It was no coincidence that this imperial decree of Caesar’s happened to take place at this time, forcing them to make the journey to Bethlehem. Here is the most powerful emperor in the world acting out the decree of God himself. Caesar Augustus, in the final analysis, was but a pawn in the hands of the Lord God omnipotent. Remember how the prophet Micah had prophesied: from ancient times (Micah 5:2).

How the sin arises in Satan’s heart, we do not know. What we do know is that God is sovereign over Satan, and therefore Satan’s will does not move without God’s permission. And therefore every move of Satan is part of God’s overall purpose and plan.

1 O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. 2 O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth for ever. 3 O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever. 4 To him who alone doeth great wonders: […]

The disputes about who Christ is have to do with God’s means of providing us with salvation. They have to do, ultimately, with whether or not we may have eternal life. Here, is the object of Christian faith. It turns on a space-time revelation by God himself, complete with explanatory words.

The danger is real lostness forever, the final curse of God and the fire of hell. He is not talking about a mere temporal disciplining of the child of God. He is talking about a final fiery curse.

We exalt the cross and grace and Christ when we admit we have no assets to invest, and that Christ’s investment at Calvary was totally sufficient to win free dividends of righteousness and life for all who trust him.

The essence of Christianity is God who so loved the world that he gave his Son, so how can we speak of the Son making God propitious? He’s already so propitious that he gave the Son. So he wanted to speak instead of expiate.”

What if we woke up each day fully committed to making the most of that day, while understanding that each day has its own things that will provoke, confound, and complicate?

What if we woke up each day fully committed to God???

TODAY’S AGE OF TOLERANCE IS ERODING THE FOUNDATIONS OF OUR FAITH…YEARS AGO PARENTS TAUGHT THEIR CHILDREN TO BE TOLERANT OF THOSE WHO WERE DIFFERENT.

Woven through the entire letter of 1 Peter is the repeated call for a condition of heart, and a way of life, that makes sense only if we are absolutely sure we will have a great reward in heaven. Peter calls believers again and again to think and feel and act in a way that can be explained only by an unshakable, all-satisfying hope beyond this life.