Sheep Food

  You are probably familiar by now with that story of the young, rich ruler who came to Jesus expressing a desire for ‘eternal life’. (Matt. 19). Jesus was willing to offer it to him, as He is for all who turn and come to Him with all their heart. (John 5:39-40). But make no mistake about it, He will test your heart as He already knows what’s in it, just as He did with that young wealthy man. The problem with him was he was not prepared to ‘surrender all’, as we like to sing so passionately in our ‘worship’ services. So the young man turned and walked away and missed out on the abundant life Jesus came to offer. (Matt. 19:20-22; John 10:10). You might conclude that while he ‘said with his lips’ that he wanted this eternal life, there was something else his heart wanted more. The same could be said about many in the ‘church’ today. They ‘honor God with their lips’, but their hearts are elsewhere. (Mark 7 :6-8). They have a ‘form of godliness... but deny the power’. (2 Tim. 3:5). Have

  Were you aware that God is not overly interested in our resumés nor our list of spiritual accomplishments? Paul, who had an impressive one himself, considered his to be as worthless as ‘dung’. (Phil. 3:8 KJV). And those folks in Matt. 7:21-23 who according to Jesus, had been busy doing a lot of impressive things for His Kingdom...yeah...God was not ‘wowed’ by them either. In fact, they were ‘denied’ entrance into the kingdom for one reason alone: They continued to practice sin. And then there were those Pharisees I mentioned yesterday, the ones Jesus had a run in with in John 8. It sounds as if they were leaning heavily on their ‘lineage’, boasting how ‘of course they were children of God’ given they were descendants of Abraham (8:33-39). You know the type...overly smug and confident, bordering on self-righteousness because they are a ‘fifth-generation- (insert denomination of your choice)’. They are so steeped in their ‘church’s’ doctrines and traditions that they actually get of

  You realize, I hope, that a person can be a very faithful ‘church’ member, active in giving and serving, and yet...still not be abiding in Jesus. How can this be? I’m sure the folks in Matt. 7:22 might be asking the same question. “But Lord...we did all these things in your name...” Abiding in Christ basically boils down to your ‘want-to factor’. What do you really ‘want’ to do...and what do you really ‘want’ in this life. As I have always heard, and seen lived out - people are going to do pretty much what the ‘want’ to do. The very word itself means: ‘to have a desire to possess or do something; to wish for. Jesus approached a man who had been afflicted for 38 years and was absolutely miserable. He flat out asked this man: “Do you want to ... be made well?” (John 5:6). It was a fair question, in my opinion. We have all seen people who may have given indication of ‘wanting’ ...to improve upon their lives, but in the end, there was something else they were wanting more- maybe jus

  We believers can be pretty quick on the draw to quote Phil. 4:13 when it comes to needing to pass a test, nail a job interview, or commit to losing those extra pounds. I’ve seen where many high school athletes have that verse embroidered on their letterman jackets, presumably embracing that promise so they can maybe excel in their respective sport, or life in general. It’s a great scripture; you know it by heart: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” The Greek word for ‘all’ there, literally means...’all’. So that promise is encouraging...when it comes to applying it to things we want to do...unless of course when it comes to overcoming all sin. For some reason, that really does not mean what it says, given the belief most of us have professed to holding on to. You know which one - “Nobody can be free of sin!”, as we so righteously declare to others, if not ourselves in order justify our ongoing sins. So why is that? Why does Phil. 4:13 not apply here? I th

  “Beware...brethren...lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” (Heb. 3:12-13) I realize for the most part, all of us professing ‘believers’ were taught from an early age that not only were we all a bunch of wretched sinners in need of a Savior, but after we met this Savior, we would continue to be ...wretched sinners...’saved by grace’. In other words, you will always continue to ‘sin’; maybe not at the same level and frequency that you did prior to ‘coming to Jesus’, but still...’nobody is perfect’. And besides...”now your spirit is saved’ so you going to heaven should not even come in to question’ (as the line goes). It’s just that old, human-flesh nature that you have to contend with before Jesus comes back and sweeps you away to heaven. And we all know how that ‘old man’ gets the best of us at times, right? That’s the part where we all join in and chuckle sheepishly as we hang our heads and join in for another resounding verse of ‘Amazing Grace’. Why els

