To really grasp how powerful the message of this parable is, one should think about what Jesus does here. He juxtaposes a needy, helpless, and oppressed widow with a powerful, heartless judge. The widow’s only hope and weapon for such vast mismatch was her persistence. She was so persistent that even a wicked judge moved in her favor.

“Though I fear not God, nor regard man; Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me,” the judge said (Luke 18:4b, 5, JKV). His words reflect the power of persistence.

Frank King encourages mothers to be women of prayer. Of if they already are, to continue do so. Mothers, one of the most powerful weapons you have for your family and against the enemy is your prayer life. And remember to always pray and not to faint.

Perhaps, some of you mothers have children who are teens and/or young adults. They are living in a challenging and spiritually dark world. It behooves you to cover them with prayer.

Moms have a special bond with their children because they brought them into the world. When they pray for their children, they are not only praying with faith but also with compassion. In Gal. 5:6, Paul talks about faith that works by love. When a mother in Christ prays for her children, she prays with faith mixed with motherly love. And that’s a powerful thing.

Frank says Mothers should cover their children and their home at large with prayer, and don’t grow weary in praying for them. Jesus said, men—and women--should always pray and never give up.

What the gospel can do for you is equip you to have a positive attitude and to maintain a position of faith in God even when things are difficult and bad. There are some things in life that you and I have no control over. What we do have control over is how we respond to and how we react to those unpleasant episodes in our life. We may not always do it when we should, but in Christ, we have what takes to remain positive even when life goes negative.

While Paul was in the Roman jail, others became emboldened to preach the gospel. But not all of those preachers had the right motives. “Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will,” Paul writes (Phil. 1:15, NASB).

Needless to say, this was not a totally good experience. But still, Paul chose to look at the bright side of what was happening. “Whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I will rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice,” he says (verse 18). This is an example of being positive in a negative situation.

As Christians we have the capacity to respond to negative experiences in positive or negative ways. Paul says, in this matter, I will rejoice. Rejoicing during unpleasant circumstances is a matter of choice. Even Spirit-filled Christians can a have pity-party if they choose to, but they don’t have to.

On one end of the spectrum, there are those who believe water baptism is a requirement for salvation. But on the other end, there are those who see it as no more than a religious ritual.

In his epistle to the church at Rome, Paul writes, “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?” (Romans 6:3, KJV). So, here Paul is talking about us being baptized into Jesus. Then in 1 Corinthians 12:13, he says that by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body. So, baptism into Jesus is a work of the Holy Spirit.

So, how does water baptism fit into this discussion? Water baptism is the ritual that portrays the burial or being baptized into Jesus’ death that Paul talks about in the verse above. Water baptism is how we publicly identify with the death of Christ.

Accordingly, water baptism should occur only after one makes a commitment to follow Christ. It should be noted, however, that water baptism alone does not save anybody. Being immersed into the water symbolizes a burial and our coming out of the water symbolizes a newness of life that we are to walk in.

That's the implications of water baptism. Every believer who can do it should submit to baptism because Jesus has commanded us to do so.

In Proverbs 3:6, Solomon writes, “In ALL thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (Prov. 3:6, KJV). Accordingly, in this episode, Frank King addresses the importance of doing that very thing, acknowledging God in all our ways.

The key word in the verse is the word "acknowledge." We all know what it means to acknowledge someone. But remember, here we are talking about God. You see, if we were in a large room with a crowd of people and you walked over to someone and spoke to that person, it would be appropriate to say that you acknowledged that person’s presence.

But that wouldn't cut it with God.  We have not acknowledged God just because we go to Him in prayer and tell Him what our plans are before we go about implementing them. But acknowledging God in all your ways includes reverence and obedience and consideration of His will for the matter at hand.

We may not be able to grasp when God is directing our path when we obey the verse. But we must walk by faith and not by sight that when we acknowledge God in all our ways, it will change the direction we take in life for the better because God is directing our paths. Of course, the promise found in the verse means nothing if we don't believe that.

In Paul’s second letter to the church at Thessalonica, he wrote to the church members to underscore the importance of being good examples of Christian behavior.  He wrote, “Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us” (2 Thess. 3:6, KJV).

Perhaps, to some Christians today, advice such as this—to withdraw from all disorderly believers-- would seem extremely harsh. But Paul was writing under apostolic authority in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ saying we command you to do this in the name of our Lord Jesus.

In Paul’s epistle, he specifically addresses the problem of Christians in the church who refused to work, but the point is applicable to every area of our life. For instance, as Christians, we should be good examples in our homes as parents, in our neighborhood, on our job as employees or employers, etc.

Frank King says this message is not about salvation by works. We know we can’t do enough good to earn salvation. Jesus has already done it all at Calvary. But this is about believers being good examples of Christian behavior. This in turn is how we become the light of this dark world.

After Jesus had risen from the dead and before returning to His father, He ordained His disciples to carry on the work of spreading the gospel. “Behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high,” He said (Acts 24:49. KJV).

Jesus was saying, in effect, I am sending you to be my witnesses, but first you must tarry in Jerusalem until you receive the Holy Spirit to empower you for this work. Think about how profound Jesus’ words were. These disciples had followed Him His entire ministry. They heard His teachings and preaching. They saw Him cast out demons and heal the sick. Still, Jesus told them they were not ready until their lives were empowered by the Holy Spirit. Similarly, God has given us the Holy Spirit because it's not an option but a must for our lives to be empowered by the same to advance the message of the Kingdom.

Frank reminds us that God does not want His people to live a comfortable Christian life; rather, He wants us to live a bold and supernatural life. It is to this end that after we accepted Christ as our Savior, we were indwelt by this phenomenal person called the Holy Spirit.

 In the OT, the high priest was the people’s representative before God. In the NT, Jesus as our High Priest, is our representative before God. First John, 2:1 calls Him our Advocate with the Father.

 About Jesus, the author of the book of Hebrews writes, “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15, KJV).

