By Francis Frangipane
It is our conviction that Christ's life not only atoned for the sins of mankind, through our union with Him, a second Genesis began. Paul explains, "The first man, Adam, became a living soul. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit" (1 Cor. 15:45).
The word Adam means "man" and is representative of "mankind." There are now two Adams or two species of man. The first species is the descendant of sinful Adam. His thoughts orbit around his carnal or "natural" desires. He carries both the DNA of Adam's nature and the consequences of Adam's sin. He is, indeed, a "living soul," who is controlled by fears, physical needs, intellect boundaries, pride, culture and sin.
The Stone That the Builders Rejected
By Francis Frangipane
Becoming Wise Master Builders
Paul said, "Like a wise master builder I laid a foundation" (1 Cor. 3:10). The eternal foundation of the church is the Lord Jesus Christ; we rest and then build upon Him. It is wisdom to build the Lord's house with only Jesus in mind, as conformity to Him is our primary blueprint.
Jesus said, "The stone which the builders rejected, this became the chief cornerstone" (Luke 20:17). We cannot separate what Jesus says from who Jesus is. Christ and His Word are one. To the degree that we fail to obey and teach what Jesus taught, we are actually rejecting Him as Lord of the church.
Becoming Wise Master Builders
Paul said, "Like a wise master builder I laid a foundation" (1 Cor. 3:10). The eternal foundation of the church is the Lord Jesus Christ; we rest and then build upon Him. It is wisdom to build the Lord's house with only Jesus in mind, as conformity to Him is our primary blueprint.
Jesus said, "The stone which the builders rejected, this became the chief cornerstone" (Luke 20:17). We cannot separate what Jesus says from who Jesus is. Christ and His Word are one. To the degree that we fail to obey and teach what Jesus taught, we are actually rejecting Him as Lord of the church.
A Covenant of Release
By Francis Frangipane
Israel was hopelessly outnumbered. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon "and all his army, with all the kingdoms of the earth that were under his dominion and all the peoples, were fighting against Jerusalem" and its remaining cities (Jer. 34:1). Because of Israel’s sin, apparently even the Lord, Israel’s protector, had withdrawn. For nearly forty years, Jeremiah the prophet pleaded with God’s people to repent, but they would not have it. Israel was nearly apostate, and the dire warnings of the prophet Jeremiah were about to come to pass.
However, hidden in the ways of God was a plan, a redemptive strategy that would reverse Israel’s direction. If the Jews implemented a "Year of Remission" (see Deut. 15:1-18), God would show to them the same mercy they showed to one another. What was required was that "each man [would] set free his male servant and each man his female servant . . . so that no one should keep them, a Jew his brother, in bondage" (Jer. 34:9)
Israel was hopelessly outnumbered. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon "and all his army, with all the kingdoms of the earth that were under his dominion and all the peoples, were fighting against Jerusalem" and its remaining cities (Jer. 34:1). Because of Israel’s sin, apparently even the Lord, Israel’s protector, had withdrawn. For nearly forty years, Jeremiah the prophet pleaded with God’s people to repent, but they would not have it. Israel was nearly apostate, and the dire warnings of the prophet Jeremiah were about to come to pass.
However, hidden in the ways of God was a plan, a redemptive strategy that would reverse Israel’s direction. If the Jews implemented a "Year of Remission" (see Deut. 15:1-18), God would show to them the same mercy they showed to one another. What was required was that "each man [would] set free his male servant and each man his female servant . . . so that no one should keep them, a Jew his brother, in bondage" (Jer. 34:9)
The War Mode
By Francis Frangipane
I was seventeen years old, a senior in high school, and was slouching into my desk when an angry student almost twice my size entered the room. In a storm of spit and fire, he burst toward where I was sitting, grabbed me by my neck and began rearranging my facial features with his fist.
Someone had written a derogatory remark about him on the inside of his notebook and signed my name to it. Obviously, there was more going on in the Big Guy's life than anyone realized. Whatever other frustrations had been accumulating in his heart, his immediate goal was to release his fury on the latest offender, whom he considered to be me.
I was seventeen years old, a senior in high school, and was slouching into my desk when an angry student almost twice my size entered the room. In a storm of spit and fire, he burst toward where I was sitting, grabbed me by my neck and began rearranging my facial features with his fist.
Someone had written a derogatory remark about him on the inside of his notebook and signed my name to it. Obviously, there was more going on in the Big Guy's life than anyone realized. Whatever other frustrations had been accumulating in his heart, his immediate goal was to release his fury on the latest offender, whom he considered to be me.
A Word to the Women of God
By Francis Frangipane
My Mother's Prayers
I personally know the power of a woman's prayer: my mother’s. In the late sixties, I was a very lost young man living in sin and rebellion. Judging from my appearance, I looked hopeless. Yet in spite of my outward condition, my dear Catholic mother stood before God for me. Resist as I did, in spite of my sin, divine power was uniquely released to my heart through my mother’s prayers. The calling of God began to hunt me down. My mom’s cries were relentless and unceasing; often she would pray through the night for me. She was pregnant with prayer for her son. In 1970 God finally answered, and during the Jesus Movement revival, I came to Christ.
My Mother's Prayers
I personally know the power of a woman's prayer: my mother’s. In the late sixties, I was a very lost young man living in sin and rebellion. Judging from my appearance, I looked hopeless. Yet in spite of my outward condition, my dear Catholic mother stood before God for me. Resist as I did, in spite of my sin, divine power was uniquely released to my heart through my mother’s prayers. The calling of God began to hunt me down. My mom’s cries were relentless and unceasing; often she would pray through the night for me. She was pregnant with prayer for her son. In 1970 God finally answered, and during the Jesus Movement revival, I came to Christ.
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