  Contrary to popular belief, ignorance is NOT ...’bliss’. It may be a temporary salve to do things we want to do versus what we ought to do, but in the end, there is a ‘payday’ and it usually will cost you. I hope you read my post yesterday. When Jesus arrived on the scene some two thousand years ago, He had great compassion for the multitudes of people who were suffering. In fact we read in Matt. 9:35-36 that He went about ‘healing every sickness and disease among the people’, a people He described as sheep having no shepherd. But if you read carefully there, what did He do before...He healed all their sickness and diseases? He went about teaching and preaching in their synagogues. His people were suffering for a lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6) and He wanted to enlighten them to truth so He could heal them and set them free. (Luke 4:18; John 8:32-36). We also know, for the most part, that many folks are not interested in coming to the light with all their hearts. (John 3:19-21; Ma

  Last month, my wife and I took our first-ever cruise and toured the SE coast of Alaska. Not having ever had much of a desire to take an ocean cruise, I will admit the trip exceeded my wildest expectations and it was an incredible blessing to experience. We set sail out of Vancouver, and two days in to the voyage, I received some kind of text ‘warning’ from AT&T that messaging and calls from the cruise ship were not covered in our plan. Don’t ask me why, but I really did not give it much thought. I do remember getting a follow up text encouraging us to reach out to AT&T and on the third day, I got a message saying our service had been suspended until they heard from us. In hindsight, I was thankful for that action because they were trying to keep us from incurring added and unwanted extra charges. We were able to use the ship’s wi-fi and resolve the problem by paying some extra fee to cover us for the week. Had I continued to ignore such warnings, and our service had not st

  Am I aware that my writings of late have taken on a more sobering, serious, and even chilling tone? You bet I am, and for good reason. Many in the ‘church’ at large have been asleep and God is sending out a warning cry that we better wake up, just as He did with those ten virgins in the parable Jesus shared in Matt. 25. Consider this, if you would: for all the talk and chatter that many who claim to be in the body of Christ have shared with eager anticipation concerning the return of Christ... have we forgotten the comparison Jesus made when He Himself spoke of His imminent return in Matt. 24? Of all the recorded stories we have in the Bible, He chose one particular one to draw from in describing what the coming of the Son of Man would be like. He actually used a story that some believe has to be more symbolic that an actual event given it seems so far-fetched to believe it literally happened – the story of Noah, his ark, and the flood that came upon the whole world. You can read

  Were you aware that God actually is known to ‘chasten’ those whom He loves? (Hebrews 12:5-6). We are even admonished there to not ‘despise these chastening’s’. The writer goes on to explain that if we resist or refuse these chastening’s, or are not even receiving them, then we are ‘illegitimate and not sons’. {8} The KJV uses a bolder term there. Oh, one other thing I should point out which in a way is not really surprising, but this ‘chastening will not be joyful and actually painful’. (11) And yet, there is a reason for it: it leads to our sanctification/holiness and...’without this holiness, no one will see the Lord’. (14). So there is that. If you have been reading here of late, you may recall the warning Paul wrote in Acts 13:40, citing an OT prophet by the name of Habakkuk. We learned in his first chapter that God actually raises up, or uses the ‘enemy’ to ‘judge and chasten/correct’ His people. (Hab. 1:12). In other words, God takes us out to the proverbial ‘wood shed’ when w

  Have you ever made, or ‘created’ a meal or dish where you really were not sure what you set out to make, but just started throwing in a little bit of this and a little bit of that, adding various ingredients along the way until you settled upon something that tasted reasonably good to you and you found filling? Yeah, we ‘Christians’ tend to do that with our church doctrines as well. No, really...I’m serious. Take this topic we have been studying of late pertaining to serpents and devils and demons and such. We can be all over the place when it comes to explaining our personal views and beliefs on such an important subject matter. I’m sure you’ve heard and maybe even espoused some of them yourself. Things like: ...”Christians can’t have demons!”; or ...”the devil has really been after me which means I must be doing something right and he’s just mad!”. Or when we unknowingly ‘give place to the devil’ (yesterday’s message), instead of running to God in repentance seeking mercy, we

