Sheep Food

  You’re probably somewhat familiar with the story from the Book of Exodus that tells how God raised up Moses to lead the children of Israel out from their bondage in Egypt, where they served Pharoah as slaves for 400 years. After a series of plagues to help ‘motivate’ Pharoah to consent to their departure, we follow their ‘exodus’ out of Egypt which included a miraculous crossing of the Red Sea (Ex. 14). This passing through the river bed is often seen as a type or foreshadowing of water baptism that followers of Jesus experience when they repent from their old way of living as ‘slaves’ (John 8:34; Romans 6; Eph. 2:1-3) Best estimates as to the number of people we are talking about here range from one to two million people who came out of Egypt, passing through on dry ground when God parted the waters of the Red Sea, and then there was to be a brief passage through an inhospitable land known as the ‘wilderness’. It was only a place to pass through before another river would be ...

  Imagine if you will, a young high school graduate decides to enlist and join the Army, wanting to serve his country while also reaping some of the benefits that come with such an experience, including getting some college education paid for. So off to basic training he goes and passes. Six months later, he finds out he’s being deployed overseas because of some recent attacks on US interest and will most likely be called upon to take part some military action, as in ‘warfare’. What might be the reaction of his CO (commanding officer) if this young soldier goes to him and informs him that he’s ‘really not up to fighting’ in a military conflict right. now…because it just is not a convenient time for him to be involved with such activity. He’s not really ‘in to guns’ and besides, he recently got engaged and has a wedding to help plan, so going off to war right now could not come at a worse time for him. You have to wonder if this is the mentality of many professing ‘believers’ tod...

  If you claim to ‘have no sin’, then you ‘deceive yourself and the truth is not in you’. That’s what the Bible teaches and you’ll find it there in 1 John 1:8. But that is not to suggest that a follower of Jesus will continue to practice sin simply because they are a ‘flawed human being’ or, as we like to say in our church circles…” a sinner saved by grace”. I still remember the first time I heard someone make the statement: “I’m a saint who sins.” They had a hard time coming to terms with several passages I shared that stated “those who abide in Jesus no longer sin.” (1 John 3:6,9; 5:18). Let me be clear here: We were ALL sinners at one time, and to suggest otherwise is to call God a ‘liar’ (1 John 1:10; Rom. 6:23). But that doesn’t mean you continue to sin after you repent and come to Jesus with a surrendered heart in order that He might cleanse you with His truth (and blood) and set you free from all sin (John 8:32-36; 1 John 1:7). But…But…But…IF….you do stumble and sin along ...

  What dog owner has never had to remove a tick from their beloved pet? Whether you do it yourself or have someone else with a stronger stomach do it…you probably know that those pesky arachnids (in the spider family) just don’t leave on their own. If you ever had a dog run off into the woods and stay awhile, chance are if/when they returned, they were in great need of a long cleansing bath. You might even use some of that expensive dog shampoo that promises to get rid of ticks and fleas as well, but you probably also know that after you have them bathed and dried off…you will most likely still need to comb through their hair and ears, leg crevices and all… to remove numerous stubborn ticks that did not come off in the bath. IYKYK This might be an odd illustration to use for today’s lesson, and I don’t believe I’ve ever made this comparison before, but there is no shortage of God’s people, whom He likens as ‘sheep gone astray’…that might be in serious need of having some ‘spiritua...

  One last thought to pass on regarding my message yesterday where we touched on the tragic story and ongoing trial of Lindsay Clancy, who could very well hear the jury’s verdict sometime this week. The labor & delivery nurse, and mother of three children, whom she admits to taking their lives… entered a plea of ‘not guilty by reason of insanity’. In simple terms, to be labeled ‘insane’ suggests a person is, or was not…in their ‘right mind’. You may recall my recent lesson where we looked at the account found in Mark’s gospel when Jesus encountered a man who was in serious need of some ‘deliverance’, a term we associate with being freed from ‘unclean’ or ‘demon’ spirits. The man was sorely afflicted and in great torment as we learn that he could not be controlled or contained. He was known by the townspeople to run through graveyards at night, crying out, along with cutting himself with stones (Mark 5:2-5). In modern day terms, some people would label him as a ‘cutter’, amo...

  Over the past five years…I’ve done well to avoid wading into addressing ‘current events’, for the most part, when writing and then sharing my daily blog lessons here on social media. Every now and then (and it’s rare)…I might feel compelled to point out something that strikes me as worth using as an object lesson; but by the grace of God I feel confident that I have kept these message ‘word centered’ and have avoided getting entangled with ‘news events’, and the cares of this life which can easily capture people’s fancy on any given day (Mark 4:19). But today will be one of those exceptions. The reason I am going down this path in my lesson this morning is because both examples seem to ‘fit’ with a narrative that I’ve been addressing the past few days, and have been over these last several years. Take what you want from today’s message, but I do believe that many ‘natural’ events that pop up in our daily news cycles can oftentimes serve as a reminder, or better yet…a ‘reflection...