Showing results by author "James Thomas" in All Categories

People sometimes have difficulty understanding the Trinity. But if that is the case with someone reading this Introduction, then he or she should not feel too bad. It took the scholars and theologians of the early Church about five hundred years after the Incarnation of Jesus to even begin to figure it out. The whole idea of one God is not too difficult to understand. But when the same scholars and theologians start talking about one God in three persons, then the whole matter becomes much more complicated. Is it biblically correct to say or think of three different persons of deity, daily ...

This book has been written to share what I discovered during a unique experience in late 1989 and early 1990. While that experience was not very pleasant, the discoveries that I made have more than made up for any of those anxieties which I felt. After having been a Christian for a little over twenty-two years, I suddenly and without warning lost my job. Since at that time I had been faithful in the Lord's work for over fifteen years, plus had also done very well within my profession, being released from my employment did not seem logical. Therefore, from the very beginning, I acknowledged ...

What I am about to say might sound confusing. But it is not meant to be. First, this book is about me. But second, this book is not about me. In the pages that follow, I will share thirteen times from my life when the Lord spoken directly to me, non-audibly, in my heart. For the first three, I did not know exactly what was happening. For the last ten occasions plus one, I was fully aware of what was happening. So in that sense, this book is about me. It will share fourteen personal experiences from my life. But this book is not really about me because the purpose is to show how anyone can ...

Último e mais longo conto da coletânea Dublinenses, Os mortos, de James Joyce, narra a ida de Gabriel Conroy e de sua esposa Gretta a uma tradicional festa de Natal na casa das tias de Gabriel. A partir das interações entre os convidados, com descrição de detalhes surpreendentes, Joyce retrata a vida da classe média da capital irlandesa no começo do século passado. Ao fim da festa, o casal retorna ao hotel onde pernoitará, e uma descoberta de Gabriel sobre o passado de Gretta o faz repensar a sua própria vida.

This book is my 50th anniversary gift to Linda. We could not renew our vows this year and have the celebration that we would have liked because of the pandemic that has swept the world. So this book is something that I hope will remind her of all the good years that we have had together. The years have flown by. But we have been abundantly blessed from the very beginning. I hope that the pages of this book will accurately describe the very full life that she and I have shared together. For sure, it is a testimony of what the Lord can do with lives that are surrendered to Him.

In the following pages of this text, many ideas will be presented that can help a person better know what the Lord wants him or her to do. Most of those ideas for effectively serving Him will be based upon verses like Jeremiah 29:12-13, John 3:16, II Peter 3:9, Luke 19:10, and Romans 5:6-8. So when a person can build his or her understanding around those kinds of teachings, then he or she will be well on the way to knowing what the Lord wants him or her to do. In chapter one of this text, it will be expressed that true biblical salvation should be better based on words like seek, commit, ...

In summary, what was Jesus saying to those people in this first part of His sermon? First, He was telling them to be poor in spirit, which meant that they should have a heart and a mind that would be open to His instructions. Second, He had made some specific promises to those who are poor in spirit, mourning over their spiritual condition, meek, hungering and thirsting after righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, and makers of peace. He had spoken to those who would be persecuted for His name's sake. He spoke to those who have a responsibility to be salt and light. Third, He shared His ...

This book has been written to clear up some confusion about John 3:16. In the pages that follow, the actual originator of those words will be identified. The verse is in red in Bibles that identify the words of Jesus with red letters. But did He really say those words in His conversation with Nicodemus? In reaching the most logical conclusion, careful consideration will be given to the verb "gave" in that verse and to the Apostle John's use of the aorist active indicative case for that verb. Verses from other parts of his writings and the New Testament will also be considered to arrive at ...

This book discusses one of the most important set of verses in one of the most important chapters in one of the most important books of the Bible. The whole doctrine about being born again is based upon a conversation that Jesus had had with a Pharisee named Nicodemus. From that conversation, one can easily see the analogy between the brass serpent on a pole in the Old Testament and Jesus on the cross at Calvary. That analogy makes it clear that Jesus is the only way of salvation. People may try whatever they like. But John 14:6 says that no one comes to the Father except by the Son. All of...

This book contains a series of short essays that discuss twenty-five of the important promises from the Lord that have been stated in the scriptures. Each of the essays is basically independent of the others. But at the same time, they have also been ordered somewhat loosely from most important to least important based upon logical order. The Lord promises to love every person. He promises to be found but not indefinitely. He promises grace for salvation and living. He promises goodness and mercy. He promises salvation that cannot be lost. He promises to not be bought. He promises to resist...