Our infirmities, mentioned in the verse, refer to our weaknesses and shortcomings. Every one of us has them. The reason Jesus can relate to our struggles and weaknesses is because He was tempted in all points as we were. He knows what it is to live for God daily in an ungodly world and to be tempted on every level. He came down and did exactly that—yet without sin.

If Jesus had succumbed to temptation and had sinned, He would have been no better than the high priests of the OT. They had to offer sacrifices for their own sins. This would have disqualified Jesus from being our great High Priest.

The writer says we should come boldly to the throne of grace so we can find help in time of need. It is there that Jesus Christ our Advocate sits at the Father’s right hand. The good news is that wherever you are in life, the grace of God is available for you, and it is sufficient for you to find help in your time of need.  

Accordingly, some new converts can have expectations that are not met. Some things they expected to be true about their experience after they became born again did not turn out to be so. As a result, some may question whether or not they had a genuine born-again experience with the Lord. In this episode, Frank King teaches on the truth about being born again.

Consider these words from Paul the apostle in his letter to the church at Galatia: “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16, KJV). First, let’s focus on the last part of that verse. It talks about the lust of the flesh or the desires of the flesh. Now Paul is writing to the believers in the churches at Galatia. The point is that even after you have become born again, you will still have wrong desires of the flesh.

So, after a person becomes born again, that man or woman can still struggle with being tempted by the opposite sex. If you were an uncontrollable eater at the dinner table before you became born again, you can still be a glutton after your salvation experience. If you loved to gossip and couldn’t stay out of other people’s business before you were born again, that’s can still be true about you after you become born again. 

But according to the verse above, bona fide Christians don’t have to obey these wrong or sinful desires. They can choose to walk in the Spirit instead. This simply means to discern the “voice” of the Spirit, to obey His voice, to discern his will for your life, and to follow His lead.

The bottom line is that being born again does not necessarily eliminate your wrong desires of the flesh. Being born again does not make you do the right thing. Rather, it empowers you to do so.

According to the Scriptures, Noah walked with God (Gen. 6:9). One thing that stands out about the fact that Noah walked with God is the time in which He did. “God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (verse 5, KJV).

Frank says the biblical term for walking with God is "fellowship" with Him. Fellowship occurs when we have common interests with someone else, and we interact with that person accordingly. The more two people have in common, the more they like talking to each other. Communication flows freely when that is the case.

Accordingly, the more we like the things God likes and the more we dislike the things He dislikes, as revealed in the Scriptures, the more intimate our relationship with Him will become. We will have lots to talk about and conversation will flow freely. 

Some people don’t spend much time in prayer because they don’t share common interests with God.  That means they lack fellowship with Him.   According to 1 John 1:6, if we say we have fellowship with God and we walk in darkness, that is a lie and not the truth.    

God wants us to walk with Him in these last days.   If Noah did it in his day when the world had become so wicked that God destroyed it, we can do the same in our day.

At other times, Jesus spoke about eternal life through faith in Him. For instance, in John 3:16, He says God so loved the world that He have His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting love.

The truth is that nobody can make it into heaven through obedience to the Law. The good news is that Jesus came to establish a new and far better way to heaven through His death. That way is grace through faith in His work on the cross.

So many people today are trying to make it to heaven by keeping the commandments of the Law. But they can’t attend church enough, can’t pray enough, can’t read the Bible enough, can’t live good enough to do so. As Paul writes, “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight” (Romans 3:19, KJV).

The reason for making such a big deal about the difficulty of the Law is because it helps us to appreciate the message of grace through faith in Christ. According to Frank King, the better we understand the impossibility of being right with God through the Law, the more we will appreciate the good news of the grace of God.

Frank draws four practical points from chapter 9 of Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth. One thing he stresses is the importance of temperance or self-control. Things won’t always go the way we want them to. We must not, however, become frustrated and throw in the towel. Rather, we must maintain self-control and diligently work toward our goals.

A modern definition for insanity is repeatedly doing the same things but hoping for different results. Sad but true, that’s exactly what some people will do this new year. They will go into this New Year doing the same things they did in the old year and wonder why the New Year feels just like the old year. But application of the points shared in this episode will chart a different path for success in 2026.

But the subject of Christmas is not that simple. It means different things to different people. People celebrate Christmas for different reasons. People have different expectations during Christmastime.

Those of us who follow Christ represent one side of Christmas. It’s one of our favorite times of the year if not the most favorite time. We know the real meaning of Christmas. We rejoice in the birth of Christ because He is our personal Savior.

But that’s not everybody’s Christmas story. Because of the dominant role of today’s consumer culture during Christmastime, some people dread this time of the year. Some are saddest and most depressed this time of the year. That’s the other side of Christmas. In this episode, Frank King addresses what he refers to as the two sides of Christmas.

Numerous reasons exist why Christmas is not a good time of the year for many people. For some people, they get depressed at Christmas and even angry because of the excessive commercialization of Christmas, with the focus on gifts and the emphasis on "perfect" social activities.

Some dread Christmas because of the pressure to spend lots of money on gifts and incur increasing debt.

Many people feel very lonely at Christmas, because they have suffered the loss of loved ones or their job. The constant reminders of other people’s happy seasons can serve as a painful reminder of the happiness and love that’s lacking in their own lives due to family conflict, loss, break ups, divorce, loneliness, etc.

The truth is that none of the reasons just stated have anything to do with the real meaning of Christmas. One reason many people are sad and depressed during Christmastime is because they have bought into a false narrative of what Christmas is all about. Frank reminds us that Christ came to give us peace in spite of our external circumstances.

In 1 Peter 4:12, Peter writes, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial that is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you” (KJV). In different Bible versions, this verse is translated somewhat differently. For instance, the KJV refers to “the trial which is to try you.” The NASB says, “concerning the fiery trial among you” as if it was happening at the time of Peter’s writing. The ESV renders, “the fiery trial when it comes upon you.”

The bottom line is that Peter was writing to those whom he wrote about fiery trials and telling them not to regard them as being strange. All three of the Bible versions mentioned above reveal that the purpose of the trial is to try us or to test us or to prove us.

