ECCE

When Joshua led the Israelites across the Jordan River into the Promised Land, twelve stones were placed as a monument for future generations to remember the great thing that the LORD had done for His people. There is a spiritual Stone, a foundational Stone, that not only serves as a reminder, but as a Stone upon which the living house of God is being built. In order to be a part of that living house of God, an acknowledgement of, and connection to, this foundational Stone must be made: "When Jesus came into the coasts of Cesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my ...

Missouri is known as "The Show Me State", because one of its Congressional representatives, when faced with a political argument of dubious facts, stated, "You're going to have to show me!" Certain events of this week, both of the world and the church, including those who refer to themselves as prophets, involved the issuing of statements that seem dubious, but are being accepted as truth. I respond to these statements by saying, " Show me that in the Word of God!" Last week, I encouraged all to become "Bereans", those who searched the scriptures for themselves, looking for confirming truth regarding what Paul was teaching them. We need to know what the Word of God says, especially in these times in which we are living. Paul wrote: "Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their ow...

In the Book of Acts, Paul travelled to a place called Berea. Those there who listened to Paul preach the Gospel, were described as being more noble because they searched out the scriptures for themselves to see if what Paul was telling them was true. We need to encourage believers to search the scriptures for themselves, finding the truth . Jesus spoke the following to those who thought they knew God's Word, but did not search it honestly: "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me . And ye will not come to me, that ye miight have life." (Jn. 5:39-40). There was a man who was a teacher in Israel, Nicodemus, who visited Jesus at night, because he did not want the religious leaders to know. Jesus told him how the scriptures testified of Himself: "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness , even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everl...