The Sword of the LORD

A new report published this year by the American Religious Identification Survey from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, finds that 75% of Americans identify themselves as Christian. Despite these findings, only about 40% of Americans confess that they have been "born again." This seems to reveal a widespread misunderstanding about the necessity of the new birth to those who would desire to know God. I would like to offer here an explanation of the new birth which, I hope, will be helpful in clearing up some of the mystery about it for those who have not experienced it, or who are not sure if they have. The necessity of the new birth is clear enough. Jesus Himself said, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." (John 3:3) This is a step that cannot be skipped or avoided if we expect to have a place in the kingdom of heaven. In fact, it is the very first step that we must take in our quest to know God. Every other step is meanin...

"Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that His hour was come that He should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end. And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him; Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He was come from God, and went to God; He riseth from supper, and laid aside His garments; and took a towel, and girded Himself. After that He poureth water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith He was girded." (John 13:1-5).  This act of our Lord's was meant to be much more than merely an example of humility for His disciples. Jesus was not just proving to them that He wasn't afraid to get His hands dirty. No, this was something far beyond that. There was a more elemental lesson that the Lord needed to leave with Hi...

There was a blind man who sat by the roadside begging for handouts to help survive. He had evidently heard about Jesus and the miracles that He had performed for others, and this blind beggar’s heart began to believe that anything was possible.   Then, one day, hearing a commotion, he asked what it meant, and they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. He raised his voice above the crowd saying, “Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.” The folks that were close to him tried to quiet him down, but he cried all the louder until Jesus heard him and had this beggar brought before Him.   Jesus’ question to the blind man was simple, but very powerful. He said, “What wilt thou that I should do unto thee?” The blind man knew exactly what it was that he wanted of the Lord: his sight – and that’s what he asked for. Jesus said, “Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee.”    Faith is the thing that sets us apart. It’s the thing that causes th...