It is amazing to think about the history of Christianity. Through the years many have tried to stamp it out, from the Jewish leaders in the first century, Greek, Roman and Ottoman Empires, the Communists, and many others. Today Christianity is being attacked,from many directions, but from the original 12 disciples who followed Jesus, Christianity has grown to over 2 billion people; The largest religion in the world.

We know that those opposing Jesus will never succeed, as Isaiah prophesied and Peter repeated in 1 Peter 1:24,25, “..the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever.” Until the Lord returns, we know that God’s word will endure.

Dear Lord, Thank you for growing your church throughout the world. Help us be a part of spreading your good news. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

There are many reasons to attend church services regularly, to learn, worship, encourage each other, and maintain our belief and faith. It is where we actually touch Jesus through Communion.

Paul mentions the importance of coming together in Hebrews 10:24, “And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.”

The famous motivational speaker and writer Zig Ziglar, wrote, “People often say motivation doesn’t last, well neither does bathing, that is why we recommend it daily.”

Attending church is the same, we need the reinforcement, regularly, to maintain and grow our faith. It is also the place the devil will do everything to prevent us from visiting. The more regularly we attend, the stronger our resolve will be to continue.

Dear Lord, many are misled into believing that they do not need regular worship to maintain their faith. Help us see that we do need this renewal and engagement with you. Protect us from the devil’s tricks to keep us away. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

There is a never ending discussion about the conflict between religion and science. In reality it is not a debate between God and Science, it is a debate between a belief in God and a belief that there is no God.

For those of us that believe in God, there really is no conflict between science and religion. We believe God created everything, and therefore science is the study of God’s creation.

Often people’s success at discovering, learning, excelling and achieving sets them up to believing that they can know and control everything. I believe, as a result of manipulation by the Devil, this positive drive to achieve can be turned into arrogance. This manipulation began in the Garden of Eden with the temptation of Eve to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

“You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.” Genesis 3:4-5 The desire to be “like God” tempted Eve to disobey God’s rules.

The similar motivation occurred in the story of the Tower of Babel. Genesis 11:3-4 writes “The people who lived there began to talk about building a great city, with a temple-tower reaching to the skies—a proud, eternal monument to themselves.” The people discovered technology allowing for construction of tall buildings, and followed this into arrogance.

Throughout the years discoveries are made, and theories are developed expanding our knowledge of the Universe. It has become quite clear to me that the fundamental dispute in this God vs Science debate is the “world view” that we start with. If we believe God created it all, we will marvel at these new discoveries of God’s fantastic creation, but if people don’t want to believe in God, they can use new discoveries to come up with interpretations to support their disbelief in God.

Dear Lord, We know that the attempts to lead people astray will continue until you return. Help us remember to use the intelligence you gave us to understand your creation rather than being manipulated into exalting ourselves over you. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

The history of man, people, as recorded in the Bible is one story after another where God provides people everything they need. People recognize what God has done for them for a short time, then turn away, falling for temptation, pride, and selfishness. God sends prophets to teach people and attempt to bring them back, but that ultimately fails and God is forced to take dramatic steps to remind people of his presence and power. This story is repeated in various forms in the Garden of Eden, the time of Noah, Sodom and Gomorrah, in the desert after the Exodus from Egypt, and many other times.

However, God used a different strategy once.

John 1:1-2 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.” and in verse 14, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

The Word is Jesus who came not just to tell people about God’s presence and power, he is God and became a man. By sacrificing himself for us we may avoid the punishment we deserve for disobeying God.

This plan is so much different and as John writes in, John 1:17, “For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ.”

The different plan is that God came to us out of love, as Jesus, to save us, rather than destroy and demonstrate his power and our failings. John 3:17 says, “God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.”

Dear Lord, Thank you for the mercy you showed us by sending Jesus for our salvation. Help us cherish this amazing gift and maintain our love for and obedience to you. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

You have probably heard people say something like, “God will never give you more than you can take.”

I think this understanding comes from the following passage in 1 Corinthians 10:13, “The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.”

What do we mean by saying something is “more than we can take?” I think it means we are facing a situation experiencing fear, anger, grief, or loss, that is so intense or devastating that we might do something we know is wrong. This is a temptation.

It could be the that someone hurt us or someone we love, and we are tempted to take vengeance, or we lost someone we loved, and we think we cannot continue living without them, or a relationship fell apart and we think we cannot go on. These are all temptations to do something we know is wrong.

As the verse says, we will not be tempted beyond our ability to withstand, and we will be given a way out.

As terrible and tragic as some things may be in our lives, we can always rely on God. If we trust him, he will comfort us through the pain, and lead us past the temptations.

Dear Lord, some things in life appear to be too much for us to handle, but help us remember that you know our experiences, and our pain. Help us remember,also, to come to you for comfort and a way past our tragedies and temptations. In Jesus’ name we pray.