What does it mean to magnify God? Do we do it by magnifying Jesus?
What does it mean to magnify God? Do we do it by magnifying Jesus?
Giving glory to God through worship and through upright living. God’s people are exhorted to praise him and to bring honor to his name. We need to shout it out!
There are two kinds of magnifying: microscope magnifying and telescope magnifying. The one makes a small thing look bigger than it is. The other makes a big thing begin to look as big as it really is.
“Son of Man” Meaning – Why Jesus Used This Name
What does the Son of Man mean? This article is part of the Names of God Series featuring the most used names and titles of God found in the Bible.
We read that Jesus was called many names throughout the Bible, but Son of Man stands apart for several reasons. The number of times we see this name alone separates it from some of the others. Just as with a name like Lamb of God, this name has a distinct meaning that is easily defined and tied back to Scripture.
What is the significance and the implications of Christ being the Son of Man? Just like other names of God, this name has rich meaning. Let’s explore this powerful name.
Read the article here: “Son of Man” Meaning – Why Jesus Used This Name
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About the Christian Training Center
There is power in prayer. We see it every day. Let us join with you in tapping into the Power of God. Click here to make a request.
The Christian Training Center International was founded in the early 1970’s as The Inn of the Last Resort. It is now known throughout the world for its outreach to families, Christian leaders, and young people. Our focus is to enable individuals – especially young men and women – to face and overcome the mounting issues and pressures in their daily lives. Learn more here.
The most effective way to learn a foreign language is through immersion. In complete immersion, students spend all their time hearing and speaking a new language in a sequential and cumulative format. The goal is to become not only a proficient speaker, but to acquire an appreciation and understanding of a new culture. This approach describes the training process at CTCI.
Our programs are like an immersion into a new language – the language of living in Jesus. The goal is fluency in the language of relationships. Programs share a sequential vision, building an understanding of relationships and family culture. The foundation is an encounter with Jesus. This encounter is the means for both insight and vision. Encountering Jesus leads a radical change in living and relationships.
Learn more here.
What is the the Holiness of God? Why is it important?
The holiness of God is the most difficult of all God’s attributes to explain, partly because it is one of His essential attributes that is not shared, inherently, by any of us.
We know we are created in God’s image, and can share many of His attributes, to a much lesser extent, of course — love, mercy, faithfulness, etc. These are the gifts of God to us and grow in us as fruit of His Holy Spirit.
Where is God in Suffering?
Where is God in suffering? Oxford Professor of Mathematics, John Lennox, speaking at The Veritas Forum at Harvard Med School, 2014.
Full library available AD FREE at http://www.veritas.org/talks.
Over the past two decades, The Veritas Forum has been hosting vibrant discussions on life’s hardest questions and engaging the world’s leading colleges and universities with Christian perspectives and the relevance of Jesus.
Learn more at http://www.veritas.org, with upcoming events and over 600 pieces of media on topics including science, philosophy, music, business, medicine, and more!
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Our Mission & Vision
There is power in prayer. We see it every day. Let us join with you in tapping into the Power of God. Click here to make a request.
Our programs are like an immersion into a new language – the language of living in Jesus. The goal is fluency in the language of relationships. Programs share a sequential vision, building an understanding of relationships and family culture. The foundation is an encounter with Jesus. This encounter is the means for both insight and vision. Encountering Jesus leads a radical change in living and relationships
Our Vision is to see generations of leaders victoriously modeling Jesus in their families and communities.
Our Mission is training believers to live a victorious life through biblical Truth, experiential discipleship, and family relationships.
Values
Life is:
1) Relationships
2) Personal Holiness
3) Biblical
4) Authentic
5) Relevant
Learn more here.
Quick Shot Responses to “There is No Evidence for God’s Existence”
Check this out from J. Warner Wallace. Great apologetic overview.
In this episode of the Cold-Case Christianity Broadcast, J. Warner offers a number of brief, rhetorically powerful responses to the objection: “There is No Evidence for God’s Existence.” How can we possibly make an affirmative case for the existence of God? Can we use an evidential approach, and if so, how would we approach this task?
