GuineaField

Try to picture Jesus teaching to an ever expanding group of people on a green hillside.   The hillside slopes down gradually to what appears to be a large lake.   He is rustling the feathers of the religious leaders sitting off to one side closer to the front.   Perhaps another pocket of them stand further back to the left.   But Jesus teaches very practical truths to the everyday person and they are scattered on the ground all around Him.   Woodworkers, farmers, fathers and mothers are drinking in the word pictures Jesus uses – it is language they can understand.   And so they listen in silence.   Occasionally a bird’s call breaks the silence, or the shuffling of people trying to get in closer to hear even better.   You can sense some tension in the air because Jesus is teaching differently than the religious establishment.   By now it is probably evening – the sun is setting and hundreds have gathered around to hear the Rabbi.   Now, l...

How do you know what is moral?   How do you know what is true?   How do you know God?   How do you know that you are right with God?    Your answers to these questions should be tied in some way to the Word of God, the Bible.   However, it is tempting to answer those questions (especially the final two) with some life experience outside of Scripture that relates to those questions.   This is a natural response because we see God active in our lives every day and we are tempted to think His past activity in our life is more trustworthy than His speech.   Although these experiences are very real and may encourage us in our walk with the Lord, they should never be the foundation of our faith.   Our foundation must always be God’s Word. I met Mr. Finch on his porch many years ago.   He was always willing to chat, and I enjoyed sharing God’s message with him.   We sat on his porch because there was no room in his house. ...

What happened in Thessalonica was remarkable.  Paul spent a little over three weeks there proclaiming the Gospel.  Soon after his third week, there was a good number of believers in the city growing in the Word.  But much more work needed to be done.  Work Paul was not able to do.  Shortly after his third week, a mob rose up against Paul to kill him.  He and his companions had to escape in the middle of the night. What is remarkable about this story is that Paul writes to this group a year later and they were still a thriving local church body.  They did not allow violent threats or the loss of the church planting evangelist deter them from faith.  In fact they had grown to be an example all throughout the region of a growing faithful church.  Even though Paul left, God continued to work and the church thrived.  Paul gives the explanation for this in his letter to them.  “For this reason we also constantly thank God t...

How much do you know about spiritual biology?   Consider, for a moment, the beginning of spiritual life.   You are not born into this world alive spiritually.   Believe it or not all of us are born dead.   If someone took your pulse for vital signs of spiritual life you would be declared spiritually dead.   The Bible declares in Ephesians 2:1 – “And you were dead in trespasses and sins” (2:1; see also Eph. 4:18, 5:14; John 5:21; 1 John 3:14).   If we are all born dead, then how are we made alive spiritually?   What generates spiritual life in someone who is already physically alive?   Perhaps you have heard the term “born again;” that is what this term signifies.   You may be born physically; however, you must be born spiritually. Being born again refers to God gifting you with spiritual life by faith in Jesus Christ.   All those who have trusted in Jesus for the forgiveness of sins are born again and will live forever.   So, h...