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  Rarely, if ever… is it a good sign…when God ‘removes the hedge’. A couple of weeks ago, I drove up to the wine country which is about two hours north of us. I heard that they were harvesting the grapes up there and I wanted to go take some pictures. I’ve been up there a few times before since we moved out here, but I’m not sure I ever noticed on previous visits how so many of the vineyards have stone or brick walls built around them; or some other type of fence. It’s not that I was surprised by that, but for some reason they simply escaped my notice. So I found myself getting out and taking pictures of them. The concept of a hedge being erected around a vineyard is nothing new to me, as I’ve written about this before in previous messages. And stone hedges have been around for a long time, probably ever since people began growing grapes to make wine, and they discovered that hedges served as protective barriers for their valuable crops, keeping out predators, wild animals, or ev...
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  It wasn’t really an ‘assignment’ I left you with at the close of yesterday’s message, but I did suggest for anyone who wanted to ‘read ahead’, Isaiah chapter 5 would be where we would be headed today. And while I’m thinking of it, let me get this out of the way for anyone who wants to ‘go there’ – I am not trying to suggest or to twist scriptures to suggest that this chapter, or book even…is directed at ‘America’. We have been talking about ‘judgement’ though, and I asked yesterday if we even know what God’s judgement looks like? Would we recognize it if/when it showed up at our door? Many in the church today would probably agree that ‘judgment is coming’, and for ‘all the reasons’. Many sincere believers would point to the Book of Revelation and say there is no denying that God’s wrath and judgment are ‘on the way’; but they would also be quick to say that God’s people won’t be around for ‘any of that’ because they will be long gone, thanks to the ‘rapture’ that many believe ...
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  So are we as a country…under God’s ‘judgment’? Many today would suggest that, or at least heading in that direction. And if we are, what does God’s ‘judgment’ even look like? Is it possible that God has ‘allowed’ the ‘enemy to come in like a flood’, as Isaiah 59:19 describes it? And who is our ‘enemy’? Is it the flood of illegal immigrants who have snuck into our country? Or maybe its the growing tide of Muslims who practice Islam and are to many, ‘overstepping their bounds’ by building mosques and getting involved with local and national politics. Both groups seem to many... to pose a threat to our ‘way of life’ here in America, and many are raising up their voices of concern in opposition to them being here. So today, let me give you the benefit of the doubt and go along with this idea that both groups of people whom we have looked at the past few days…are indeed an ‘enemy’ (or at least a threat) to this country and our way of life as we know it. Were you aware that we h...
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  There is a story that has gone ‘viral’ this past week that has its origins here in San Francisco at a local Giants baseball game; perhaps you’ve seen it? During the game broadcast, the TV cameras cut away to a woman who was making her way back to her seat, carrying a load of concession food with her daughter strapped to her as well. She seems to be maneuvering her way through the seats where her husband takes the food from her, but doesn’t seem to be overly helpful in helping her get settled in. The TV broadcasters then unload on this guy, and from there…the story takes off across social media platforms as people weigh in and continue the dog piling as they unload on this dude for being a pathetic excuse for a man. Days later, the wife/mom responds…to set the record straight and it is the perfect example as to how ignorant humans can be in their rush to judgment based on what little they know, see, or hear. (I’ll post a link to the story below in the comments if you care to ...
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  There is an interesting backstory to the photo I posted here today to go along with my message. It was taken by me in the summer of 2014 while Kathy and I were down in Big Bend, TX. We had made the trek down that way in June for a few days to visit the area for our first time. We both remember clearly, the drive through some very inhospitable terrain, during the summer heat, and what we were talking about in the car that day while driving. That was the year there had been a huge surge in undocumented children…showing up at the southern border, many who had made the trip up from central America. What was hard to fathom was the fact that most of them were unaccompanied by adults, and somehow had survived walking through hundreds of miles of the very kind of terrain we were driving in at the time. I still remember Kathy and I discussing this very thing as we drove to Big Bend. How did these kids get here…and survive? Who…or what…brought them here? This humanitarian crisis domin...
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  Dear Fellow Christians, I don’t want to sound like an alarmist, but it might be a wise idea to tap the brakes on the path we claim to be walking on these days, and do a little ‘heart check’ …as we are admonished to do in 2 Cor. 13:5. I would like to direct your attention to Luke 10, where a ‘certain lawyer stood up to test Jesus, asking Him: “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (25) Jesus immediately directed this man to the ‘law’, asking him what his take was on it. (26). Being a lawyer, he did a good job summing it up with how we are commanded to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength…and to love our neighbor as ourself. (27) Jesus commended him on his response, affirming him of his understanding of the 'law', then adding…(which we should all take note of): “You have answered correctly; do this…and you will live.” (28) The lawyer was not finished, as we are told he wanted to ‘justify himself’…which is interesting.  So he asked Jesus: “Who is ...
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  In case it has not been brought to your attention yet, let me be the first to inform you that God has this unwavering way about repeating Himself, over and over and over; and for good reason. We ‘believers’ would do well to sit up and take notice, because we tend to be slow at times at 'getting it'. Do you know what the one area is that God makes it a point to keep repeating Himself? It might surprise you…especially since the ‘church’ (His ‘supposed’ body) places little emphasis on this one thing. Let me lay it out for you this way today, and see if it doesn’t resonate and ‘connect a few more dots’ for us all. It has to do with ‘keeping His commandments’. What our Bible teaches: “Oh, that they has such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep ALL My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever.” (Deut. 5:29,33) [you might just read through chapters 5-11 when you have time and see how often this theme is stressed] “I believ...
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