Bruce Snavely

In our last blog we discovered the first two initial changes in any believer's life. The first is the new nature, and, secondly, the indwelling person of the Holy Spirit.   These realities form the basis for how a true Christian's life changes beginning with the internal. The third, and I think the most vital and enduring change for the believer, concerns our new guide, the Word of God in Scripture .  From the moment we are born again in Christ we have an insatiable desire for the Word of God in our lives.  Jesus said, Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. (Matt 4:4) The apostle Peter likened new believers to be like new-born babies saying, As new born babes, desire the genuine milk of the Word, that you may grow thereby . (2 Peter 2:1) Peter then commanded new followers of Christ, But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  (2 Peter 3:18) There is only one way to su...

There is much unnecessary controversy related to Christian conversion which we need to address from time to time.  This is probably due to the fact that although many churches preach the gospel, not all of them spend the necessary time discipling new believers.  New believers need to know the essentials of doctrine that actually defines them and at the same time equips them for the life they have been given by God. A few months ago I addressed this issue from a different perspective, but it’s one that needs to be revisited often. Each of us, as believers in Jesus Christ, need constant reminders of the things that became reality once we believed.  Let me share a few of those things today, and the rest will follow in two subsequent blogs. The first and greatest change which takes place for the Christian is the reception of a new nature. 2 Cor 5:17 says, Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  the old has passed away;  behold the new has co...

There are many important principles involved in living the Christian life.  Over the course of forty years I have discovered many of them along the journey that are worth repeating, but none are so vitally important as the one found in 2 Cor. 5:7 .  In just nine short words the Scripture states, ... for we walk by faith and not by sight. For the Christian this is not just a nice little text kids are to learn in Vacation Bible School when introduced to Abraham!  Rather it is a life principle that must be practiced.......daily!  As I look back over my own life, I am able to see that in every strategic advance of God's will in my life,  it was proceded by a time when I stepped out in faith before God actually worked to further His plan in me. Yes, in that case we follow the example of Abraham found in Genesis 12:1 , and in the NT book of Hebrews 11:8 the Scripture says that, .. .He went out, not knowing where he was going. The only requirement in making th...

Often,  we find ourselves thankful for God's outward blessings in our lives.  Good things like financial boons, a new car, or relief from a burdensome debt can create a euphoria of thankfulness in our lives that we can and should express openly.  However, what about the things that never happened?  I'm thinking of our past, perhaps long ago pasts that never took place or happened the way we might have wanted at the time?  Have you ever stopped and thanked God that He orchestrated the events in your life the way He did even though you didn't get what you wanted at the time?  You should. In I Thess 5:18 Paul the apostle commanded us to: Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.   I can give you a list longer than my arm of things that I pursued that never took place before I became a Christian.  As I look back I can see from my vantage point today that God spared me from some of the worst possi...

Most of us, if we have been alive for any length of time, have had to experience the loss of those we love.  Whether it’s a husband, wife, mother, father, sibling or even those for whom we cared deeply, we have all known the loss of someone special.  Many of us, including me, have experienced these losses at a very young age.  These can be very difficult.  Perhaps we feel that we didn't get enough time with them or that we are waiting for our own death so that we can join them.  The hope is that we will have all the time in the world at some point to catch up and really enjoy them. I have an acquaintance who holds to his father's religious views which unfortunately are not Biblical at all.  My friend believes that if he breaks his religious tradition to become a believer in Christ that his father will never forgive him.  The thought of hurting his father's feelings, even though his father has been long deceased, keeps him from really considering Chri...

As we pray for Israel and our Jewish friends all over the world, let us pray that their eyes will be opened to the love of God for them in the sending of their Messiah.  There are over three-hundred prophetical references to the coming Messiah in the Old Testament.  They are all powerful reminders that an omniscient God has not just sent a Savior into our world but that this Savior was foretold hundreds of years prior to his coming.  One of the classic examples of clear testimony regarding the coming Savior is found in Isaiah 53 .   Living 750 years before the birth of Christ , Isaiah prophesied the birth of Jesus by a virgin in Isa 7:14.  In 9:6 he laid out His true identity as God who is the everlasting Father and Prince of Peace. However the most shocking and deeply perceptive prophecy of Isaiah is found in Isaiah 53.  Here the prophet lays out in meticulous detail for the Jewish reader the reason the Messiah came into our world.  Herein is a per...

One of the easiest things a Christian believer can do is to lose sight of what is important.  Why?  Probably because it’s our human tendancy to follow a path of least resistance.  We know that as followers of Jesus Christ we are going to be judged one day as to our faithfulness in service to both God and others.  But somehow, we are easily distracted and easily moved away from our sense of duty.  It is important here to remind readers that those who have truly trusted in Christ as Savior will not be judged for sin in relation to heaven or hell.  A believer's sin has been paid for in full, even sin committed after salvation.  A believer's judgement determines reward not salvation.  According to 2 Cor 5:10, For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. I remember as a young boy being sent out into our large yard on the farm to clip grass ...

Many of us at one time or another have asked the question, "Why did God create the world the way He did?”  In other words, people really want to know why evil, war, murder, genocide, etc., exist in the first place.  This is a very good question and has to be taken seriously if we are to have a reasonable explanation for existence as we know it.  We have to have an understanding of what could have been as well as what actually is.  I believe that there are essentially four different scenarios for what kind of world we could live in, however, only one of them can be actually true.  Apologist Ravi Zacharias provides these same explanations in one of his own lectures on creation and the existence of evil.  I will provide them here. The first of the four possibilities is that God could have created nothing at all.  In that case God could have eternally existed as infinite God without having created anything as we know it in the physical world. Secondly ...

In whatever area we desire success, the most important key in reaching it is faithfulness.  It doesn't matter what it is or how long it takes, faithfulness is the key to a successful life.  Edison was known to say that of all of his accumulated genius only 1% was inspiration and 99% was perspiration!  So whether it's light bulbs, phonographs, or a difficult path of life, you can mark it down,  being faithful is the most important component of anyone's success.   But there is one major key within faithfulness which is emphasized in the last sentence of Paul's reminder.  Don't miss it! And let us not grow weary in doing good,   for in due season we will reap ,   if we do not give up.   (Gal 6:9) We are constantly reminded of those around us who have or had soaring gifts of talent and inherent powers that make us sometimes feel inadaquate and weak.  But many times, those same people end up being like shooting stars or meteors that race...