Advocate

The Advocate is written by Charitie Lees Smith (1841–1923) also known as Charitie Lees Bancroft.  She was an Anglican Irish American hymnwriter who penned the glorious hymn "The Advocate" also popularly known as "Before the Throne of God Above".  The hymn draws heavily on Scripture with almost every line has a corresponding reference verse.  It is a hymn of both perfect comfort and security in which believers find in Christ, the only advocate who intercedes for them before the throne of God above.

Resurrection

Death, Burial and Resurrection Chart

Download Resurrection Chart
A blessed Resurrection Day to all!  This downloadable chart give you a preview of the Death, Burial and Resurrection of the Jesus Christ, 3 days and 3 nights full as stated on Matthew 12:40.  The chart is 1600px X 2644px or 10.667in x 17.627in in size.

For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

This is contrary of today's teaching that Jesus died on Friday.  This chart is based on the original work of Greg Miller of King James Bible Believers.  Embedded also after jump is the full PDF of the original article.

Christianity

The Essence of Christianity

via The BIBLE Baptist Web Store



Let me contrast for you Biblical Christianity with every religion or non-religion on the face of the earth. You can put them all together because they are all the same. Biblical Christianity says that no one is good enough to earn heaven on their merits. Every other faith or non-faith believes that eternal life is earned by good works. Everyone who is not a true Christian (as defined by the Bible, not by men) believes the same thing – “If I am good enough long enough, I will earn the favor of God and be granted eternal life.”

Equilibrium

The following article is taken from a part of the book The Lost Cause Series (What Are You Fighting About?:  Birth Control) by James W. Knox.  I believe this article is in line with the much debated RH Bill here in the Philippines.  I believe both parties are right in some aspects and wrong in some.  Thus, we seek to find a balance through the scriptures since most of the grounds of the debate are covered in this area or somewhat related. Permission to re-post the article can be found here.

The Lost Cause Series by James W. Knox

WHAT ARE YOU FIGHTING ABOUT?:  BIRTH CONTROL

Turn to Hebrews 13 and 1 Corinthians 7.  The matter of the beard may not touch your home, but if you have a family, it won't be long until someone is going to come along and tell you that if you are trusting God and living by faith, you won't take your life into your own hands and practice birth control.  You will have babies as often as your wife can conceive.

For such people, the number of babies you produce is the means of determining the extent of your spirituality.  Again, the Pharisees want a visible, outward symbol of sanctification in order to proclaim themselves spiritual, regardless of the condition of the heart.

If you believe in your heart that it is God's will for you to have a baby every ten months, and He enables you to perform such a feat, then by all means do so.  But do not come into the church house and tell someone that God commanded him or her to do the same, when He did not.

If having a baby every year is a mark that your are spiritual and right with God, then how do you explain the fact that God made some saved women incapable of  bearing children?  Did God condemn someone to a life of disobedience to the scripture?  He wouldn't do that.

You may say, "Why did you kill that man?"  "I couldn't help it.  God made me a murderer."  Well, God did not make you a murderer.  God said, Thou shalt not kill.  You are a murderer by choice.  You willingly transgressed God's commandment.

Someone says, "I couldn't help it.  I committed adultery because God made me commit adultery."  No, God said, Thou shalt not commit adultery.  If you commit adultery, you are guilty of willfully transgressing God's word.

If it is sin for a man and woman not to have a baby every time the calendar changes, then God is guilty of sin, for He made some women unable to bear children every year and, in fact, some never.

The reverse argument is also true.  Are there unsaved Hindus, Muslims, Roman Catholics and Mormons who turn out babies every year?  Of course.  Is this an advent testimony of their sanctification?  Of course not.  Production of children and a right relationship to God have nothing in common.

Now if you want to have twenty-two kids, praise God.  Rear them all in church.  Rear them all to live for Jesus Christ and to turn the world upside down for Jesus.  But don't walk in to church with your twenty-two kids , look down your nose at that woman who is broken-hearted because she can't have a baby, and open your Pharisaical mouth and tell her that if she was right with God, she would have as many kids as you.  That  is not scriptural.

Thessalonica

Our Sunday service today was on 1 Thessalonians.  It's a book full of history, comfort and hope.  As we were breezing through the verses of chapter 1, I remembered Project Thessalonica.  The said project is to bring back the gospel to one of the places where the early churches and saints were established.  As the sermon went on I read on through chapter 2 and 3 and imagined what things were like during the time of Paul.  Though this city was a pagan city, after Paul founded the church but briefly left for Corinth because of persecution, the new Thessalonian believers were steadfast and continued in the faith.

Bringing the Church Back to Thessalonica

As a Christian, reading the pages of 1 Thessalonians and comparing it to its present state - it's like nostalgia.  It's like you've been in Thessalonica before where the early Christians lived, worked and pressed forward just like some us today.  Sure, they don't have the technology before but I believe the problems they face before are still kind of the same we are facing today.

This is such a place full of history found in the Bible and the letters to the Thessalonians are very encouraging as well. 1 Thessalonians is a book of comfort. Read the whole book (King James Bible) and count the number how many times the word "comfort" is mentioned. Also, this is where Paul detailed and nailed the rapture. Contrary to popular belief the rapture is not equal to doomsday or the end of the world. Get your facts right. Topics like this will be discussed in detail on Sixteen Eleven.