  “Give. No. Place. To. The. Devil.” (Eph. 4:27) Another way of saying that would be: “Beware of Venomous Snakes!” We need to talk about this today. Like many verses we skim over in our daily Bible readings, it’s easy to nod in agreement when we see passages like this, maybe whisper a quick ‘amen’, and if we are really serious about our time in the word, we may even highlight or underline such verses before moving on. And yet, James reminds us that if we are just ‘hearers of the word and not doers’...what do we end up doing to ourselves? (James 1:22) As I heard a Bible teacher ask one time, ‘Did God put that in there for us to analyze or to do?” Do you know why God had Paul write that word of admonition to the church at Ephesus? I bet it had something to do with the fact that we ‘believers’ can actually ‘give place’ or give ground or a ‘foothold’ to this spiritual entity that we know as the ‘devil’. Would you take a moment with that and consider the implications here? Another way w

  All this talk about snakes and serpents and such...might create a bit of anxiety in folks who have a phobia towards such critters. And yet...you have ‘churches’ out there today that make ‘handling them’ a part of their church services...go figure! But all we are going to do here today is look further into scripture as to how God used ‘serpents’ and what they may possibly represent. (You might want to read the past few days’ posts to catch up if you missed them) Why is this even relevant? Well for starters, Paul writes in 1 Cor. 10 how a bunch of God’s people were ‘destroyed by serpents’ because they ‘tempted God’ in the wilderness. (9). And I only mention this because Paul drives home the point that these things were written down as examples, warnings, and an admonition to us NT believers...”upon whom the end of the ages has come.” (6,11). You can refer back to Numbers 21:4-6 to discover how that played out when the people began to speak out against both God and Moses. You can read

  It was an interesting warning Paul slipped in there when addressing the folks at Antioch: “Beware therefore, lest what has been spoken in the prophets come upon you...(Acts 13:40 - and he goes on to quote from Habakkuk 1:5). Seems we are advised in several places to give heed to what those prophets of old shared in their writings...as if it has relevance for us today. Imagine that! (Acts 3:24-26; 2 Pet. 3:1-2; Luke 21:22; Jer. 23:20 Dan. 12: 4,9-10; 1 Cor. 10:1-11) Regarding that warning from Habakkuk though, let me summarize the first chapter there and you can read on your own later. God once again is bringing in an ‘enemy’ to carry out His judgments. He really is serious about this ‘sin’ thing, contrary to popular belief today. We read there in 1:5-7 that He is ‘raising up the Chaldeans...a bitter and hasty nation...that are terrible and dreadful’ and actually come in to ‘possess dwelling places that are not theirs.” Interesting word picture there, don’t you think, especially whe

  When we are given continuous warnings to heed, there is usually a good reason for them: if we ignore those warnings...bad things can happen, and oftentimes...do. This does not mean one becomes consumed with those potential ‘bad things’ and live their lives on the edge in fear that those bad things will happen to them... they just know to avoid certain things because if they don’t, there most likely will be unpleasant consequences. This should not come across as some earth-shattering revelation. Many might just call it good old common sense. God gave a pretty simple warning to Adam and Eve back in the garden. (Gen. 2:17) And who came along to dismiss the warning, actually diluting it with ‘words’ out of his mouth before turning that warning completely around? Yep...it was the serpent of old. (Gen. 3:1-5) That same serpent is still doing the same thing today...spewing water (words) out of his mouth to carry people away to destruction. (Rev. 12:9,15; 1 Tim. 4:1; Luke 17:27; Isa. 59:1

  Ah yes...that ‘serpent of old’ (Rev. 12:9)...who deceives the whole world and leads men further into darkness and captivity by ‘blinding their minds’ (with a veil of sorts) from seeing the ‘light of the gospel’ and being set free. (2 Cor. 4:3-4). This would be the same ‘serpent’ I mentioned at the close of yesterday’s post, the one who was cursed and relegated to ‘eating dust’ all the days of his life. (Gen. 3:14). I left off reminding you what our ‘flesh’ was made of too. And when I say ‘flesh’, you might read Gal. 5:19-21,24 & Rom. 8:13. Oh, I forgot to mention that the quickest and most effective way for that ‘veil to be removed’ is to turn to Jesus with your whole heart. (2 Cor. 3:16). And make no mistake about it, - for all the bondages and chains that you might have at this moment, there is not a demon in hell (or demons- as in thousands) that can keep you from running to Jesus. (Mark 5:1-6). This ‘serpent’ has been around for quite a while and we need to study further ju

