Tag Archives: Lord

The Awesome Word of God

The Bibles teaches us the following thought; “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.”  (2nd Timothy 4:3)  This powerful prophesy perfectly describes a growing segment of the church today. There are some who desire to fit the Bible to their convictions rather than allowing the Bible to shape their convictions.

The Word of God is our standard and our rule of faith. We should order our lives by its teachings and not seek to force our own preferences upon the Scriptures. From the Bible, the believer derives their core beliefs and doctrine. We can know the truth and it will set us free. (John 8:32)   

It is important for Christians to know what they believe and why they believe it. For instance, why do we believe in Jesus? The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is a good place to begin. Jesus died, was buried, and rose again. He predicted His death, burial, and resurrection. Who else could do such a thing but God alone?

Why do we believe in the resurrection? The first reason is the eyewitness testimony of the risen Savior. (1 Corinthians 15) There were many witnesses (up to 500) to Jesus resurrection. Also, many of those who encountered the resurrected Savior were willing to give their lives for their commitment to the truth that Jesus was raised from the dead. Ultimately, we believe that Jesus is alive by faith. (Hebrews 11:1-6) The risen Savior is the foundation and the heart of Christian belief.

May we always be ready to give an answer for our beliefs. But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect (1st Peter 3:15)

Tony French

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Supreme Savior

13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Colossians 1:1-14

The Greater Force

The account found in Luke 8 isn’t primarily about demons—it’s about the supremacy of Christ. He is greater than every force of darkness. He is greater than our problems, our fears, our doubts, and our sins.

This is why believers in Christ need not fear demonic possession. The Spirit of God dwells within us, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. Light and darkness cannot coexist in the same space.

But this protection isn’t automatic for everyone. It comes through a relationship with Jesus Christ—through turning from sin and trusting in His finished work on the cross. He didn’t just defeat demons during His earthly ministry; He defeated sin, death, and Satan himself through His crucifixion and resurrection.

Tony French

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Jesus Changes Lives

30 Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” “Legion,” he replied, because many demons had gone into him. 31 And they begged Jesus repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss.32 A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and he gave them permission. 33 When the demons came out of the man, they went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.

Luke 8:30-32

The Encounter That Changes Everything

The man among the tombs had a life that seemed beyond hope. The community had tried everything. Nothing worked. He had suffered “for a long time.”

The demons recognized Christ immediately. They even tried to intimidate Him by using His full title: “Jesus, Son of the Most High God.” It was like a tiny dog yapping at a grizzly bear—all noise, no threat.

The demons couldn’t stand in His presence. They begged not to be sent into the abyss. Jesus, demonstrating His complete authority, sent them into a herd of pigs that then rushed down a steep bank into the lake and drowned.

When the townspeople came to investigate, they found the formerly demon-possessed man “sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind.”

This is the power of an encounter with Christ. Where there was chaos, there is now peace. Where there was nakedness and shame, there is now dignity. Where there was insanity, there is now soundness of mind.

Bring your mess to Jesus today. He will forgive your sin, redeem your past, and cleanse your unrighteousness. God is able!

Tony French

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Lamb of God (2)

10 And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 11 Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. 14 For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. 15 The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says: 16 “This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” 17 Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” 18 And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.

Hebrews 10:10-18

Jesus is our great, perfect, ultimate sacrifice. Through Christ’s substitutionary death on the cross, forgiveness and salvation are granted to all who believe in Him. Jesus is the author a new, perfect, eternal covenant based on God’s grace.

The Mosaic Covenant sacrifices could never fully remove sin and guilt. However, Jesus’ sacrifice gives full and complete redemption to the sinner. The writer of Hebrews spells this out in Chapter 10.

**Jesus Offered Himself (10)

**Jesus offered Himself Once For All (12-14)

**Jesus Purifies Us Through His Blood (14)

**We Are Forgiven On The Basis Of Jesus’ Sacrifice (17-18)

Tony French

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Questions

Three Biblical answers to life’s great questions…..

How did I get here? God created me His image.

Genesis 1:26-27 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

What is my purpose on this planet? I am here to glorify God and serve Him.

1 Corinthians 6:20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

1 Peter 4:11 If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

As a believer in Christ, where am I going? After I leave this planet, I am going to be with Jesus forever.

Revelation 21:1-6 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.” And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.

Be blessed today my friends!

