Pastor Joel Laswell

It is not enough for me to come to church or to make a profession of religion. That is not enough. I have to overcome, if I am going to receive eternal life. If I do not overcome, I will not receive eternal life—even if I go to church or make a profession of religion or preach or teach or do any of those things. This is a theme that is recorded over and over and over again in the book of Revelatio...

Eternal salvation is not complicated. It is simple enough that a child can understand it. All you have to do is believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. It is a free gift from God. Jesus is the gift!

There are two paths to choose from... One is a narrow path where you must deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Jesus. There you will have joy and peace and the comfort of His presence on your journey and experience, and at the end of the path, everlasting life. The other path, the one that Jesus said most people would choose, is the broad path. It begins with ease and pleasure with no self...

The disciples were being trained as they went about the land with Jesus. As they learned the lessons about the kingdom they were often given chances to do the work that they saw Jesus do. Like when he sent them out two by two. They went through what can be called field exercises rather often. Many times they failed but Jesus used such instances to teach a lesson that would be very important later...

Shock and awe is a military doctrine based on the use of overwhelming power, dominant battlefield maneuvers, and spectacular displays of force to paralyze the enemy's perception of the battlefield and destroy their will to fight. The decision that Christ would die for the guilty race was reached before this world was created, and confirmed at the time man fell. The Godhead made an agreement that J...

There is a crisis coming my friends and in understanding how to get ready for it, we have to know who and what the enemy is. I do not like to spend large amounts of time studying this subject because I like to get people's attention on Jesus and not the enemy. That's where we need to keep our attention focused. However, I want you to notice what the apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 2:11, "Lest S...

What if I told you that exercising faith in the merits of Christ righteousness was committing spiritual violence? What would you think? Meditate on that for a moment and look at Matthew 11:12, "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force." What is this spiritual violence that Jesus is talking about? In the old covenant,...

When Jesus came the first time, while preaching the Sermon on the Mount, He actually explained the goal of how to be a restored citizen of the kingdom of God, as well as the incentives to righteous living (being an exemplary citizen), and the privileges and responsibilities of citizenship in the kingdom of God. Step by step we see a growing in character like that of Christ in these verses.

When Jesus came the first time, while preaching on a mountaintop at the beginning of His ministry He actually explained the goal of how to be a restored citizen of the kingdom of God. We find it in Matthew chapters 5-7. I want to concentrate specifically on the first twelve verses of chapter 5, how to become a citizen of heaven. Jesus is revealing in these verses quite a lot to us about the goal o...

Just as we see in today’s military, there is a general commission and a specific commission pertaining to individuals in the Lord’s army. We are going to take a look at the general or great commission for each member of the body of Christ... our Marching Orders!

I want to take a look at some Scriptural misconceptions concerning God's Inoculation Principles, and maybe more specifically the diet of man. The four scripture references that we shall examine are in apparent conflict with scores of other clear declarations scattered throughout the Old and New Testaments on the subject of proper diet. The Bible will explain itself if we use proper study habits an...

Inoculations are a way of life in the U.S. Military. All new recruits (both officer and enlisted) are vaccinated against various diseases during enlisted basic training or during officer training. God has His own inoculation plan for all who join His army. This plan will help protect His army from the physical and spiritual attacks from the enemy and the consequences of sin. It will strengthen His...

People do not understand what the cross means and when you tell them its meaning, they usually do not want to hear about it as it cuts straight to the heart and then tough decisions are required. So the preaching of the cross and its meaning isn't preached much in churches today. A different cross is preached... one that tickles the ears of the listeners. But the truth of the cross is not heard mu...

A powered exoskeleton, also known as powered armor, is a mobile machine consisting primarily of an outer framework worn by a person, and powered by a system of motors or hydraulics that delivers at least part of the energy for limb movement. Think of the fictional Iron Man. The main function of a powered exoskeleton is to assist the wearer by boosting their strength and endurance. They are commonl...

God has His own code of communication in this great controversy and those who accept Jesus will learn to become His code talkers. Each of us must learn how to talk to God. A relationship cannot survive if there is no communication and neither can a war be won without it. There are different ways to communicate with God, prayer being just one of the ways that I want to look at with you.

Throughout history every successful army has had a corps of engineers and workers that helped them to victory. None of these victories could be successful without designing and then building what was needed for success by using the right tools for the job at hand. The same can be said concerning our work as Christians and spreading the present truth of the Three Angel’s Messages. We must have the...

In this world, people become afraid; they say the forces against them are too many. But if you have faith in God, that doesn’t matter. In fact, if you have faith, the less numbers you have, and the greater the number of enemies you have, the bigger the victory is going to be, because God never loses! Jesus is not only a Savior; He is a General who has never lost a battle. If you have faith in Him,...

In Luke 18:2–5 Jesus tells the story about a lady whose husband had died, leaving her in debt. Her adversaries had come and taken everything she had, and she was in a position where she did not know how she was going to get it back. The judge in this parable persistently repulsed the woman. Again and again she was treated with contempt, and he continually said “No.” Jesus described the judge as be...

On Mother’s Day families pay special tribute to their moms in various ways—cards, flowers, breakfast in bed, lunch at a fine restaurant, long distance calls, and special gifts. These are just some of the ways families will say thanks to mom, and that is as it should be. But too often Mother’s Day is simply a time when families attempt to atone for an entire year of neglect, indifference, misuse, d...

We are told in the book Revelation that what began as a war in heaven will soon end in the battle known as Armageddon. In this conflict between the forces of good and the powers of evil, light and truth is under constant attack from deception and darkness. And whether we like it or not, every single one of us is involved. This spiritual war is not over some planet or piece of ground; it is for con...

What really happens to a person when they start to look at the cross of Calvary and start to think through the spiritual meaning of what they are looking at? A lot of Christians know the story. They have crosses hanging from their necks, rear-view mirrors and in their homes but they do not know the spiritual meaning of the story. Redemption is a process by which a human soul is trained for eternal...

When you enlist in the United States Army they send you to boot camp. This is a general training of how to conduct yourself as a member of the army. It is also called ‘basic’ training. You are trained physically and mentally to do the will of the supreme commander. And as Christians there are two specific types of training. There is a general training and there is an individual training. Both of w...

In the Scriptures, our robe, or our clothing, is used as a symbol for our character. Normally what we choose to wear on the outside tells everyone who sees us something about what is in our heart… what we treasure. It says something about our true character. We see this in the experience of Adam and Eve. They had a robe of light, representing a righteous character. When they sinned and lost that c...

When you lay your head on the pillow at night and close your eyes, you sleep in faith that you will awaken again for a new day. You close your eyes with the assumption that all will be well as you sleep. You don’t expect to be awakened at 4am with a life or death call for help. There is nothing in this life that is foolproof, at least nothing mechanical. There are no supermen and no super agents....

In Revelation chapter two Jesus tells the church at Ephesus that they have lost their first love. This “love” included wholehearted love for God and His truth, and love for one another as brethren and for their fellow men in general. History is being repeated all over the world and right here in our churches. God’s people are so scattered right now that it has become easy for the enemy to sow seed...