Life Ministries

    One night as I was reading my Bible and searching for what might be God’s desire in my life at that time, I could not get a crazy thought out of my mind. It went like this; “Therefore, you know what I’m here for!” I don’t know where this line came from, but it was strong, and it was distracting my reading. Of course, before long I began to notice the word “therefore” in God’s Word. I was prompted to go to the concordance, and discovered that the word “therefore” is found 442 times in the Old Testament, and 279 times in the New Testament. As I began to look at the many references, I soon understood what I was there for!

    Now, of all of the references to the word “therefore” I began to see a book forming in my mind’s eye. What followed is certainly not an exhaustive writing on the word, but those that stirred my heart and mind as I read.

    It is my prayer that through this, God’s Holy Spirit will teach, lead, and stir your hearts as well. “Therefore” let’s get started;

"Judged by Faith" from Romans 5:1 and 8:1 – “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." – "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."

    The influence of Romans on the course of Christianity and the history of the church as well as the history of the world is beyond measure. Its message concerning the “righteousness of God” is what stirred Martin Luther to call it the “gateway to heaven” and start a religious revolution that would spread all over the world. Luther’s commentary on the Book of Romans says “It deserves to be known by every Christian and the subject of his daily meditation, the daily bread of his Soul.” And, he said “the more time one spends on it, the more precious it becomes”.  You may also recall from church history, that it was while Luther’s preface to the Book of Romans was being read publically at a Moravian meeting in Aldersgate St. in London, that John Wesley wrote in his journal he “felt his heart strangely warmed”…which was when he realized that salvation was by faith in Jesus Christ alone and no other way. This was the spark of the Holy Spirit that was about to ignite a revival through John Wesley’s preaching.
    I have found that when it comes to history or having an interest in history, there are two kinds of people; those who do and those who don’t.  To those who do, we are going to start with a little history lesson…to those who don’t, we are going to start with a little history lesson.
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