The Reward
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:10) Encouragement to believers persecuted for their commitment to Jesus Christ. First, be prepared More →
Category: Kingdom of Heaven
Helplessly Poor
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Matthew 5:3 reads, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” There are two important words in that passage: blessed and poor. The word “blessed” (makarios) literally means More →
Faithfulness Check
Accomplished, Accountability, Accusing, Ascended, Bankers, Billy Graham, Blog, Check, Church Pastor, Coming, Condemn, Delivered, Deposited, Effective, Erik Garthe, Faithful, Faithfulness, Faithfulness Test, Far Country, Gather, God, Goods, Great Commission, Heaven, Holy Spirit, Interest, Jesus, Judges, Judgment Seat, Justify, Kingdom of Heaven, Kingdom’s Work, Laziness, Lazy, Lord, Master, Master’s Resources, Money, No Longer Conformed, Opportunity, Plan, Purpose, Reap, Received, Resources, Returns, Scattered, Seed, Servants, Settled, Sow, Supplies, Task, Trust, Trusts, Wicked, Words, Work, world
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Someone wrote, “If you think you are too small to be effective, you’ve never been in bed with a mosquito.” Matthew 25:14-30 is about missed opportunity. First, God trusts His servants with resources—“The kingdom of heaven is like More →
Anticipating Christ’s Return
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In a world full of sin, suffering, and injustice, it seems as if God has been outscored by Satan. Victory appears to be an unlikely dream; but you can rest assured that God is gearing up for the greatest comeback More →
Avoid the Woes! (Part 1)
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Hypocrisy is a problem for many, but it doesn’t have to be. When Jesus confronted the religious leaders in Matthew 23:13-33, He revealed how to avoid the woes by declaring the opposites of integrity. First, be an example More →
Level at the Cross
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“For the kingdom of heaven is like …” begins the parable of Matthew 20:1-16. Verse 16 is key to understanding the parable: “the last will be first, and the first last.” God is debtor to no man—some who start later do more More →
Faith Like a Child
Angels, Appetite, Baits, Believers, Billy Graham, Blog, Body, Child, Children, Christianity, Christians, Contempt, Control, Conversion, Dependence, Devil, Elton Trueblood, Encourage, Erik Garthe, Eye, Faith, Faith Like a Child, Fish, Fisherman, Foot, God, Hand, Jesus, Judged, Kingdom of Heaven, Mutilation, No Longer Conformed, Problems, Resources, Satan, Sin, Temptation, Temptations, Trusting, Unconditional Love, Unkind, Welfare, world
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Elton Trueblood said, “Our faith becomes practical when it is expressed in two books: the date book and the checkbook.” Matthew 18:1-11 deals with the kind of faith that Jesus wants His followers to More →
Trust for Growth
Blog, Church, Erik Garthe, God, Good News, Growth, Harvest, Jesus Christ, Kingdom of Heaven, Leaven, Mustard Seed, No Longer Conformed, Parable, Reapers, Soil, Sower, Spirit of Christ, Trust, Trust for Growth, world
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The church is charged to spread the good news of Jesus Christ to as many people as possible, trusting God for the result. In the parable, the sower didn’t worry about the condition of the soil; he just kept on More →
Jesus’ Evangelism Plan
Blog, Disciples, Diseased, Equipped, Erik Garthe, Evangelism, Evil Spirits, Gentiles, Gospel, Gospel Message, Heal, Jesus, Jesus' Evangelism Plan, Kingdom of Heaven, Lost, No Longer Conformed, Power, Preach, Proclaim, Samaritans, Shake Off the Dust, Sick
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What was Jesus’ strategy to win the lost? What was His plan of evangelism? In Matthew 10:1-15 we see the Lord’s fourfold plan to spread the gospel message to the whole world More →
Pridesick
Blog, Erik Garthe, Faith, Forgive, Grace, Heal, Healing, Hindrance, Kingdom of Heaven, Mercy, No Longer Conformed, Poor in Spirit, Pride, Pridesick, Proud, Righteous, Sacrifice, Self-Righteous, Sinners, Sins, Spiritual Healing, Tax Collectors, unbelief
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“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (1 Peter 5:5) Pride can be a hindrance to healing, both physically and spiritually. It manifests itself in various ways. In Matthew 9:1-13, Jesus dealt with two expressions of More →