THINK ABOUT IT

  In the Bible, we read the story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. God had sent two angels to rescue Lot, the nephew of Abraham. The angels appeared as men, and Lot, who was sitting at the gates of Sodom, saw the strangers coming and offered them hospitality. Though the strangers initially resisted, claiming they would rather sleep in the streets, Lot’s persistent concern eventually persuaded them to accept his offer. "But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter: And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? Bring them out unto us, that we may know them. And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him, and said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly." — Genesis 19:4–7 Because the angels had delayed in accepting Lot’s offer, they were noticed by the men of the city. Immorality was rampant ...

 When we look at the world, we see immense suffering. Everywhere, the cry of a suffering humanity is ascending to heaven. But who is to be blamed for all of this misery? Do I personally play a part in the world's distress? In this post, we will take a brief look at how misery spreads and our individual role in it. The Origin of Suffering In the beginning, God made humanity perfect; male and female He created them and placed them in a perfect garden. He gave them a simple commandment: do not eat from the forbidden tree. But the serpent came into the garden and tempted the woman. She was seduced, and after being overcome, she went on to tempt her husband to follow her into sin. The man ate of the forbidden fruit, and the rest is history—suffering is now widespread. The Blame Game After sin came the "blame game." The man and the woman both blamed others for their own actions. The man blamed his wife, the wife blamed the serpent, and God judged them all. From that point on,...

On October 28, 312 AD, the Battle of the Milvian Bridge took place between Roman Emperors Constantine I and Maxentius. Rome was in the midst of a civil war. Constantine won the battle, starting the path that led him to become the sole ruler of the Roman Empire. But something significant happened before the fight: Constantine, a pagan at the time, claimed to have received a vision from God. On October 27, with the armies preparing for battle, Constantine claimed a vision led him to fight under the protection of the Christian God. According to Eusebius of Caesarea, around noon, Constantine saw a luminous cross in the sky with the Greek inscription, "In this sign, thou shalt conquer." Constantine also claimed a dream in which Christ commanded him to use the sign of the cross against his enemies. Constantine became the first emperor to convert to Christianity. He ended the policy of persecuting Christians and, in 313 AD, issued the Edict of Milan, proclaiming religious freedom....

Today is the 4th of July, the day America celebrates its independence from the British Empire. It is a day marking freedom from the oppression of the British Crown—a day of great rejoicing. But friends, this freedom was not simply given; it was not free, because true freedom never is.  The Founding Fathers of the United States had to fight for American independence. King George III of England would not simply allow the colonies to walk away. He sent soldiers to crush the rebellion, and much blood was shed for the liberty we enjoy today. It was a long and bitter struggle until the Americans prevailed and the British Empire retreated. Similarly, in the spiritual struggle against sin, the world, and the devil, freedom is not free. The enemy will not allow his captives to walk away freely; he will fight to the bitter end to keep us in the chains of sin. If we want to be truly free, we must be willing to fight. We must be willing to "crucify" the sin in our lives and stand firm in...