Sheep Food

  If you have ever prepared a small (or large) vegetable garden in the spring, you know how satisfying it is to have a gentle rain fall shortly after you are done planting your rows of seeds. I would also suspect that if you knew that some heavy rains were in the forecast that would most likely produced local flooding, you might hold off planting those seeds until after the fact.   Why is that? Because heavy flooding would come and most likely wash away most if not all of your seeds. You don’t even have to have an agricultural degree to see that logic. ;-)   So follow me closely here...the flood waters can come and wash away the seed.   If the seed gets washed away, then you have no garden which means you have no fruit (or whatever you might have been growing).   Jesus shared a well-known parable with the multitudes. It’s the one about a man who went out to sow some seed. You can find it in Matt. 13, Mark 4, and Luke 8. We are told some seed fell by the ‘wayside’ and that the bir

  “Hey Cain.... why are you so angry?...and were you aware that sin is crouching at your door?   That was the first recorded conversation we read in the bible between God and Eve’s firstborn son. (Gen. 4:6-7) As I pointed out yesterday, it’s also the first time we see the word ‘sin’ in the bible. What an interesting picture used here, where ‘sin...is lurking or crouching at your door’. Another tidbit of insight we are offered regarding this thing called ‘sin’...is that if we don’t master it, it will master us.   Then we read through the rest of this book (as in the whole bible) that details quite a long history of how sin did indeed continue to crouch, enter, seize, and control generations of people. And the consequences of it was never pretty. Ever. Sin brings death...it brings destruction and captivity...it brings heartache and shame and it brings separation from God. (Isa. 59:2)  Let me also clarify that ‘sin’ is not just ‘missing the mark’ which is a common and poetic definiti

  Sin.   The very first mention of this word is found in Genesis 4:7 and reveals a very insightful characteristic regarding it. We read about it in the exchange God had with Cain, Eve’s firstborn son.   It begins first with a question though. God asked Cain: “Why are you angry?”   He then gives this warning to Cain saying “sin is lurking/crouching at your door...and it desires to control you...but you should rule over it.”   Yeah...let’s sit on that one a moment and ponder it.   Paul would write much later on...”Give no place...to the devil.” (Eph. 4:27). Do you know ‘how’...we give place to the devil? It’s through sin. Sin...opens that door.   Peter would write as well of the need to “be vigilant...be sober and alert...because your adversary, the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour...Resist him!” (1 Pet. 5:8-9)   Sounds like those warnings from Paul and Peter might be good words to heed?   I could be wrong, but the words Jesus spoke might be good to p

  Not that I’m counting or anything, but according to the site that I post my daily blogs on, I’m about ten days out from posting my 365th blog. As in, I’ve been doing this for almost a year now, which kind of blows my mind. Two things I can tell you about these daily postings I began sharing, that really were just an outflow of all that I was gleaning from my time back in His word after a very long hiatus. One - I never imagined I would be doing these a year later. And 2- I honestly don’t know if they have been beneficial for many others, if anyone at all...in the sense that it has brought significant change and fruit in your own life, but I know how beneficial they have been for me, personally. I’m just thankful for any good they might have done for others, and only eternity will tell.   But I can sure remember what ‘sparked’ and then fueled these daily studies or devotionals or whatever you want to call them.   It was a Sunday morning sometime last year and I had been reading in

  Nope...The Gospel....of Jesus was never, nor ever going to be, popular with the masses. (yesterday’s post). It just simply was not going to have widespread appeal. And He told us this up front.   But that certainly did not stop folks from trying to ‘help God out’ by re-tailoring His message. You know...change it up some so we can get more folks to gather around our towers where we seem to have come up with a better way to ‘get to heaven’. One group might chisel this part away from God’s word...another group might just ‘add a little water’ here to make it easier to get swallow. Others...just add a lot of ‘sweetness’ to make it more palatable, taking their cue from Mary Poppins (just a spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down) As long as we can get them in the door...we can always ‘bring them around’ later with the real truth...whatever that is these days.   Jesus sure made it clear how the day would come when there would be widespread deception and multiple ‘Christs’ out th

  If you stop to consider it...when was God’s message ever popular with the masses?   No, really...think about this for a minute? But as you do...please examine this through the scope of understanding from God’s word...that He truly loved the ‘whole world’ (John 3:16). And that it was His desire for All men...to be saved (1 Tim. 2:4) and He is not willing that ‘any should perish but that all should come to repentance”. (2 Pet. 3:9)   Those verses can easily be found in your bible. Just like all the other ones I want to share here today. Truth be told...what I believe or think...and what you believe or think...really does not amount to a hill of beans when compared to what God has to say about things. I mean, we can believe whatever we chose to believe, but that doesn’t change God’s word one bit. I don’t say that with arrogance or any sense of ‘self-righteousness’. I just think we are living in a time of great spiritual darkness and if there was ever a time to just hear what God

  Imagine listening to someone share with some new believers in a Sunday School Class, or perhaps a small group setting in someone’s home...or better yet...they are standing before your church community from behind that pulpit and give this short pep talk:   “Ok friends...Jesus is coming back for a church that is without any spot, stain or wrinkle; a bride that will be holy and blameless. Now as obedient children, you are to be holy in ALL your conduct for He who called you is holy, you also are to be holy. And having such promises, we should cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Because without holiness, no one...will see the Lord. Now...go out...and be holy, saints!” (Eph. 5:27; 1 Pet. 1:14-16; 2 Cor. 7:1; Heb. 12:14)   Then they fold up their piece of paper and exit the room. For some funny reason, I can imagine the looks on those who just heard this short message sitting there with expressions on their faces that

  If you read yesterday’s post...and immediately thought to yourself...”Wow...old so-and-so’ needs to hear/read this”...then you missed the point. Just saying ;- )   Jesus is coming back for a bride (His church) and we are told it will be ‘glorious, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.” (Eph 5:27)   John writes: “And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” (1 John 3:3)   Paul would add to this theme: “Having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from ALL filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” (2 Cor. 7:1). He warned in his first letter there that “IF you think you are standing firm, take heed lest you fall.” (10:12) And then back to his second letter exhorting “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ in in you? Unless...you fail the test?” (13:5). I bet he meant the ‘

  I have lived in a variety of geographical areas while growing up....and I can tell you that moving up here to the country in NE Texas some 33 years ago was a new experience for me in many ways. I quickly fell in love with bass fishing and also became quite intrigued with local ranchers and all the responsibilities they had to tend to so I could eat beef. The first two winters we spent here were brutally cold and I remember going days where the temps never got above single digits. This created quite the challenge for ranchers as they had to go out daily and break up the ice on the ponds so their cattle could get fresh water to drink.   I mean...they had to go out daily...with an axe or pick or sledge hammer and break up the re-forming ice that quickly developed during those cold nights. The more diligent they were at doing this, the less ‘work’ was involved given the ice would not thicken as fast had they only came every few days to break it up. But it literally became a life or