Sheep Food

  They didn’t believe God could do what He said He was going to do, and as a result, they lost out on all the promises He made to them. They did not get to enter in to that land of peace and rest where God had desired to take them and bless them. (1 Cor. 10:5; Heb. 3:17-19) Their bodies were scattered about in the wilderness after wandering there for forty years. And it’s important to note that Paul highlights what happened to them as a warning to us, “upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” (1 Cor. 10:11). I would not advise dismissing his warning nor taking it lightly. This is in response to the ‘extra credit’ portion of the ‘pop quiz’ I gave yesterday. If you took the time to read Numbers 13-14, you learned the background as to when that group of people ‘crossed the line’ with God’s patience and lost out in the most tragic way. And basically...it boiled down to them simply not believing God could do what He said He was going to do for them. It all centered around whether they co

  How about an ‘open-book-pop-quiz’ this morning? May I encourage you to do a quick read through starting at Hebrews 3:7 and read all the way through to 4:2. Hopefully you will see this is referring to that first generation of folks who came out of Egypt and crossed the Red Sea as Moses led them into the wilderness before continuing on to the promised land. A generation, I might remind you, that enthusiastically promised to do all that God commanded them to do. (Ex.24:3,7; Luke 6:46 & Matt. 7:21) They didn’t. And what happened to them according to Heb. 3:16-19? As you read 4:1, what ‘tone’ do you feel the writer is setting there for us to hear? Now, if you would, please turn to 1 Cor. 10:1-12 and read through there as this is where we will begin the ‘quiz’ portion. I’ll present the questions and then include the verse number where you might find the answer. (Pretty easy quiz, would you not agree?) Who was with these people that followed them in the wilderness? (4) We know they

  I’m going out on a limb here to presume at some point in your life, you probably have seen one of those spy-thriller movies where a ‘mysterious figure’ is meeting on a dark street corner or rooftop to reveal some secrets to the ‘enemy’...but before they get the vital info out of their mouth, a ‘red dot’ suddenly appears on their forehead and you know what is about to happen: the contents of their skull exits out of the back of their head just before they slump over. I know, horribly graphic and uncalled for. But I would make the case that this ‘red dot’ is what it means to have the ‘wrath of God’ abiding upon you. (John 3:36) Now before you bow up in shock or defense, allow me to explain. I would submit to you that understanding this idea of what God’s ‘wrath’ actually is, might make the message of God’s gospel...truly ...’good news’ in which you will appreciate that much more. And I am in no way trying to portray God as some ‘hit man’ or ‘assassin’ hiding in the shadows ready to

  If you are not still ruminating on that last paragraph from yesterday’s post, then you probably need to scroll down and go read it again. We were discussing what the power of God’s gospel actually has the miraculous power to do: as in supernaturally change us to become ‘like Christ’. Religion and man-made doctrines might be good at ‘cleaning folks up’, outwardly, in varying degrees...like make them a nicer person or a better citizen...help them control their passions and flaws so they don’t succumb to them as often or as bad as they once did. But those ‘other gospels’ fall short in doing what the ‘gospel of the kingdom’ is designed by God to do, and that is to save us from God’s judgements and wrath by making us a new creation. (Rom. 1:16-18; 5:9; 1 Tim. 6:3; John 3:3; 2 Cor. 5:17) Can we talk about this ‘wrath’ thing for a moment? I know it makes many of us uncomfortable, and we humans can be wired in such a way that we will go out of our way to avoid topics that make us uncomfort

  The apostle Paul wrote that the ‘gospel of Christ’ (of which he was not ashamed to share) is the ‘power of God to salvation for everyone who believes...”. (Rom. 1:16). I bet you have read or heard that verse before. What do you suppose he meant when he describes it as having ‘power...for everyone who believes’....the power to do ...what? If you recall, in yesterday’s post I pointed out that word power implies ‘miraculous’ working power as opposed to something man is capable of doing in his own strength or ability. (1 Cor. 2:1-5) There are 3 words in that one sentence that we toss around a lot but I fear we fail to fully grasp what them are conveying; those words being: ‘power, salvation, & believes’. When we speak of ‘salvation’, we understand that to mean being ‘saved’. But what is it we are being ‘saved’ from? If you glance at the Amplified Bible, it includes exactly what it is we are ‘saved’ from – God’s ‘wrath and judgement’. Romans 5:9 echoes this as well. But if you re

