Archives for 2020

Good morning,

Many shows we watch on TV are not friendly to origins of man. Some claim that it took billions of years for the world and mankind to come into being. They have all sorts of theories, but no real evidence.

I hold in my hand the testimony of the Creator. God tells us step by step how the world came into being. The process was simple. God spoke it, Jesus made it, and the Holy Spirit breathed life into it.

If we do not know the truth, we could easily be persuaded to believe the lie of evolution.

This week we will look at the Creation of our world. We will look at who God is and how He completed His creative work.

CREATION

GENESIS 1:1-31

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Genesis 1:1

INTRO:  In the beginning GOD…

WHO is God?

1. Elohim=supreme, mighty EL=strong

2. Elohim is a plural word.  The Godhead:

     a. Father

     b. Son

         While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world. When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth: When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep: When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth: Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him; Prov 8:26-30

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. John 1:1-3 and 14

     c. Holy Spirit V2 …the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters

3. Omnipotent=all powerful       He creates Gen 1:1-31

4. Omnipresent Eternal He had no beginning

5. Omniscience He knows all

WHAT did God do?  Created everything by using the action verbs:

     Created, said, saw, called, made, set, divided, blessed

     V1 created the heavens and the earth

     V2 the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters

     V3 let there be light (Jesus was the Light)

     V4 divided the light from the darkness

     V5 called the light Day and the darkness night (End of day one)

WHAT did God do?  Created everything:

     V6 -8       made a firmament and called it heaven (End of second day)

     V9-13     called the dry land Earth and the water seas

                    God said let the Earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed,

                    and the fruit tree yielding its fruit after his kind

                    (End of third day)

     V14-19   made the sun, moon, and stars (End of fourth day)

     V20-23   made fowls of the air and sea creatures (End of fifth day)

     V24-25   made land animals and insect life

     V26-30   made man and woman and gave them direction

                    Let US… reference to the Godhead

          Gives them dominion over the fish, fowl, cattle, over all the

          earth, and over every creeping thing

          Created man in his own image, in the image of God

          Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth

          Gave them food to eat

     V31        Everything that GOD made was very good (End of sixth day) 

WHERE did God do this? 

                    Since no place existed, answer unknown

WHEN did God do this?

                    In the beginning. 

                    REMEMBER there was no concept of time

WHY is this a foundation stone?

                    Without God there is nothing.  This truly is the foundation of all

                    existance

                    God created all the elements to sustain man

                    God created all the elements to sustain man outside the Garden

                    of Eden

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Good morning,

Many shows we watch on TV are not friendly to origins of man. Some claim that it took billions of years for the world and mankind to come into being.

I hold in my hand the testimony of the Creator. God tells us step by step how the world came into being. The process was simple. God spoke it, Jesus made it, and the Holy Spirit breathed life into it.

If we do not know the truth, we could easily be persuaded to believe the lie of evolution.

This week we will look at the Creation of our world. We will look at who God is and how He completed His creative work.

What did God do?

Created everything by using the action verbs:

Created, said, saw, called, made, set, divided, blessed

Created the heavens and the earth (1:1-2) (First day)

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.² And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

Let there be light (1:3-5)

³ And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.⁴ And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.⁵ And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

Yesterday, we looked at who God is. It was crucial to establish this because only God would be capable of creating this world.

When we speak of light, we think in terms of light coming from the sun, moon, or stars. God does not create these till day four. John 1:3-5 tells us who is the light.

“All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. ⁴ In him was life; and the life was the light of men.⁵ And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.”

Jesus is the light. He states in John 8:12 that He is the light of the world.

“Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”

God the Father spoke, God the Son made, and God the Holy Spirit moved upon the face of the waters. The triune God working in unity.

Day one includes God’s creating the heavens and earth. He establishes Jesus as the light and divides it from the darkness. This established our concept of time. The first day.

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Good morning,

Many shows we watch on TV are not friendly to origins of man. Some claim that it took billions of years for the world and mankind to come into being. They have all sorts of theories, but no real evidence.

I hold in my hand the testimony of the Creator. God tells us step by step how the world came into being. The process was simple. God spoke it, Jesus made it, and the Holy Spirit breathed life into it.

If we do not know the truth, we could easily be persuaded to believe the lie of evolution.

This week we will look at the Creation of our world. We will look at who God is and how He completed His creative work.

