For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. (II Timothy 1:7)
Fear can pretty much dominate most other emotions in our lives. One can endure most anything if there is hope and love present. But fear will kill you both physically and spiritually.
But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. (II Corinthians 3:18)
One of the most misunderstood aspects of the Christian life is how to live it. Yeah, the simple question of HOW?
Each of us will be somewhere in one hundred years, one thousand years, and even one million years from today.
In our age, many people are living as if they have just this life with nothing beyond. Their philosophy is to “live in the moment”. To sample all that life has to offer. To grab it and wring out all the pleasure it can bring.
These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. (Acts 17:11)
When I first became a believer, I was a real skull full of mush. Even though I had been reading the Bible deeply and regularly, I just did not have much of a doctrinal background. And I was very dependent on those who took the time to talk with me and teach me.
For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light. (Psalm 36:9)
Without the light of the sun and moon, our world would dwell in darkness. And then, without some artificial light or flame to create a fire, we would have no light at all.
This is the most basic state of man. That he is dependent upon light. And not just any light. It must be of the proper type and intensity to make things grow and to keep the world at the proper tolerable temperatures for survival.
When I say unto the wicked , O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. (Ezekiel 33:8)
This is a sober warning. Its point is all about making sure that the lost man receives the gospel message.
“Simple enough”, you say. “But how is the gospel message to be presented?”
It involves the fullness and clarity of the message. And it involves how the message is presented.
More and more I hear of supposed Christians who doubt the literal accuracy of Genesis. They have taken a position that the Bible needs to be interpreted more loosely. That a thinking man cannot be expected to accept a view of the world’s origin that flies in such direct contradiction to popular scientific thought.
The only part of that which I can agree with is that the Biblical record is in direct contradiction to popular scientific thought. Absolutely. There is no meshing of the two together. And I am increasingly irritated by the cowardice of professed believers that cannot decide if the words of God are pure words, allegories, fables, moral stories or historical records.
“Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them.” (Psalm 89:9)
In the Adventures of Robin Hood, King Richard returns to England in disguise. No one recognizes him. Richard is able to move silently among his people and see, for himself, the evil that Prince John has brought upon his country while he has been away on the Crusades. (This is not an approval of the Crusades. Just referencing the story here. )
The other night I was watching The Bible in the Beginning. This is the movie made by Dino De Laurentiis back in 1966. It was quite a big deal at the time. My parents took me to see it back when they still had intermissions and even gave out a special program for that movie.
I was not a Christian then. And this was the first time I was really confronted with the realities of the Bible. The church I grew up in taught little of the truth of these things. For example, children were shown illustrations depicting Noah’s ark looking like a big bathtub. And Noah was this old guy with a beard that had a whole boat full of warm, fuzzy animals. Oh, yeah, and there was a lot of water. The end.
Eternal Approach 
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