  Undoubtedly, there are many ‘gospels’ out there today that are being preached and promoted. Then there is the gospel that Jesus preached before commissioning His disciples to go and continue preaching as well. We are also told that when they did, He ‘worked with them confirming the word with accompanying signs’. (Mark 16:20) What I find intriguing is when Jesus arrived on the scene preaching the ‘gospel of the kingdom’, and then backing up what He preached with miraculous signs of healing and demonic deliverance, we are told the people had ‘never seen anything like this before’. (Mark 2:12). That reminds me of what the people of God were told early on after they entered the Promised Land,( which was a blueprint of our walk of salvation): “You may know the way by which you must go...you have not passed this way before.” (Josh. 3:4) Don’t you just love it when God shows up with the promise of doing a ‘new thing’ in our lives? But keep in mind: It’s not really a ‘new’ thing; rather i

  Do you find it offensive to even be asked to consider that just maybe we have been teaching, and preaching, and believing ...the wrong gospel? Or, as Paul referred to it - as “another” or “different” gospel. (2 Cor. 11:4; Gal. 1:6-9) If that doesn’t land well with you, have you ever questioned as to why that would even disturb you in such a way? No, seriously...take a moment and give that some thought. Are you absolutely convinced that YOU...could never be wrong about such a thing? And why is that so? Didn’t Paul tell us to examine ourselves to make sure Christ is truly in us? (2 Cor. 13:5). Did he not admonish anyone who was overly confident to ‘take heed lest they fall’? (1 Cor. 10:12) Friends- for the past three years, I have been here almost daily sharing with you things that I have been discovering buried in our beloved Bibles...scripture after scripture that when laid out...paints a different picture than what many of us have been raised to believe. And I make no effort to

  [I'm back from that cruise and picking up again where I left off]  After Jesus gave parting words to His disciples like: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel...”, we are told they “went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs.” (Mark 16:15,20) God has no interest or desire in confirming false gospels. And friends... there are an awful lot of them out there today. In fact, sadly enough...people had to start writing books explaining why God no longer uses ‘signs and wonders’ to confirm the gospel they happen to be preaching. It never looks good when things don’t ‘work the way they are supposed to work’ so in order to save face, we have to make up reasons why that happens (or didn’t happen). Hence, the thick books filled with men’s theology and man-made doctrines. Need I remind us all “...let God be true and every man a liar”. (Rom. 3:4) Confused? Maybe going back and re-examining the word again will

  You are looking out the window of your third story office building and you notice a couple of firetrucks pull up as you then mention this to your colleague sitting at a nearby desk. He responds with: “Hmmm...that’s news”, just as your boss enters the room in a hurried manner. He adds to the conversation and says: “No, that is good news...we have a small fire that broke out in the lobby!” Without being fully informed of the bad news first, then hearing about firetrucks parked out front was simply ‘news’. What made it ‘good news’ was being informed of the bad news. Does that make sense? This is why the gospel that Jesus came preaching really was ‘good news’, which is what that word (gospel) literally means- ‘good news or message’. Friends, I don’t think we can fully appreciate just how good of news this message is without fully understanding the ‘bad news’ first; and I would submit to you in all humility that many of us were simply not taught just how dire and serious the ‘bad new

  Jesus began His ministry preaching: “...behold...the kingdom of God is near...repent and believe in the gospel”. (Mark 1:15) What many people have failed to realize is that this gospel was not just meant to be ‘believed in’, as if mentally being in agreement with what Jesus said; ... the gospel was meant to be ‘obeyed’. How do I know this, you ask? You might go underline Rom. 10:16; 2 Thess. 1:8, and 1 Pet. 4:17 for starters. We professing ‘believers’ really have a hard time when ‘faith’ and ‘obedience’ are used in the same sentence. I wrote a post not long ago explaining about how ‘obedience is the fruit of faith’ (6.28.24) and before long I was accused of being an ‘enslaved gnostic’ ...expressing the thoughts and words of the ‘antichrist’. Feel free to read Hebrews 3:14-19 and see if you don’t draw the same conclusion I do. If you’d like one more reference, read John 3:16 and Hebrews 5:9 back to back. Oh, have I cited Acts 6:7 before? It's really not difficult to figure ou

  “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8) Can we talk about this verse today? It gets brought up regularly when some folks wade in to discussing with me this topic of ‘sinning no more’. John could have written...”if we say – ‘I don’t sin anymore’...we deceive ourselves...”, but he didn’t write that. In fact, just two chapters later, he would make it very clear that ‘whoever abides in Jesus does not sin.’ (1 John 3:6). He doubles down three verses later stating: “Whoever is born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin , because he has been born of God.” (9). And just in case there was any lingering doubt, look what he writes in 5:18 – “We know that whoever is born of God does not sin...” And let’s be clear here: ALL of us have ‘sinned and fallen short...’ (Rom. 3:23) To suggest otherwise would be deception. (1 John 1:10). But in no way is he suggesting that one who is born again can’t really ‘go and sin

