tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41386123256357515302012-02-17T10:14:01.808+01:00Dedicated to exploring the depths of the Word of God and how it relates to the modern world. Creation: Where did we come from? Revelation: Where are we going? Can we change our destination?Michael Bransonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04521575588040584605noreply@blogger.comBlogger171100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4138612325635751530.post-21158350689779420792012-02-17T10:14:00.000+01:002012-02-17T10:14:01.820+01:00

No lo soy. Yo no lo soy. No puede ser. Es que no soy lo suficientemente rico. Esto es lo que me dijo justo antes de tratar de averiguar qué ropa ponerme hoy. Echaba un vistazo a las 40 perchas de la ropa que tengo, con la esperanza de encontrar algo decente. Al final, escogí cosas casi al azar, y fui al sofá en la sala de estar. Encendí uno de nuestros 3 televisores, y arranque uno de los 5

Michael Bransonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04521575588040584605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4138612325635751530.post-86183126161238550972012-01-25T14:56:00.000+01:002012-01-25T14:56:49.651+01:00

I am not.  I'm not.  I can't be.  I'm not wealthy enough. This is what I told myself just before trying to figure out what to wear today.  I scanned through the 20 hangars of clothes that I have, hoping to find something decent.  Finally I just threw something together, grabbed one of my 30 pairs of socks - all black - and settled into the living room.  I turned on one of our 3 televisions, and

Michael Bransonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04521575588040584605noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4138612325635751530.post-56518666756930018502011-06-03T16:37:00.001+02:002011-06-03T16:38:16.231+02:00

A little confession is good for the soul.  So here goes - I am hard-headed. I am thick-headed.  I am so dense, light bends around me.  What brought this on, you ask?  Let me tell you. I have an ongoing debate with a liberal.  Once, he made a comment about how "the rich" - referring to wealthy Americans - affect the lifestyles of people in the Sahara.  I said I didn't get the connection.  He

Michael Bransonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04521575588040584605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4138612325635751530.post-73307323129142010252011-05-26T17:26:00.002+02:002011-08-03T11:30:53.420+02:00

The latest failure to predict the date of the end of the world brings to mind a thought I have had for some time:    Is Jesus really coming soon?  It has been a main tenet of Christianity for decades and even centuries that Jesus is coming back.  Let me say at the outset that the certainty of His return is NOT under question here.  That He will return is patently obvious with even a cursory

Michael Bransonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04521575588040584605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4138612325635751530.post-87729732076114534252010-12-18T02:03:00.005+01:002011-05-16T22:59:18.309+02:00

A lot of people have rejected God, for a variety of reasons.  However, I believe that many of these reasons fall into one category - unfulfilled expectations.  They look at what God claims he can do, and then when he doesn't do it, they conclude either that he is a liar not worthy of following, or, more frequently, that he does not exist.  They do not find God the way they want him.  What kind of

Michael Bransonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04521575588040584605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4138612325635751530.post-64206027639772792882010-11-09T09:47:00.000+01:002010-11-09T09:47:10.042+01:00

This is a promotional video done by Ambassador Baptist Church, about some of the stories that form the membership there.  It reminds us that everyone has a history, nobody is perfect, and behind the smiles are problems that can crush the life out of a person.  The grace of God helps us through these difficult times and gives us a purpose, a reason to continue, as we remember that this world is

Michael Bransonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04521575588040584605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4138612325635751530.post-7305599372226486882010-11-08T13:22:00.000+01:002010-11-08T13:22:57.185+01:00

I came across this today.  I have had the feeling, no doubt others have as well, that the Church has lost its compass.  It needs to come back to its roots, to its foundation.  As it was said in the Letter to the Church of Ephesus, in Revelation 2.4, "I hold this against you, you have forsaken the love you had at first."  The church is not obsolete - it remains God's plan for this age.  However,

Michael Bransonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04521575588040584605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4138612325635751530.post-40819978283681612222010-05-17T13:21:00.001+02:002011-05-29T10:36:00.165+02:00

Have you ever wondered why most conservative Christians subscribe to capitalism, and liberal unbelievers ascribe to socialism?  It seems a bit backwards, when you consider that capitalism is based on selfishness and greed, and socialism is based on looking out for your neighbour.  Shouldn't it be the other way around? Why do we support the systems that we do?  Most people want to live better

