The Psalmist issued a challenge to all of God’s people when he said, “behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity” (Ps. 133:1). In the New Testament Christians are encouraged by Paul to “endeavor to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3). While unity and peace is God’s ideal standard, sometimes, Christians don't act the way they should and strife is created. What is it that causes this strife and how do we deal with strife in the body of Christ?

“Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.

They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away, but you are the same, and your years have no end” (Ps. 102: 25-27).

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).

The world we live in is filled with constant change and never-ending updates.

Often we hear religious leaders referred to as “pastor” or “priest”. Are these biblical names that should be applied to the religious leader today? Is it right for a man to wear these names? Let’s examine what God has to say on the matter.

“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations” (Psalm 100:4-5). With the recent Thanksgiving holiday upon us, many are counting their blessings. But shouldn’t thanksgiving be an everyday event instead of a once a year holiday. To the child of God, everyday is a day of thanksgiving. But, what should we thank God for?

Recently someone told me they thought it didn’t matter what a church called itself as long as they worshipped correctly. Is this true according to the Bible? Could a church called itself any name and be acceptable to God as long as they worship correctly? Let’s consider for a moment why it does matter what the church called itself. In fact, just like worshipping God correctly is essential, going by what the rest of the Bible says about the church is also essential. Notice why this is true.

“But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises” (Hebrews 8:6). One of the main points of the book of Hebrews and the New Testament is the Superiority of Christ and the New Covenant. Notice a couple of ways the Book of Hebrews illustrates the Superiority of Christ and Christianity.

Toward the end of Paul’s life, he exclaimed “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief (1 Tim. 1:15). There is little doubt that Paul had his former life as a persecutor of Christians in mind when he said these words. Yet, the change from Saul The Persecutor to Paul The Preacher is one of the great conversions of the New Testament. What steps did Saul take to convert to Christianity? Let’s notice Saul’s conversion from Scripture.

The messianic prophet Zechariah illustrated the urgency of preaching God’s Word when he said, “Run, speak to this young man…” (Zechariah 3:2). Just as in the Old Testament days, an interesting parallel is found in the urging of Phillip to teach the Ethiopian Eunuch. The Scripture records that Phillip “ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’” (Acts 8:30). Both of these verses illustrate the urgent need for men and women to hear the powerful Word of God. Since God chose the foolishness of preaching to save the lost (1 Corinthians 1:21), this places a dire need upon God’s people to preach and teach only God’s Word (2 Timothy 4:2; Acts 8:3-4). What then does it mean to really teach God’s Word?

Do you ever feel like you need to do more for the cause of Christ? Does the feeling that you just aren’t everything you need to ever trouble you? Maybe these feelings are something you struggle with every day. I have a friend who constantly struggles with this problem. He would often get discouraged by the feeling of imperfection and deeply distressed over the fact that he just didn’t feel like he was doing enough in the kingdom.

The question, “Does it really matter?” is becoming the motto for our modern society. We used to have moral beliefs, but “Does it really matter anymore?” At one-time people had a strong conviction about ungodliness and sin but, “Does it really matter that much?” In the past, we had faith in the Bible and its teaching but, “Does the Bible really matter anymore?” To God, IT REALLY DOES MATTER A LOT! Notice several areas in which it does matter.

A person must also be ashamed of their sinful past. Too often, people who have lived a life of sin go around bragging about the “sins” they used to commit. Sin should be something that causes us great shame, not gives us an avenue to boast (Rom. 6:21). How sad it is when we reach a point that we can no longer blush over sin (Jer. 8:12).

The Book of Lamentations has often been referred to as Israel’s funeral sermon or eulogy. In this Book, Jeremiah laments the ultimate destruction and death of Israel as they go into captivity for their sins. Yet, during this sad and depressing time, we find some incredibly beautiful verses about God’s love.

Being a child of God has many blessings that come with that privilege but one of the richest is the forgiveness we receive through Christ. Sometimes I wonder if we really understand the remission and removal of sin that occurs in the mind of God. The Prophet Micah gives us a very graphic picture of how God removes sin from our lives. Micah says, ““He will again have compassion on us, and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:19). To understand the complete removal of sins that occurs when one obeys the Gospel it would be profitable to explore Micah’s words a little more in depth.

Peace is one of the most treasured commodities for any society. For many, many years’ people have prayed, died and lived for peace. Jesus often spoke of the idea of peace. Yet, it was a little different than how we think of peace today. Today, we think of peace as military safety. Or, we think of it as financial security. Sometimes, we even feel like we have peace when the home security alarm is working well and the stock market is soaring.

We live in a world that is full of doubt and worry. What will the stock market do tomorrow? Will the gas prices rise again? How will our country stay safe in these times of terror? Many of these questions are really unknown to us. Yet, when it comes to a person’s eternal salvation, he can know beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is saved.