 WHO is God?

1. Elohim=supreme, mighty EL=strong

2. Elohim is a plural word.  The Godhead:

    a. Father

    b. Son

         While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world. When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth: When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep: When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth: Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him; Prov 8:26-30

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. John 1:1-3 and 14

     c. Holy Spirit V2 …the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters

3. Omnipotent=all powerful       He creates Gen 1:1-31

4. Omnipresent Eternal He had no beginning

5. Omniscience He knows all

The Godhead, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, working together in unity to create the world.

This is not a manmade god, but the God of all eternity. No beginning and no ending. Holy, perfect, with all power and wisdom. Only God could create this world.

This knowledge in itself should be enough to reject any other creation theory. The Bible account is true, precise, and honest!

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Good morning,

John 15 is about abiding in Christ. We will learn about vines, branches, and why it is important for the branches to abide in the vine. We will also learn God loves us, calls us His friend, we will be hated by the world, and that Jesus will send us the Comforter, the Holy Spirit of God.

Christians will be hated (15:18-25)

“If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.¹⁹ If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.²⁰ Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.²¹ But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me.²² If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloak for their sin.²³ He that hateth me hateth my Father also.²⁴ If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father.²⁵ But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.”

The Christian life is not pain free. If we are abiding in Christ, doing His bidding, witnessing for the Lord, and living for Christ, then we should expect to be persecuted. The world does not believe the Bible or that Jesus existed. They put believers in Christ down and make fun of them. How we react tells a lot about who we are in Christ. Do we have a humble spirit or fight back? Do we love the unlovely or do we hate? It should be our heart attitude to follow Jesus example.

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:⁶ Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:⁷ But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:⁸ And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” (Philippians 2:5-8)

Coming of the Holy Spirit (15:26-27)

“But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:²⁷ And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.”

Soon Jesus would be gone. The disciples, although warned, did not comprehend all that was about to happen. Jesus made them a promise to send the Comforter to them. The Comforter (Holy Spirit) would bear witness to all Jesus taught them.

Abiding in Christ comes with a cost. We must be willing to suffer and be rejected. We must be humble as Jesus. We must be sensitive to the moving of the Holy Spirit, who lives within us, to lead and guide.

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Good morning,

John 15 is about abiding in Christ. We will learn about vines, branches, and why it is important for the branches to abide in the vine. We will also learn God loves us, calls us His friend, we will be hated by the world, and that Jesus will send us the Comforter, the Holy Spirit of God.

Christians are friends of Christ (15:12-17)

“This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. ¹³ Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.¹⁴ Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. ¹⁵ Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.¹⁶ Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.¹⁷ These things I command you, that ye love one another.”

Jesus teaches us three principles.

First, we are to love one another. This is not a request, but a command. Before we were saved, Jesus loved us. God sent Him to earth, in the form of a man, to pay the sin debt we owed.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

Second, Jesus calls us His friends. He saw us as “friends” before His death. He laid done His life on the cross for us, His friends. He tells us we are His friends, if we follow His commands.

When we think of Jesus, we think of Him as God the Son, the creator of all things, the Savior of all mankind, the babe in the manger, the man on the cross, or the man resurrected from the dead. But friend? What a relationship we have with God the Son, for Him to call us His friend.

Third, He reminds us that He has chosen and ordained us to go and bring forth fruit. Soul winning and discipleship go hand in hand. When God allows us to see someone come to know Christ, our responsibility has just begun. Discipleship produces fruit in the person’s life. Character, obedience, reading and understanding the Bible, and church attendance, is the fruit of a person who witnesses for Christ.

This passage is challenging.

Do we love as Jesus loves? Do we call the unlovable our friends? Are we witnessing and discipling others, so they can bear much fruit?

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Good morning,

John 15 is about abiding in Christ. We will learn about vines, branches, and why it is important for the branches to abide in the vine. We will also learn God loves us, calls us His friend, we will be hated by the world, and that Jesus will send us the Comforter, the Holy Spirit of God.

John 15

Abiding in Christ

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. (John 15:4)

INTRODUCTION

The true vine (15:1-3)

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.² Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.³ Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.”

The metaphor in John 15 is of a vine and its branches. The vine is the source and sustenance of life for the branches, and the branches must abide in the vine to live and bear fruit. Jesus is the vine, and the branches are people. While it is obvious the fruit-bearing branches represent true Christians, the identity of the fruitless ones is in question. The Father is the vinedresser.

