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  “Now on that very occasion there were some present who reported to Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. And Jesus responded and said to them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans just because they have suffered this fate? No, I tell you, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or do you think that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse sinners than all the other people who live in Jerusalem? No, I tell you, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:1-5) Jesus was not issuing ‘threats’ here to those in attendance; He was pleading with them by warning them. “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish”. You should note that He repeated Himself twice there, and whenever God repeats Himself...it’s usually for good reason. Something else we should all know about the Lord...He is ‘longsuffering toward us, not willing that an...
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  It made for a great ad-campaign used by Alka-Seltzer years ago and quickly became a popular catchphrase, as many slogans do in our culture today; but can I just state for the record here...that ‘trying out Jesus’ is not recommended. He’s not some sports car you take out for a spin on a Sunday afternoon to see how you ‘like the feel’ in case you want to purchase it. Here’s why: ‘trying something out’...does not require any commitment. There’s a reason Jesus advised us to ‘count the cost’ before you decide to actually follow Him (Luke 14:25-33). Yes...many have been coaxed and encouraged to ‘try Jesus’ and may have ‘come forward’ or ‘raised a hand’ at some point in time, perhaps ‘walked an aisle’ to repeat some ‘prayer’...but many indicators would suggest those actions or attempts at giving Jesus a try...don’t last long. And I point you to the story of the parable of the sower to make my case. (Matt. 13:3-9,18-23) Yes, it was evident that many people back in the day who saw Jes...
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  Simple question for any professing ‘believer’: If we have been set free from sin, as Paul mentions twice in Rom. 6:18,22...why do we continue to ‘sin’, or break God’s laws? And if you feel compelled to just ‘try harder to not sin’, can I just tell you as humbly as I can... you have it backwards. It has nothing to do with ‘trying harder to do better’. Yes, it has taken me awhile to get to this place in my understanding what has been laying there in all of our Bibles for us to read ever since it was printed; but Jesus came to set us free where we could actually ‘go and sin no more’ (John 5:14; 8:11). And those who actually ‘abide in Him’...who have been ‘born again’ or ‘born of God’...do just that (1 John 3:6,9; 5:18). Because those who ‘know the truth’...and whom the ‘Son has set free’...they are ‘free indeed’! (John 8:32-36). I do remember early on though, as I was studying and walking this out and trying to share and communicate what I firmly believe the Holy Spirit was teachin...
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  When God made it known to Adam and Eve early on that ‘in the day that you eat off that one tree in the garden...you shall surely die...’ (Gen. 2:17) ...who was the first one on the scene to cast doubt on what God said and then actually twisted it around to say just the opposite in order to deceive Eve? It was the ‘crafty serpent’ who appeared asking: “Did God really say this...?’ (Gen. 3:1). Then, after some subtle twisting of what God said, the serpent flat out told Eve...’you shall surely not die!’ (2-4). Yes, that would be the same ‘serpent’ John wrote about in Revelation 12:7-9, who was cast down from heaven, a.k.a. ‘Satan’ and the ‘Devil...who deceives the whole earth’. So when both Adam and Eve ate off that tree, we are told: “the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked...” (Gen. 3:7). Prior to this ‘incident’, they knew no shame (Gen. 2:25), but now ...when they heard God’s voice as He walked through the cool of the day there in the garden, they...
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  One of the many things we can give God credit for...is the fact that when He begins to deal with ‘sin and sinners’, He usually starts with His own people first. Before He pours out His wrath on all those ‘wordily sinners’, He first begins by calling out the sin in His own ‘camp’ (Joshua 7). When Israel continued to rebel against God’s law, they crossed a threshold and suffered the consequences for it, as the prophets of old warned would happen (Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel). God brought Babylon in to destroy the city and the temple before the people were taken into ‘captivity’ for 70 years. (Did you catch yesterday’s message, by chance?). Then, after those 70 years passed, God called His people out of Babylon because next on the list was Babylon itself who was going to suffer God’s wrath (Jer. 50-51). Interesting historical side note here- but less than 5% of those exiles in Babylon heeded God’s call to ‘come out’. I only share that because we read in Revelation 18:1-5 where Go...
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  I’ve said it before and will say it again: God is not out to ‘get you’; But He did send Jesus to ‘get you’. (John 3:17-18) ...And what is so troublesome is many in the ‘church’ today...still don’t ‘get it’. “But if you will not hear it, My soul will weep in secret for your pride; My eyes will weep bitterly And run down with tears, Because the Lord’s flock has been taken captive.” (Jer. 13:17) Who...did Jeremiah say was ‘taken captive’? In the book of Isaiah, we read in chapter 5... a sobering passage that reveals how God deals with His ‘vineyard’, when He came looking for ‘good fruit’ but found only bad fruit (5:2-4). It says that God was going to ‘take away its hedge, and it shall be burned and trampled down’ (5). Then, in verse 7 we are told who this ‘vineyard’ represents – the ‘house of Israel’, which is oftentimes, a picture or ‘type’ of the church (God’s chosen people). Would you now please read vs. 13 aloud as we learn who are ‘taken into captivity’. Does your Bible say...
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  God’s assessment of mankind: “They don’t know where to find peace... They have no fear of God at all.” (Rom. 3:17-19- NLT) So why do you suppose there is ‘no fear of God’ today? The answer is rather simple, or so I would think- the law has been lost, just as it was in the days of Josiah (2 Kings 21-23) When we are not taught the law of God, we can’t understand what ‘sin’ is. When we fail to understand what sin is, then we cannot comprehend God’s judgments. Where there is no understanding of judgment, then why would anyone grasp the concept of the ‘fear of God’? (would you allow a toddler to approach a cliffside if they have no concept of the ‘law of gravity’?) The fear of God is the beginning of knowledge. (Prov. 1:7) “My people...are destroyed for a lack of knowledge...” (Hosea 4:6) “Therefore My people...have gone into captivity because they have no knowledge.” (Isa 5:13) “Come...and I will teach you the fear of the Lord” (Ps. 34:11) “Obviously, the law applies to those to ...
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