   What part about us being ‘pure and holy’ do we not understand? Oh, you were told repeatedly that you could never be ‘holy enough’ for God so just ‘trust Jesus’ and His holiness would be ‘good enough’ for you? As God once asked Adam- ‘Who told you that?” (Gen. 3:11) IF...holiness does not really matter, then why would Peter write: “Be holy in ALL your conduct.” (1 Pet. 1:15) Why did Paul write “...cleanse yourselves from ALL filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God”? (2 Cor. 7:1). Why would he tell us that things like even ‘foolish talking and coarse joking (filthy language) should not even be named among us”? (Eph. 5:3-4) This church or ‘bride’ that Jesus is coming back for that is ‘not having spot or wrinkle and will be holy and without blemish’...what might that look like to you? (Eph. 5:27) Why write such a serious warning of: “and without holiness/sanctification no one will see the Lord”, if God really did not mean that? (Heb. 12:14) What was J

  The gospel was not intended to be hard to understand nor to live out. We have to be careful about not making things we don’t understand...more complicated. It’s easy for us humans to do that, you know...make the things of God more complicated; why do you think we have over 400 ‘Christian’ denominations today...everyone is building a tower to heaven while offering up their own way of getting there. Almost sounds like a tower they built back in Babel. (Gen. 11) When Jesus arrived on the scene, He proclaimed that God’s kingdom was near and that men needed to repent and follow Him. He told us that His ‘yoke’ was easy and if we came to Him we could find rest. His mother, Mary, summed things up rather nicely when she admonished those seeking a miracle of transformation to ‘do whatever He says’. (John 2:5). We are also informed by John that His commandments are not burdensome or grievous. (1 John 5:3). And IF...we truly love Him...we’ll keep those commandments. (John 14:15; 1 John 5:2-3)

  Mary first had to receive the Word...before Christ could be formed in her. ( Luke 1:38) It’s that ‘not receiving’ part that can often abort the process of Christ being formed in us. “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the word was God... and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us...” (John 1:1,14) “He came to His own and His own received Him not...but...as many as did receive Him, to them He gave the right or capacity to become...children of God.” (John 1:11-12) How is that ‘receiving’ part working out for you these days? Are you able to receive all the Word, or just those parts that ‘fit’ with the doctrine you were taught? Or how is your hunger and appetite, overall for God’s word? Because if you are not taking in and feeding upon His word, there probably is not much ‘growing and conforming’ taking place within you , given that is how we are designed to grow. (1 Pet. 2:2-3) We are...what we eat, they say. And I don’t know who needs to hear this, but sin

  Paul explained to us in Eph. 2:1-3 that true followers of Jesus were ‘once dead’ (because of sin) but now have been made alive as they no longer walk according to the lust and desires of that old flesh nature; a nature I might add that gives ground to a spiritual enemy who is the prince of the air. (1 John 5:19) This would be the same enemy whom we are told to ‘give no place to’. (Eph. 4:27) So how might one know ...if they are no longer dead, but alive? Well, John gives us some interesting insight that might help answer that question. He writes: We know that we have passed from death to life because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death.” ( 1 John 3:14) I don’t know about you but I really like it when I’m operating a device, be it a phone or camera or car, that I have certain ‘markers’ along the way that tell me if things are operating the way they are designed to function. In other words, you will see those certain signs or indicators appearing; s

  So what happens to so many of those who did ‘come to Jesus’...and were ‘made alive’ and ‘filled that empty, gnawing, vacant, void’ in their hearts that we talked about yesterday? Many would easily admit to you today that somewhere along the way...they ‘lost that loving feeling’ we used to sing about. How about we examine some possible reasons for that here today, beginning with the parable of the sower that we find in Matt. 13, Mark 4 and Luke 8. For many, when they heard the word for the first time, their hearts were so hard that it never took root and the ‘birds of the air came and snatched the seed before it could produce any fruit. And we know who those ‘birds of the air’ represent, yes? (Luke 8:12) Then there were those who received the word gladly and were all excited and on board with this new life in Jesus...but...the moment a little persecution arose because of the word, maybe a test or two came their way...as quickly as they ‘sprang to life’, they ‘withered up and died’.