Abiding in Christ (15:4-11)

“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.⁵ I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.⁶ If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.⁷ If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.⁸ Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.⁹ As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.¹⁰ If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.¹¹ These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.”

The disciples were familiar with the role of the vinedresser. After a vine is planted, the vinedresser has two duties. First, he cuts off fruitless branches, which take away sap from the fruit-bearing branches. If sap is wasted, the plant will bear less fruit. Then he constantly trims shoots from the fruit-bearing branches so that all the sap is concentrated on fruit-bearing. The fruit-bearing branches are pruned so they will bear more fruit. We know these branches represent Christians, because only Christians can bear fruit. Pruning is not done only once—it is a constant process. The Father prunes a branch so it may bear more fruit. After continual pruning, it bears much fruit.

Christians are friends of Christ (15:12-17)

“This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. ¹³ Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.¹⁴ Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. ¹⁵ Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.¹⁶ Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.¹⁷ These things I command you, that ye love one another.”

Christians will be hated (15:18-25)

“If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.¹⁹ If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.²⁰ Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.²¹ But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me.²² If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloak for their sin.²³ He that hateth me hateth my Father also.²⁴ If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father.²⁵ But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.”

Coming of the Holy Spirit (15:26-27)

“But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:²⁷ And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.”

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Good morning,

John 15 is about abiding in Christ. We will learn about vines, branches, and why it is important for the branches to abide in the vine. We will also learn God loves us, calls us His friend, we will be hated by the world, and that Jesus will send us the Comforter, the Holy Spirit of God.

Abiding in Christ (15:4-11)

“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.⁵ I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.⁶ If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.⁷ If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.⁸ Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.⁹ As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.¹⁰ If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.¹¹ These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.”

The disciples were familiar with the role of the vinedresser. After a vine is planted, the vinedresser has two duties. First, he cuts off fruitless branches, which take away sap from the fruit-bearing branches. If sap is wasted, the plant will bear less fruit. Then he constantly trims shoots from the fruit-bearing branches so that all the sap is concentrated on fruit-bearing. The fruit-bearing branches are pruned so they will bear more fruit. We know these branches represent Christians, because only Christians can bear fruit. Pruning is not done only once—it is a constant process. The Father prunes a branch so it may bear more fruit. After continual pruning, it bears much fruit.

The nourishment we need, as believers in Christ, is in Jesus Christ. Practically speaking, we need to abide in Christ. Understanding the Bible, who Jesus is, what He has done for us, what He continues to do, and what He will do in the future, helps us to surrender our lives. A surrendered life, is a life ready to abide in the vine. When we abide in Christ, we become more like Jesus. We desire the things that Jesus desires. We choose to fully obey His word. We want to be like Jesus in every way.

The Christian that abides in Christ, produces brings forth much fruit. The fruit here are character qualities, works that glorify God, and ability to see souls come to Christ.

Unfortunately, there are many who claim to be Christians who fail to produce fruit. They are not abiding in Christ. They make a profession of faith, but have no desire to grow in Christ. They expect Jesus to conform to their image of Christianity. They are the tares among the wheat. These are the unfruitful branches.

What kind of fruit are we producing? Much fruit or no fruit? Abiding or colliding with Jesus? Maturing or decaying?

It is God’s will that all true believers abide in Christ.

Are we?

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Good morning,

John 15 is about abiding in Christ. We will learn about vines, branches, and why it is important for the branches to abide in the vine. We will also learn God loves us, calls us His friend, we will be hated by the world, and that Jesus will send us the Comforter, the Holy Spirit of God.

The true vine (15:1-3)

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.² Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.³ Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.”

The metaphor in John 15 is of a vine and its branches. The vine is the source and sustenance of life for the branches, and the branches must abide in the vine to live and bear fruit. Jesus is the vine, and the branches are people. While it is obvious the fruit-bearing branches represent true Christians, the identity of the fruitless ones is in question. The Father is the vinedresser.

This introduction sets the stage for our teaching on abiding in Christ. The vine, the husbandman, and the branches. The branches that produce fruit and those that do not.