  God did not send Jesus into this world to condemn the world. On the contrary, God sent Jesus into this world to save...any all who would call upon His name, believe in Him and repent, (or turn)...and surrender to His lordship. What part of this do we find so hard to understand? (John 3:17; Rom. 10:13; Luke 13,3,5; 6:46; Matt. 7:21) And the same God who wanted us to hear what John wrote: “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers,” (3 John 2) is the same God who deeply yearned that His people...”had such a heart in them that they would fear Him and always keep all His commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever.” (Deut. 5:29) Friends, let us never forget what it is that Jesus came to ‘save’ us from: it was the wrath of God, and His judgements that were on the earth that we are ‘saved’ from. (Rom. 5:9) And why was all this wrath and judgment and death and condemnation on the earth? It was because of

  Why would any NT believer need to ‘fear God’ since Jesus loves us and has promised us we’d spend eternity in heaven with Him after we died if we would just ‘accept Him as Savior’? I suppose if you were taught that your ‘salvation was guaranteed’ (or secure), even though God knew you would always continue to sin, being the wretched sinner you are, then that might explain that opening question. ‘Everyone knows’ all we have to do is just ask Jesus to forgive us and we are ‘good with God’, right? I wonder if this was the same message those ‘many’ we read about in Matt. 7:21-23 heard? The concern here is for the ‘many’ today who have been lulled into a false sense of security because of twisted teachings that both Paul and Jeremiah warned us about. (2 Cor. 11:3-4; 1 Tim. 4:1; Jer. 23:16-20; 1 Thess. 5:1-3). Those who have been convinced that “nothing evil shall come upon us” (Jer. 23:17) would be puzzled to read such NT passages like Acts 2:43; 5:5; 9:31; 2 Cor. 7:1; Heb. 4:1; Phil. 2:1

  It’s one of those passages we don’t really like to spend much time on given how it can spur some uncomfortable scenarios and questions for us ‘believers’. You can read there in 1 Cor. 11:27-32 how Paul was explaining why ‘many’ believers were being ‘chastened and judged by the Lord’. (32) He did not mince words either telling them why many were ‘weak, sick’, and yes...even ‘dead’. (30). Would you take a moment and just let this sink in ... that what you are reading is indeed written down right in front of you in your own Bible? And please remember, we need not be afraid of things we read in our Bible, even if/when they don’t always ‘fit’ with how we have been taught to believe. I would also caution you to not get ahead of me here or start jumping to conclusions; the enemy likes to use that tactic when his lies are about to be exposed. I warned you a few days ago that we’d be wading in to a subject matter that many might find unsettling. God’s word can do that oftentimes, especiall

  So you are a professing believer but struggle to forgive others from your heart. Jesus said you’ll be handed over to the ‘tormentors’. (Matt. 18:35) He told a man who had been incapacitated for 38 years, after He healed him, to ‘go and sin no more or something worse will happen to him’. (John 5:14) Jesus also taught that after an ‘unclean spirit’ is removed from a person, that if given an opportunity to return, it will bring ‘seven other spirits more wicked that himself, and they enter and dwell there and the last state of that man is worse than the first.” (Matt. 12:45) And ‘perish’ is the word Jesus used to explain what will happen to anyone and everyone who fails to truly ‘repent’. (Luke 13:3,5) “Perish”...”Tormented”...”Something worse will come”...”Worse off in the end than in the beginning”...it sounds like Jesus is using some rather harsh, yet vivid language there, does it not to you? Since these were warnings issued by Jesus, have you ever stopped to ask yourself (or even Hi

  When you begin to connect some more dots, as I often say, as in making note of more scriptures found in our beloved Bibles, you begin to see a different picture emerge than the one we are accustomed to hearing taught. Especially when it comes to warnings of God’s wrath and judgments. Oddly enough, many have been led to believe that is ‘so Old Testament’ and does not apply to us folks today. But friends, nothing could be further from the truth. Could you take a second and look up the following passages in your Bible and read them over. You might even take some time later today and actually write them out for further meditation. They are Luke 13:3,5; Acts 3:22-23; John 5:14; Eph. 5:5-6; Rom. 8:13 and 1 Cor. 11:30-32. You’ll notice words like “perish” and “utterly destroyed” and “something worse” and even “wrath of God” being used to give clear warnings to those who continue to sin and/or disobey God. Paul repeatedly makes the case that if we continue to live for the flesh nature,