Tag: Faith

Abraham fathers all believers through faith, not through bloodline

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TEXAS GOSPEL VOLUNTEER

Romans 4 describes Abraham as the father of all believers, a statement that raises a natural question given that Abraham is also the physical ancestor of the nation of Israel. In that sense, Abraham serves as the earthly progenitor of the Jewish people, since the nation descended directly from his family line. The fatherhood Paul describes in Romans, however, points to something different from ancestry.

Genesis 15 records that Abraham believed God, and this faith was credited to him as righteousness. This moment introduces the concept of salvation through faith and the doctrine of imputed righteousness, meaning God’s righteousness was applied to Abraham on the basis of his trust rather than his actions.

Abraham was justified by faith alone, and all who come to God through faith, regardless of ethnic background, become his spiritual children in this sense. Before this act of faith, Abraham was an idol worshipper with no claim to righteousness of his own, and his story shows us the pattern followed by everyone who has ever been saved throughout history.

Therefore, recognize that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham.

Galatians 3:7

Sustaining grace carries believers through life’s weakest moments

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TEXAS GOSPEL VOLUNTEER

God’s strength is most evident during the moments when a person feels weakest and uncertain.

Paul went through insult, pain, and difficulty. When I read the bible, I see that these are not meant to push believers toward giving up. Instead, God’s power, made available through sustaining grace, remains sufficient regardless of the circumstance.

2 Corinthians 12:9 comes in the context of Paul describing a “thorn in the flesh,” a persistent hardship he repeatedly asked God to remove. Instead, God told him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Paul therefore learned to rely on Christ’s strength rather than his own.

Consider the lives the apostles lived and the problems they faced. They didn’t accomplish everything they wanted. Instead, they were drawn closer to God through their sufferings. In Philippians 4:13 Paul explains that he has learned to be content whether he has plenty or is suffering from hunger and need. When he says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” he means that Christ gives him the strength to endure every circumstance and remain faithful, not that he can accomplish anything he desires.

Do you turn to God when times are tough?

Don’t mistake winning an argument for winning a soul

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DAVID INGRAM

If you’ve spent much time defending the Christian faith online or in person, you’ve probably noticed a familiar pattern. It has become so common that it’s almost predictable.

Someone confidently declares, “There is no God.”

When you ask them to support that claim, the response is often, “The burden of proof is on you because you’re the one who believes God exists.”

At first, that may sound reasonable. But think carefully about what has happened.

The statement, “God exists,” is a claim. The statement, “God does not exist,” is also a claim. Both are assertions about reality. The only position that avoids making a claim is, “I don’t know.”

A common mistake in reasoning is to assume that only one side has a burden of proof. This is known as shifting the burden of proof. It occurs when someone makes a positive assertion but insists that only the other person is responsible for providing evidence. If a person claims there is no God, they have made a claim just as surely as the person who says there is a God. Neither side should be exempt from defending what they affirm.

As Christians, we should never be embarrassed to acknowledge that we are saved by faith given as a gift from God so that no one may boast. To be clear: I believe the Bible tells us that our faith is not something we manufacture on our own or that stems from our own ability to understand.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
— Ephesians 2:8-9

We do not hide our faith because it is God’s gift, not our achievement.

What should concern us is when someone confidently declares there is no God while insisting they owe no explanation for that conclusion. That is not skepticism. It is simply another belief being asserted without defense.

Yet even this is not the heart of the matter.

Christians can become so absorbed in debating logical fallacies that we forget why the conversation matters in the first place. We begin treating apologetics as though our mission is to outthink the unbeliever.

It isn’t.

The deepest reason people reject Christ is rarely intellectual. Scripture says the problem is spiritual.

“The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.'” (Psalm 14:1)

Notice that Scripture does not say the fool has examined all the evidence and reached an unavoidable conclusion. The issue begins in the heart.

Paul explains that humanity already has sufficient knowledge of God through His creation, yet suppresses that truth.

“For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them… So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him.”
— Romans 1:19-21

The Bible teaches that unbelief is not caused by a lack of information. It is a suppression of truth. Sin affects not only what we desire but also how we think.

This does not mean every objection to Christianity is dishonest. People often have sincere questions that deserve thoughtful answers. We should always be prepared to give a reason for the hope within us, doing so “with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15).

But we should never imagine that the right argument alone can produce saving faith.

Paul wrote,

“For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
— 1 Corinthians 1:18

And again,

“The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him… because they are spiritually discerned.”
— 1 Corinthians 2:14

No one is argued into the Kingdom apart from the work of the Holy Spirit.

