The Groom Returns For His Bride

(Written by Kathy Overshiner)

When I was a small child at Christmas time, I would thumb through the pages of the Sears, JC Penny and Montgomery Catalogues. I was looking at the Christmas toys. My eyes would focus on the doll section and one particular doll. I admired the beautiful bride doll. My heart was set on this doll. There was a time that I had to leave during the middle of school as I was ill and I had to go to my great grandmother’s for her to take care of me until it was time to go home. During my visit with my great grandmother, she took me to her neighbor. This lady made dolls. I was taken into her crafts room and to my surprise the room was filled completely of dolls. It was a little girls dream. On each wall there were many shelves that went to almost the ceiling and on each self, there were dolls that lined it. But once again, my eyes and heart focused on the bride doll. There was only one there. A year or two later, my great grandmother asked my parents if she could see me. So my folks took me to her. She was by then in a wheel chair. She told me she had something for me that I had wanted. She looked for it, but she could not find it. The only thing that I remember wanting was the bride doll. I never was told what she had wanted to give me. I am left with the mystery, was it the bride doll I had been waiting for?

The Apple Of God’s Eye

(Written by Grant Phillips)

 “For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.” (Zechariah 2:8)

“And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” (Genesis 12:3)

“For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.” (Deuteronomy 14:2)

Our country, the United States of America, has always been a supporter of the nation of Israel, until this current administration. Never, in its short modern history has Israel and its leaders been treated with such disrespect; such outright contempt, by a “friend.” If we were descendants of Ishmael it could be expected, but we are not.

Union And Fellowship Expanded

(Written by Jack Kelley)
I’m frequently asked why I believe we should continue confessing our sins after being born again, since all our sins are already forgiven. People who ask point out that 1 John 1:9 is the only place this is mentioned and if it was so important wouldn’t Jesus have taught it?

Well it turns out 1 John 1:9 isn’t the only place confession is mentioned for believers and as a matter of fact Jesus did teach it. But before we get into that, let’s review what I call the two sided nature of our relationship with the Lord so you can see where the idea came from in the first place.

We Will Have A New Body

(Written by Grant Phillips)
One of the most exciting Scripture passages in the Bible is written by the Apostle Paul and found in 1 Corinthians 15:35-58. For your convenience, I will include this passage below in the New Living Translation (NLT).

The Resurrection Body

³⁵ But someone may ask, “How will the dead be raised? What kind of bodies will they have?” ³⁶ What a foolish question! When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn’t grow into a plant unless it dies first. ³⁷ And what you put in the ground is not the plant that will grow, but only a bare seed of wheat or whatever you are planting. ³⁸ Then God gives it the new body he wants it to have. A different plant grows from each kind of seed. ³⁹ Similarly there are different kinds of flesh—one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish.

Get behind me Satan

(Written by Jack Kelley)
He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” (Mark 8:31-33)

Hermeneutics

“God is a spirit and all his words are spiritual. His literal sense is spiritual.”William Tyndale 1494–1536¹

“It shall greatly help ye to understand Scripture, If thou mark Not only what is spoken or written, But of whom, And to whom, With what words, At what time, Where, To what intent, With what circumstances, Considering what goeth before And what followeth.” John Wycliffe (1324-1384) or Myles Coverdale (1488-1569)

The Parable Of The Wedding Banquet

(Written by Jack Kelley)

Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.

How do we know that we are saved?

The Spirit Himself Bears Witness

Romans 8:12-17 

"So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh to live according to the flesh -- for if you are living according to the flesh you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the flesh, you will live. For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, 'Abba! Father!' The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him that we may indeed be glorified with Him." (Romans 8:12-17).