That God is a God of justice is a given. One of my favorite Minor Prophets is Amos, who rails against the injustice of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. His rebukes are scathing, some of which could certainly apply to the North American church today. But the Bible makes clear that God?s perfect justice is always balanced by His grace, mercy and compassion. That, of course, is why He sent Jesus: To die a substitutionary death and thereby satisfy the righteous, just demands of a perfect, holy and righteous God. The Bible also makes clear that we, who have received the free gift of salvation by grace through faith, are to exhibit justice, grace, mercy and compassion to the world. Put another way, the church of Jesus Christ is to manifest justice, grace, mercy and compassion to this broken world.

Peter defines a lifestyle of Salvation, describing & discussing a life of Hope & Holiness for those who accept & believe in Christ.

The civil war in Syria is entering a new phase, one fraught with significant implications for the Middle East, for Israel and for the United States. In the words of columnist Charles Krauthammer, ?The great Muslim civil war, centered in Syria, is approaching its post-Islamic State phase. It?s the end of the beginning. The parties are maneuvering to shape what comes next.? ISIS is disappearing as an independent, organized state within the Middle East. Its threat as a terrorist organization remains viable, but the caliphate declared by Baghdadi is dead!

Peter shares more of God’s plan for Salvation, emphasizing how the prophets of the Old Testament were laboring not for themselves, but for future generations — including us today.

In mid-June, James Hodgkinson of Belleville, Ill., armed with a rifle, opened fire on a group of Republican members of Congress practicing for a baseball game in Alexandria, Virginia. Four victims were transferred to the hospital with gunshot injuries: Majority Whip Steve Scalise, a congressional staffer, a lobbyist and a Capitol Police officer. Another congressman and a second police officer also suffered minor injuries. In statements on social media and letters to a local newspaper, Hodgkinson expressed fervent opposition to the Republican Party and called for higher taxes on the rich. He also volunteered for the presidential campaign of Bernie Sanders. He was not a communist or an extremist member of some paramilitary group. He was an ordinary Midwestern Democrat who detested what was happening in his life and to his nation.

Dr. Eckman begins a new study of 1st Peter: Peter affirms & reinforces that our Hope is a living Hope for life because of Jesus, and there is an imperishable, undefiled, unfading inheritance for every one who puts their faith in Christ.

Dr. Eckman wraps up our study of the Book of Jude, including a concise summary to all Believers for living the Christian Life.

The case of 11-month old Charlie Gard of the United Kingdom has been heart-wrenching. It also raises a number of profound ethical questions. Charlie was born with a pair of genetic mutations that depleted his body of mitochondria, the minute structures that produce energy molecules that the body?s cells need to live. As a result, he has suffered ? according to the hospital ? ?catastrophic and irreversible brain damage.? He cannot breathe, he essentially cannot move, and he cannot hear. He has been kept alive by life support systems. His parents, Chris Gard and Connie Yates, have pinned their hopes on an experimental treatment called nucleoside therapy.

Continued discussion of false teachers & the Lord’s instruction to us in avoiding apostasy.

God holds false teachers accountable, and in today’s study, Dr. Eckman discusses characteristics of a false teacher.