These Quick Shot responses are designed to help you remove intellectual obstacles when talking about God with your friends and family members. They are also available on the Cold-Case Christianity Phone App so you can access them as you are interacting with others.
Read the article here: Quick Shot Responses to “There is No Evidence for God’s Existence” (Cold-Case Christianity S5E23) | | Cold Case Christianity
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There is power in prayer. We see it every day. Let us join with you in tapping into the Power of God. Click here to make a request.
Check out our upcoming ministry programs for young adults and families. Please click here.
Our programs are like an immersion into a new language – the language of living in Jesus. The goal is fluency in the language of relationships. Programs share a sequential vision, building an understanding of relationships and family culture. The foundation is an encounter with Jesus. This encounter is the means for both insight and vision. Encountering Jesus leads a radical change in living and relationships.
Heroes Semester is a 10-week residential, “family style” living experience like no other! | Participants ages 18-26 come with one purpose – to go deeper with the Lord. Learn more about our programs here.
Strengthening & Restoring Family Relationships — Train to Reign Program — Oct 20 – Nov 2 | Family is the most vital relationship and the one under the most pressure and attack. Come strengthen your family in a strong relationship with God. Learn more here.
If you would like to donate to the Christian Training Center, please click here.
Should we expect to always get our way?
We can learn to think like Jesus. He didn’t expect to get His own way.
Now that is radical. Who doesn’t want to get their own way? Seriously.
But that misses God’s goal for our lives. God has a goal for us. He wants us to love Him completely. That is all.
Is God self-sufficient? Does He have any needs?
For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.
John 5:26
As limited humans, we have incredible needs, which left unfulfilled, result in death. God, however, has never once been in need of anything. As Tim Temple writes, “God is perfectly complete within his own being.”
In a blog post on Reformation21.org, Scott Swain writes that the self-sufficiency of God means he “possesses infinite riches of being, wisdom, goodness, and power in and of himself (Gen 17:1; John 5:26; Eph 3:16). Because he possesses these unfathomable riches in the perfect knowledge and love of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matt 11.25-27; John 17:24-26), God is the “blessed” or “happy” God (1 Tim 1.11; 6:15).”
5 Things You are Forgetting about God
Alyssa Roat is a literary agent at C.Y.L.E., a professional writing major at Taylor University, and a freelance editor with Sherpa Editing Services. Her passions for Biblical study and creativity collide in her writing. More than a hundred of her works have been featured in publications ranging from The Christian Communicator to Keys for Kids. Find out more about her here and on social media @alyssawrote.
“God is love.”
“God is for you.”
“God is forgiving.”
We hear a lot of things about God. Books upon books have been written on his attributes. However, there are some attributes of God that we like to brush under the rug.
These attributes are uncomfortable. They don’t give us the warm fuzzies. They challenge us and remind us of how small we are.
However, all the attributes of God are good. Perhaps the issue here is not that God has some attributes that we need to gloss over, but rather that we need to dig deeper to discover the hidden beauty and goodness He has in store.
Below are five “uncomfortable” attributes of God, and why they are actually amazing promises for us as His people.
Source: 5 Things You are Forgetting about God – Topical Studies
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Monthly Giving
Monthly giving is an important way to support our mission. The most effective way to learn a foreign language is through immersion. In complete immersion, students spend all their time hearing and speaking a new language in a sequential and cumulative format. The goal is to become not only a proficient speaker, but to acquire an appreciation and understanding of a new culture. This approach describes the training process at the Christian Training Center. Make your gift here.
How will your monthly gift make an impact?
- Family is the most vital relationship and the one under the most pressure and attack. Your gift will help bring healing and restoration to families all around the world.
- Your gift will help impact college students during Heroes Semester is a 10-week semester program. This program is focused on personal and spiritual development for young adults. While immersed in a way of life that emphasizes the Word of God, prayer, relationships, family, servant-hood and personal discipline, you will be renewed, trained, and challenged to walk with God in a deeper way.
