Challenges in the Face of Disaster

Various devastating disasters have occurred over the centuries that have challenged the capacities of people to react in ways that are a test of character. While not pleasant to contemplate, the Bible warns of increasing evils as we approach the end of this age. We should be prepared as Christians to meet the challenges of potential future disasters, situations that will be a test of our faith and character.

In “Challenges in the Face of Disaster,” we examine some prophecies that we need to be aware of, and discuss spiritual principles and concepts that with God’s help will enable us to meet in a godly manner whatever such challenges we may face as the world becomes more perilous.

“Challenges in the Face of Disaster,” a message by Rod Reynolds, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

cogmessenger.org

Messenger Church of God
PO Box 619
Wentzville, MO 63385
USA

God’s Wisdom or the World’s?

The Bibles instructs us, “…incline your ear to wisdom…” (Proverbs 2:2). But how does one define wisdom? What is the source of true wisdom? Commonly, wisdom is sought in human philosophy, in sources like ancient philosophers such as Plato, and others, along with more recent philosophers. Or it may be sought in the opinions of scholars, religious leaders, historians, scientists, educators, or even politicians. Or maybe whatever ideas happen to be popular at any given moment. The world has its wisdom.

We’re told that God “stores up sound wisdom for the upright” (Proverbs 2:7). But the world’s wisdom is often at odds with the wisdom of God as recorded in Scripture. Often the scholars and “wise” of the world ridicule the Scriptures, and assign them to realm of myth and fable. In many ways the wisdom of the world and God’s wisdom cannot be reconciled. “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God” (I Corinthians 3:19).

As Christians, how then should we approach learning and knowledge, making judgments and decisions about life? In this message Rod Reynolds discusses some key principles to guide us in evaluating what may be called “wisdom,” or learning or knowledge.

“God’s Wisdom or the World’s?” a message by Rod Reynolds, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

cogmessenger.org

Messenger Church of God
PO Box 619
Wentzville, MO 63385
USA

Will You be in the First Resurrection?

Is God looking for an excuse to exclude you from his kingdom? Or does he want to grant salvation to you as an heir in his kingdom? And what must you do as you live your life as a Christian, to do your part to assure your place in God’s kingdom when the time of the first resurrection occurs?

“Will You be in the First Resurrection” a message by Rod Reynolds, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

cogmessenger.org

Messenger Church of God
PO Box 619
Wentzville, MO 63385
USA

Question: Wheat or Tare

During his earthly ministry, Jesus often used parables when addressing his audiences. He used parables to illustrate important spiritual principles having to do with the kingdom of God and our relationships with God and with one another. He did not often explain the full meaning of the parables to his audiences, but it wasn’t because he wanted to “hide the meaning,” nor because he was “lying,” as some have imagined. It was because of their hardness of heart. But he did explain the meanings to his closest disciples, whom he told to explain it to others (Matthew 10:27). This is explained in more detail in our article “Does God Lie?

One of the parables of Jesus is the one featuring seeds sown of wheat and tares, lessons from which are explored in this message.

“Question: Wheat or Tare” a message by Rod Reynolds, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

cogmessenger.org

Messenger Church of God
PO Box 619
Wentzville, MO 63385
USA

How Can You Know the Truth?

We live in a world in which confusion abounds. In every major facet of the world’s society: education, politics, religion, or whatever, contradictions, conflict and confusion prevails. Almost every subject of consequence is controversial these days.

There is a continuous struggle going on for our attention. Whether you realize it or not, your mind is under siege. All kinds of elements, groups, individuals, with a point of view to sell are struggling to capture your mind—attempting to win it over to their point of view. Your mind is constantly being bombarded by conflicting ideas, beliefs and opinions.

Even something as obvious as one’s sex is controversial. Are you male or female? An increasingly popular idea these days is that it’s not your DNA, nor the sex organs you are born with, that determine your sex. It’s whether you “feel” that you are male or female. Confusion about one’s sexual identity is being deliberately sown among even very young children by prevailing forces in our society. We can feel compassion for those who are confused about their sexuality, which often results from abuse or other kinds of mistreatment. But I have a hard time feeling anything but contempt for willful proponents of such confusion.

Paradoxically, in a world where the very idea of objective truth is increasingly under assault, powerful institutions are becoming more and more intolerant of any opinions on controversial matters which do not concur with their own.

Powerful social media companies routinely censor or deplatform those posting material which runs counter to opinions they favor, even though they are supposed to be content neutral platforms. Internet browser algorithms often tend to give preference in their search engine results to websites expressing viewpoints in favor with the left-wing Establishment.

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