That should change the way we engage unbelievers.

Yes, expose faulty reasoning when it appears. Correct logical fallacies when necessary. Defend the truth faithfully. But do not mistake exposing an error in logic for addressing the real issue. A person can lose every argument and still reject Christ. Another can ask difficult questions and, by God’s grace, come to faith.

Our confidence should never rest in our ability to corner someone intellectually. Scripture warns us, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5).

Don’t work so hard to open the door of human reason that you neglect the door only the Holy Spirit can open.

Winning an argument is not the mission.

Leading people to the Savior is.

11th Hour finds gratitude in a new day with “Today is the day”

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TEXAS GOSPEL CANADA VOLUNTEER

Southern gospel trio 11th Hour is leaning into gratitude with their new single “Today Is The Day,” a song built on a simple but stubborn idea, that mercy resets every morning, whether you feel like accepting it or not.

Amber Eppinette Saunders points to scripture as the spark. “His mercies are new every morning,” she says, citing the familiar verse that anchors the song’s message. She and her bandmates, Garrett Saunders and Victoria Bowlin, wrote the track from a place of plain gratitude, the kind that comes from simply waking up and getting another day.

Eppinette Saunders penned the song alongside Kenna Turner West and Jason Cox, the same team behind the group’s previous release, “Just Keep the Faith.” Musically, “Today Is The Day” borrows a page from mid-60s Beatles records, favoring off-kilter phrasing over anything predictable. Producer Roger Talley builds the arrangement around staccato piano, a rhythmic backbone that pushes the song through its shifting tonal centers without ever losing the thread of its central message.

For Eppinette Saunders, the daily decision behind the song matters more than the music itself. “It’s about starting fresh,” she says, “trusting God a little more, and making the choice every day to be more like Him.”

11th Hour has built a decade-plus career on that same instinct toward renewal, adapting their sound while staying rooted in worship music. The group has landed multiple Top 10 hits on the Singing News charts and picked up award nominations across Southern Gospel music, including a Singing News Trio of the Year nod and an AGM Album of the Year nomination, with Eppinette Saunders herself nominated for Soprano of the Year.

“There is nothing more fulfilling than ministering to the body of Christ and sharing the gospel,” Eppinette Saunders says. “Every dream we have ever had, God has already fulfilled. He never ceases to amaze us.”

The trio shows no signs of slowing. Eppinette Saunders, Garrett Saunders and Bowlin say they intend to keep singing wherever the opportunity leads, treating each new stage as another chance to spread their message.

The Kingdom Heirs remind listeners that grace never runs out

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AMY TURNER

Southern Gospel has a way of turning heartbreak into hope, and few groups do it as naturally as the Kingdom Heirs. “This song really spoke to me,” says Andy Stringfield of the quartet’s new single, “Always get the grace.” “It not only has a beautiful melody, which usually is the first thing that catches my attention, but a unique and powerful message.”

The message is a simple one, though simple doesn’t mean easy. Written by Barbara Huffman and Marcia Henry, the song asks its listeners to sit with an uncomfortable truth; Prayers don’t always get answered the way you hoped. Sometimes the miracle comes exactly as planned. More often, life hands you something you didn’t ask for and can’t fully explain.

Sometimes you get the miracle Just the way you planned But often God does something different That you don’t understand But through it all He’s still loving, caring, and holding you No matter what you face Sometimes you get the miracle But you always get the grace

The Kingdom Heirs give the song room to breathe, building it into a fully orchestrated arrangement that shifts between Chris Bryant’s lead vocal and the full quartet’s blend. It’s the kind of production that lets a lyric like this land without needing much embellishment.

For Stringfield, the song’s honesty is what sets it apart. “When we’re in the midst of a storm in this life, we don’t always get the exact answer we’re looking for when we pray,” he says. “Sometimes you get the miracle, but as a child of God, no matter what you may be going through, you’ll always get his wonderful grace.”

That kind of steadiness has defined the Kingdom Heirs for decades. The group traces its roots to the mountains of East Tennessee, where Southern Gospel isn’t a genre so much as a way of life. They built a following playing churches and concert halls before landing a residency at Silver Dollar City in 1982, four years before the park rebranded as Dollywood. The Kingdom Heirs have been the park’s resident gospel act ever since, a run that now stretches past 40 years, matching Dollywood’s own milestone this year. Millions of visitors have passed through the park in that time, and for plenty of them, the Kingdom Heirs’ harmonies are as much a part of the Smoky Mountains as the scenery.