- Your gift will help impact teens through Heroes of Today Week long summer program Teens learn new life skills and they will discover more about their identity in Christ and what it means to live as one of God’s Heroes of today.
- Your gift will give a college age student (summer) a residential position. It is open to Christian candidates who want to deepen and develop their faith while experiencing the demands of day-to-day ministry. These individuals help serve and mentor during our summer programs.
Make your gift here.
Who is God? Is He Immutable? Does He ever change?
Here is the truth about God. God is immutable. God never, every changes. That is a fact. This is one of the huge attributes of God. We can count on God. All the time. Every day. Every minute of every day. God is faithful to Himself.
I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.” Malachi 3:6
God does not change. Who he is never changes. His attributes are the same from before the beginning of time into eternity. His character never changes – he never gets “better” or “worse.” His plans do not change. His promises do not change.
Who is God? Is He immutable? What does that mean?
Is God immutable? Dr. Gordon Isaac Hebrews 13:8 says Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. It might help you to think of a wheel turning. In the axle driving that wheel there’s a mathematical point right at the center, and that point does not move. It remains constant. It remains still.
Immutable, according to the dictionary, means:
Unchanging over time or unable to be changed.
So, one could say then that God is an unmoved mover. But as soon as we’ve said that, there’s a danger lurking, for the language of the unmoved mover is actually the language of Greek philosophical ideas. But the god of the Greeks was one who was unknowable.
And that’s not how the God of the Bible is described. The God of the Bible is a person, and he deals with his people, he loves his people, he comes to his people. With a strong right arm he delivers the nation of Israel out of Egypt. So, the God of the Hebrew Scriptures is one who’s a person and one who reveals himself in love. Faithfulness through time we dare not forget that.
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Check out our upcoming ministry programs for young adults and families. Please click here.
Our programs are like an immersion into a new language – the language of living in Jesus. The goal is fluency in the language of relationships. Programs share a sequential vision, building an understanding of relationships and family culture. The foundation is an encounter with Jesus. This encounter is the means for both insight and vision. Encountering Jesus leads a radical change in living and relationships.
Heroes Semester is a 10-week residential, “family style” living experience like no other! | — The 2020 date will be announced soon. | Participants ages 18-26 come with one purpose – to go deeper with the Lord. Learn more about our programs here.
Strengthening & Restoring Family Relationships — Train to Reign Program — Oct 20 – Nov 2 | Family is the most vital relationship and the one under the most pressure and attack. Come strengthen your family in a strong relationship with God. Learn more here.
If you would like to donate to the Christian Training Center, please click here.
Who is God? Is God Infinite? Is He Self-Existing, without origin or end?
God IS. That is the revelation of the scripture. This one of the essential attributes of God. The infinite nature of God simply means that God exists outside of and is not limited by time or space.
Infinite simply means “without limits.” When we refer to God as “infinite,” we generally refer to Him with terms like omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence but this attribute of God being infinite stands apart from the other attributes of omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence.
Consider this revelation to Moses:
Then Moses asked God, “If I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what should I tell them?”
God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.” God also said to Moses, “Say this to the Israelites: The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is my name forever; this is how I am to be remembered in every generation.
Exodus 3:13-15 Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
The fact that God is self-existent — that he was created by nothing and has always existed forever — is perhaps one of the hardest attributes of God for the believer to understand. In our limitedness, grasping the nature of our limitless God is like holding onto water as it rages down a river. Indeed, Tozer writes this about the confusing, head-spinning attribute of God’s infinity:
‘To admit that there is One who lies beyond us, who exists outside of all our categories, who will not be dismissed with a name, who will not appear before the bar of our reason, nor submit to our curious inquiries: this requires a great deal of humility, more than most of us possess, so we save face by thinking God down to our level, or at least down to where we can manage Him.”
