“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.”

One of the most beautiful passages of scripture is recorded in Luke 4:18 where Christ publicly read in the synagogue on the sabbath day from the prophet Isaiah and stated the purpose of His call and ministry. The paramount, overriding theme and ministry of Christ was the spiritual healing of the soul. Through no merit of our own, He freely bestowed the grace of healing on the souls of mankind and brought reconciliation between man and God through His atoning blood. The captive was set free from sin, the spiritually blind received illumination, and those in despair were given hope through salvation of the soul.Read more

Knowing that judgment day is coming, the Scripture places much importance upon the examination of one’s own behavior, conduct, and motivations. It is much better to measure by the Word of God in this life while there is opportunity to change, than to wait until the judgment when it is too late.

“So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12). One day, we shall all stand before God at the judgment and give an accounting of the life that we lived here on earth. We will not be judged based on how everyone treated us nor upon the circumstances which we faced. We will be judged on the condition of our heart and upon our daily decisions and behavior.

Examine Yourselves

While it is much easier to see the sin and faults of others, Paul exhorted the church at Corinth to “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves” (2 Corinthians 13:5). Look not at the lives of others but examine your own life and faith. Search your heart and soul diligently (Psalms 77:6) and prove your own experience with God. We are all human and prone to error and to getting off balance if we do not take time for self-examination. Just because someone has served the Lord for years does not guarantee that he is today living pleasing to God. “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12).

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The Bible clearly teaches that there is only one true and living God who is the creator of the universe—eternal, almighty, unchangeable, infinitely powerful, wise, just and holy. At the same time, it teaches that the Father is God, that Jesus is God, and that the Holy Spirit is God. This relationship of one God in three distinct, divine persons is theologically termed the Trinity.

The Mystery of the Trinity

While the word Trinity is not found in the Scripture, the concept it represents exists. The ONE God is composed of three coexistent, coeternal, coequal, and co-powerful persons who are one in spirit, purpose, duration, and nature, yet three in individuality, mind, and function.Read more

“But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him” (John 4:23). Thus spoke Jesus to the Samaritan woman at the well. The words of Christ clearly intonated that a change had come and that the manner and condition of true worship would be different.

True Worship Desired

In the dispensation before Christ, worship was ritualistic and ceremonial in nature. God’s people kept certain days holy, offered sacrifices, burned incense, observed ritualist washing, played musical instruments in worship, and the list goes on. With the coming of Christ, God was no longer satisfied with worship of the flesh by the flesh but was interested in the spiritual communion of man’s heart through the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit. While false worship continues today, God is still looking for true worshippers.Read more

“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8). The fourth commandment was instituted by God when He gave the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. It set apart Saturday, the last day of the week, as a sacred day of worship under the Old Testament. God’s people were to work six days but the seventh day was ordained of God to be a day of rest with no work or labor.

Origin of the Sabbath

The first recorded observance of the Sabbath as a day of rest was when God sent manna to feed the children of Israel in the wilderness after they had fled Egypt. The people gathered twice as much bread on Friday, for God did not send the manna on Saturday, as it was “the rest of the holy sabbath unto the Lord” (Exodus 16:22-30). This observance was quickly solidified by God’s covenant of the Ten Commandments where He blessed and hallowed the Sabbath day (Exodus 20:11).Read more