Last week the Institute welcomed Kerby Anderson. He shared on apologetics and covered the issues of the world and how the Bible addresses these topics. I took away several big things from this past week, but one of the biggest takeaways I had was the confidence I have in knowing Jesus as my Lord. We took a look at all these other religions and all these others issues, and nothing stood up to Jesus. I know I was raised in a Christian home and I have always wondered what it would be like If I wouldn’t have been raised the way I was. What if I would have been raised in a different religion and in a different culture? Well I am so thankful that I was raised in a Christian home because the Bible and the message of Jesus are things that make the most sense and the things that I hold to be true. Many other religions force you to rely on yourself and I am so thankful that God lets me rely on Him. I am saved by Faith in Him and it is so freeing and good to know that I do not have to work my way to heaven and that I do not have to rely on the sinful man that I am. I get to put my trust in Jesus!

            So this week, if you  know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior then rest in the fact that He has done the work for you and loves you. Continue to put your trust in Him and study His word. If you do not now the Lord I would encourage you to read a couple verses out of the Bible. (Romans 6:23, Romans 5:8, and Romans 10:9-10, 13)

Hey Everyone!

            This past week we at the Institute had the opportunity of getting to hear from Matt Chandler. Matt spoke on the Gospel, and he broke the Gospel down into 4 Categories: GodàManàChristàResponse. The first thing that we notice about these 4 categories is the order in which they are laid out. The Gospel begins with God, the creator of all things. It does not begin with man. We as men, being the sinful creatures that we are, tend to put ourselves at the forefront of the Gospel. We get so wrapped up in what we need and we want that we mess up the intended order of things. Everything begins and ends with the creator, not us!

The second thing that I want to point out about the Gospel is that it is powerful. Romans 1:16-17 says:

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.”

This is so encouraging. When sharing the Gospel we do not have to stand on our own power, but we trust in the POWER of GOD. This gives confidence to all who believe in the Good news of Jesus Christ. We as believers have been given this good news, and it is our duty to share it. We should never be scared or nervous when telling of the story of Christ because the one who is ultimately doing the work in others hearts is the Lord, and that is such a comforting idea. The Gospel will do the work, not us. We are merely vessels by which it is transmitted.

The last thing that I would like to leave you with today is another encouragement pertaining to the Gospel, and that is that God likes you right now. I’ll say that again, God delights in you, right now! We get wrapped up in this idea that If I do this or If could just stop this, then God will love me. God does not love some future version of you! He loves you at this very minute, and the reason He loves you is because of Christ. Because Christ came and died for our sins we are now acceptable to God, and only His death are we accepted. Ephesians 2: 4-10 says:

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

It is so good to know this. God accepts us the minute we put our Faith in Him. He does not Love the future version of you. He DELIGHTS in you right now. So, go live in this Power, the power of Christ, and proclaim the good news you know!

Marriage was the topic of the Institute this past week. We had the opportunity to talk about the importance of marriage and how marriage can glorify God. The overarching point that stood out to me this week was the fact that marriage is something that you really have to work at. When you get married there are many responsibilities that come along that are not always thought about. People tend to think that marriage is one big happy party, which it is fun, but they do forget about the difficulties and strife that you have to work through in order to have a successful marriage. Marriage ultimately should be God centered and the husband and wife should love the Lord first and their spouse second.

This past week James Skinner came to the institute to speak on the Kingdom Era of the Bible. The Kingdom era details the formation of Israel into a monarchy and the events that take place during this period of time. My biggest takeaway from this week was from King David. David has always been one of my favorite figures in the Bible. Him being called a man after God's own heart is something that I have always strived to emulate. However, I learned more this week about his shortcomings than anything else. David was involved deeply with some serious sins. Yet God still calls him a man after His own heart. I was just encouraged by this thought. Even though I have messed up over and over and humans have messed up over and over we still have a loving God who sent His son for us.