Sheep Food

  I’m guessing it has to be a universal game we’ve all played at some point in our early years of childhood, and one that I currently play with my 4-year old grandsons even today. You know, the one where you try to maneuver through the rooms of your house without falling into the ‘lava’? So you crawl over chairs and sofas and place pillows strategically around on the floors so you can make your way through unscathed. I think we also included ‘quicksand’ when we were boys, but that was because our dad raised us on the early B&W Tarzan movies IYKYK. But the idea is pretty simple and clear...you take any missteps and off into the lava you go, unless someone is close by and can ‘save’ you quick enough. It all boils down (no pun intended) to knowing where to walk or where to step to avoid falling to your peril. Have you ever watched someone traverse a stream or small river and it appears they are ‘walking on water’? Truth be told- they know where to step on the rocks that lie jus...

  “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” (Romans 6:14) Ever heard or quoted that verse before, especially when the discussion of ‘law’ comes up? It’s a great line, is it not? But have you ever wondered who that might apply to, though? Our ‘entitled ticket-boy-wonder’ was quick to quote that to the judge in my analogy from yesterday’s message, which I hope you read; and I use that example from time to time to illustrate how we have not truly understood what grace is...or how it works in the life of a true follower of Jesus. So Galatians 5:18 might bring more clarity as to who are the true recipients of this thing we call ‘grace’: “IF...IF...IF...you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” (Gal. 5:18). Please allow that to sink in, for a moment. Want to take a shot at guessing what this implies for anyone who is NOT...being led by, or following the leading of God’s Spirit? (Rom. 8:14; Luke 6:46). We are told in Romans 8:13 th...

  For all this talk we offer up about being ‘saved by grace through faith alone’....exactly what is your understanding as to how this ‘grace’ actually works? (Eph. 2:8) Surely you don’t see it as some sort of canopy or ‘covering’ for you when you continue to ‘sin’ ...as if it was some ‘get out of jail for free card’...do you? (Rom. 6:1-2) We were actually warned long ago about those who would creep in to our circles and pervert the message of grace (Jude 1:4). So let me offer up a simple scenario that I have used here before that I believe illustrates perfectly just how we can do that...misuse, if not twist the message of God’s incredible grace. You are driving to a nearby town one afternoon, and while doing so, you get pulled over by a traffic cop who quickly lets you know that this is not going to be a ‘cheap’ stop. 15 minutes later, you get back on the road with a handful of citations, that include tickets for speeding, reckless driving, expired plates, no seat belts in use, no...

  If Jesus made it known that unless we continue ‘walking while we have the light...so that darkness doesn’t overtake (seize/possess) us’...do you believe He was implying that we could very well be ‘overtaken by darkness’? (John 12:35) By the way, who are the ones that actually find or experience ‘cleansing by the blood of Jesus for all their sins’, according to 1 John 1:7? If a new convert asked you: “What does it mean to ‘walk in the light as He is in the light’?”, how would you answer that? Would that not be an important question to know the answer to if one hopes/desires to not be ‘overtaken by darkness’? And how would you answer – ‘what does it mean to be overtaken by darkness’? I think most of us have had experiences where we got caught up in a work project outside and lost track of time, or maybe went on a long hike or involved with some other outdoor activity and ended up in a bind because it grew dark and we didn’t have ample light to gather up our things before making ou...

  Some of you reading here today may have some faint memories of ‘back in the day’, high school most likely...where you were attending an unchaperoned party at someone’s house, and it was late in the evening where a lot of questionable and/or ‘inappropriate activity’ was taking place. And the reason most of the lights in the house were off was NOT... because anyone was trying to conserve energy. Occasionally, for one reason or another, someone might inadvertently flip the blinding overhead light switch on in the room where everyone was huddled up, and the response was usually loud and immediate. Can I just tell you it was never applause and vocal celebration that followed? Light...and darkness have always had a complicated relationship, and pretty much for one reason- they can’t dwell together. When we read the opening verses in chapter 1 of Genesis, we learn this at the very beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth. It is stated that the earth, which was without for...

  Have you ever noticed how easy it is for us to grow weary of, if not immune to the abundance of ‘warnings’ that we tend to be inundated with these days? I think one reason we see so many warning labels every time we purchase something, be it tools, toys, or food items...is because companies who make and sell these items have to protect themselves from frivolous lawsuits, being the litigious society we have come to be. “Don’t eat these Tide-pods!”. And do we really need to be forewarned that when you buy ‘hot’ coffee from McDonalds...(or anywhere else for that matter)...that the water in the coffee is going to be....hot? But here we are. I also suspect that when the pandemic struck six years ago, that might have been ‘the straw that broke the camel’s back’, as we like to say, when it comes to being ‘done with all the warnings’; ‘masks, vaccines, and social distancing, anyone? (too soon?) I only bring this up because if you are a student of, or even a regular/casual reader of t...