Those of us living in the Western World tend to have a different view of suffering than those in other places. Real suffering as a Christian happens when you are a Christian living in Communist or Islamic territory. And you are asked to either renounce your faith or die. And you choose to die for your faith. We happen to be blessed to live in a country that’s still somewhat friendly to Christians. At least that’s true now.

 Accordingly, it’s easier for us in the US to become numb to the idea of real suffering for Christ. In many churches today, we preach more about prosperity and blessings than we do about being faithful to Christ. But God wants us to boldly live out our faith even when it costs us some suffering to do so.

Perhaps we all would agree that Paul the apostle was a man who was all in for Christ. In his letter to the church at Philippi, he writes this about his commitment to following Christ: “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death” (Phil. 3:10, KJV). Anyone with such a conviction as Paul’s is one who is all in for Christ.

Still, Paul was never content with where he was in Christ. He was always pressing forward in his walk with the Lord. He writes, “Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus” (verse 12).

To apprehend means to get a hold of.  In effect, Paul was saying that his goal in life was to get a hold of what Christ had gotten a hold of him for. God had a specific purpose for Paul’s life, and he has a purpose for each of us. The question is, are we committed to getting a hold of what Christ has gotten a hold of us for.

The most important part of morning worship in a local church is the ministry of God’s Word. Some local churches have amazing music ministries. Their praise team and/or choir know how to usher the people into worship. But the goal of all of that must be to set the stage for preaching. That’s when the people get to hear from God through His Word.

Of course, not all preaching and teaching is the same. That brings us to the importance of sound doctrine. By sound doctrine, we mean sound teaching. Sound doctrine is important because it assures us that we are walking in truth. There is only one way to provide sound doctrine. That’s through ministering the Word of God.

In 1 Peter 2:2, Peter writes, “Like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation” (NASB). By the pure milk of the word, Peter means the unadulterated or undiluted word. Believers can’t properly grow through watered down preaching. Admittedly, a minister can grow an audience with watered down preaching. But a congregation built on a diluted version of the Word of God will not be spiritually strong.

The power of the ministry of the Word of God is evident in the words of Paul the apostle found in Romans 10:17. He writes that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. The truth is that there is but one message one can proclaim that can bring men and women into a personal relationship with God through faith in Christ. That is the ministry of God's Word.

The mission and work of the church is God’s mandate. Because of that we can trust Him to be faithful whenever we embark upon some aspect of the work of the ministry.

For instance, God called Moses to lead the people to build Him a sanctuary in the wilderness (Ex. 25:8).  This was unfamiliar territory for Moses. He had no idea how to do what God was calling him to do. But we don’t need to know how to do what God has called us to do. We just need to know what God has called us to do.

God gave Moses the plan for how to build the sanctuary and how it was supposed to look (verse 9). He gifted the people to do all the meticulous work (Ex. 31:2-6). And He touched the hearts of the people to give more than enough to fund the work He had called Moses to do (Ex. 36:3-7).

The same thing is true for us today. God can call us to do things that we feel ill-equipped to do. He tends to call us to do things that are bigger than we are because He is a big God. But equally important, God is faithful to supply the needs for whatever He calls us to do. We are simply tools for God to use. And when He calls us to a work, He is faithful to supply the needs to do the work.

What has been said above is not limited to those who are called to pastoring or church leadership. The premise is that God will call all of us to a work. He has gifted every one of us who is in Christ with the ability to do work for the Kingdom. The purpose of this message is to challenge and stir believers to have a big heart for God.

Jesus compares His return to the days of Noah when the floods came. “But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be,” He said (Matt. 24:37, KJV). As Noah built the ark to prepare for the flood, the people of the world were eating and drinking and marrying. They knew nothing until the flood came and took them all away (vv. 38-39).

Similarly, when Jesus returns, most people will be taken by surprise. Jesus says, “Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left” (verse 40). This event, the return of Christ and the rapture, will occur throughout the world at one time in history in the twinkling of an eye.

If Jesus returns at night while we sleep, those who are saved will be taken to meet Him, and those who are not saved will be left behind. For those aboard a plane at the time, if the pilot is a Christian, he will be taken, and those aboard who are not saved will be left behind. Jesus knows those who are His.  Not one person who is saved will be left behind at His return, and not one unsaved person will be mistakenly gathered to the Lord.

Nothing in our life should be more important than to be ready when Jesus returns. Ironically, that’s one of the subjects we seldom talk about in the local church. In some churches, you can hear preaching weekly about prosperity and God’s desire to shower blessings upon you. Or you can hear about spiritual gifts and particularly the prophetic ministry. But how often do we hear messages on the return of the Lord and the need for us to live in readiness for Him?

In Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi he writes, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5, KJV). More accurately, this is an appeal for us to have the same mindset as Christ. In this episode, Frank King addresses some areas of Christian living that are vital to developing a Christian mindset. These areas are found in chapter four of Paul’s letter to the Philippians.

Paul’s appeal is consistent with who we are as Christians. But some Christians will read the verses focused upon in the episode and dismiss them because some believers don’t think they can live accordingly. But God never calls on us to live on a level that He has not equipped us to live on. In Christ, He has changed our lives to live a Christlike life. Success won’t happen overnight, but if we never take the first step, we will never get there.

We have a saying in life that attitude determines altitude. This is true in our walk with Christ as well. For instance, when we commit to rejoicing always, and to not living in anxiety mode, and to occupying our mind with thoughts that are honest and pure and of good virtue, as Paul writes, our doing so will take us to another place in our relationship with the Lord. But if we are always having a pity party and worrying about everything in life and thinking negatively, the devil will have a field day with us. How committed are you to developing a Christian mindset?

In Matthew’s record of the gospel, he tells of a man who brought his epileptic son to the disciples, and they could not heal him. When the man told Jesus about this, He was disappointed with the disciples. That’s because at this point, Jesus had given the disciples the power to heal the sick and to cast out demons (Matthew 10:1). So, they had power to do what needed to be done, but when they did what they had done in the past, it didn’t get the job done.