Ten places in the Bible, mention is made about events and decisions that were made from, before, or since the foundation of the world. Four of those occasions were spoken by Jesus during His public ministry. One was written by the Apostle Paul. One was written by the Apostle Peter. Two occurrences were included in the book of Hebrews. Two occurrences were mentioned in the book of Revelation. In chapters one through three of this text, two of the writings about events and decisions from the foundation of the world will be shared. First, Jesus taught secrets about the Word of God and secrets ...

The purpose of this book is to celebrate the victory that the saints of God can have through the power and might of a personal relationship with Christ. It has been divided into four parts. Part one is, "The devil could not overthrow God." In that part, the reader will learn when the devil became the devil. A key point will be that he is not in control of the events of this life. In fact, he is quite limited in what he can and cannot do. Part two is entitled, "The devil cannot overthrow or stop the saints." In that part, key times and events in the lives of Job, David, Abraham, and Joseph ...

This text has been written as a way for this author to cope with the stay-at-home orders that have been put into place for the currently ongoing coronavirus pandemic. But that does not take away from the topics that have been discussed. It has actually given this author the opportunity to write one more book about the two things that are most important in this existence. The first is becoming a Christian or getting saved. The second is living the life that the Lord wants the saved individual to live. It is believed that sharing the gospel with others and encouraging them to get saved, too, ...

This book is actually based on the merging of two separate books that I wrote in 2020. The first book of 2020 was about how to be saved and how to live a blessed life. That book was written because of something that Jesus said during His public ministry. John 10:10 says, "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." So the blessed life of the first book is the abundant life that one can have through a personal relationship with Christ. The second book of 2020 was written because a lot ...

This book will present four different Bible ways that a person can deal with depression. In a world where there are so many ups and downs and so much uncertainty, it stands to reason that every person will at least sometime experience deep depression. So the purpose of this book is to describe how some of the saints of God had handled their times of depression. In the pages that follow, the depressing circumstances of twelve people will be discussed. Two men had had to wait for a long time for something that both had really wanted. One man had had to face a possibly very angry brother. One ...

This audiobook tells just some of the stories of Jesus as presented in the Gospel of Matthew, the Gospel of Mark, the Gospel of Luke, and the Gospel of John. Each story includes references to the Scripture passages on which the story is based. And many stories include notes, reference glossary terms, and maps, all intended to add clarity and give perspective. It is our hope that these stories of Jesus will excite the listener and encourage them to know more.

Many people may find this text offensive. But my desire for many years has been to understand why so many people who regularly attend church do not get more involved in the church's ministries. While not everyone will agree with my general conclusion, it is that most of those individuals are probably not really saved. I do not want to be a judge or sound judgmental. But the simple fact is that the Bible teaches throughout that the Christian is a life of ministry and service for the Lord by the true followers of Christ. So as will be discussed in the following pages, one of my conclusions is...

In the first part of the fourth chapter of the epistle of James, the author wrote about the unanswered selfish prayers of those who primarily pray for what they want. The obvious conclusion is that truly godly people should always pray for what the Lord wants of them rather than for what they might hope to get for themselves from Him. In the second part of the fourth chapter, he wrote about the importance of putting the Lord first in all things. The reasons for doing that are many. It is important to live a holy life. It is important for the saints of God to hold up each other. It is ...

Earlier this year in 2022, I completed a daily devotion book on the book of Proverbs. That book was intentionally meant to be very non-technical. By design, the devotions were meant to be easy to read and understand but without involving the reader with a lot of Hebrew words and scripture references. So that book was completed earlier this year in one very large volume. But now, this book, which is being prepared as six separate parts in six volumes, is meant to be everything that the devotion book was not meant to be. For example, each of the devotions that are in the devotion book are ...

In my adult Sunday school class on December 12, 1982, I spoke to the class about the Theory of Evolution and expressed my beliefs about how that theory will lead to the Tribulation. Remarkable as such a statement may sound, I believe it to be the truth. So I have written this book to retrace the steps that led to that lecture. I hope to relate, in this summary, not just a review of that Sunday morning class, but also to provide a trail of my research. Perhaps, after reading these pages, my reader will be led to conclude, as I already have, that the end may be much nearer than we think. ...