Tony French

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Lamb Of God (1)

1 The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll—I have come to do your will, my God.’”First he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them”—though they were offered in accordance with the law. Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. 10 And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Hebrews 10:1-10

Hebrews 10 serves as a contrast between the Mosaic Covenant lambs and the Christ, the New Covenant Lamb of God. Three points about the earthly lambs are made in these verses:

** Earthly Lambs Had To Be Offered Continually (1-3)

**Earthly Lambs Could Never Take Away Sin (4-7)

**Earthly Lambs Needed To Be Spotless (Exodus 12:5)

We will examine Christ’s role as the Lamb of God next week. Blessings upon you all!

Tony French

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Waiting

Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more. So he said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf.” And his brothers said to him, “Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, “Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.”

10 So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?” 11 And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind.

Genesis 37:5-11

The life of Joseph is chronicled in the book of Genesis. Joseph is the son Jacob and He is given a dream from God. The dream stated that Joseph would become a great leader. However, it would be many years before His dream actually came to pass.

Joseph had to wait for God’s plan to come to fruition. Waiting can be a frustrating experience. Yet, our lives are filled with moments (and sometimes hours) where we are forced to wait. Waiting upon God can be difficult while we are in the midst of the delay. 

Yet, it is in the times of waiting that God often speaks the loudest. In those times, we learn of God’s goodness, His provision, and His love for us. The times of waiting often serve as God’s laboratory in our lives. There, He shapes us, humbles us, and renews us. While we do not enjoy waiting in the moment, once the promised is fulfilled we can look back and see God’s hand at work all along.

Are you in a time of waiting? If you are waiting on God, trust the Lord, believe His Word, and seek to learn of Him. Should we be doing these things at all times? Yes. And we should be pursuing these truths especially in the time of waiting.

May God richly bless you as wait upon Him.

Isaiah 40:31 Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.

Tony French

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New Covenant

11 But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. 12 Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, 14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? 15 And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. 16 For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. 17 For a testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives. 18 Therefore not even the first covenant was dedicated without blood. 19 For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, 20 saying, “This is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded you.” 21 Then likewise he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry. 22 And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission. 23 Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than hese. 24 For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; 25 not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another— 26 He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. 27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, 28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.

Hebrews 9:11-28

The New Covenant of Christ is….

**A Cleansing Covenant

**An Eternal Covenant

**Through The Cross of Christ

**Dependent On Christ’s Work

**Fully Realized In Heaven

There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel’s veins. And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains!

Tony French

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The Power Of Deliverance

26 They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, which is across the lake from Galilee. 27 When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torture me!” 29 For Jesus had commanded the impure spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places.

Luke 8:26-29

The Greater Power

In the quiet hills overlooking the Sea of Galilee, an extraordinary encounter took place that would forever change one man’s life—and teach us profound truths about the spiritual battle we all face.

Imagine a man so tormented, so completely overtaken by darkness, that he lived among the tombs rather than among the living. He wore no clothes. Chains couldn’t hold him. Society had given up on him. His family could only watch in horror as the person they once knew became unrecognizable.

This wasn’t just a story from ancient times—it’s a vivid picture of what destruction looks like when evil is given free reign in a life.

The account from Luke chapter 8 presents us with a sobering reality: there is a very real enemy who seeks to kill, steal, and destroy. This isn’t a comfortable truth. We live in an age that either dismisses spiritual warfare entirely or becomes unhealthily obsessed with it. But the Scripture presents a balanced view—one that acknowledges the reality of evil while proclaiming the supremacy of Christ.

Trust in Jesus is paramount for winning the spiritual battles in or lives. If the Lord can overcome the demons of Hell, He can handle our problems and fears.

Tony French

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The Mosaic Covenant

Ancient scrolls with wax seals, ink bottles, quill pen, and candle on wooden desk

1 Then indeed, even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service and the earthly sanctuary. For a tabernacle was prepared: the first part, in which was the lampstand, the table, and the showbread, which is called the sanctuary; and behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of All, which had the golden censer and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant; and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail. Now when these things had been thus prepared, the priests always went into the first part of the tabernacle, performing the services. But into the second part the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the people’s sins committed in ignorance; the Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing. It was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience— 10 concerned only with foods and drinks, various washings, and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation.

Hebrews 9:1-10

God’s covenant with Israel is beautiful and glorious. It shows forth God’s covenant dealings with the people He chose for Himself—the nation of Israel. The Law still has much to say to God’s people in our day.

We are no longer under the Covenant of Moses. As believers, we are partakers of the New Covenant given to us through the blood of Christ. Nevertheless, let us give thanks today for God’s Covenant with Israel.  Three aspects of this Covenant are revealed in Hebrews 9.

They are………………….

**The Old Covenant Was Earthly (1-5)

**The Old Covenant Was Temporary (6)

**The Old Covenant Was Symbolic of Jesus (7-10)

God bless you all!

Tony French

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