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  “They will know we are Christians by our love…by our love…They will know we are Christians by our love…” I can still hear those words, accompanied by the strumming of 12-string acoustic guitars as we all sang that song together in church when I was a kid. And those lyrics are pretty grounded in scripture, those ‘red-lettered’ ones, in fact… as Jesus spelled out how ‘all men would know we were His disciples: by our love’ (John 13:34-35). Oh…I hate to break the news and discourage you with this next piece of info, but ‘our’ love …is not good enough; not even close. We don’t have it ‘in us’…to love others in the same manner in which God demonstrated His love for us…in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Rom. 5:8). And that ‘new commandment’ which Jesus gave us in John 13:34…you might jot down John 15:12 next to it because we are to love one another “as He loved us”! So there’s that to consider as well. Quite the dilemma, is it not? To borrow the words of Paul…”O w...
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  The Jews believed the Roman Empire was their enemy; but they were not. And yet they kept looking to Jesus to deliver them from these ‘invaders’. It was no easy task to convince the Jews otherwise. So then Jesus tried laying out a new approach on how to deal with these pre-conceived ‘enemies’; He taught them to ‘love them’. “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you…” (Matt. 5:43-44). His words, not mine. If you lived as Jew back then, under the Roman occupation, a Roman soldier could order you to carry their pack, which was heavy…up to one mile in distance…and you had to comply. To state the obvious…there was no shortage of seething anger and resentment directed at these oppressors during this time…and the Jews were desperate for a deliverer. And when the ‘Deliverer’ arrived…do you ...
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  You can’t live on yesterday’s manna. If you are at all familiar with the OT story of the Israelites journey through the wilderness for 40 years, then you probably know how God sustained them during that time. Remember now…best estimates at the number of people who traversed across that inhospitable land is somewhere between 1-2 million folks; and they had to eat somewhere. So God provided ‘manna’ for the people to eat. The Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. On the sixth day, they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days.” (Ex. 16:4-5) Sure enough…just as God had spoken…the people woke up each morning and there laying on the ground was a bread wafer like substance which was to be gathered up by each family, as much as they might need for that day’s ...
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  “Seek ye first…the kingdom of God…AND…His righteousness…” – Jesus (Matt. 6:33) “My kingdom is not of this world…My kingdom is not of this realm.” – Jesus (John 18:36) “Set your mind on things above, not on things of the earth.” – Paul (Col. 3:2) “As obedient children…be holy in all your conduct…as you live the rest of your lives throughout the time of your stay here in fear…” – Peter (1 Pet. 1:14-17) Can we look at Peter’s statement there, first? I’ve mentioned this in times past, and it bears worth repeating again. His reference as to how we should be living our lives ‘during the time of our stay here’…always strikes a chord with me. It is usually when I am traveling out of town…or out of the country…that I hear that phrase spoken, usually at the front desk of the hotel I am staying in…”We hope you enjoy the time of your stay here”. The message is always clear: We know you don’t live here permanently and are just passing through…but it the mean time...we hope you enjoy and ma...
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  Here’s some helpful advice, pitched by none other than the apostle Paul himself: “The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do… do...do...and the God of peace will be with you.” (Phil. 4:9) How’s that for a promise? ‘Do’…or put into practice… what God’s word has declared… and you too can experience the wonderful presence of God’s peace in your life. I don’t know about you, but I am convinced that if ever there was a time in recent history where God’s peace would be a much sought after commodity…those days are now. And I am typing these words out the day before…election results are being made known. I remember in the weeks leading up to the 2016 Presidential election where the country had DJT and HRC on the ballot, I’ll be honest- I was a bit dismayed by both those two options. I had stated to others, on several occasions leading up to that election day…that regardless of who won … I was going to wake up Wednesday morning depressed. After makin...
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  You do realize that a person can have all their ‘p’s and q’s’ lined up perfectly, when it comes to church doctrine, on all points…and still miss out on the kingdom of God.  One does not simply 'enter' the kingdom based on 'what they know'; rather it's 'who'...you know.  And even more importantly...does He know you? (Matt. 7:23; John 10:27) And while knowing the word of God is great…‘doing it’…is what matters most. (James 1:22; Matt. 7:21,24) Paul makes this point as well, writing to believers at Philippi: “The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me…these DO... and the God of peace will be with you.” (Phil. 4:9) He would write to the Galatians, reinforcing this idea that if one is continuing to live for and practice the ‘evident deeds’, or ‘fruit’ of the flesh nature…they will “NOT…inherit the kingdom of God” (Gal. 5:19-21). Paul also echoes a similar warning found in Romans 8:13, stating that if we continue to “live according to th...
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  It is hard to imagine a scenario in which ‘lost people’ would ever come to Jesus because you made your political views known to them. I mean really… And for the true ‘believer’ …one who has been born of God and is a committed follower of Jesus and who truly abides in Him…is that not the desire we should all have…for those people to come to Jesus themselves? Is it not the desire of God our Father… for ‘all to come to repentance and for none to perish? (2 Pet. 3:9; 1 Tim. 2:4) Granted…we know many will still reject coming to, and surrendering their hearts, minds, and wills to Him…but if/when they ‘despise’ us…let it not be over our political views or anything else, for that matter…other than the fact we presented the gospel message of His unfathomable love to them…while loving them in the same manner in which God first loved us. We read in John 12:32 the words of Jesus who declared: “And if I be lifted up…I will draw all men to me.” How…exactly is He lifted up where all might ‘...
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