Sheep Food

  I wonder if on that day when Jesus entered the synagogue and stood and read from the scroll of Isaiah declaring God had sent him to ‘proclaim liberty to the captives’…if there were people in the audience who thought to themselves “Oh, is He going to start a jail ministry?”   Can we agree that a person doesn’t have to be in a jail cell or chained up in a cage somewhere to be a ‘captive’?  We get the idea that deceived people don’t know they are deceived, and that sleeping people don’t know they are asleep, but you’d think that a person held captive would know they are a prisoner, wouldn’t you?   Years ago, watching those familiar news clips of starving kids in Africa, for example, lined up in refugee camps waiting for their daily allotment of a bowl of ‘food’ (which I remember always looking like a blob of day-old oatmeal as flies swarmed around them) I asked myself ‘How can they live like that day after day?”   The answer came immediately – They don’t know any differently. That is t

  “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord GOD, “That I will send a famine on the land, Not a famine of bread, Nor a thirst for water, But of hearing the words of the LORD. They shall wander from sea to sea, And from north to east; They shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the LORD, But shall not find it.”   Usually, when we hear of an impending shortage of something, we see massive runs by the public to begin hoarding that which we hear will be in short supply. (TP, anyone?)  I could be wrong, but I don’t believe the famine God warns of above will create much of a stir.   And why should that be of concern to anyone?   I will attempt to explain here.   We’ve all heard those history quotes over the years, like ‘those who forget history are doomed to repeat it’; or my favorite- ‘The only thing we learn from history is we don’t learn from history.’ The bible is a classic case study and collection of ‘evidence’ of this very thing when it comes to God’s people and their ability t

  This weekend, kids young and old alike all around the country will be dressing up in costumes and hitting the neighborhoods on a mission to accumulate bags full of candy. It is a much beloved holiday for many to celebrate. I remember doing the same as a kid.   Having the perfect costume was essential. For a few hours on that last night of October, we took on the appearance of our favorite character, be it a pirate, or a hobo, or a mummy or Batman, etc. When the night was done, off came the mask and/or make-up and off to bed we went, our stomachs full of all that nutritious sugar.   Early in my Christian walk as a young adult, I remember hearing a particular teaching regarding our faith in Christ and how by faith we become ‘recipients of His righteousness because ours was like filthy rags’. And what stands out to me from some of those early teachings was that because I/we would never be good enough in God’s eyes, that by ‘faith we put on the righteousness of God’, or as Paul said

  “Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” (Matt 23:37)   Do you know when a mother hen spreads her wings and gather’s her chicks? - when a storm is approaching, or danger is near. And those baby chicks RUN to her. Seems like they are smarter than us. They will RUN to their shelter. But Jesus suggested that we simply are not willing.   Jeremiah voiced an interesting statement (8:7) “Even the stork in the heavens knows her appointed times; and the turtledove, the swift, and swallow observe the time of their coming. But My people do know the judgment of the Lord.” The prophets of old had much to say about the days we live in. And Peter said we’d do good to pay attention to them. (2 Pet 3:1-2)   Amos warned “Woe to you who are at ease in Zion (church life) ” (6:1) Paul wrote of those voices (as did Jere

I shared the other day that what has prompted all these postings of late had to do with a personal ‘awakening’ or ‘spiritual renewal’ of sorts which began back at the beginning of March in 2020. It was a ‘burning bush’ experience for me. God just drove me back into His Word that for a lack of better illustration was similar to being pinned to the ground by a high-pressure washer for long extended periods of time.   I mean hours upon hours for days in a row. I don’t share that to make myself out to look like some spiritual monk. It was not like I had been in some deep ‘seeking God’ mode or fasting or crying out to God for a new thing to be done in my life. And as previously stated, it began just days before everything ‘hit the fan’ in our country and schools started shutting down and all the craziness began to unfold.   The timing of all this was uncanny. Kathy was at work in Dallas and we had just started spring break so if you looked at my calendar, it was the calm before the sto

  It’s amazing how God can pack so much truth in a single story. His Word is the gift that keeps on giving. Yesterday we visited the story of the rich, young ruler who came to Jesus, obviously sensing a lack in his life as if something was missing. He inquired as to what he might do to meet this need. Jesus engages with him, pointing him to the Law and the importance of ‘keeping it’ if he truly wants to experience life. And we know the law can be summed up in this: Loving God with ALL your heart, and loving your neighbor as yourself. (Matt 22:37; Luke 10:25-28)  The young man felt a bit confident at first as he realized he had ‘checked off’ so many of the ‘boxes’ that Jesus seemed to ask of him. But given our own hearts are deceptive and corrupt, it takes the searchlight of God’s spirit and word to expose these things that defile us. (Mark 7:21-23)   And here lies the great divide as to how one can truly enter the kingdom of heaven. When God shows us something in our heart, like he

