Sheep Food

  I want to begin here today with a passage found in Acts 16 that can be problematic in some ways for many who might come across it and for good reason. Paul had made his way to Philippi on one of his mission journeys and on this particular morning, he went out of the city to the riverside where people would gather to pray. There he found some women gathered who met there regularly, and he began to speak to them. One particular woman is singled out- her name was Lydia. Now here is the verse you should make note of: “The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul.” (14). We are also told in the same verse that she ‘worshipped God’, but it is unclear as to what that entailed or looked like. But the fact remains, God had to ‘open her heart’ to hear the message Paul was delivering. Which is why this can be challenging at best to come to terms with the fact that God’s truths are not ‘figured out’ by reasoning and intellect. God’s truths are revealed by His Spirit and ...

  The very first words that we hear God utter, as recorded in Genesis was “Let there be light.” (Gen. 1:3) The opening statement in any writing or dialogue should never be an insignificant one, whether you are writing a news story, a novel, making a speech, etc. So the fact we are introduced to God at the beginning of creation with that phrase is not to be taken lightly. (No pun intended) God is not a fan of darkness and we read in the preceding verse that darkness covered the face of the deep. You’ll note that when God separated the darkness from the light, He said the light was ‘good’. He did not offer the same affirmation of darkness. It’s also noteworthy that much later in time, we would learn that Jesus would make His entrance into the world where people continued to sit in darkness (Matt. 4:19). That was one reason He came...to ‘give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” (Luke 1:79) Jesus is not a fan of darkne...

  Can we take a moment here and ‘pull the curtain back’ from our hearts and maybe reveal something we all have wrestled with? Meet me on the other side of this next verse which I will encourage you to read aloud, softly to yourself and I will then elaborate: “As obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts...be holy in ALL your conduct as He is holy...because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy’.” - Peter (1 Pet. 1:14-16) What if...just maybe...we don’t...’want’... to be ‘holy in all our conduct’...all the time, just yet? Take a moment with that one, if you would please. Is it possible this might be the ‘elephant in the room’ that we have not really wanted to address? -this idea of ‘wanting’ to be ‘holy’ which can only happen if/when we are truly abiding in Jesus. And whether we want to agree with or believe this or not, a lot of this boils down to our ‘want to’ factor. I’ve heard on more than one occasion, where people I have known who have been ‘believers...

  “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” -Jesus (Matt. 5:48) This is usually the place where the majority of the class toss their pencils up in the air in despair as hopelessness and frustration settle in. They gather up their stuff and make their way out of the room grumbling about such unrealistic expectations and impossible goals that could never be reached. Some of them exit the building altogether and swear off having anything to ever do with any kind of 'religion' again. There was a similar scene found in John 6:60-66 where after listening to Jesus, many of His disciples mentioned what a ‘hard saying’ it was they were hearing…and eventually, from that time on, “many went back and walked with Him no more.” Others, might seek out another ‘school’ or just make their way down the hall to find another professor who is much more reasonable and understanding, not to mention, ‘tolerant’. There certainly are plenty of those options out the...

  I am fully aware every single time I write and then post/share a lesson here, that I have absolutely no control over how anyone hears, reads, or interprets these daily postings. Which is why I commit them totally to the Holy Spirit and leave the results up to Him. This I Know: His word does not return void but accomplishes what He sends it out to do. (Isa. 55:11) But I do feel a compelling to state that if what you are personally ‘hearing’ in these posts - is me suggesting that one’s ‘salvation’ is ‘performance based’ as opposed to being ‘saved by the grace of God alone’- then you are not hearing the message that is being conveyed.  Or just maybe you are equating ‘obedience’ with ‘performance’. And the idea of having to ‘obey God’ and His word somehow translate to ‘legalism’, which is not that uncommon of a path to quickly land upon. I mean, we are told that Jesus became the author or source of ‘eternal salvation to those who obey Him’. (Heb. 5:9) Jesus asked one group: “W...

  [If you missed yesterday’s post…I strongly encourage you to read it before wading in to today’s post. Just saying… ;-) ] Trying to navigate through life in this dark world that can be challenging, if not rather daunting and intimidating. For others, it’s downright scary. Many turn to temporal distractions to occupy their affections so as not to have to deal with reality. Others, are so overwhelmed by trying to find their way that they succumb to numbing their own fears and pain and yes, even ‘demons’ with whatever they can get their hands on. Sadly, that route usually leads to even more pain and darkness and eventual death, oftentimes, self-inflicted. Jesus stated plainly… people who walk in darkness don’t know where they are going. (John 12:35-36) For the unbeliever, who does not know God, their creator, and the creator of this world, life can be a twisted game of chance that makes no sense whatsoever. They just try to get through this life without blowing themselves up, as...

  Like it or not…agree with it or not, many decisions in this life are based on the quick and easy act of a simple ‘coin flip’. You know, “heads or tails…now call it!” It might be to settle a tie breaker or to determine who will go first in a competition or when/where that competition will be held. The coin flip at the start of our revered Super Bowl has become ceremoniously extravagant with specially designed coins being used and celebrities and such having part as all the world awaits to see if after the coin lands…Is it heads or is it tails. Rarely is there any room left for debate or argument once the call is made. It is either going to be ‘heads’ or it’s going to be ‘tails’. It has to be one of those; as in, it can’t be both. Nor can it be ‘in-between’ either. I mean…I suppose the coin could land and settle cock-eyed if it fell into a crack or something. But then, that would be declared invalid and the coin would be flipped once more to make the outcome clear and final. ...

  “This is My commandment: That you love one another as I have loved you” - Jesus (John 15:13) It wasn’t a suggestion. Nor was it some lofty ‘goal’ that we should all be willing to aspire to obeying even though we’d continue to fall miserably short in doing so. It was a commandment. His....commandment. Jesus did clarify it was a ‘new commandment’ that He gave us...’that we love one another as He had loved us’. (John 13:34) And if there was any room of doubt as to why this was a significant marker, He made it clear that it was by “this...that all...will know that we are His disciples”...(John 13:35) Did you catch that? This would be the sole identifying mark as to who His disciples...His sheep.... His children were: IF they loved one another as He loved us. It would not be the label on the church we attended nor our baptism certificate or whether we spoke in tongues or aligned ourselves with Calvinism or Arminianism that would be the identifying mark. One thing...Jesus made clear...

  How can a person know, I mean truly....know...if they are actually abiding in Jesus? It really is a legitimate question for one to ask themselves. So...how do you know if you are? You say you believe that Jesus is the Son of God and was raised from the dead? Great. Demons believe that and they tremble. (James 2:19) Oh, but you recall that day that you truly ‘called on the name of the Lord’ and ‘asked Him into your heart’? That sounds like a memorable experience if you remember the time and place of that day. But that does not mean you are abiding in Him. Jesus said that “not everyone who says, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven...but those who do the will of the Father...” (Matt. 7:21) You got baptized in water, you say? That is a good thing to do, for sure. Why, you might have even gone ‘full throttle’ (Pentecostal) and were also baptized in the Holy Spirit and ‘spoke in tongues’ like they were on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:4). But that does not mean you a...