Subsequently, Jesus healed the man’s son. If it was not the will of God for the young man to be healed, Jesus would not have been able to heal him either. And remember, Jesus had given the disciples the power to heal the sick and cast our devils. This power was the very thing this epileptic young man needed to be healed.

The disciples came to Jesus and wanted to know why He could heal the young man and they could not. Jesus replied, “Because of your unbelief” (Matthew 17:20, KJV). “Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer AND fasting,” Jesus added (verse 21).

In effect, Jesus was saying that this one is not business as usual. In this case, the disciples needed to do more than the usual to minister healing. Yes, they needed to pray, they needed to have faith, but in this case, they needed to fast as well. The point is that sometimes, it’s not true that it’s not the will of God to do what we ask of Him. But sometimes, we need to go deeper, fight a little harder in the spiritual realm to get what we need from the Lord.

At times we all struggle with exercising our faith in God. In Hebrews 11:6, we find two important requirements for exercising faith in God. One, the verse says we must believe that God exists. All genuine believers get an A-plus on that one. Secondly, this verse says we must believe God rewards those who diligently seek Him. That last part is the challenge. Faith requires us to hang in there with God. And too many people today are too spiritually impotent to endure that.

One day, as Jesus was headed to the temple in Jerusalem, He was hungry, and He saw this fig tree. He came to the tree hoping to find some figs. Because the tree was barren, Jesus cursed the tree. The next day, He and His disciples passed that same tree and it was dead. Peter remembered that Jesus had cursed the tree the day before.  So, he says, Master, the fig tree you cursed is withered away. Jesus replied, “Have faith in God” (Matthew 11:22, KJV). He said those words to reveal the means by which He had cursed the tree. He did it by faith in God.

Faith in God revolutionizes our outlook on life. We no longer live in bondage of the fear of dying. Even if the economy were to tank so that everybody’s worried about it, we believe that God is able to sustain us even then. That’s what having faith in God will do for us.

We are so blessed to be able to go to the house of God each week and hear the good news of the gospel. We are blessed to have Christian TV and programming we can watch and listen to deepen our faith.

It is our faith in God that determines the quality of Christian life we can have. Not how often we go to the house of God. Nor the kind of church we attend. But it’s our faith that determines that. The healthier your faith in God is, the more vibrant and victorious your Christian life will be.

The message of this parable is cut and dry. It says, in effect, either you have a solid relationship with the Lord, or you don't, and that is reflected in your interaction with the Word of God. In other words, there is a dynamic chemistry that exists between God’s Word and the heart that God has changed.

In this parable, the seed fell upon four different kinds of ground. Some fell by the wayside, some in stony places, some among the thorns, and some into good ground. And it was the type of soil that determined what became of the seed.

If you plant good seed in good soil, you will get a good yield. If you plant good seed in bad soil, however, you won’t get a good yield. This is not to minimize the importance of a preacher’s ability to minister the Word of God effectively. But it does not matter how good his communication skills are, when he sows seed in the heart of a person whose heart is bad soil, the yield will be little if any.

In the parable, the Sower represents the preacher, the seed represents the Word of God, and the soil represents the heart of the listener. Of course, if you want to please the Lord, your heart must become like good soil so God's Word can be fruitful in you.

In this episode, Frank King focuses on the prophetic role that Moses played in the life of God’s people during His day. Frank says this was a foreshadow of the role Christ would play in the life of God’s people when He came.

Moses told the Israelites that one day God was going to send them a special prophet. “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him,” Moses said (Deuteronomy 18:15, NASB). A key point here is that Moses said this person is going to be a prophet like himself. Moses was in effect the mouth of God to the people of God. Similarly, when Jesus came on earth, He was the mouth of God to the people of God.

Moses said three noteworthy things to the people about the words of this prophet (verses 18-19):

1. “I will put My words in His mouth”
2. “He shall speak to them all that I command him”
3. “Whoever will not listen to My words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him”

Heretofore, we have assumed that the prophet Moses talked about was Jesus himself. But how can we validate that? Consider these words of Peter: “Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren; to Him you shall give heed to everything He says to you’” (Acts 3:23).

 Peter said these words as he challenged the Jews to repent regarding their rejection of Christ to let them know that He was prophet promised them by God. Jesus plays that same prophetic role to us today. God is speaking to us in these last days by His Son (Heb 1:2). Let us hear Him.

In this episode, Frank uses the experience of Abraham and Sarah as an example. Abraham was 100 and Sarah was 90 when God blessed them with a child God had promised to them 25 years earlier. Furthermore, Sarah was born barren. Based upon their reality, what Abraham and Sarah wanted at this point was humanly impossible. But it was not impossible with God. The angel of the Lord said according to the time of life, I shall return and Sarah your wife will have a son.

We often talk about God in terms of natural reasoning. It’s as if we think God can only get something done while natural circumstances are favorable to the situation. We think that if God waits too long, even He can’t do anything about our situation. But natural circumstances don’t have to be favorable for God to work on your behalf. God can still work on your behalf even when natural circumstances are not in your favor.

Sarah laughed at the angel’s promise. Then the angel asked the question, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (Genesis 18:14, KJV).

What should be abundantly clear here is the importance of our faith in God. So, in Psalm 27:13, the psalmist writes, “I had fainted unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living” (Psalm 27:13). He is saying that the thing that kept him from giving up, the only thing that kept him from going under, was that he believed he was going to see the goodness of the Lord.

When you are faced with difficult situations, when you are faced with a problem for which there seems to be no answer, what’s going to keep you moving, what’s going to keep you from giving up, what’s going to keep you from despairing is that you believe you are going to see the goodness of the Lord. So, the answer to the question posed by the title of this episode is no, there is nothing too hard for the Lord.

In the book of Hebrews, the writer addresses a problem that exists with many believers. He writes, “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food” (Hebrews 5:12, NASB).

One important reason God wants us to mature as Christians is so that He can use us to serve Him. We come to church to worship God, but we also come to be equipped to serve God more effectively. There is a dying world out there depending on Christians reaching out to it with the life-changing gospel of our Lord.

