gETTING lOST iN tHE wORLD

On October 25, 2014   /   Bible, Christian Basics, Endurance, Faith, God's Will, God's Will for Me, Kingdom, Suffering, Trials, Victory  

Monday, for most, the first day in the work week; why are you going to work?
Are you working to earn a living? Are you Living?
Are you working to support your family? Are you Supportive?
Are you working for your retirement? How does His Retirement look?
Are you working because it’s expected of you? Are you meeting His Expectations?
Are you working for worldly reasons or for His Heavenly Reasons?

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
(Matthew 6:33)

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Holding Fast

On October 18, 2014   /   Bible, Christian Basics, Endurance, Faith, God's Will, Suffering, Trials, Victory  

“What, if anything, helps Americans grow in their faith? When the Barna Group asked that question, people offered a variety of answers—prayer, family or friends, reading the Bible, having children but church did not even crack the top 10 list.

Although church involvement was once a cornerstone of American life, U.S. adults today are evenly divided on the importance of attending church. While half (49%) say it is “somewhat” or “very” important, the other 51% say it is “not too” or “not at all” important. The divide between the religiously active and those resistant to churchgoing impacts American culture, morality, politics and religion.” (barna.org or barnagroup.org)

Are people leaving the church or is the church leaving accurate Bible teaching and His disciples are seeking other sources of teaching? Today is a call to arms:

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:22–25 NASV)

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Understanding Trials

On October 15, 2014   /   Bible, Endurance, Faith, God's Will, Suffering, Trials  

Going through a trial that no one understands? You are in good company. Here is a partial list of some who were misunderstood; Noah, Joseph, Job, Moses, Hosea, Jeremiah, Zechariah, and Jesus Christ. (And I have to add that many, if not most, of the godly women in Scripture were misunderstood and taken for granted by the secular society.)

My favorite example of a misunderstood trial is Job. No human, not even Job, was told why he was going through the trial—it remained a mystery. But we are not Job. God has revealed more to us than He revealed to Job. Consider these three points:

1. Job chapter one and two reveals that Job’s trial was to settle a dispute to the heavenly host;
2. Ephesians 3:8–11 reveals that the purpose of God’s Spiritual Family (the church) is to reveal His wisdom to the heavenly host;
3. Ephesians 6:12 reveals we are still involved in that heavenly dispute.

So be encouraged; it’s not that no one understands your trial it’s only that no human understands your trial.

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Healthy Heart

On October 11, 2014   /   Bible, Christian Basics, Darkness & Light, Endurance, Faith, God's Will for Me, Kingdom, Suffering, Victory  

We are not going to be eternal beings; we already are eternal beings.

As this week crushes in on you with the pressures of this world, work, family, or inescapable boredom do something healthy for your heart:

“But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:20–21)

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Knowing God’s Will for Your Life

On August 1, 2014   /   Bible, Darkness & Light, Faith, God's Will, God's Will for Me, Suffering, Victory  

Is today the first day of the rest of your life? Do you know how long you will live? Do you know what you are going to do with the rest of your life? Is your retirement already secured? If you know God’s big picture plan and have the eternal answers to these questions on the tip of your tongue then you are ready to live in God’s abundant life.

Everywhere in our New Covenant with God, He tells us of His plan and our place in that plan. His plan covers all creation, all time, and all eternity. He has revealed His plan for you and provided everything you need to carry out His plan. What a God! No guessing, no missed opportunity, no lack of intelligence, all we have to do is to go to the Bible and get it – get it all.

If you don’t know God’s plan and all He has provided for you as a Christian a good place to start is the book “from a DARKNESS to the LIGHT”. (Simply go to Amazon and type in “scverlin barton” and the book will come up.)

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Glory to God

On July 31, 2014   /   Bible, Christian Basics, Darkness & Light, Faith, God, Satan, Suffering, Victory   /   Leave a comment

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12)

Do we really believe this?

When you get in a dispute with your spouse, your children, your boss, your friend, or a complete stranger do you stop in the middle of that dispute and think of Ephesians 6:12 and realize that there is more going on than just a dispute with another person? One of the reasons we are here is to have a witness to the heavenly host (Ephesians 3:10; 6:12; Job chapters 1–2). Our struggles can start in the heavenly places but always glorify God in the heavenly places (Job).

In the book “from a DARKNESS to the LIGHT” the door to this situation begins to open and His light is shed on this long ignored biblical truth.

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Devoured by Satan

On June 23, 2014   /   Bible, Christian Basics, Darkness & Light, Faith, God, Satan, Victory   /   Leave a comment

Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. (1 Peter  5:8)

Where does it say that Satan is a defeated foe? If he is defeated why did the risen Christ tell Paul “to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God,” (Acts 26:18)? If he is defeated why does God the father say: “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” (Romans 16:20)?

Turn your back on a roaring lion and he will devour you.
Poke fun at him and he will devour you.
Make believe he does not exist and he will devour you.

In the book “from a DARKNESS to the LIGHT” the only defense against Satan that God has provided is broken down into five (5) simple actions. These actions are taken from the books of James, Ephesians, 1 Peter, and Hebrews. May God bless you as you read and have victory.

If you think that since you are a Christian you don’t need to worry about him then you have already been devoured and you more than anyone else need to read this timely book.

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Back to Basics

On June 17, 2014   /   Bible, Christian Basics, Darkness & Light, Kingdom, Satan, Suffering   /   Leave a comment

Back to Basics
When you win the Super Bowl what do you do when you get back to training camp? You’ve just gone as far as you can go what can you learn in training camp? When you’ve just won the world championship in your sport what do you do next year? Sometimes it’s good to get back to the basics; go back to the starting point and revisit the fundamentals and see if you are still on track or if there is anything you can improve on. This will make you a winner again.

Christianity has been around now for close to 2,000 years, we’ve come a long way and compiled a lot of biblical information so much so many of us are drowning in biblical information. So where do we go from here? Back to the basics.

I wrote “from a DARKNESS to the LIGHT” to get Christians back to the basics. It helps to clear the fog on all this compiled biblical information and simplify our faith and our life. Christ came to bring us His light and His light always clarifies. If you want to know the simple message of Christianity then “from a DARKNESS to the LIGHT” is an excellent place to start. (Find the book on Amazon and Barnes and Noble, just type in “scverlin barton”)

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Lost In The Darkness

On April 7, 2014   /   Bible, Darkness & Light, Kingdom, Saints, Satan, Suffering   /   Leave a comment

Getting Lost in the Darkness

monday, for most, the first day in the work week; why are you going to work?
are you working to earn a living? are you Living?
are you working to support your family? are you Supportive?
are you working for your retirement? how does His Retirement look?
are you working because it’s expected of you? are you meeting His Expectations?
are you working for worldly reasons or for His Heavenly Reasons?

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
(Matthew 6:33)

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And Others!

On March 25, 2014   /   Bible, God, Religion, Saints, Satan, Suffering   /   Leave a comment

Are you one of the “and others” from Hebrews 11:35b-40? If so you might be on the front lines of God’s present active plan.

Remember Job, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego! They were God’s best and they faced great trials because of their righteousness. If you are suffering for your faith, through no fault of your own then consider yourself blessed. As Rich Mullins wrote “you meet God in the furnace long before you meet Him in the air.” And remember one more who suffered — our lord Jesus Christ.

“If we endure, we will also reign with Him. . . (2 Tim. 2:12).”

 

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