Sheep Food

   It’s a legitimate question and for the most part , a fairly sincere one. And it’s one that most any believer ‘should’ be able to answer if asked. The answer or explanation should also involve plenty of scripture to support your response as well. Because using personal experiences and ‘feelings and opinions’ mixed in with ‘traditions’ and ‘how you were taught’ could lead people astray. Let me also say here without adding any extra pressure on you is this question is probably one of the most important questions any new believer could, or ever will ask. If you or I are the one being asked….we better get it right. Are you curious now as to what the question is?   Here it is: “This idea and talk about being ‘led by the spirit’…what does that mean and how does it work?” Or put another way, “What does being led by the spirit look like?”   Can I first tell you why it is so important?   In the very first chapter of John’s gospel, we are told that “In the beginning was the Word; the

  “By This…By This… BY THIS…ALL WILL KNOW…that you are My disciples, IF…you have love for one another.” (John 13:35)   He says nothing about having a warm, fuzzy, and outgoing personality. It has nothing to do with being able to ‘turn something on’ when needing to make an impression. And it has nothing to do with being able to love others from within our own selves…given we are incapable of truly loving others as Christ loved us. How can we if we don’t have His nature residing within us?   Oh…did I mention that criteria there in the preceding verse? “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” (34)   This is indeed how “all will know” if we are truly followers of Christ. Paul said it would be a good idea to examine ourselves to make sure we truly were in the faith and that Christ was in us. He even alluded to the fact we could fail that test. (2 Cor. 13:5)   If we are not loving like Jesus loved…then we are not

  I know. Yesterday’s was a plate full. And it is okay to stop and scratch your head and question what you read. You should…which is why I provide much scripture for you to examine and see for yourself if these things all add up in scripture. (Acts 17:11). May I also remind you that just because you read something that does not seem to be what you hear on a regular basis, or might even be the first time you heard anything like that…does not disqualify it from being truth. What you have to assess is …does it line up with the word in context.   Please know, this is not about me sitting on some lofty perch feeling smug and self-righteous. I know…where God brought me out of and it was no doing of my own. Which just adds more fuel to my fire in me not wanting to shy away from sharing what He is trying to awaken us to. I’ve said it before…this is probably more serious than most want to admit.  Paul was explicit when he wrote there would be a ‘falling away’ from the faith in the end ti

  So where do you draw the line on what sins should be tolerated and which sins are to be ‘dealt with’? You do realize we do that all the time in our church world, yes?   I used an example in yesterday’s post how depending on where you might attend church, we have this tendency to set our own ‘standards’ when it comes to condoning or dealing with various sins. Like with those who serve in your church…maybe teaching classes or playing on the praise team or singing in the choir. And believe me, I know what question you want to fire back with…probably has something to do with “If we only let perfect people serve on these ministry teams, then there would be no ministry teams and probably no church!”. I get it. I honestly get what you are driving at with that question.   So in response, my question is…where and how do you ‘draw that line’? You politely refused the person who believes God made them to be attracted to the same sex from becoming a praise song leader knowing that might cr

 It is arguably one of the more moving stories, if not more widely known ones found recorded in all of the four gospels.   No doubt you are familiar with it. It’s the one where a woman ‘caught in the very act of adultery’ was brought to Jesus by who else…the religious experts of the day. John records it in the eight chapter of his gospel. These Pharisees seemed curious as to how Jesus would ‘rule’ on such a matter given what was written in the law. And if Jesus was truly of God, then He would by all means see that justice was carried out.   Sad fact of the matter was…these men were no more interested in seeing justice carried out than they were seeing a woman who was obviously broken and shamed restored or made whole. This was evident by the fact that the law was clear in such matters…both the man and the woman were to be stoned according to the writings found back in the book of Leviticus. (20:10). Interesting that the man who had to also be a part of the ‘very act’ is not mentio

  There was good reason God likened us humans to sheep. It is commonly known that sheep are not the brightest animals out there.   Isaiah wrote: “All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned, each one, to his own way.” (53:6).   There’s also pretty good reason as to why the writers of the NT, as well as Jesus Himself, were warning us constantly to be on guard about being deceived. And those warnings were directed to ‘brethren’ and ‘the every elect’. We are easily deceived.   It doesn’t take much to get us going in one direction or another. Have you ever noticed how all those appealing food commercials start playing a little before dinner time? They make those hot pizzas with melted cheese and juicy burgers look soooo good. The close up visuals trigger something in us and next thing you know we are calling in our order. Crazy thing is…we might not have even been hungry prior to viewing the ad.   Or how about all those visual commercials and images that are dominated by scan

  So just how important is all this talk of ‘fruit’? Let’s see if John the Baptist has anything to say on the matter.   We know that Jesus, the Messiah, came to redeem His people, yes? We are told that ‘He came unto His own…and His own received Him not.” (John 1:11). Do you belong to Jesus? Are You looking for His return? “Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” (1 John 3:3; 2 Cor. 7:1)   We read in Matt. 3 where there were some church folks who were looking for the Messiah to come for them as well. And John the Baptist had some pretty strong words for them. Look at what he told them:   “You snakes…who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? You better bear fruits worth of repentance and not be trusting in your past heritage!” (7-8)   (What did Jesus say would happen if we did not repent? - Luke 13:1-5)   John goes on…”Even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees and every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the

  If you have never admitted this yourself, you certainly have observed it in others…that deal about ‘how their mouth often gets them in to trouble’? Maybe you have said it this way: “She has a big mouth”…or…”I can often times have a ‘sharp’ tongue!” You know what I’m talking about. Even James alludes to this challenge in being able to ‘control the tongue’ being the unruly member it is. In fact, he writes that ‘no man can tame it’. (3:8)   Here's a news flash for us all: We don’t have a ‘tongue problem’ nor do we have a ‘mouth problem’. What we have is a ‘heart problem’. Ever heard the old expression –“Garbage In, Garbage Out’? Yeah…if it is in there, it is going to come out. And Jesus gave us a pretty solid hint as to how that works…whatever is in a man’s heart will come out of his mouth. He likened this to the ‘fruit of a tree’.   Read what Jesus told a group (whom He ‘lovingly’ referred to as ‘vipers’):   “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the t

  Here’s a verse I bet you don’t hear preached on often...Jesus telling His disciples: “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.” (John 16:12)   Wow...that would have sent my imagination into overdrive had I been there and heard that. God, it seems, has to lead us into this ‘promised land of rest’ in small increments. It’s almost as if He is suggesting that we just can’t handle it all at one time...reminiscent of when He told the folks who came out of Egypt that as He led them into the this new land that He was going to drive out the enemy ‘little by little’. (Ex. 23:29-30)   Keep in mind that this ‘leading’ deal works a lot better when we are ‘following’. ;-)   Yesterday’s post dealt some with this idea that those who are ‘perishing’ are blind to the fact which in some ways, is problematic and in other ways, makes perfect sense. We as humans are so hard-wired to respond to and see everything from the ‘natural. Jesus pointed this out in a few places and