But the verse highlights a serious problem. The writer talks about people who had been Christians and who had been coming to church so long that by now they should be able to teach others. But he says, instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic stuff about being a Christian. In other words, because they were not growing, they were actually going backward.

This is a serious problem with Christians failing to grow.  That is, if you are not growing as a Christian, you are not getting to the place where God can use you like He wants to use you.

When students assemble to graduate from high school or college, we refer to those assemblies as commencement exercises. Now the word commencement refers to a beginning and not an end. But even though the graduates are ending their high school or college experience, the graduation is called a commencement exercise.

It is called a commencement exercise because when you graduate, you have not arrived, but you have only just begun. Your education gives you some tools, a skillset for embarking upon life. What your life becomes, however, depends upon what you do with the skillset you have.

The same is true when you accept Christ. It’s not a graduation; it is but a commencement. You have not arrived; you have only just begun. Upon salvation, God gives you everything you need to become a mature and productive Christian. What your life becomes, however, is dependent upon what you do with what God has imparted to you. That’s why it’s important for you to become a mature Christian.

In chapter  3 of John’s first epistle, he reveals that to have confidence toward God we must show love toward others. He writes, “Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth” (1 John 3:18, NASB).

God requires us to do more than talk love. Some people are good at that. They are always talking about how much they love you, but they never come through for you when you need them to. That’s just talk. And as they say, talk is cheap.

We must not love in tongue and words but in deeds. But not only in deeds but also in truth. That means God wants us to show genuine love toward others. Not some pretentious display of love but true love. Sometimes, people do impressive acts of love, but their motivation is wrong. That is still not genuine love.

According to John, genuine love is the means by which we know we are of the truth (verse 19). if you are not walking in genuine love, you are not walking in the truth. No matter how much you talk love, if you don’t show it, you are not of the truth. Everything in the Scriptures hinges on love. Moreover, genuine love is the means by which we “assure our heart before Him” (verse 19b). That means it instills confidence before Him.

When our life is characterized by genuine love, our heart does not condemn us before the Lord. John writes, “If our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God” (verse 21). This is how love promotes confidence toward God when we pray.

Prayer was never meant to be a guessing game. It was never meant to be something that leaves us wondering if God hears us or whether He will do something about what we have prayed about. What assures our heart before Him when we pray is genuine love as opposed to love in tongue and words only.

Jesus taught a parable about two men who went to the temple to pray. This parable was directed at those “who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and viewed others with contempt” (Luke 18:9, NASB).

In the parable, Jesus talked about a Pharisee and a publican. These were two extremes in the Jewish community. The Pharisees were an elite group, or they considered themselves to be an elite group of religious leaders in the Jewish community. They despised Jesus because His message and teachings were considered a serious threat to their prominence.

The publicans, on the other hand, were tax collectors, or collectors of public revenue. They were usually Jews, but the taxes they collected went to the Roman government. Needless to say, publicans weren’t the most popular people in town.

The Pharisee was self-righteous. He boasted to God that he was not like other men. “I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get,” he boasted (verse 12). By contrast, the publican acknowledged he was a sinner and threw himself upon the mercy of God.

To emphasize the importance of praying with the right attitude, Jesus said regarding the publican, “This man went down to his house justified rather than the other” (verse 14, KJV). “For everyone that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted,” He continued.

Think about it; the Pharisee journeyed from his house to God’s house just to pat himself on the back. In the end, he returned home just like he came. And based upon what the Scriptures reveal about the Pharisees, you know this man had some flaws he needed to pray about. The publican simply submitted himself to the mercy of God.

Accordingly, if we want to have an effective prayer life, and we all should, we must pray with the right attitude toward others and about ourselves. That does not mean we cannot pray with confidence and boldness and faith. We should pray that way. But we must learn to pray that way void of pride, condescension and self-righteousness.

By distinct persons, we mean you can distinguish one from the other. For instance, God the Father resides in heaven. Then God sent Jesus as His Son on earth to be the Savior of the world. And while Jesus was on earth, He prayed to the Father in heaven. Then on the day of Pentecost, God sent the Holy Spirit to indwell us. In this episode, Frank King focuses on the person of the Holy Spirit.

The reason the Holy Spirit is so important to us is because He is the one who helps us to accomplish the work of the church and to live a victorious Christian life. We can’t do either of those without the help of the Holy Spirit.

Before Jesus left His disciples, He promised to send the Holy Spirit to abide with them. “I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever,” Jesus promised (John 14:16, KJV).

Two notable things Jesus reveals about the person of the Holy Spirit here. One, He will be another Comforter. Not all versions of the Bible use the word Comforter in the verse. The NASB renders Helper. The NIV uses the word Counselor. Some other versions of the Bible may use a different word.

A key word in the verse above is the word “another.” In the Greek language, two words for another exist. One means another of the same kind. The other word means another of a different kind. In this verse, Jesus uses the word αλλος  (AL-loss), meaning another of the same kind.

In other words, the Father would send them another Comforter (or Helper, Counselor, Friend, or whatever word your Bible uses); and He would be just like Jesus. Secondly, Jesus said in the verse, the Holy Spirit would abide or remain with them forever. He would not leave them like Jesus was about to do, but He would stay with them until the end.

The disciples were saddened by the news of Jesus leaving them. But what they could not even imagine was how radically changed their lives would become through the person of the Holy Spirit. That miraculous change is clearly seen in the book of the Acts of the Apostles.

Prayer is vital because it is the means through which we communicate with God. Prayer is how we petition God. In this episode, Frank focuses upon the importance of praying through the difficult times in our life.

No one has ever gone through a trial as difficult as Jesus did when He faced the cross at Calvary. He even prayed to God that “if it were possible, the hour might pass from him” (Mark 14:35, KJV).

