Free Republic

Conviction and condemnation can feel similar for a Christian. Conviction is from God and is necessary for joy. It should be cultivated. Condemnation is from Satan. It is a lie and should be resisted and thrown off. How do we tell the difference in our own lives? How do we help students discern the distinction in their hearts as well? An Example The night Christ was arrested, Peter and Judas both committed big sins. (This example isn’t perfect because Judas wasn’t a true Christian, but he was a professing believer and a member of Christ’s discipleship group. There’s much we...

Recently, I once again efforted to attend a local church, which was a Baptist by name. I've been battling PTSD in the recent months, which was seriously hampering my ability to just get ready and go. During any given week, I researched the internet to find other local churches, and when I had decided on one, by that Saturday night so much fear welled up within me that I just put it out of my mind. Groaning within myself with much dejectedness and pummeling myself over being what I felt was cowardice. Sadness that I had allowed fear--what God commands...

“Be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18). God wants every aspect of the believer’s being to be under the complete control of the Holy Spirit. Pleroo, the basic Greek word for “be filled,” offers three shades of meaning that illustrate what Paul’s command to be Spirit-filled means. First, the word describes the pressure of wind filling a ship’s sails and moving the vessel across the water. That parallels the Holy Spirit’s leading us down the pathway of spiritual obedience. We aren’t primarily motivated by our own plans and desires, but we allow the Spirit’s gracious pressure to move us in...

This enlivening work of the Spirit shouldn’t surprise us. Jesus himself affirmed, “It is the Spirit who gives life” (John 6:63). The mystery of godliness confesses that Jesus was “justified” or “vindicated by the Spirit,” a reference to the Son’s resurrection (1 Tim. 3:16). And Paul underscored that Christ “was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead” (Rom 1:4). With his resurrection through the Spirit crowning his saving work, Christ is said to be raised for our justification (Rom 4:25).

Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.So what exactly is blasphemy against the Spirit, what many call the unpardonable sin?

“Rivers of Living Water” (John 7:37-39)Last weekend Susan and I went to Excelsior Springs, Missouri, to attend the wedding of Pastor and Mrs. Paul Flo. Excelsior Springs got its name and its fame long ago from the springs of water located there--healthful, healing waters, with restorative powers, it was said. Well, it so happened that when we went out there on that Friday, I wasn’t feeling so well. But when we returned on Sunday evening, I came back . . . with a bad case of acute bronchitis. I guess the healing waters of Excelsior Springs didn’t do me much...

The leader of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church has encouraged Christians to not allow the news of the moment to take over their minds, wills, and feelings.“Let us wage our invisible warfare against untruth and all that is trying to paralyze our will and seize our inner spiritual world,” Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk said in a video message issued on April 1. Especially during the season of Lent, he said, Christians should evaluate whether “certain news that you read or see on television is news that tries to captivate your mind, will, or feelings, trying to become the inner occupier...

Of an estimated 176 million American adults who identify as Christian, just 6% or 15 million of them actually hold a biblical worldview, a new study from Arizona Christian University shows.The finding was published by the Cultural Research Center of Arizona Christian University in its recently released American Worldview Inventory, an annual survey that evaluates the worldview of the U.S. adult population. Conducted in February, the survey included a nationally representative sample of 2,000 adults.The study shows, in general, that while a majority of America’s self-identified Christians, including many who identify as evangelical, believe that God is all-powerful, all-knowing and...

Your sustainment is in Me, Come to the Garden of plenty, Gethsemane is here and now for you, Enter into the promises I have for you to view, Hear My waters speak, My presence is your treat, Come stand in My waterfall, It's here for one and all, Feel the mist and droplets spray, My morning dew for you all day, Enjoy The rays from The Father and Son, Come and Abide in Kingdom come, Its all here for you right now, Shedding your flesh is how, Arrive to the place you should always be, Just you and Me, Hebrews...

Since the beginning of his pontificate, Pope Francis has gone out of his way to push the concept of “discernment” – a much-beloved process in Jesuit spirituality – as key to the spiritual life, yet according to one expert, while the term is used often, not many people actually know what this means. “For me to discern means to decide in the sense of taking on one’s own responsibility, that which we cannot or should not leave to others,” Jesuit Father Miguel Yañez told Crux. “In life, we are continually discerning, perhaps without realizing that we are ‘making a discernment,’”...

