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  In the days leading up to the arrest of Jesus that would in turn, lead to His death on the cross, His disciples met with Him on the Mount of Olives and inquired of Him asking: ”Lord...tell us what it will be like at the end of the age prior to your coming.” (Matt. 24:3) And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you, for many...will come in My name...and will deceive many.” (4-5) Have you ever stopped to consider how often we are warned throughout the NT to ‘be not deceived...brethren’? The answer is probably more than you might guess. “Many...will come in My name...” Jesus told them. That warning in itself could be reason enough for many half-hearted skeptics to use as an excuse to not ‘turn to Jesus’, citing there are ‘so many out there today’ who have ‘come in His name’...so how are you supposed to know ‘which one’ to follow? I get it, and I was there one time myself. It can sure be easy to take that circular path of ‘philosophical debate’, like Pont...
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  Learning to follow Jesus and surrendering to His Lordship was not intended to be like a trip to Disneyland. And it certainly was not designed to be ‘easy on the flesh’. Jesus was pretty upfront with that when people inquired as to what He was asking of them. (Luke 14:26-22; 9:23) He made it quite clear what this ‘narrow path’ would be like (Matt. 7:14; Luke 13:24). And still...the invitation remains open to all...”Follow Me”. There were times when people did not like hearing what Jesus had to say, and they made the choice to turn and walk away (John 6:66), even admitting that what they were hearing was ‘hard’ to listen to (John 6:60). When Jesus asked those closest to Him: “Do you want to also go away?” (65), Peter’s rhetorical question in response was spot on: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” (68). But learning to do what He asks for anyone who does turn to Him...is not an ‘option’; never has been and never will be. Yes...it’s that serious! (...
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  It’s kind of an interesting admission on the part of Jesus that He shared there in John 16:12 with His closest followers. I’d be curious to know if you have it marked in your Bible. He told them: “I still have many things to say to you...but you cannot bear them now.” Who here likes to be teased with such ‘hidden info’ when told...”I know things but I can’t tell you now because you wouldn’t be able to handle it!”? Paul said something similar in his first letter to the Corinthians (3:1-2) when he told them that he was unable to speak to them as ‘spiritual people’ ...but as ‘babies...because they were still carnal’. He goes on...I had to feed you ‘milk, and not solid food...because you were in no place to receive it; and even now...you are still not able because you are carnal’. He then lists some examples of the carnal ‘fruit’ they were bearing, like envy and strife and petty divisions that existed among them (3). And for those who want to make this about: “Yeah, but see, they ...
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  For the life of me, I cannot imagine a plausible scenario in which I found myself riding some form of public transportation out here, be it a city bus, or the subway and then out of nowhere, blurt out loud to everyone within earshot: “Hey...God talks to me!” How nutty would that be? If I was sitting in on a college level class at some public university, maybe a philosophy class or even upper level science class, and the professor randomly asked the room full of 200+ students....”So, anyone here thinks God ‘talks’ to them?”, I might be reluctant to raise my hand, for several reasons. And even when I am in the company of other likeminded ‘believers’, whether a church setting, a small group gathering, or even sharing with any of you who read here regularly, you would be hard pressed to find many instances where I am constantly stating: “Well God told me this and God told me that and then the other day God was talking to me and shared this with me...etc...etc.” There is good reason ...
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  “The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me...These things you should do...(put into practice) and the God of peace will be with you.” – Paul (Phil. 4:9) You might scroll back a few verses and just read a few...of those ‘things’, beginning at vs. 4, where we are admonished to ‘rejoice in the Lord...always’...and to “let your gentleness be known to all men since the Lord is at hand”...(4-5). And make note of that promise in vs. 7...if we do what is encouraged there in vs. 6: how ‘the peace of God which surpasses all understanding...will guard/keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus”. From what I read, hear, and even see these days...there seems to be a genuine shortage of ‘peace of mind’ that eludes so many people; and yes...that would include many who grace our church pews weekly. I know I quote Hosea 4:6 here often, that statement where God said ‘His people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge...”, but have you ever read His assessment of the peo...
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  Who reading here today has never been guilty of this, as Ezekiel explained it:   “As for you, son of man, the children of your people are talking about you beside the walls and in the doors of the houses; and they speak to one another, everyone saying to his brother, ‘Please come and hear what the word is that comes from the Lord.’ So they come to you as people do, they sit before you as My people, and they hear your words, BUT... they do not do them; for with their mouth they show much love, but their hearts pursue their own gain.” (33:30-31) I can ‘nod my head in agreement’ and then ‘Amen’ God's word...with the best of them. But it’s the following through and actually ‘doing it’...where we always get tripped up. We know those verses, we quote those verses, we post them on sticky-notes and social media; why some even have favorite Bible verses tattooed on their bodies. But if...we simply are hearers of the word...and not ‘doers’...we fall short...and ‘deceive ourselv...
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  If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it multiple times...repeatedly: We’ve been asking the ‘wrong question’ if it centers around whether you, or anyone else is ‘saved’...or not. I would even go as far to say that many sincere ‘believers’ today can’t clearly articulate ‘what’...it is they are actually ‘saved’ from, which doesn’t help. I continue to make the case that the question we all should be most concerned with asking ourselves, as we examine our hearts, which we are admonished to do in 2 Cor. 13:5...is this: Are we ‘abiding’ in Jesus? Clearly, there are many wonderful things we can be doing ‘in His name’, and still NOT be abiding in Him, let alone be known by Him (Matt. 7:23; John 10:27). If you are not truly abiding in Jesus, then it is impossible for genuine lasting ‘fruit’ to be produced in you (John 15:4-5), and that in itself presents some serious ramifications for us all...whether you are ‘saved’ or not. (John 15:6; Matt. 3:8-10; 7:19-20; Luke 13:6-9) But listen to what Jo...
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