  Jesus said: “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” (Mark 2:17)   For those of you who may be reading and ‘have it all figured out’, good news…you can skip this posting today. :- ) This one is for those still trying to ‘make themselves ready’ for an upcoming wedding.   There is a story shared in three of the four gospels that I sense many believers would do well to spend some time studying. It’s the story of the rich, young ruler who came to Jesus inquiring what he might be ‘do’ in order to receive this eternal life he had been hearing Jesus preach about. (Matt 19, Luke 18, & Mark 10)  I can appreciate the honesty of this young man’s heart in that he recognized something was missing in his life. Why else would he have inquired? People who have ‘arrived’ no longer feel a need to ‘seek’. We read in all three accounts where Jesus directed him right back to the Law, of all thing

  10.24.21- Every story of redemption has a genesis, a beginning. As does your story. Perhaps it has yet to take place, let alone, be told. All our stories are different yet they share one remarkable trait: They are defining. How can they not be when God is the author?  Not long ago I pictured this scenario in my head of a group of notable figures I had read about in the bible sitting around a table. They were sharing their defining stories as to how their lives were forever changed by an encounter with Jesus, the Messiah. I could hear Paul talking of his journey  to Damascus. Fresh off the heels of overseeing the stoning of Stephen the martyr, he was knocked to the ground and the voice of God spoke to him from a light shining from heaven. (Acts 9) It is a remarkable story of conversion.  Then I could hear, sitting next to Paul, this other man who had been blind from birth begin to share his incredible encounter that began with someone (Jesus) opening his eyes and seeing for t

  10.23.21- Hebrews 2:1 – We must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.” Have you ever been sitting in a small water craft or even a blow up mattress out on the water near shore…got preoccupied with something like fishing tackle or your phone or closed your eyes for a few minutes and when you looked up, you had drifted much further away from shore than you would have believed?  Do you think that ever happens to us spiritually? You don’t even have to answer that as we all have done that to some point. There is a sobering warning in the very next chapter where we are admonished: “Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called ‘Today”, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” (Heb 3:12-13) “Hardened through the ‘deceitfulness of sin’. “   May I ask you to pause here, go read that last verse again and consider this: Why su

  10.22.21- (I sense I'm suppose to stop apologizing for the length of some of these posts. So I will. ) A few months back I met another believer and we struck up a conversation about that popular series called ‘The Chosen”. We were discussing various aspects of the show and how much we were enjoying it. He commented on how he loved the character who was playing the role of Jesus and how believable and realistic he was.  I agreed…this ‘actor’ was doing a great job in this series in ‘playing the role’ of Jesus. But then he made a statement I found puzzling. He said something to the effect: “Finally…a Jesus I can point others to and say ‘here…look at this Jesus…don’t look at me, I’m a mess!” I was like, ‘ Wait…what? You want to point others to this ‘actor…playing a role in a video drama’ because you think this Jesus is the best role model? But you don’t want people to look at you because you are a mess?” (by your own admission?)  I have scratched my head a few times over that one. Mo

  10.21.21 -My reluctance yesterday to share what I did regarding what the bible says about being free of sin has nothing to do with offending folks. It’s not like I’m trying to start up a group or a church or looking for a following. I’m just compelled to share what I’m seeing in the Word that I know will be a tremendous benefit to those…who are struggling with sin and for the most part have given up believing they could ever be totally set free from it.  The idea that a ‘believer’ can actually “Go…and sin no more” is such a foreign concept to us in this day and time…that we have drifted to such a place where we are offended and angry to even consider or suggest we could walk in such a way that we are commanded to walk…’holy and blameless’.  What I think most of us should be amazed over, if we are truly honest with ourselves, is WHY would anyone be appalled to be told they could be free of sin? Was that not what Jesus came to do…to set captives free? Did He not Himself tell us that wh

  10.20.21- [I did notice last night more responses to my post yesterday. I bet it had something to do with the pictures of those adorable grandsons of mine. While I appreciate the kind comments, I do hope you read the post as well. :- ) It was an important step leading up to this morning’s post. ]  I wrestled just a little bit with the Lord on this one today. It was not a long wrestling match. We’ve been talking about seeds, pregnancy, and new birth. {you might want to go read the two previous posts of mine before you begin this one if you have not already} For all the religious jargon that gets tossed around out there and has for years, certain terms and expressions can get lost in the muddy waters of a fallen world where people are in such dire need and looking for a genuine rescuer or savior. Jesus came into this dark and fallen world…Not to condemn or destroy…but to save and deliver.  He came to rescue a fallen humanity. There was not a righteous one among us as we were All fall

  10.19.21 -I can’t remember if I have mentioned this, but about 5 weeks ago, I became a grandfather for the first time. And how about it…after raising three daughters of my own, my oldest gave birth to twin boys. There just really are no words to describe that feeling of holding them for the first time when I met them in person a month ago. Just pretty special indeed.  As was the feelings and emotions I was overcome with the first time I held all three of my daughters.  I know medical scientist can explain the whole process of embryonic development and birth in biological terms. But you will never convince me otherwise that human birth in particular, is nothing short of a miracle. How can anyone even deny the existence of a creator who could ‘design’ and implement such an incredible feat is beyond me. So when Jesus sat down to discuss spiritual matters with the renowned Pharisee, Nicodemus, and proceeded to inform him that unless a person was ‘born again’ and that they would neve