:32, Jesus says: "And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself." The being lifted up is when Jesus is crucified, that part is straightforward. It's the second phrase where you have to think - but just for a little bit. If you or I were to declare that something we would do would draw all people to us - how would that come across today? We'd be considered a kook unless we were trying for hyperbole. Even so, the very idea that we would try to do someth...

  Every believer should desire to be filled with the Holy Spirit. The above statement is fraught with doctrinal issues as many people look at the Holy Spirit in different ways. Let us tread into these turbulent waters focusing on scripture and allowing scripture to interpret scripture. Too often I hear about how people were moved to do some rather unusual things "by the spirit". While I will try never to put God in a box by restricting Him as to what I think He can do, it is important to understand that God will only do what it is in His nature to do. For example, can God tempt us to sin? After all, He is all powerful. No! It is stated categorically that God does not tempt anyone ( James 1:13-15 ). It is not in His nature to do so.  What is the nature of the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity? I believe the best summation comes from 2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. Paul explains the manife...

We need to keep the main thing the main thing. We need to remember that there are debatable and non-debatable issues in Christianity. What are these non-debatable issues? - Jesus is the Son of God, the second person in the Trinity, 100% God, 100% human - Jesus sacrificed Himself to pay the wages for all of our sins by dying on the cross - Jesus rose on the 3rd day and ascended into Heaven shortly thereafter - He is alive and will come again to judge the living and the dead - Jesus created all that was made - We are saved for eternity with God by faith in Jesus and His works, not by our works - The Bible is the word of God All the other issues such as whether a Christian can drink alcohol, eat non-Kosher foods, speak in tongues, whether there is a rapture before the second coming of Jesus, etc, these are all debatable. It is fine to debate them and to have strong opinions, but none of these opinions should get in the way of the non-debatable issues.  If a person has a belief on a de...