Moreover, Jesus told His disciples, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death” (Mark 14:34, NIV). This was the human side of Jesus manifesting itself. Even He found it more challenging to pray because of the load that was upon Him. It is important to remember that He didn’t minister as God but as a human being while on earth. He was no exception; like us, He found it more burdensome to pray because of the heavy load that God had allowed to be placed upon Him.

But in the end, Jesus chose to obey the will of His Father in spite of how He felt. “Not what I will, but what thou wilt,” He prayed (Mark 14:36, KJV).

Jesus is our perfect example for how to pray through a trial. Facing the cross, bearing the weight of the world on His shoulder, sorrowful in spirit, abandoned by His closest friends on earth, He prayed through and pressed His way. Thank God that He did! Our eternal fate rested upon His obedience to the cross.

When you are praying through a trial, you do well to remember the words of Jesus to His disciples in the garden. “The spirit truly is ready but the flesh is weak” (verse 38). The point is that when you are in Christ, the Spirit of Christ indwells you. So, even though you may be weak in the flesh, remember that the Spirit of Christ within you is always ready to go with God.

The local church is uniquely equipped for the ministry of exhortation. That’s because fellow believers understand each other in terms of their desire to learn of Christ and to follow Him. We understand the unique challenges of being in this world but not being of it. In this episode, Evangelist Frank King focuses on the need to encourage yourself.

In the days of King David, he and his army came from war to find that the Amalekites had destroyed their city and taken their wives and children captive. David and his men were devastated. Furthermore, “And David was greatly distressed; for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of the people was grieved…(1 Samuel 30:6a, KJV).

Why did the men of David’s army want to stone him? They were looking for somebody to blame and to direct their anger toward. David was the king, so they all blamed him. If he hadn’t taken them out to war, the Amalekites would not have been able to carry out their ambush. But of course, David was just as hurt as the rest of them. He had two wives. And both were gone. But the people were hurt so they directed their anger toward their leader.

So, how did David respond to the wrath of his army? “David encouraged himself in the Lord his God” (verse 6b).

It’s those times like the one David found himself in that reveal what we are made of. If you want to persist in feeling sorry for yourself, there is little anyone can do to help you move forward. If you want to wallow in pity, no one can make you feel encouraged.

You can attend church every week and have people calling and pouring into you, and you can still stay in the dumps--if you want to. But if you choose to respond that way, it says something negative about your relationship with God. Why should you abide in despair when you serve the living God?

It’s good that we can come to church and be encouraged by the Word of God and the people of God. But when nothing else will do, you must know how to encourage yourself—in the Lord.

First, we must know what the truth is before we can stay with it. One thing we know is that not every faith is of the truth. If they were, everyone’s faith would agree with everybody else’s. And we know that’s not the case. But Jesus said to God, “Your word is truth” (John 17:17, NASB).

In Paul’s letter to the church at Galatia, he rebukes the believers there for their abandonment of the truth for another gospel. He writes, “I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel (Galatians 1:6, NASB).

One takeaway from these words of Paul is that just because a person has been presented with the truth does not safeguard that person from ending up in error. To prevent the latter from happening, it is incumbent upon the individual to stay with the truth. The Galatians had been presented with the gospel of Christ. But they chose to turn away from the truth to embrace another gospel.

This episode is entitled, “Staying with the truth. That’s what we are talking about. That’s what Paul was challenging the church at Galatia to do. Also, in his first epistle to Timothy, Paul issued a related warning concerning the last days.

“The Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons,” Paul wrote (1 Timothy 4:1, NASB). Note how those believers whom he refers to will end up departing from the faith. They will give heed to demonic spirits and teachings.

We do well to heed Paul’s abovementioned words to the Galatians and to Timothy. Again, just because a person has been presented with the truth does not safeguard that person from ending up in error. To safeguard oneself from that undesirable fate, it is incumbent upon the individual to stay with the truth.

The mounting dangers around us are changing our way of life and the landscape of our cities. We have security systems in our houses. Because of hackers, we have multiple layers of security on our computers. Due to threats of terrorism, we have physical barriers around our high-risk facilities, etc.

The reason our faith in God is important in this matter is because faith gives us a healthy response to the dangers at hand. And the goal of this episode is to encourage you to believe that no matter what you see going on around you that God is able to protect you.   

In Psalm 91, the psalmist addresses the subject of divine protection. But this psalm does not apply to every believer. That’s an important point because sometimes we embrace promises in the Scriptures that don’t apply to us. Or promises that we have not properly positioned ourselves to receive the fulfillment of.

As for the applicability of the psalm, the psalmist writes, “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1, NASB). Those who dwell in “the shelter of the Most High” are those who have chosen to make the Lord their dwelling place (verse 9). These are they that Psalm 91 applies to.

The psalmist makes some phenomenal statements about God’s ability to protect us. The question is, how does He accomplish that protection? According to verse 11, God gives His angels charge over us to keep us. We can’t see them, but angels are all around us. They are under divine orders to protect those who love and fear the Lord.

Some people may say that they will just be super careful and protect themselves. But being super careful is not enough. We don’t have to go looking for danger, but danger will come looking for us. Of course, we should do what we can to protect ourselves from danger. But that alone is not nearly enough. In times like these, only God has the absolute ability to protect us.

In his letter to the church at Ephesus, Paul said he made mention of the congregation in his prayers (Ephesians 1:16). He prayed that God would give them “the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him” (verse 17). This was to the intent that their understanding would be enlightened (verse 18). In effect, Paul prayed for the people’s spiritual insight to be increased.

Paul mentioned three areas he wanted the people to increase in understanding (verses 18-19):

1. That they may know the hope of God’s calling.
2. That they may know the riches of the glory of the inheritance
3. That they might know the exceeding greatness of His power toward them

As Paul the apostle prayed for the church at Ephesus, we do well to pray that God will impart to us the spirit of wisdom and revelation. No matter where we are in Christ, there is always room for our understanding to be more enlightened.

Without spiritual insight from God and His Word, we are left with our own understanding of who we are in Christ. Our thinking will be far below where God’s thinking is because His ways are so much higher than ours.