“Jesus was not introducing a new idea by using the metaphor of a vine and branches. In the Old Testament, God’s vine was Israel. He used them to accomplish His purpose in the world, and He blessed those connected with them. He was the vinedresser; He cared for the vine, trimmed it, and cut off branches that did not bear fruit. But God’s vine degenerated and bore no fruit. The vinedresser grieved over the tragedy of Israel’s fruitlessness:

Let me sing now for my well-beloved a song of my beloved concerning His vineyard. My well-beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hill. He dug it all around, removed its stones, and planted it with the choicest vine. And He built a tower in the middle of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it; then He expected it to produce good grapes, but it produced only worthless ones. “And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between Me and My vineyard. What more was there to do for My vineyard that I have not done in it? Why, when I expected it to produce good grapes did it produce worthless ones? So now let Me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard: I will remove its hedge and it will be consumed; I will break down its wall and it will become trampled ground. I will lay it waste; it will not be pruned or hoed, but briars and thorns will come up. I will also charge the clouds to rain no rain on it.” For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel. (Isaiah 5:1-7)

God had done everything He could to make Israel bear fruit, yet it bore none. So He took away its wall and left it unprotected. It was then trampled down by foreign nations and laid waste. Israel was no longer God’s vine; it had forfeited its privilege.

Now there is a new vine. No longer does blessing come through a covenantal relationship with Israel. Fruit and blessing come through connection with Jesus Christ. Jesus is the true Vine.” (The Vine and the Branches, pg. 25, John MacArthur, Grace to you ministries)

This week will help us to determine are we fruitful branches or not.

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Good morning,

John 14 is a book of comfort. We learn about our new home, the relationship between Jesus and God the Father, that believers can do the works that Christ did, the promise of the Comforter, and sweet peace for believers.

Promise of the Comforter (14:16-26)

“And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;¹⁷ Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.¹⁸ I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.¹⁹ Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.²⁰ At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.²¹ He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. ²² Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?²³ Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.²⁴ He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.²⁵ These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.²⁶ But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”

Here is true comfort. Jesus is leaving. Jesus says He is also coming back. In the interim, The Father will give us the Comforter, the Holy Spirit of God, who will live within us, guide, and teach us.

This is crucial for our continued growth in Christ. The still small voice, the gentle nudge to do right, and the conviction when we have done wrong. The Holy Spirit is relentless in keeping believers on the straight and narrow path.

Sweet peace for believers (14:27-31)

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.²⁸ Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.²⁹ And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe.³⁰ Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.³¹ But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.”

The world is looking for peace, but there is no peace. The world is looking in the wrong place. Jesus Christ is the Prince of peace. He gives all believers who trust in Him, His peace.

How do we deal with the stresses of life? Only through knowing Jesus Christ and His word. Peace and comfort come from the word of God. The God of heaven is bigger than any problem we have on earth. God knows each one of us inside and out. He is able to take care of all our heartaches.

Our problem is unbelief. We fail to go to God for His help. He will comfort and give us peace, if we will trust Him.

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001

Good morning,

John 14 is a book of comfort. We learn about our new home, the relationship between Jesus and God the Father, that believers can do the works that Christ did, the promise of the Comforter, and sweet peace for believers.

Believers can do the works Christ did (14:12-15)

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.¹³ And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.¹⁴ If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.¹⁵ If ye love me, keep my commandments.

There are three things to glean from these verses.

First, we are able to do greater works than Christ. How can that be? Jesus is God. Communicating the gospel, in Jesus time, was in small gatherings, one on one, or in the homes of believers. Some trusted Christ, but not many.

After Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection, many more came to Christ. At Pentecost 3,000 souls were saved. Today through radio, television, internet, and mass evangelistic meetings, souls are being saved on a daily basis. These same tools allow the new believer the opportunity to get sound Bible teaching in their homes.

Second, is the study and obedience to God’s word. Everything God wanted us to know is found in the Bible. Without a knowledge of God’s word, we will not know God’s will for our lives. Studying the Scriptures is important. Obedience to what God commands is the basis for loving Jesus.

Third, prayer. Jesus said if you pray in His name, He would answer that prayer. Our prayers must be in line with the Scriptural principles Jesus taught. If our prayers are for worldly pursuits, not in line with what Scripture says, demeans the work of Christ, then Jesus is not obligated to answer our prayer. However, when we pray in Jesus name, upholding the Scriptural principles He taught, exalting His name, He hears our prayers and will answer, yes, no, or wait.

Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001