Sheep Food

  I don’t know that I was ever labeled as being a ‘teacher’s pet’ in school. It probably had something to do with me viewing the classroom as a good training ground for a future ‘Stand-Up Comedy’ career that never panned out for me. But we all know what a “teacher’s pet” is and many tend to resent them when it becomes blatant. As a former school teacher myself, ( I know, ironic, is it not?)...I felt like I always tried to get along with and treat every student the same. Do we naturally tend to relate to some people easier than others? I would say so. I sure hope I was never accused of having ‘pets’ or ‘favorites’ when I taught, but maybe some perceived that? I just don’t know.   But boy...how many of us have ‘pet sins’ we hate to let go of?  Yes, you read that correctly...’pet sins’, areas in our life that we are reluctant to repent of so that we don’t do them anymore. And think about it - if we’ve been taught that it really doesn’t matter whether we turn from...

  What is it, about this message that suggest a person can not only be truly be set free of sin by Jesus, but they can remain free and actually go...and ‘sin no more’...that angers and offends us; especially ‘church folks’? Seriously...it just riles us up and makes us bristle inside. I can understand being incredulous and ‘cautiously skeptical’, but angry and offended? I don’t get it. (Well, honestly I do but more on that later)  Yes, I am aware that John warned about claiming to ‘have no sin’, but that is not the same as saying you are a sinner and you should just count on sinning until you die. And you’ll notice that he adds this: “IF...IF...IF.... you sin, (not ‘when’) you have an advocate with the Father who forgives you, who will pick you up and get you walking again in the manner He created and called you to walk...which was just like Jesus. (1 John 1:8-2:1,6)  I’m extremely grateful and comforted tin knowing I walk with a Savior whose ‘mercy endures forever.’ ...

Why? Why would you not want to be totally free? And who told you that you could not be? (Gen. 3:11)  When I hear people continue to repeat that drumbeat which seems to play continuously...that one that says we will always be sinners...we will always sin...we can never be totally free from sinning until we ‘get to heaven’,... the question I am compelled to ask is this: “Who told you that, and what particular sin are you struggling with that you seem unable to master and overcome?” And why is it taking so long for you to repent of it? I don’t ask this from some position of superiority or ‘holier than thou’ mindset either; trust me.   Because it would seem that what we are really saying here, is that while Jesus loves us, He really can’t empower us to do what He said we would do, which is to set us free so we could ‘go and sin no more’. (John 5:14; 8:11)   He told us that we would ‘know the truth and the truth would set us free’ (John 8:32-36) but that must have j...

  We are told that ‘the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal (fully devoted, perfect) to Him.” (2 Chron. 16:9)   I’m not really sure how He does that....but I am fully confident that He means what He says and I can trust Him and His word. We are also told, after all, that it is “impossible for God to lie.” (Heb. 6:18)   But God knows...how to find individuals...and reveal Himself to them. He’s been doing that for some time now. Why even Jesus exemplified this trait rather well Himself. He always seemed to find people at the right time and reveal Himself to them. Whether it was the Samaritan woman at the well, or that demon possessed man in the Gadarenes, or some unruly fishermen whom He wanted to call out to help change the world...Jesus knows our hearts and how to find us. And I don’t care how far off the grid you think you are, if you are sincere in hungering for truth......

  If God does not have our whole heart, (and He will test us on this-1 Thess. 2:4), then this book...the bible, remains a closed book to all of us.   That’s not to say you can’t find inspiring stories and practical truths in it. And Lord knows man has done a great job of extracting multiple ‘recipes’ or formulas out of it to fashion various teachings and then offer their own spins on how man can reach heaven. Look how many hundreds of ‘Christian’ denominations we have today and everyone points to the bible as being ‘their book’ or manual yet everyone speaks their own language. (Gen.11:1-9)   We are told that God’s word is ‘living and powerful’. (Heb. 4:12).   Jesus said ‘His words are spirit and they are life’. (John 6:63)   But there really is an ‘ignition key’ (if I can use that term here) that activates that word coming to life and releasing power to truly transform and change us.   You have to come to Him, on His terms.  ...

  Have you ever been sitting there in the doctor’s office or the dentist’s chair and be given a simple lecture on the ‘basics of good hygiene’? And you are just a bit taken back as you think to yourself, ‘My goodness, I’m an adult...I know how to ‘do such and such’. And that dental hygienist (or nurse) who was quite pleasant and polite in sharing this practical and helpful advice seems to know what you are thinking...and they are saying to themselves: “Yeah, well if you knew how and actually DID this, you probably would not be sitting here getting this work done today.”   It's one thing to know how to do it.  It’s another thing...to actually ‘do it’.   James offered up some similar thoughts.   He writes there in his letter instructing us to ‘receive with meekness the implanted word which is able to save your souls.” (1:21). You might also note how he begins that sentence of how we should also ‘lay aside ALL filthiness and overflow of wickedness’....

  So what about you?   How do You respond when confronted with God’s word? I shared a little yesterday of my personal experience with it at two different times in my younger years.   Do you acknowledge it as Truth and ‘receive it with meekness’ as James encourages us to do? (1:21). Or do you bristle, and squirm and respond with ‘yeah, but...’ wanting to suggest maybe it really doesn’t mean ‘that’; especially...when it steps on our toes or shines light in to some ‘dark’ area of our hearts? God’s word can be like that for us.   It has a tendency to be quite ‘sharp’. Actually, Paul wrote that it is ‘sharper than a two-edged sword...piercing even...to the division of soul and spirit...and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Heb. 4:12). He also mentioned there it is ‘living and powerful’.   There’s probably a good reason why we are admonished to ‘stand on the word’. We are told that the ‘heavens and the earth will pass awa...

  When I was a young teen-age lad growing up in northern Illinois where my dad was stationed for several years, I found myself gravitating towards things that lots of guys my age found themselves being drawn to at that time.   Among those alluring activities had to do with girls; and an older one in particular was showing an interest in me.   For the record here, I was raised in ‘church’ and attended services weekly. But let me be clear, I was not anywhere close to being a ‘follower’ of Jesus. That was never on my radar nor something I was consciously aware of being an option. You just go to church and do your best to be a good person. And if/when you die, you simply go to heaven, right?   I do remember one particular Sunday morning attending our Sunday School class for teens, and the lesson that day was going over the Ten Commandments. I found myself, oddly enough, curious about this lesson given some 'tempting possibilities' for me with this old...