When we read what God says for us to do, at times we may be tempted to say, I can’t do that. But as we gain spiritual insight and get the right revelation of who we are in Christ, we learn that we can do what God says that we should.

In this episode, Frank King reminds us that when God is in the process of blessing us, what we are experiencing may not feel or look like a blessing. That’s why we must walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).

Consider Joseph, the son of Jacob. He was his father’s favorite son. That brought about much envy from his brothers. When the opportunity came, the brothers did Joseph dirty. They put him in a pit and eventually sold him to some merchants. They in turn took him and sold him in Egypt.

At the time, Joseph was only 17. He was the second youngest of the twelve sons. After they sold him, they took his coat his dad had made, killed a goat and dipped the coat in blood. Then they brought the bloody coat to their dad, saying they had found the coat. So Jacob believed his son was dead.

Meanwhile, in Egypt where Joseph had been sold, he was accused by his master’s wife of trying to rape her. For that, he was put in prison. But God was with Joseph (Genesis 39:2). Eventually, Joseph got out of prison and became the most powerful man in Egypt, second only to the Pharaoh.

To be sure, when Joseph’s brothers threw him in the pit and sold him, making sense of what was going on was impossible. He certainly didn’t feel blessed at that time. But once he got in Egypt, God caused him to prosper in his master’s house. Then God gave him favor in prison. Finally, God promoted him to power in Egypt. It was then that Joseph could see the hand of God working in his life.

Accordingly, after Joseph had risen to power, he shared with them his amazing perspective on his painful past. “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive,” he said (Genesis 50:20, KJV).

Similarly, you may not be able to make sense of what God is doing in your life. But He knows what He's doing. If you trust Him, things will work out in your favor.

The good news is that God’s saving power is just as real and powerful today as it was in the days of Jesus and the apostles. In this episode, Frank King addresses God’s power to save sinners.

In Paul’s first letter to Timothy, he refers to himself as the chief of sinners. Before his conversion, Paul hated those who loved Christ. This means Paul, then known as Saul, was a terrible person. In his epistle, he also refers to himself as a blasphemer, a persecutor and injurious (1 Timothy 1:13, KJV).

On the other hand, that very fact makes Paul’s salvation experience the perfect example of God’s power to save sinners.

What is the main point we should take away from Paul’s salvation experience? He writes, “For this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting” (verse 16, KJV).

In the verse, Paul highlights God’s longsuffering. What is longsuffering? It is the ability to hold your peace while being provoked. Can you imagine how Paul’s actions before his conversion must have provoked the Lord? But God remained patient with Paul.

Paul said God did that as a pattern or an example for other unbelievers going forward. You see, one of the reasons for the Lord’s tarry today is His longsuffering toward the lost. And Paul said God saved him as an example of His longsuffering. He was chief of the sinners. Accordingly, he was the perfect example of God’s power to save sinners.

Some unbelievers believe they are too bad for God to be interested in them. But if they seriously consider Paul the apostle’s experience, they might have a change of heart.

Also, if you are reading this post, and you don’t know the Lord as your Savior, know that God is more than able to save you and use you for His glory.  For the gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes (Romans 1:16).

The message of repentance can be offensive. In effect, it sheds light on a person’s current or past misconduct. And no matter how lovingly you convey it, people take the message personally.

Some people today are down on the message of repentance. They argue that under the grace dispensation, repentance is not required even for salvation. But when John the Baptist came, he preached the message of repentance. When Jesus came, He confirmed the need to repent. In Luke 13:3, He said to the people, unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. In Acts 3:19, Peter told the people to repent so their sins may be blotted out.

God sent Jonah the prophet to preach to the people of Nineveh. His message was simple. He said, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown” (Jonah 3:5, KJV).

Jonah’s message was one of the most efficient sermons in all the Bible. According to the Scriptures, it was a one liner.  It yielded a penitent response unlike any other place in the Bible. “The people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.”

God responded favorably to the people’s response to Jonah’s message. He changed His mind and chose to not destroy Nineveh as He had intended. Hence, God used Jonah’s simple but in-your-face message to bring the city to repentance and to avert God’s judgment.

Every genuine Christian has been indwelt by the Holy Spirit. “If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His” (Romans 8:9, KJV). Continued misconduct in the eyes of God grieves the Holy Spirit. But God does not want you going around carrying the load of guilt and/or shame.

Instead, He wants you to turn your heart toward Him, so you can be freed from that guilt or shame. That’s what the message of repentance is all about.

During His public ministry, Jesus warned His followers about the road that leads to destruction. “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be that go in thereat” He said (Matthew 7:13, KJV).

In effect, Jesus is telling us to not follow the crowd because the majority is wrong. This goes against the grain of human logic. It feels right to us to blend in with the crowd and not to “stick out like a sore thumb.” But the truth is that most people in the world today are headed in the wrong direction.

Jesus says the way that leads to life is narrow and few find it (verse 14). Think about that word find. The primary way we find something is by looking for it. Of course, sometimes you find something by stumbling upon it. But the main way you find something is by looking for it.

Jesus is the way that leads life. He says no one comes to the Father but through Him (John 14:6). Hence, the way that leads to life is a restricted road. It’s not all-inclusive. One does not get to have it his way. That’s why few will find the road and gate that leads to life.

Jesus gave this warning about the two roads in life 2000 years ago. Even then, He says the majority was on the wrong road. In other words, this was not some prophetic teaching about the last days. Jesus was speaking to the people of His day. But the problem has become worse today. That is, wider is the gate and broader is the way that leads to destruction, and many there be who enter there.

Ironically, what we see happening today is the Christian church trying to be more like the world. You don’t see the world trying to be like the church. But in some ways, the church is trying to be more like the world. However, Jesus says the world is on the wrong road. How crazy is that?

Of course, we are called to reach the world for Christ. Our message must be relevant to the world we are called to reach. On the other hand, we can’t change the world through trying to be like the world. Nor can we add to the gospel by taking from its message to appease the world. “Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way which leadeth to life, and few there be that find it.”