  “You...who were dead in sin...He made alive...” (Eph. 2:1) Paul was writing to the believers at Ephesus here and I should point out that a person can be an active and faithful church member yet still not be a genuine follower of Jesus. Sometimes we make the mistake of reading scripture and just assuming many of the statements and promises are directed to anyone sitting on the church pew. My purpose for opening with that verse today is because Paul is describing the condition of a person prior to their conversion and becoming an active follower of Christ. – “you who were dead”. From God’s perspective, prior to our repenting and turning to Him with all our hearts, He saw us as ‘dead’. It goes without saying that He’s talking about our ‘spiritual’ condition. If you have read here the past few days, we’ve been looking at how we were created, by God’s design...to be a spirit being, that possessed a soul and lived in a physical body. (1 Thess. 5:23) Can we just cut to the chase and

  You may remember that popular song that ‘Meatloaf’ made famous when he sang – “...two out of three ain’t bad...”. It made for a catchy tune but the math really does not add up well if you are wanting to pass an important exam or try to sit/stand on a 3-legged stool. We are using 1 Thess. 5:23 as a springboard for this study. When God created us, we were made in ‘His image and likeness’ (Gen. 1:26-28). As some of you may have heard taught at some point in time, we...were made up of three parts: spirit, soul, and body. According to God’s design, we were created to be ‘spiritual’ beings, who possessed or had a ‘soul’ and would be housed in a physical body. Pretty amazing design if you ask me. Since we were made in God’s image, and we know that God is Spirit and God is love, (John 4:24; 1 John4:8), it makes sense that our ‘spirit being’ would reflect or have the same attributes of God...given we were made in His image, yes? Then God gave us a ‘soul’. The Greek word for soul [psyche]

  It’s one thing to receive or ‘be filled with’ the Holy Spirit; it’s another thing altogether to be led by the Spirit. I’ve been around long enough to take the liberty to say my observations and experiences over the years has noticed that people can tend to place emphasis on the ‘receiving’ part, and not so much the ‘following’ part. Can I just state the obvious here: God did not send His Spirit to dwell in us so we could ‘speak in tongues’ or ‘feel excited and emotional’ and maybe even jump a few pews in the process while we laugh and/or cry. He empowered us with His Spirit so He could transform us into His image and likeness ...so we could then do the will of God. You know...’walk as Jesus walked’, (1 John 2:6) and love as Jesus loved. (John 13:34-35; 1 Cor. 13:1-3) And what is...the ‘will of God’? It’s God’s will that we be ‘holy in all our conduct’. (1 Pet. 1:15) It’s the will of God for us to ‘keep His commandments’ and to be ‘perfect as the Father in heaven is perfect’. (Matt.

  Peter reminds us in his first letter of a rather important fact that I fear oftentimes, gets lost on us. He writes: “Since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind...for he who has suffered in the flesh has...(are you ready for it?)...HAS CEASED FROM SIN...” (1 Pet. 4:1) He continues on: “...so that he no longer should live the rest of his time (on this side of heaven) in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.” (vs 2). And if you have forgotten why doing the will of God is important, you might take a look at Matt. 7:21 real quick. 1 John 2:17 and Galatians 5:21 are worthy of being underlined as well. But this bears worth repeating: “...he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin...” If you continue to practice sin, then you have not really ‘suffered in the flesh’ if what Peter writes counts for anything. Suffering in the flesh occurs when we are actually following the leading of God’s Spirit (which is what the children

  You don’t send ‘babies’ and young children into war to do battle; well, not if you are ‘civilized’ country, you don’t. I use that term loosely as I think of how we hear of many tribal conflicts that take place in other countries, Africa in particular. Villages are raided and young boys are kidnapped and then armed with guns and sent out to do battle with other tribes, many of these boys still being in a single digit of age and not much older. It’s a tragedy that probably happens more often than we’d care to believe. And then, I think about all the 18-19 year olds who we sent over to Viet Nam decades ago to fight a useless ‘conflict’ and I don’t take that much solace in suggesting we are that much more civilized in some ways; but now I digress once again. So it’s safe to say that when it comes to spiritual battles and conflicts and wars, the same thinking would apply- you don’t send ‘babies’ in to do battle. (Luke 10:1-20 can be discussed later) And if you don’t believe follower

  About that ‘Boot Camp’ that Jesus went through...which you are I are expected to go through as well...I’m just gonna leave this here today for your own personal study and reflection. Please make note of Acts 10:38 – “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil for God was with Him.” Question: When...did God ‘anoint’ Jesus with the Holy Spirit....AND...with power? Well, we are told in all the gospels that after He came up from the water, the Holy Spirit came upon Him and that He was filled with the Holy Spirit. (Luke 3:21-22; 4:1). I’ll answer the second part of that question at the end here. Please also make note of John 14:12 where Jesus stated – “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do because I go to My father.” Jesus: “You shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now...” (Acts