Here are some scriptures that describe this:
- “And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” – Colossians 1:17
- “Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure” – Psalm 147:5
In his article on Christianity.com, Dr. Adrian Rogers writes about the self-existence of God:
“The name Jehovah is used some 6,800 times in the Bible. It is the personal covenant name of Israel’s God. In the King James Version of the Bible, it’s translated Lord God. Not only does it speak of God’s strength, but also it speaks of the sovereignty of God and the goodness of God. The root of this name means “self-existing,” one who never came into being, and one who always will be. When Moses asked God, “Who shall I tell Pharaoh has sent me?” God said, “I AM THAT I AM.” Jehovah or Yahweh is the most intensely sacred name to Jewish scribes and many will not even pronounce the name. When possible, they use another name.”
Because God is infinite, He is also said to be transcendent, which simply means that God is exceedingly far above creation and is both greater than creation and independent of it. What this means is that God is so infinitely above and beyond us and our ability to fully comprehend that, had He not revealed Himself, we would not know or understand what He is like.
Thankfully, God has not left us ignorant about Himself. Instead, He has revealed Himself to us through both general revelation (creation and our conscience) and special revelation (the written Word of God, the Bible, and the living Word of God, Jesus Christ).
Therefore, we can know God, and we can know how to be reconciled to Him and how to live according to His will. Despite the fact that we are finite and God is infinite, we can know and understand God as He has revealed Himself to us.
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Our Mission & Vision
Our programs are like an immersion into a new language – the language of living in Jesus. The goal is fluency in the language of relationships. Programs share a sequential vision, building an understanding of relationships and family culture. The foundation is an encounter with Jesus. This encounter is the means for both insight and vision. Encountering Jesus leads a radical change in living and relationships
Our Vision is to see generations of leaders victoriously modeling Christ in their families and communities.
Our Mission is training believers to live a victorious life through biblical Truth, experiential discipleship, and family relationships.
Values
Life is:
1) Relationships
2) Personal Holiness
3) Biblical
4) Authentic
5) Relevant
Learn more here.
What kind of thinking leads to a dead end? Why must we change our way of thinking?
Sometimes we think of God as we think of ourselves. Big mistake. That kind of thinking leads us to dead end.
God is God but His emotions aren’t like ours are. He is more powerful than we can imagine. God can do anything He wants to. His power, however, is a VERY patient power.
If we think because God is patient, we can “get away with things”, we better think again. Jesus calls on us to radically change our way of thinking and act differently. It is known as repentance.
God’s patience is shown to us so we will change our minds about missing His goal for our lives and so that we will accept Jesus as the answer.
Jesus is clearly the WAY to God. There is no other way to know God and enjoy a life that never ends.
But God doesn’t lose his temper. He’s powerful, but it’s a patient power. Still, no one gets by with anything. ~Nahum
Nahum 1:3
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Heroes Semester
CTCI’s Heroes Semester is a 10-week semester program focused on personal and spiritual development for young adults. While immersed in a way of life that emphasizes the Word of God, prayer, relationships, family, servanthood and personal discipline, you will be renewed, trained, and challenged to walk with God in a deeper way.
Learn more here.
CTCI’s Heroes Semester is a 10-week residential, “family style” living experience like no other! Emphasizing the biblical truths of relationships, family, servanthood, and personal discipline, young men and women are challenged to live a faith that reaches beyond the four walls of the church and affects everyday life.
“The Heroes Semester is taking place, and all that I can say is that the Lord is showing me Himself! Christ is mesmerizing me; He’s opening my heart to fall more in love with Him!”
CB -Tennessee (Participant)
Participants ages 18-26 come from all walks of life with one purpose – to go deeper with the Lord and seek Him for their lives and future. Each semester is filled with teaching, activities, and experiences designed to take you on the mountaintops with the Lord as well as train you to live a disciplined life in Christ in the plains and valleys.