The event Jesus alluded to is recorded in the book of Numbers. The people of God were in the wilderness. During their journey, God led them around the city of Edom, which was longer than going directly through it.

The people became discouraged and railed against Moses. They accused him of having brought them in the wilderness to die. God judged their complaining and sent fiery serpents against them. These serpents had the sting of death, and many of the people died (Numbers 21:6).

After the people humbled themselves, God told Moses to place a brazen serpent on a pole. Whoever looked upon the brazen serpent on the pole, after having been bitten, would live (verse 8). It was not enough for Moses to place the brazen serpent on the pole. The victim had to physically look upon the serpent on the pole to live.

The brazen serpent on the pole was a foreshadow of lifting up Jesus. This phrase is a reference to Jesus being lifted from the earth to be placed upon a cross.

We all received the sting of death because of Adam’s disobedience in the garden. The only cure available for this sting of death is Jesus. Just as the people in the wilderness had to look upon the serpent for healing, sinners must look to and believe in Jesus to be healed.

Jesus explained to Nicodemus that God is the Author of this plan of salvation through Christ. Because of His obedience to the cross, God has highly exalted Him. Whosoever believes on Him will not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

It stands to reason that if we want to see more people saved, the church must become more diligent in lifting up Jesus. But we have allowed our voice for Christ to become muted in the public discourse. Everything else is being lifted up in the world. We need to do the same with regard to the name and person of Jesus Christ.

Churchgoers know how to exalt the name of Jesus when they come together at the house of God. But not so much after the leave the house of God. Not so much in the office or among relatives who don’t know the Lord.

We should exalt the name and person of Christ when we gather. But even more so, we must lift Him up before a dying world. He is the only One who can save us from the sting of death that came through sin.

Though Christians are born again, they can still experience moral failure. That’s because they are yet clothed in corruptible flesh.

It is important to state that no degree of moral excellence will get us into heaven. On the other hand, we are called to live our life to bring glory to the Lord. A lifestyle marked by immoral behavior cannot accomplish that end.

Frank explains that when fellow believers fail morally, we should be firm toward them when we need to be firm. For instance, when a person keeps repeating the same kind of offenses and claims to be a believer.  At other times, we should be compassionate toward those overcome by moral failure. Equally, we need wisdom to know when to do which.

A problem in today's church is that some congregants are like the scribes and the Pharisees of Jesus’ day. They brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery to the temple to Jesus. They acted as if they wanted to do the right thing toward the woman. But they were just using her and her moral failure to try to entrap Jesus (John 8:6).

They didn’t care about how humiliated and demoralized the woman must have felt. It was all about exploiting her failure to do evil in the house of God.

Some people in the church today are like those religious leaders in Jesus’ day. They love exposing the failure of others to make themselves appear morally superior.

So, the all-important question is who in church is best suited for ministering to those who have failed morally. Some in the church are not qualified for this ministry.

About that, Paul writes, “Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted” (Galatians 6:1, NASB). So, according to this verse, those who are spiritual in the church should be the ones to reach out to the person who needs to be ministered to after his or her misdeed.

In this episode, Frank King says it is when we have no “Plan B” that we must truly trust God. That is when He is glorified. And to glorify Him is what we have been called to do.

Possibly, for all of us, times will come when our resources, no matter how vast they are, can't help us. That’s when God is calling us to trust Him completely. The question is, will our faith rise to the occasion.

Furthermore, we are commanded to live our life fully trusting God. The psalmist writes, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart. And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him. And He will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6, NASB).

In the days of the Judges, God called a man by the name of Gideon to lead His people against the Midianites. The children of Israel had done evil in the sight of God (Judges 6:1). He in turn delivered them into the hands of the Midianites for seven years. That’s why they were where they were.

It was at the end of those seven years of bondage that God called on Gideon to lead His people. The Midianites were a fierce army. Gideon was intimidated by the task. He asked God to show him some signs that He would be with him, which God did.

Gideon started out with an army of 32,000 men. But God said to him, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give Midian into their hands. For Israel would become boastful, saying, ‘My own power has delivered me’” (Judges 7:2, NASB). Through a series of events, God reduced Gideon’s army from 32,000 men to 300 men.

God told Gideon he was now ready to go and fight. With only 300 men, Gideon had no choice but to trust the Lord.

If you desire to do anything relevant for the Lord, you must trust Him for a successful outcome. You can’t effectively do in your own strength what He is calling you to do. But if you trust Him, He will show Himself faithful on your behalf. That was Gideon’s experience.

In his first letter to the church at Corinth, Paul addressed the church members who said there is no resurrection of the dead. “If there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen,” Paul said (1 Corinthians 15:13, KJV). 

Paul also saw the argument that there is no resurrection from the dead as an attack on the credibility of the apostles.  He said, “We are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not” (verse 15).

All the apostles saw the Lord Jesus Christ with their own eyes. The original twelve were with Him throughout His public ministry. After He returned to heaven, they became witnesses of His life, His death, and His bodily resurrection.

A false witness is a person who claims to have seen something that he has not seen. That’s, in effect, what the apostles would be, Paul argued, if there is no resurrection of the dead.

Just as it was in the church at Corinth, some who listen to this episode may not believe in the resurrection of the dead. They wrestle with the idea of the bodily resurrection of Christ. Perhaps many who attend church weekly have the same struggle. This is not a minor issue. Rather, it is a matter of eternal consequences. That’s why Paul so passionately addressed the subject in his letter to the church.

According to the Scriptures, early on that first day of the week, God raised Jesus bodily from the grave. He took victory from the grave and the sting out of death. Because He lives, those who believe in Him will live forevermore. And that’s what we celebrate this awesome time of the year we call Easter.

Everything we hope for and live for rests upon the fact that God raised Christ bodily from the grave. That’s why this is such a big deal for us. And why Paul was inspired to challenge the unbelievers in the church on this matter.

But accepting the bodily resurrection of Christ is a matter of faith. None of us have witnessed it. No one can show us infallible proof of the same. “Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed,” Jesus said (John 20:29, KJV).