I was a smoker for fifteen years and smoking over 20 cigs a day, every day. If ever I happened to run out, I would desperately raid the ashtrays for nubs and carefully roll up making sure I didn't waste any of that 'precious' second-hand, charred tobacco. I would light up first thing in the morning and I would go to bed with one at night, but even though I craved them and part of me was satisfied when I was smoking one, I often found the taste truly repulsive especially if I'd been smoking more than usual yet I couldn't put it out, and I would be lighting up again within a short while. I ...

I believe it is the broad experience away from God. To know what it is to be out of His presence and what things are without Him. It's like learning the hard way. The problem is we can walk with Him now while we are on the earth and experience His presence through His spirit. Satan didn't know what it meant to live out of The Presence of God although he did know what it was to be forever in His presence and then to loose it and now suffer eternally out of His Presence. We are experiencing time out of His presence with the opportunity to live in His presence forever. There is an old...

One of the wonderful things about America is that we have gotten to be smarter than God (hope you recognize satire when you read it). We are now wiser than he is, we know better than he does how to love our fellowman and what is inherently right, and we no longer need his word as any kind of a guide to life. God if you will just take a seat over here to our left behind us and let us handle this we will take care of it. Yes, maybe you had it right once but you have grown old and we are young and our intellects are sharp and it is a new day. We are so arrogant that sometimes it is hard t...

What is communicated by a stop sign? Obviously the command to stop is given, but why? The posted command offers no explanation as to “why” behind it. This understanding is supposed to be understood if a person is able to drive. The reason for the posting of the stop sign is so that the driver will stop in order that he can look both ways and thus respond to the traffic that may or may not be present on the road that day. Thus the real importance of the stop sign is the reasoning behind it, which is for the motorist to slow down sufficiently (stop) to consider the traffic on the road way ...

Do you desire world-wide exposure, missions expert? If you live in the United States, then you have multitudes from other countries going in and out of your country every day. The U.S. is famous for its fluctuating ethnic diversity. In the case of international college students, they stay for three to ten years soaking up everything they can. These students sometimes stay forever. Since the American church is so fascinated with international missions I suppose all this international traffic must leave the U.S. feeling saturated with the kingdom of heaven, right? No, obviously not. However...

Should I answer God’s call on my life without my spouse's support? This question reminds me of a preacher who used to be a prominent figure on television until he went astray. He expected his wife to help him fulfill his destiny. God advised this preacher that He had a destiny for the wife to do too. This preacher accepted this because God said it, but I’m sure it didn’t sit well with him. Many men have problems with women in ministry. We have been taught that men are more important to God. We are taught that the only missions of women are to be wives and mothers. They aren’t...

Elijah said, How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow Him. The same thing goes for Christ-followers: How can we follow Him as Lord unless we know Him as Lord? If we know Him as Lord, it will be irresistible for us to honor Him as Lord. There's no way around it. The most dependable way to confirm that Jesus is Lord is to obey His direct commands right away and then continue thus until further notice. A genuine desire to obey Christ is useful; this way we'll stop and listen long enough to know what it is He is commanding us. ...

How Do I Overcome These Feelings? Question: How do I overcome my sexual feelings? Many times on television and in the movies, we are bombarded by sexual images of people talking about sex, having sex or looking at pornography. Television and movies even portray minors, people who are underage, having sex. Some times even with adults. The message is that everyone is doing it before they are married. Teenagers are doing it. Watching pornography is a natural part of the process. All these are lies. Just because the world thinks this way doesnt make it right. In fact, it is ...

When you receive the Seal you will begin to distinguish between this temporary world and the everlasting Heavens. You will put all your hope in Heaven instead of in this world. Jesus taught how He came not to destroy the Law and Prophets but to fulfill them. He said "until the Heaven and the earth pass away, not one iota or one dot should pass away from the Law." Heaven is an eternal home. But the heavens immediately surrounding the earth are passing away with the earth right now. Climate change is happening because of greenhouse gases in the heavens. That climat...

When David set out to write each song he simply wrote what was on his mind. He happened to be musical as well, so he was able to express himself through poetry and music. In his psalms, David expressed the general wisdom he had gained from living. He expressed his fears, loves and agonies as well... all directed to God, all worshipping God. Lauryn's Hills lyrics in her song "Selah" demonstrate all these things. Here are some lyric snippets: "Nothing can be done against the truth No matter how we remain in denial Wasting time Replacing time With each empty excuse But that'll only work...