Participants spend their days in study sessions, work duties, or on the unpredictable outdoor adventure. The evenings have a natural rhythm of group Bible studies, prayer & intercession, and recreational activities. Everyone pitches in with the usual chores that come with living life together. Electronics take a back seat in daily life, unplugging from usual habits helps to make space for new ones. Each day ends with a note of gratitude and lessons learned.
If you are ready to go deeper in relationships, devotion, and surrender to the Lord, then CTCI’s Heroes Semester could be the most purposeful 10 weeks of your life!
Learn more here.
Has Jesus provoked us to sarcasm?
We get consumed with our feelings. Jesus challenges us to move beyond that and see His world.
Jesus can provoke us to sarcasm. We see and feel reality. We are sad beyond belief.
Jesus is abrupt with us. We need Him to challenge us. We tell Jesus He doesn’t know what He is talking about. We really say that to Him.
Jesus doesn’t listen to us, thank God. He knows what His Father wants to do. He does it.
In spite of us and all our sarcasm. He raises the girl from the dead. That is what God wanted Jesus to do.
God is God. God has a plan.
He permitted no one to go in with him except Peter, James, and John. They entered the leader’s house and pushed their way through the gossips looking for a story and neighbors bringing in casseroles. Jesus was abrupt: “Why all this busybody grief and gossip? This child isn’t dead; she’s sleeping.”
Provoked to sarcasm, they told him he didn’t know what he was talking about.
Mark 5:37-40 (The Message Bible)
Backlot BBQ & Movie
Come join us for our Backlot Barbecue Event at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts on October 5, 2019. Learn more here.
Your ticket includes a delicious BBQ sandwich meal, a donut roast over an open fire, fun and games. Bring a lawn chair or blanket to enjoy DreamWorks “Madagascar” under the stars. All proceeds go to missions around the world.
DATES / TIMES:
Saturday, October 5, 2019
6:30pm – 8pm: Food, Games & Donut Roast
8pm: Outdoor movie featuring DreamWorks “Madagascar”
*BRING YOUR OWN CHAIR*
Learn more here.
Does God need our permission or approval?
I am God
God is God. His character and His attributes have always existed. God is eternal. God IS!
God does things that don’t make sense to us. We don’t understand God. We don’t know His plan. We are befuddled many days by what is going on.
God is a mystery to us. We see dimly as if looking at a foggy mirror. We can see the shape of things but not clearly.
What does it mean that God will never leave or forsake us?
What does it mean that God will never leave or forsake us? Meg Bucher writes about everyday life within the love of Jesus. She stepped out of her comfort zone, and her Marketing career, to obey God’s call to stay home and be “Mom” in 2011. From that step of obedience her blog, Sunny&80, was born, a way to retain the funny everyday moments of motherhood. (https://sunnyand80.org)
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you or forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6).
God commands our confident trust in Him. In a world that encourages us to believe in ourselves and to achieve all we deserve, it’s paramount to understand who and Whose we are. Society sets a bar to earn and accumulate. Accomplishments and accessories are lauded above humility and God-ordained purpose.
“Very often, people have a hard time taking God at His word,” wrote Jack Graham. “If God says it, that settles it, and there’s absolutely no reason to doubt it.” So, in place of worldly standards, the Old Testament admonishment of Deuteronomy 31:6 can serve as a benchmark in our everyday lives.
Hebrews 13:5 echoes the same sentiment, putting an extra emphasis on what not to have confidence in: “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’”
Read More Here:
“I Will Never Leave You Nor Forsake You” – Meaning of God’s Promise in the Bible
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Check out our upcoming ministry programs for young adults and families. Please click here.
Our programs are like an immersion into a new language – the language of living in Jesus. The goal is fluency in the language of relationships. Programs share a sequential vision, building an understanding of relationships and family culture. The foundation is an encounter with Jesus. This encounter is the means for both insight and vision. Encountering Jesus leads a radical change in living and relationships.
