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  One of the more challenging responsibilities we ‘believers’ have been given to fulfill, or should I say ‘live out’...is the privilege we have to represent God in a way that is pleasing to Him and brings Him honor and glory. And can I just tell you now that God does not take kindly at all to those who misrepresent Him. That might be why James cautions those who want to be ‘teachers’ to tap the brakes on rushing in to do so, given the serious consequences that come with that role (James 3:1) This became quite evident as we read how Jesus dealt with the majority of religious leaders back in the day when He walked the earth. He was constantly confronting them for their hypocrisy, accusing them of being ‘whitewashed tombs’ as they made great efforts to ‘look good on the outside’...all the while their hearts were corrupt, hard, and defiled by the evil that remained in them (Matt. 23:23-28; Mark 7:6-23). Jesus also accused them of ‘lawlessness’, which is ‘sin’ (1 John 3:4); and how i...
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  “Give no place to the devil.” (Eph. 4) It doesn’t get much more direct and to the point than that. Would you care to guess why Paul wrote those words for us to read/hear? He sure didn’t share them for us to analyze and debate; they were written for us to heed and put into practice. And here’s the reason why: We can give place to an evil, spiritual entity… who ‘comes to steal, kill, and destroy’ (John 10:10). Jesus referred to him as a ‘thief’ in that verse and would later warn how “if the owner of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.” (Matt. 24:43) Other translations use the phrase ‘don’t give him (the devil) a foothold’, or an ‘opportunity’…or an ‘open door’. If you do, you can pretty well be assured that he will take it; and when he ‘comes in…’ he tends to do so ‘like a flood’ (Isa. 59:19). I should also point out here that once that ‘opening’ is granted, we don’t always know when he will ta...
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  Seriously…where do you think all those ‘random thoughts’ that run through our minds on any given day come from; and I’m speaking more about those ‘irrational negative’ thoughts that can incite an emotional reaction or response from us at any given moment? You know the ones I’m talking about. They seem to ‘come out of left field’ at the most inopportune times, almost like a ‘flaming arrow’ where it lands in the ‘thatch roof of our noggins’ and then begin to ‘spread’ like wildfire. Sometimes they may incite fear or dread, causing you to break out in trembling or sweats. How many people today suffer ‘panic or ‘anxiety attacks’ and require meds to keep those under control? Or how about those times when someone did or said something to you, or worse…they forgot to say something that you were expecting and needing to hear, maybe a congratulations or a ‘Happy Birthday’…and they forgot; and immediately you were bombarded with all these ‘thoughts’ of hurt and resentment and anger? It...
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  “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Cor. 1:18) The New Life Version reads this way: “Preaching about the cross sounds foolish to those who are dying in sin. But it is the power of God to those of us who are being saved from the punishment of sin.” Let me first begin by stating that this ‘message of the cross’ that Paul refers to… entails so much more than just exhorting folks to profess a faith in Christ in order to escape an eternal hell when they die. It can be a delicate matter when you think about messages and ‘messaging’. Untold amounts of money are spent daily in this world trying to communicate and convey all kinds of information to the masses. And it’s not only the information that one is trying to get out there that matters, but it’s the way in which that message is being transmitted that carries so much weight. Think about the amount of detail that goes in to making sure the...
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  I have come to learn that Denmark has a ‘state sponsored church’, supported by its citizens, the taxpayers. The Evangelical-Lutheran church is the ‘National Church’ here in this country we are currently visiting. In all honesty, it’s been fascinating for me to learn more about this beautiful country and the culture and mindset of the people here. Say what you will about a church that is joined at the hip with the government, but you do have to admit that it is intriguing that they recognize their citizens as having ‘spiritual’ needs as well as physical, emotional, and mental needs. No one is compelled nor expected to be a part of the state church, but it does cover marriage and burial costs for those who are ‘members’. I am not sharing this to endorse nor condemn the national policies here which include a universal health care system, but it does explain the high tax rates here which go to helping meet all the needs of its citizens. I heard a statement made by someone in passin...
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  I just wanted to leave a quick note for those who read here regularly, or maybe even from time to time and have been encouraged or blessed by these ‘short’ Bible studies. As you might know, I’ve been pretty consistent in posting almost daily these past 4.5 years. Even when traveling or on vacation, I would always find myself up early, reading and studying... for myself, if for no one else. And still...even when on the road I would find myself pulling out my laptop and typing away. I’ve often described what I find every morning as ‘manna’ from heaven, which I would gather up and feed on and then gladly share with whoever cared to partake for themselves. And trust me...I know myself well enough that there was no way I could continue to generate this much ‘material’ on a daily basis...on my own. I know where it’s been coming from. Having said this, it seems in the past month or so, I’ve had some ‘pauses’ in my daily posting; not in my study time...just sharing/posting these less...
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  Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. (Phil. 4:5) The Amplified Bible spells it out this way: “Let your gentle spirit [your graciousness, unselfishness, mercy, tolerance, and patience] be known to all people.” Please note who should see this evident ‘fruit’ in our lives: ‘ALL people’, not just those we want to make a good impression on. I’ll give you a moment with that one. You do realize, I hope...that we just don’t get up from reading a verse like that one day and just purpose in our heart that we are going to simply ‘go out and manifest gentleness’ in our daily living to ‘all’ people all the time. It just doesn’t work like that, no matter how badly we want to ‘bear fruit for God’ that is pleasing to Him. (Luke 13:6-9) What was the one distinguishing mark of identification that ‘all would know we are His (Jesus) disciples’? It would be the love we demonstrate towards one another, a God-kind-of-love (agape) that was very similar to the way in which Chr...
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