Michael Bransonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04521575588040584605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4138612325635751530.post-45629050025329027292010-05-14T01:56:00.007+02:002011-05-29T10:42:43.286+02:00

Well, it had been a busy week, comparatively speaking.  First, there was nothing, then water, light, dry land plants, sun, moon, and most recently sea life and birds. However, God was not finished yet.  The land needed some inhabitants.  "Let the land produce living creatures;  livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind.  And it was so."   Many

Michael Bransonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04521575588040584605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4138612325635751530.post-66229834545319353112010-05-06T14:12:00.000+02:002011-10-06T11:45:13.908+02:00

When all of the base material was in place, God began to fill  it.  And fill it.  And fill it.  "Let the water teem," He said.  Now, 6,000 years later, we STILL don't know what is hiding in the deep parts of the sea.  It has been said that we know more about the surface of Mars than we do about our own oceans.  There are microscopic plants, plants that can barely be seen with the naked eye, small

Michael Bransonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04521575588040584605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4138612325635751530.post-33735816662128660562010-02-19T01:36:00.005+01:002011-05-26T17:07:09.743+02:00

Day Four is one of my favourites.  It has a phrase that just blows me away.  We will get there, but first, let us consider what was created. In contrast to Day One, when God said, "Let there be light," the Bible says, "And God said, 'Let there be lights . . .'"  I find it interesting that until Day Four, the light that was created before had no real source.  It was not emanating from anything,

Michael Bransonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04521575588040584605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4138612325635751530.post-53789465821453326262010-02-07T23:11:00.000+01:002010-02-07T23:11:41.442+01:00

The first creative act of Day 3 was dry land.  Verse 9 of Genesis 1 says, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear."  While true that God created dry land, let us not overlook a key phrase - "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place."  What implication does that have? If you look at a map of the world today, you will see that 2/3 of the globe

Michael Bransonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04521575588040584605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4138612325635751530.post-7430859323778110362010-01-27T14:54:00.002+01:002010-02-06T15:29:49.241+01:00

     When one considers the quantity of work that was done on the various days of Creation, Day 2 seems almost like Casual Friday in some respects.  Remember, on Day 1, God created an enormous expanse that, for all we know, has no physical limit.  No small feat, at least from a finite being's point of view.  Other days appear to be full of more than one activity.  Day 2, however, covers exactly

Michael Bransonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04521575588040584605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4138612325635751530.post-80909379547244180182010-01-23T16:37:00.000+01:002010-01-23T16:37:48.788+01:00

Some years ago, it was my responsibility to teach the young people of our church in Sunday School.  The material one day was about Creation, Genesis 1.1 and all that.  So we read the first few verses, and then I asked them, "What was the first thing God created?"  The answer, of course, I thought, was Light, because it was the first thing recorded that God said.  Even though I thought this was

Michael Bransonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04521575588040584605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4138612325635751530.post-70158365765828372232010-01-22T01:28:00.000+01:002010-01-22T01:28:53.567+01:00

     One might ask what an election in Massechusetts has to do with where we came from or where we are going.  A fuller discussion of the topic will be forth-coming, but it is important to remember what the Bible teaches us about God.  Proverbs 21.1 says, "The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases."      In December of 2009, in the campaign

Michael Bransonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04521575588040584605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4138612325635751530.post-9378142208219552722010-01-17T19:45:00.000+01:002010-01-17T19:45:20.361+01:00

Once again, a disaster has occurred.  Once again, an evangelical leader has referred to it as "the judgement of God."  Once again, there has been a misunderstanding. The Bible clearly states that "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God."  It also clearly states that "the wages of sin is death."  When you work, you expect wages, or payment.  God tells us that our "work" here in

Michael Bransonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04521575588040584605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4138612325635751530.post-34921030692796249812010-01-17T14:20:00.002+01:002010-01-17T22:33:35.193+01:00

A wise man once said, "The only justification we need to help other people is that we are Christians."  The recent earthquake is a good place to start.  The link below is one place where you can send help.  There are others available, of course, but please do whatever you can. http://www.wordsower.org/contact_info

Michael Bransonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04521575588040584605noreply@blogger.com0