One Mann's Viewpoint

The Origin of True Authority This week in my studies I came across a scripture that got my mind thinking. The scripture was in the Book of Mark, chapter 1, verse 21 & 22, and it reads... " And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught.  And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes."  To set the stage, Mark is telling about some of the things that Christ did in his ministry, and he tells this right after saying how Christ called his apostles one by one. These scriptures stood out to me because they outline the distinct difference that people were able to see between the scribes and the Lord, Jesus Christ. In two ways he was different, in his "astonishing" knowledge of the doctrine and in his authority.  Christ's knowledge of the doctrine came from study and prayer. He was the Son of God, but he grew up learning, as th...

Being Judged Today What it means to have your "Calling and Election" made sure Recently while reading in the new testament in 2 Peter, I stumbled across a scripture that led me to think and study more deeply. The verse that caught my attention was 2 Peter 1:10-11 which reads... "Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." This scripture explains how if you are able to "make your calling and election sure" then you will never fall away and it seems like you'll be admitted into the same kingdom as Christ, our savior. Now these seemed like pretty important promises to me, things that I would most certainly want to obtain. The next step was to figure out what "making your calling and election sure" even meant.  ...