Keep The Faith

Restoration A study of biblical restoration through covenant renewal, repentance, and God’s faithfulness. Something I like to do when I am studying a specific subject in the Bible is make a list of all the scriptures. This post goes with my earlier post: Forgiveness – Repentance – Restoration . Covenant Renewal & Restoration Deuteronomy 29:1 These are the words of the covenant that Yahweh commanded Moses to make with the Israelites in the land of Moab besides the covenant that he made with them at Horeb. Restoration of the Temple 2 Chronicles 24:13 So those doing the work labored, and the restoration for the work made progress under their hand. And they restored the house of God to its position and strengthened it. Restoration of the Wall 2 Chronicles 27:3 ...

Repentance — Scripture Study List When I study a theme in Scripture, I like to gather the passages in one place so I can see the pattern of God’s heart more clearly. These verses accompany my post “Forgiveness – Repentance – Restoration.” Old Testament Foundations 2 Chronicles 33:10 — Manasseh’s Repentance And Yahweh spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they would not listen. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Job 42:1 — Job’s Repentance and Restoration Then Job answered Yahweh and said, In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Psalm 38:1 — A Prayer of Repentance O Yahweh, do not rebuke me in your anger or chastise me in your wrath. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Psalm 51:1 — A Prayer of Repentance and Plea for Mercy Be gracious to me, O God, according to your loyal love... In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Jeremiah 3:11 — A Call for Repentance Apostate Israel ...

Forgiveness — A Scripture Study When I study a specific subject in Scripture, I like to gather all the passages in one place. Seeing them together helps reveal the heart of God and the consistency of His character. This study accompanies my post “Forgiveness – Repentance – Restoration.” Old Testament Foundations Nehemiah 9:17 “But you are a God of forgiveness, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abundant in loyal love…” In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Psalm 6:1 — An Appeal for Forgiveness and Deliverance O Yahweh, do not rebuke me in your anger, and do not discipline me in your wrath. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Psalm 25:1 — A Prayer for Guidance, Deliverance, and Forgiveness To you, O Yahweh, I lift up my soul. In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations Psalm 32:1 — Thanksgiving for Forgiveness Happy is he whose transgression is taken away, whose sin is covered. In Context ...

Forgiveness, Repentance, and Reconciliation Lately I've been thinking deeply about forgiveness, repentance, and restoration — or perhaps reconciliation is the better word. These themes keep rising in my heart, and I felt led to study them more intentionally. Not long ago I wrote something on Facebook that made me pause afterward. I said, "Without repentance, there is no forgiveness. There is nothing to forgive, right?" I was thinking about the sinner — the one committing the sinful act. In the sinner's own eyes, he may not recognize the sin at all. He may hide it, deny it, or refuse to see it. But as I reflected, I realized I might be confusing forgiveness with reconciliation. These are not the same thing — and sorting through the difference matters. So here begins my attempt to do that. I expect I'll keep refining this as I learn more. (See also my companion scripture studies: Repentance , Restoration , and my more rec...

Revelation 2:6 New International Version 6 But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. Revelation 2:14-15 New American Standard Bible 14 But I have a few things against you, because you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality. 15 So you too, have some who in the same way hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. From the website ‘Bible Study’ “ WhoAre the Nicolaitans? ” Nicolaitans comes from the Greek word meaning "adherent of Nicolas" (Strong's Concordance #G3531) or "destruction of people" (Thayer's Greek Definitions). This second definition is further confirmed when we break down the word Nicolaitans. Niko is defined as a conquest or victory over others. The second part, lai, means people. The last part, tes, represents the word "the....

Cheap Grace This morning, as I often do, I found myself thinking about something that has been stirring in my heart — and Dietrich Bonhoeffer came to mind. Remembering Bonhoeffer I first learned about Bonhoeffer back in 2016 through a book that, in hindsight, I believe the Spirit placed in my hands at just the right time. I wrote about that experience in my earlier post “ The Prophecies. ” As I revisited his Wikipedia page today, one of his books caught my attention again: The Cost of Discipleship . Reading the summary reminded me how deeply his message aligns with the concerns I’ve been carrying about the modern church. Cheap Grace vs. Costly Grace Cheap grace is forgiveness without repentance, baptism without discipline, communion without confession. It is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate. “Of course you’ve sinned, but everything is forgiven — so stay as you are an...

 03/02/2022 This morning my mind went to this war of Putin’s controlled Russia invading the relatively small country of Ukraine. I can only imagine that it must be really scary for the Ukrainians right now. They are going against the powerful nation of Russia with all of its powerful weapons.  Then my mind went back in time; a time that is recorded in the Bible when God took the Israelites out from their slavery in Egypt through a series of miracles  ( Exodus chapters 11 thru 14 ) . Then God led them to the edge of a sea with nowhere for them to go, and the mighty Egyptian army was fast approaching, either to kill them or take them back into slavery. With more miracles, God held back the Egyptians, made the water to separate, and dried up the bottom so that the Israelites could pass to the other side. When the Egyptians pursued the Israelites into the parted waters, God caused the bottom, just where they were, to become gummy so that it held them back until all the Israel...

Prophecy and Power Something that has always troubled me is the prophecy circulating among Christians today that claims Donald Trump was chosen by God to be president. This morning I found myself thinking back to the period when Adolf Hitler rose to power — and wondered whether there had been a prophecy about him. To my shock, I discovered that there was. Bonhoeffer and False Prophecy From an article in Christianity Today titled “Dietrich Bonhoeffer — German Theologian and Resister” : “The time is fulfilled for the German people of Hitler. It is because of Hitler that Christ, God the helper and redeemer, has become effective among us. … Hitler is the way of the Spirit and the will of God for the German people to enter the Church of Christ.” — Pastor Hermann Gruner Another pastor put it more succinctly: “Christ has come to us through Adolf Hitler.” Just to be clear, Dietrich Bonhoeffer did not say this. He was deeply concerned abou...

Forgiving Each Other – Part 2 Forgiveness is not only for the one doing the forgiving — it is also for the one being forgiven. When we forgive, we reflect the heart of God, who never gives up on anyone. His love pursues, restores, and rejoices when even one person turns back to Him. God Never Gives Up on the One Who Strays “What man among you… does not leave the ninety‑nine and go after the one that is lost?” (Luke 15:3–7) Jesus paints a picture of a shepherd who refuses to abandon even one lost sheep. He searches until he finds it. He lifts it onto his shoulders. He rejoices. Heaven celebrates when a sinner repents — because God’s love does not quit. “It is not the will of your Father… that one of these little ones should perish.” (Matthew 18:12–14) If God refuses to give up on people, then we — His children — must learn to reflect that same mercy. Forgiveness is not approval of sin. It is participation in God’s heart. Nothing Can Separate Us From God’...

Propaganda – The tools used by all the rulers, authorities, forces of cosmic darkness, and spiritual powers of evil in the heavens. ' Illusory truth effect - Biases & Heuristics | The Decision Lab ’ I want to take you back in time to the 1930s. Hitler wrote a book “ Mein Kampf ” and in a section of the book, he wrote about the use of propaganda. In Volume 1; Chapter 6 , he wrote, “all effective propaganda must be confined to a few bare essentials and those must be expressed as far as possible in stereotyped formulas. These slogans should be persistently repeated until the very last individual has come to grasp the idea that has been put forward.” Since Hitler wrote about it, you would expect that he used this propaganda. Christianity in Germany In 1933 when Hitler and the Nazis gained power, there were approximately 45 million Protestants and 22 million Catholic Christians in Germany. Why didn’t the Christians stop Hitler and the Nazis? Why didn’t the Christians...