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  There’s an old saying you probably have heard that suggests: ‘What you don’t know can’t hurt you’. That has to rank up there with other pieces of silly ‘wise advice’ passed down through the years…like that one that encourages us to ‘follow your heart’. I personally scoff at such ‘wisdom’ because I compare those ways of thinking in light of what God’s word teaches us. For one, we are told that our hearts are ‘defiled’ and ‘deceptively wicked’ (Mark 7:20-23; Jer. 17:9), so ‘trusting one’s heart’ is a recipe for disaster. And second, would you let a 2-year old play on the rooftop of your house without them having a basic understanding as to how gravity works? So ‘not knowing’ can lead to painful, if not deadly lessons. Hence, a passage I quote regularly here how ‘God’s people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge’. (Hosea 4:6) In yesterday’s message, I left you with a very brief ‘outline’ of study that I have been making the case here for these past five years …that is begging f...
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  “….I’m so glad that Jesus set me free…singing ‘glory halleluiah…Jesus set me free!” We ‘believers’ do a pretty impressive job singing about how Jesus ‘set us free’; but walking in that ‘freedom’…meh…not so much. And that’s by our own admission. I’m not here to point the finger of blame at anyone for this confusing contradiction, but I have a pretty good feeling that if Moses was to walk in to most churches today, we might hear him repeat a familiar phrase of the past, when he stood before Pharaoh and spoke on God’s behalf, declaring: “Let My people go!” (Ex. 5:1). But this time he’d be speaking to the preachers behind the pulpits. And when Moses stood before the Pharaoh like that back then, that would not be the last time God would express displeasure towards leaders that kept His people in bondage. The prophet Jeremiah recorded these words of warning: “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!”, says the Lord…(Jer. 23:1-2). You really should spend ...
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  “Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.” (John 8:34) What are we supposed to do with that statement, especially in the context that most all ‘Christians’ will candidly admit that despite their ‘conversion to Christ’…they still continue to sin on a regular basis? And please try hard not to be offended or get defensive and remind me that ‘nobody is perfect’, or that ‘no one can live a sinless life’. I only say that because that tends to be our ‘default setting’ when the conversation of ‘sin’ comes up amongst ourselves. Those who may be in ministry or at least more acquainted with scripture and various church doctrines are quick to toss out intimidating phrases of warning, like “Oh, they are into that ‘sinless perfection’ teaching, best to stay away from that.” It never ceases to amaze me how simply quoting a Bible verse, or two…can stir up all kinds of things in people. It used to confuse me when I first witnessed such things t...
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  Talking about house foundation work (which we discussed yesterday), I used this illustration one time and asked a friend how they might respond to this troubling scenario. You are about to move into your ‘forever-dream’ home that you just had built, and on the day you sign all the papers finalizing the title work, your contractor takes you aside and lets you know he saved you a bunch of money on the construction. Curious, you ask him ‘how’, and he then informs you that he didn’t use a single piece of steel rebar in your foundation-slab work. I hope you realize this would be no small factor, by any stretch of the imagination. Funny thing about facing such a predicament like this… is that the consequences of this unimaginable dilemma might not show up right away. And as tempting as it might be to not want to face and confront this truth…just ‘throwing some extra dirt’ around the foundation of your new home…won’t fix anything. This is a classic case where borrowing that famous li...
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  I have made the statement over the years, that ‘home ownership is overrated’. And when I say that in a ‘tongue and cheek’ manner, it’s usually after I had to do some kind of expensive work on our place that was demanding attention or repair, which as you know …can add up quickly. Yes, there can be advantages to owning your own place, but never forget that it comes with a cost. IYKYK I would also have to say after owning our own place for 20+ years back in Texas, based on personal experience…of all the things a homeowner might have to deal with over a span of time, the most dreaded news you would want hear is: “you have foundation problems”. Thank you, Texas clay soil. Again, IYKYK (If you know, you know) That’s probably why one of the more time consuming and costly aspects of building a new home (which we did) involves the ground/slab foundation work. Let’s be honest here – if/when you have that opportunity to build your first home, you are anxious to see it go up and watch a...
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  “Do you think these people were worse sinners than anyone else because they suffered this horrible fate? I tell you, ‘No’, but unless you repent, you too will all likewise perish.” - Jesus. (Luke 13:1-5) His words, not mine. I don’t know what that word ‘repent’ means to you, but the short and simple version means to ‘turn’; or have a change in the way you think… which will in turn change the way you walk, and talk, and live. If you don’t, then your fate or outcome is already determined; and it is not good. And this you can be sure of: It is not the will of God for ANY…to perish…but for ALL to come to repentance (2 Pet. 3:9). That verse there even reminds us of how patient God is, but He’s not going to force you to turn to Him. Friends, there is a darkness on this earth today, and has been here for a long time. When I say ‘darkness’, I am referring of course, to a ‘spiritual darkness’, and anyone who would take the time to just sit down and hear what God has to say about it mi...
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  If you are like most students of the Bible, or even just casual readers, you probably know by now how easy it is to read over verses in those pages…maybe even nod your head in agreement as you underline it or highlight them…and yet for some reason you really didn’t ‘read it’. This becomes evident when you have those inexplicable moments where you come across that same verse one day….when it seems to just burst or jump off the page and pierces the deepest core of your heart and mind of understanding. That’s when we lean back in awe and take a deep breath as you ask yourself: “How have I never ‘seen’ that before?” It’s probably a similar experience that the disciples of Jesus had when they would spend time with Him …and He in turn would ‘open the scriptures to them’, or He ‘opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the scriptures’. (Luke 24:32,45) Would you please read that last paragraph one more time, and mentally ‘underline’ that phrase ‘spend time with Him’, befor...
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