Free Republic

It’s interesting that every sin in the Bible is a relational sin, even the Ten Commandments. The first four deal with our relationship with God: “Have no other gods before me. Don’t take my name in vain.” The other six address our relationships with other people. Throughout scripture, every sin that’s mentioned — greed, pride, lust, anger, strife — is relational. When we don’t understand and follow the ways God wants us to view our relationships with him and others, we know something is missing. There is a hollowness, a separation from God, because sin is following our own ideas...

To be a member of God’s true church, you must be known by the name of Jehovah Shammah: “The Lord is there” (see Ezekiel 48:35). Others must be able to say about you, “It’s clear to me the Lord is with this person. Every time I see them, I sense the presence of Jesus. Their life truly reflects the glory of God.” If we’re honest, we must admit we don’t sense the Lord’s sweet presence in each other very often. Why? Christians spend their time involved in good religious activities like prayer groups, Bible studies, outreach ministries; and that’s all...

As Jesus stood at the highest point of the temple, Satan whispered to him, “Go ahead. Jump! If you’re really God’s son, he’ll save you.” “[The devil] said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written: “He shall give his angels charge over you,” and, “In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.”’” (Matthew 4:6, NKJV). Do you see Satan’s deviousness in this? He isolated a single promise from scripture, and he tempted Jesus to cast his whole life upon it. He was suggesting,...