Beloved fellow FReepers, it has come to my attention that I have great need of a pause from reading and commenting on the news of the day, and to engage heavily in the reading and study of Jesus' Word, His guidance and assurance of peace, and prayer and just talking to my Awesome Savior and Lord. I love each and every one of you, and it is my highest hope that you all also take a break from the mental stress that this present evil world's constant attacks on mind and body represent because of Satan and his demonic forces....

CEO of My Pillow Mike Lindell spoke to the crowd at a pro-Trump march in D.C. on Saturday, and singled out Fox News Channel as being “in on” a major conspiracy to overthrow the Donald Trump because of their having called Arizona for Joe Biden. “We cannot give up ever on this,” said Lindell to the crowd, which in no way was giving up, being as they were in D.C. marching under the banner of “Stop the Steal” and in protest of the election results and, more recently the Supreme Court. “This is a spiritual warfare in our country and...

These next few weeks are *crucial.* Let’s cover all the people on the frontlines of the Trump campaign and legal battles with some major prayer! And let’s also pray for the conversion of and emboldening of necessary figures who need to come forward or rise to the occasion of their position (judges, legislatures, electors, etc...) For such a time as this indeed! Let’s also pray for the preservation, protection, and thorough release of any and all necessary evidence. As well as favor and protection over those who bring it forward. And Let’s pray for major breakthroughs in media and press...

My beloved fellow FReepers, it tells us in God's Word to "faint not at the promises of God." Indeed, the Lord Jesus Christ through the power of His Holy Spirit is in control of all things, and His Word is "Yes" and "Amen." The word Amen means "so be it"--The Almighty God's confirmation that we can have the utmost confidence that everything in Holy Scripture will come to pass. All who have put their faith in the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, the Everlasting Father and the Prince of Peace, Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior, can...

There is a testimony of a man who was apparently in the occult and became a believer. He said that our prayer should be that the Lord renders impotent any supernatural power from the Evil One to these people who may be working in (albeit limited) Satanic power. Lord Jesus: we ask that You render impotent any supernatural power from the Evil One to anyone who is wittingly seeking this power from Satan in this election process. We then ask You, as the Revealer of Secrets, to reveal these works done in darkness, so that all Americans can see plainly...

JERUSALEM—Authorities are investigating after witnesses accused a local religious nut named Simon Peter and several others of hosting an unauthorized super spreader event in an enclosed room in Jerusalem. Experts say the event, which was not authorized by the local Jewish or Roman authorities, may put everyone in the area at risk for infectious diseases such as leprosy. "This is completely inexcusable," said local magistrate Biggus Tookus. "We have found that there were at least 11 people at this event. No one's address was recorded at the door and we don't know where they are now." One medical expert named...

My Dear FReeper FRiends, I pray that the devotional for today lifts your precious spirits and allows the LORD JESUS CHRIST through the Power of His Holy Spirit through your faith to guide you through this day, in all His wisdom, knowledge, power and glory. Amen.

Posts Posted on May 25, 2020May 25, 2020 Five Images of the Holy Spirit from Scripture Since Pentecost is approaching, in todayÂ’s post we will consider some of the biblical images for the Holy Spirit, and in so doing, strive to learn more about what God the Holy Spirit does for us. These descriptions do not reduce the Holy Spirit to simply fire, water, or tongues. Rather, the Holy Spirit is described as being like these things but at the same time greater than they are.1. WindScripture says,When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one...

MONDAY OF THE FIFTH WEEK OF EASTER JOHN 14:21-26 Friends, we see in our Gospel reading that the Holy Spirit’s principal sign is love. The night before he died, Jesus told his friends the deepest truths. He spoke of himself, his Father, and the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the love that connects the Father and the Son. From all eternity, he is breathed back and forth between the Father and the Son, and hence he is nothing but love. When therefore he comes to dwell in you and me, he turns us to the path of love. “On...

Question: There was a recent New York Times Magazine article about conman Paul Skalnik and how his false testimonies sent dozens to jail and 4 people to death row. In Florida, where death sentencing was/is popular, there have been 29 death-row inmates exonerated by the time of the article's publication. There was also a study that estimated 1 in 25, 4.1 percent, of inmates sentenced to death are innocent. Even if the state kills one innocent person, isn’t that too much? As Christians who talk about killing innocent babies, how can we then go and support capital punishment when there...