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  IF....you are not... truly abiding in Jesus, then it is impossible for you to bear the fruit that God is looking for! I mean, there is absolutely no chance of it happening. Jesus could not have made that any more clear as He explained this in John’s gospel, 15:4-5. He then lays out three rather declarative statements that should make us all sit up and read again, maybe even a time or two. Jesus said that if we were Not abiding in Him, then we would be like a fruitless branch that is cast out, or cut off and is ‘withered’. Then ‘they’ gather them up and throw them in the fire. (6). Ever wonder who ‘they’ are that He refers to there? That was not the only place he mentions what happens to ‘fruitless’ branches and trees. (Matt. 7:19). Seems John the Baptist was the first one to bring this sobering topic up right after asking a religious crowd what they knew about the ‘coming wrath’. (Matt. 3:7-12) Then Jesus throws in this word of encouragement: “IF...IF...IF...you abide in Me, and
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  Just maybe...some of you who read here regularly are beginning to see a ‘light come on’, or perhaps are seeing more ‘dots connected’ as you study out many of the Bible verses I provide for you here daily. If so, then you too are probably seeing a ‘different picture’ emerge that is not the same image so many of us have grown accustomed to seeing regarding this idea of what believing, trusting in, or following Jesus means. I would hope you too, have taken a closer look at your own heart and ‘walk’ asking yourself if you have actually been abiding in Him. Paul does encourage us to do that very thing. (2 Cor. 13:5). And if you have, then you will find yourself also asking...’how can I tell or know that I am abiding in Jesus?’ One thing should be clear by now and I have stated it repeatedly...you can be an active and faithful ‘church’ member/attender and still not be abiding in Christ. And yet, John writes in his first epistle that we can indeed know if we are abiding in Him. Take a look
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  Go ahead Eve...you can eat off this tree. Nothing bad will happen to you because He’s a good God and loves you and He knows it will make you wise, like Him. So Eve ate and convinced her husband, Adam, to take a bite as well. And the rest...they say, is history. (Gen. 3:1-13) That was the story found in the early pages of our beloved Bibles that Paul referred to when he warned us believers today... that we might be misled to believe, in the same way Eve did, when it came to ‘other gospels’ out there, in which they would be in no short supply. Jesus warned of this as well. (Matt. 24:4-5,11; 2 Cor. 11:3-4) I will turn 65 in less than 4 months. I began a walk of faith with Jesus when I had barely turned 20; a walk I will confess, that was not always ‘pretty’. Long story. And sadly, it has taken me this long to come to a place where God was able to begin...to teach me a few things pertaining to His word and what this ‘walk of faith’ involves. Better late, than never... right? If th
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  I’ve said it before and will say it again: God is not out to ‘get you’. And yet...He came to ‘get you’. There really is a difference, you know? (John 3:17; 2 Pet. 3:9; Luke 13:3,5) We are talking, yes...once again, about this uncomfortable topic centered around God’s ‘wrath’. It’s not a popular message and to be quite honest, I understand why. It is a subject that has been maligned, twisted, distorted, and often misused when teaching/preaching about it...if/when that even happens. And this is unfortunate given the fact it is the ‘wrath of God’ that Jesus came to ‘save’ us from (Rom. 5:9); hence the expression we believers like to toss around all the time and even debate regarding what it means to be ‘saved’ and ‘stay saved’. Many pastors will tell you there are certain subjects they prefer to avoid or ‘water down’ because it makes their congregations ‘feel bad’ or uncomfortable. And we all know that there is enough bad news out there these days so for goodness sake- why make peop
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  There are many....who still... do not...’get it’; which is why I remain on a topic I don’t feel released yet from addressing. I’m fine with that as well, given I’m not writing and posting here daily looking for a ‘following’, nor do I seek to please people and tell them what they want to hear. I am also reminded often that it is not my job or responsibility to get anyone to ‘see’ anything that I share here. That is ‘His’ job (Luke 24:45; Acts 16:14); mine is to continue to speak truth in love and to offer up scriptural evidence to support what I am sharing. And so I continue on...for whoever might ‘have ears to hear’. “As it was in the days of Noah...so also will the coming of the Son of Man be...”. (Matt. 24:37). Those were the words of Jesus when He explained to His followers way back when, what things would be like when He returns. Peter would later add that there would be no shortage of ‘scoffers’ during this time as well. (2 Pet. 3:3-4; 1 Pet. 3:20) I find it interesting that
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  To those of you who are confident that you are ‘saved’, or got ‘saved’ at some point in your life because you made a ‘profession of faith’ and/or ‘accepted Christ as your personal Savior’, can you clearly explain what it is that you are actually ‘saved’ from? And please know- I’m not here questioning whether anyone is ‘saved’ or not...rather just wanting to clarify if we know what it is we are ‘saved’ from. We know that God did not send Jesus into the world to condemn the world, but that through Him we might be ‘saved’ (John 3:17). Would you like to hear/read the short answer to ‘saved from what’? It is the ‘wrath of God’ we are ‘saved’ from. (Rom. 5:9). Jesus came to save us from God’s wrath that was, and continues to be on the earth today. (John 3:36) When the flood of God’s wrath was unleashed back in the days of Noah, how was Noah and his family ‘saved’? They entered the ark. Care to guess just ‘who’ is that ‘ark’ today? Yep, Jesus is the ark and one must enter in, or ‘be IN
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  It’s normal for a two-year old to poop in their diaper, and to stumble and fall while learning to walk...and to throw tantrums and ‘act out’ like little babies. They do that because they are indeed…babies. But can we all agree that if they continue to do this when they are 15 or 16, or older… then something is terribly wrong as we can see serious problems exist? How many sincere ‘converts’ today in our churches have been falsely led to believe that this is perfectly normal for ‘Christians’ to carry on this way, exhibiting carnal traits like envy and strife and division, you know…like those ‘carnal babes in Christ’ that Paul rebuked in 1 Cor. 3:1-4? Oh, but not to worry…they are still ‘saved’, we remind ourselves. Really now? “Saved” from what? (I’ll come back to that question later). Hopefully, you read yesterday’s post. Were you aware that Paul points out that people who continue to exhibit those fleshly traits, like strife and envy, to mention just a few, are not only worthy of
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