Sheep Food

  I don’t want to offend anyone this morning, especially those who profess to be ‘believers’ and are joyfully celebrating the risen Savior today; but is it possible that just maybe many have missed the main point or purpose of what God did on that third morning when He raised His only begotten Son from the dead? I think we certainly got the memo on what transpired over 2000 years ago on that early morning when the stone was rolled away. We’ve all heard countless messages on how Mary thought she was talking to a gardener when it was Jesus Himself. We know about ‘doubting Thomas’ wanting to see the holes in Jesus’s body. Why you might have even heard about the seeds of a conspiracy theory that was sown... even back then. (Matt. 28:12-15)  And no doubt, church sanctuaries around the world will host larger than normal crowds today because, that is what we do, after all...we rally the troops on this Easter Sunday morning as we sing and celebrate (and eat a lot) over the fact that the ‘gra

  Those several million Israelites who came out of Egypt and then wandered in the wilderness for 40 years...never had a problem hearing God’s voice nor knowing God’s will. They just were unwilling to do it. Hearing from God and knowing His will has never been our problem. ‘Doing it’....has. So when Jesus makes the rather clear and defining statement that while ‘many who say Lord, Lord’ will seek to enter the kingdom of heaven, it is only those who ‘do the will of God’ that will. (Matt.7:21-23) Which hopefully would give us all pause and ask, ‘So just what is the will of God?” Paul admonishes us in Ephesians 5:17 writing: “Don’t be unwise (foolish)...but understand what the will of the Lord is.” And here’s the encouraging news: He will tell you! Now there are plenty of well-meaning folks out there who would suggest that if you ever hear another believer tell you that ‘God talks to them’, run in the other direction. And yes, I can to some extent understand the thinking behind that but

  Years ago, it dawned on me that we ‘believers’ would probably do better to let others call us ‘Christians’...as opposed to us having to tell them we are. I mean, really...if we have to tell others we are ‘like Christ’, then maybe it’s not working for us, you think? “It was in Antioch where the disciples were first called ‘Christians’. (Acts 11:26) You’ll notice in that scripture there that it does not say ‘they called themselves ‘Christians’ first, in Antioch. There was just something about those early followers of Christ that stood out to all those around them; which is a good thing. We were ‘called out of darkness in order to walk in the light as He is in the light’. (1 Pet.2:9; 1 John 1:7). We should ‘stand out’. So when we throw out blanket statements like ‘Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven’, or ‘I’m a saint who sins’, are we not confusing matters even more for ‘non-believers’? I know, this kind of talk makes us uncomfortable and you will usually respond in one of two way

  Can I ask you a sincere question? Suppose you were sitting in a prison cell, maybe even on ‘death row’ with no hope of ever seeing the light of day again (freedom), and the warden himself came to your prison door, with a key, opened it up and told you that you had been pardoned and are now free to go...all charges are dropped. Would there be any logical reason for you to remain in there? Unless of course, you loved the darkness and bondage more than walking out into the light of freedom?l Friends...that is exactly what Jesus did when He came to set the captives free. (Luke 4:18) You are ‘free to go’, free to ‘take up your bed and walk’; free to ‘go and sin no more’. He did not come to condemn you. He came to give you a new life. (John 3:17; Rom. 8:10-12; Acts 16:26) So how shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? (Rom. 8:2) “Oh, but we are sinners and will always continue to sin until we get to heaven!” Really? Who told you that? (Gen. 3:11)    “But Tony, it says right th

  Pssst...whoever is reading this: I hate to break the news to you...but ‘excuses’ will no longer be accepted in heaven. No really, I am serious, and what is even more important is the fact that God’s word is serious about this! Excuses will no longer be accepted when we stand before Him; as in God will no longer ‘wink at ignorance’. (Acts 17:30 Rom.1 :20). We read there that in times past, God may have overlooked things but “now commands all men everywhere to repent.” And this is not a ‘threat’ or some ‘beneficial suggestion’ we should consider taking to heart; it’s a warning ...given in love. Look what Jesus made clear in Luke 13:3,5 as to why! Jesus told a parable later on in Luke’s gospel about when time came for this great banquet we’ve all been anticipating was about to happen, that servants were sent to all those who were invited announcing to them to “Come, for all things are now ready.” (Luke 14:16-17). You could easily tie this in to the ‘wedding’ feast as it reads in Ma

  “Be still...and know that I am God.” (Ps. 46:10) That is one of those verses we find much easier to quote and share, than it is to do. When we ‘believers’ sense...something is ‘off’, or ‘lacking’ in our lives, we seem to have a default setting that prompts us to ‘get busier, do more, try harder’, instead of taking God’s advice and just sitting and being still...so He can talk to us. And truth be told, many of us avoid doing that because we already have a pretty good idea what He wants to talk to us about, and for one reason or another, we shy away from wanting to hear it. (John 10:27; 3:19-20) Take for example the passage I addressed yesterday, where Jesus told those Jewish scholars...how they diligently study the scriptures in search of eternal life, yet...they are unwilling to ‘come to Him so that they might have life’. (John 5:39-40) We read in Matt. 23 where Jesus cries out: ‘O Jerusalem’, ... How often I wanted to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under

  In my message yesterday, I borrowed a line from a well-known song that Meatloaf made popular declaring how “2 out of 3 ain’t’ bad”. I would suggest you read it first before diving off in to this message today. And as promised, let me lead in with another well-known secular song that Johnny Lee made famous called: “Looking for Love in all the Wrong Places”. But I want to tweak one word and change ‘love’ to ‘life’. If you had not observed this yet or discovered on your own, we ‘sheep-like humans’ can easily be deceived into ‘looking for life in all the wrong places’. And when I say ‘we’, I mean professing believers who claim to be followers of Christ. Let me say up front- full disclosure here: I’m not trying to ‘sell’ you anything. I have nothing to prove and I’m not looking for theological debates. That’s not to say I’m not open to questions and sincere discussions about things you may read here; but I really do believe many would benefit well if they took the time to look up the

  Were you a fan of ‘Meatloaf’ when you were growing up? No, not that meat dish heavily bathed in ketchup that your mom used to make for dinner; I’m talking about the pop/rock singer who went by the name of ‘Meatloaf’. Seems he was around for a while but if you asked me to name any songs he wrote/sang, there is only one well known one that comes to mind: “Two out of three ain’t Bad”. That may not even be the title of the song, but it sure stuck with me for many years. And I apologize in advance if that tune ‘sticks’ with you for the rest of the day. :- ) But I’m sure you remember his line...”I want you...I need you...but their ain’t no way I’m ever gonna love you...now don’t be sad... ‘cause 2 out of 3 ain’t bad.” Like I said...it was a popular song and resonated with lots of folks; and you may be wondering how on earth this song could possibly fit with a Bible lesson today? ;- ). I think it may be a good one, and truth be told, it may ‘resonate’ with a lot of people who might come a

  I hate to be the one to break this news...but: everyone walking on the face of this planet is NOT...a child of God. And if you have been led to believe that....Who told you that? Because scripture sure does not support that statement; and Jesus sure didn’t teach that. But...we are told that whoever does “receive Him, to them He gave the right or power to become...children of God...” (John 1:12). So it seems pretty clear in that one sentence alone that anyone can ‘become...a child of God’. I mean, that would not even make sense if we were already God’s children, correct? Jesus faced off one time with a bunch of religious folks who were convinced they were God’s children and He rebuked them pretty strong when He informed them of just the opposite. He first lobbed this ‘thought-bomb’ at them saying...”IF God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God...” (John 8:42) He then informs them in a matter of speaking that children of God would be able to ‘