“Our Daily Bread” http://odb.org/
The Daily Devotions of Greg Laurie
“Homily Grits Devotional” http://www.homilygrits.com/
Proverbs 23:12… Apply your heart to instruction, And your ears to words of knowledge. (NKJV)
My church is starting a 7 week course tomorrow evening, (9/18/2013) that is titled “Christianity Explored”… (Details at the end) This course is designed to answer many of the questions you may have about Jesus Christ; and to clear away many of the common misconceptions about Christianity… I have been out speaking with family, friends, neighbors, and others I have come in contact with the last couple of weeks, to share my excitement on how fantastic I believe this course on exploring Christianity is going to be… So many people have unanswered questions and false beliefs about becoming a Christian that must be understood, before they realize the truth about the good news of Jesus Christ, and that eternal life in heaven is a gift from God…
The CE course typically involves 7 weeks, at about 1 1/2 hours per week; where 7 video’s going through the gospel of Mark, along with a small book given to all that come, will be explored… It is done in a quiet, low-key, no stress environment, around tables where any and all questions, no matter how simple or difficult, will be answered… People may be asked to pray or read, and discuss questions in the session…but everyone can participate at their own comfort level…
Three key questions will be at the center of this study… “Who was Jesus ??”…”Why did Jesus come??”…and…”What is involved in following Him ??” By the end of the course, with a clear understanding of these 3 questions being answered, people should know how God graces His redeemed children with eternal life in heaven…
In my research about this amazing course, I have found that the distributor of this course believes that it is now being presented over 5,000 times a year, in over 70 countries, and in 20 languages… It has been presented for the last 15 years, and is now in the 3rd edition… Check out the following web site for more information about the “Christianity Explored” course…the 9 short video’s that will answer some tough questions…and 6 short video stories about a variety of people who came to the course, and ultimately found Jesus Christ who became Lord and Savior of their lives… There is also a search by zip code, or by city and country, to locate the nearest CE course for yourself… You will also find the first weeks 11 minute video, to give you an idea of what to expect… http://www.christianityexplored.org/
There is also an app for the CE course for your smart phone, that can be found by doing a search for “One Life app”; where you will find a fingerprint with an orange border, that is titled…”One Life” – By Christianity Explored… This app includes all of the above, along with 16 videos (not just 9) about tough questions, and 8 stories instead of the 6 stories of people who went through the CE course, that are found on the web site…
I found the responses to people I spoke to about this “Christianity Explored” course, to vary from “This is not for me”…to…”I am excited, and interested in coming”… I spoke to people who ranged from an atheist/agnostic, all the way up to a Spirit filled believer that was so excited, because they could bring a friend who didn’t know Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior… As Christians, we have all been commanded by Jesus, in His last spoken words before He ascended into heaven to be with His Father…to “make disciples of all the nations”…Matthew 28:19-20…
The answers to some of the questions I asked people, show their lack of knowledge of what God teaches us from His inerrant Word the Bible… They have formed their beliefs about God, and how to receive eternal life in heaven (if they believe in heaven) from any number of places… Many people base their beliefs from going to a church that their parents and their grandparents went to…where doctrine that has been taught for generations, has evolved out of customs and traditions, and not exclusively from what God reveals to us as truth through His Word, the Bible…
Our eternal life in heaven is a gift of God’s grace through saving faith alone in Jesus Christ…Ephesians 2:8-9… Friends, we can in no way earn our own way into heaven… One response I received about what they believed was necessary to be forgiven of their sins by God was…”I am not there yet”…”I have more work to do to be allowed into heaven”…”I do my best to follow the 10 Commandments”…
We can see Jesus very clearly warn us about any self-righteous works we do in the name of the Lord, in…Matthew 7:21-23…that will never meet God’s requirement for entrance past those “pearly white gates” into heaven… Jesus tells us that these false, works-based beliefs will have people being told by the Lord when it is too late…”I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!”…
Friends, anyone who believes they are going to heaven…but are not really sure what God very clearly reveals to us through His Word, the Bible…is not being open-minded to the reality that God might not consider them to be saved from eternal damnation… The apostle Paul in the Bible teaches us that…”the message of the cross is foolishness to those that are perishing”, in…1 Corinthians 1:18… The apostle Paul also teaches us that unredeemed sinners are blinded by Satan, in…2 Corinthians 4:4…
It is not the people in the video’s or the leaders, who will open the eyes of those seeking the truth God wants all of us to know…2 Peter 3:9… But by spending time in the gospel of Mark, it is God, through our understanding of the good news about Jesus Christ…who will shine light into the hearts of those who are not yet Christian’s in God’s eyes…
I pray that all believers forward this information on this CE course being offered around the world, to anyone they know who might benefit from attending… And I pray that anyone who is undecided or even against going to the CE course, would pray about it…and re-think how important it is to keeping an open mind to the truth from God’s Word that will set them free from the bonds of Satan and sin…John 8:32…
Heavenly Father, I pray that Your Word would cut right to the very core of the soul of those You do not yet recognize as Your child, like a two-edged sword…Hebrews 4:12-13… Urge all of us Lord, if we are believers, to share this truth about Your saving grace… And Lord please urge all others to consider attending the CE course to learn about the love of Your Son Jesus Christ… I pray for this fullness of Christ for all of our lives, in Jesus’ most precious name and for His sake…Amen…
Blessings in Christ, bruce r mills
P.S. For local South Jersey people, this CE course is being offered at my church, New Beginnings Bible Fellowship Church, starting tomorrow, (9/18/2013 at 7-8:30 pm)… ( http://www.newbeginningsbfc.org/ ) Missing the first week would be no problem… It is being offered at St. Mary’s in Haddon Heights for 7 weeks, starting Sunday October 6th at 11:00am… It is also being offered at the Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Bellmawr, NJ…
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