Heroes Semester is a 10-week residential, “family style” living experience like no other! | — Sept 2 – Nov 9, 2019 | Participants ages 18-26 come with one purpose – to go deeper with the Lord. ow.ly/Nhag30oRYRK
Strengthening & Restoring Family Relationships — Train to Reign Program — Oct 20 – Nov 2 | Family is the most vital relationship and the one under the most pressure and attack. Come strengthen your family in a strong relationship with God. http://ow.ly/l5SU30oS5pQ
If you would like to donate to the Christian Training Center, please click here.
Who is in the drivers seat?
Jesus challenges us to live life with Him in charge. Now that is tough because we all like to be in control.
We may pretend we don’t but we know it is true. Jesus knows it is true. This is a very big thing. Will we let Jesus be the Master of our lives? Will we become a slave? Will we acknowledge that Jesus is King of God’s country.
Jesus is waiting for an answer.
We can’t fake it with Him. Jesus knows us down to our core.
So … Jesus looks us in the eye, pauses and says …
“You’re not in the driver’s seat—I am.” ~Jesus
Luke 9:24 The Message
This is the main thing about the main thing. Following Jesus means letting Jesus drive the car. Jesus gets to go where He wants to go. We must stop when Jesus stops and go when Jesus goes.
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Check out our upcoming ministry programs for young adults and families. Please click here.
Our programs are like an immersion into a new language – the language of living in Jesus. The goal is fluency in the language of relationships. Programs share a sequential vision, building an understanding of relationships and family culture. The foundation is an encounter with Jesus. This encounter is the means for both insight and vision. Encountering Jesus leads a radical change in living and relationships.
Heroes Semester is a 10-week residential, “family style” living experience like no other! | — Sept 2 – Nov 9, 2019 | Participants ages 18-26 come with one purpose – to go deeper with the Lord. ow.ly/Nhag30oRYRK
Strengthening & Restoring Family Relationships — Train to Reign Program — Oct 20 – Nov 2 | Family is the most vital relationship and the one under the most pressure and attack. Come strengthen your family in a strong relationship with God. http://ow.ly/l5SU30oS5pQ
If you would like to donate to the Christian Training Center, please click here.
Is God first in my life? Am I trying to fool Him? Can He be fooled?
God knows. God cares.
God knows how to do surgery. He can bring about internal purification. I can trust Him. He is good, all the time.
God knows me. I’m not fooling Him. There is no hiding with God. It is all out in the open. No point lying to myself and others.
- Is God first in my life?
- Is He second in my life?
- Is He third?
Jesus wants to be my only priority. Jesus wants to the one and only. Jesus wants me to pick up my cross and follow Him. Jesus wants me to count the cost and be prepared to pay it.
What does Jesus want? He wants me and my complete life.
Not only does God know how but God cares. He loves us and paid for our redemption with the blood of His only Son. Jesus brings us good news. God is in a good mood.
I need more of that and only that. I can pay that price. He gives me strength.
If you would like to donate to the Christian Training Center, please click here.
Check out our upcoming ministry programs for young adults and families. Please click here.
Will we give up? These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times!
Sometimes it seems like we just can’t make it. Yet, perseverance rules the day.
Even if it looks like things are falling apart, they aren’t. God is God and God is in control. ALWAYS!! FOREVER!!
Sometimes others can’t see what is going on inside. God is making a new life for us. He is doing it now.
Not a day goes by that God’s isn’t giving us everything we need for the day.
There are things that we see now that have no lasting value. They are here today but may not be 5 years from now. Or even tomorrow for that matter. Unrealized gains and unrealized losses. What is important is what lasts forever.
God is God. His word is always true. We can count on it.
God means what He says.
What God says is important. What He says is not to be trivialized in any way.
When we trivialize what God says, we trivialize ourselves, not Him. His word will always be true. It can be no other way.
Jesus demands that we understand that. It is important.
God is God. His word is always true. We can count on it.
“Trivialize even the smallest item in God’s Word and you will only have trivialized yourself.” ~~Jesus Matthew 5:19-20 (The Message Bible)