Strengthening Your Grip on Authority
Let’s remember that God has set the authorities in place. Rebellion against earthly authorities amounts to rebellion against God, which is the most serious revolt of all.
Culture is the set of principles, values, behaviours, and beliefs characteristic of a particular group of people. We are all born and immersed in the culture of the world, which is opposite the culture of heaven.
Receiving Christ as your Saviour means you shift from the world’s culture to heaven’s culture. Your aim as a believer is now to learn as much about heaven’s culture as you can and, increasingly, live it out on earth.
Let’s remember that God has set the authorities in place. Rebellion against earthly authorities amounts to rebellion against God, which is the most serious revolt of all.
The thing that makes for greatness is determination, persisting in the same direction over the long haul. Success is the result of a long, painful, arduous, sometimes sacrificial process. In our world of instant everything these are not popular traits, but they lead to excellence.
We can’t help but be affected for the worse by the cultural atmosphere of our times. However, living in God’s spiritual kingdom can’t help but affect and shape us too—only for the better.
The pursuit of success can drag you down and lead you away from God’s Word and Spirit. Only by stepping away from life’s rat race will you begin to experience real success and satisfaction on God’s terms.
The man-made philosophies of materialism, hedonism, humanism, and fatalism are false foundations that will never bring contentment. Examine your lifestyle—are any of these philosophical foundations guiding your decisions?
“If it feels good, do it.” Six single-syllable words comprise the motto of this generation. God gave us the senses, but if pushed to a far enough extreme, we move into either heresy or perversion.
The Apostle John's first-century command to "test the spirits" is also the biblical antidote to today's proliferation of religious error.
See how clearly 1 John 2:15-18 describes the disturbing realities of our times, and discover how to navigate our way.
Circumstances are ever changing, like the comings and goings of the tide. But a Christ-centred life is rock solid—it's the only way to live.
In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus offered revolutionary, even strange, advice for His people. Without pulling His punches, Jesus addressed the very best way to handle sensitive situations with those who threaten our personal rights. He offered countercultural counsel and dared us to obey.