Sheep Food

  I’m going to be honest here with you and state the obvious: If you struggle to give any plausible credibility to the idea that ‘spiritual entities of darkness, wickedness, and evil’ truly exists and operate in a literal... ‘spiritual world’ (that we all live in), then much of what I am wading in to here will come across as ‘foolishness to you. And I’m okay with that because I’m not here to impress anyone with intellect or theology. Paul said that to people who are ‘perishing’, this message is ‘foolishness’(1 Cor. 1:18). When talking about demon spirits and how He gave His disciples ‘power over all the power of the devil’, Jesus said these things are ‘hid from the wise and the prudent’ (prideful) but God ‘reveals it to the babes’. (Luke 10:19-21) Guess how these things are ‘hid’ from them? (2 Cor. 3-4) Did you catch that part about ‘perishing’ there? And just who do you think Paul is referring to when he mentions the ‘god of this age’? I bet it is the same ‘prince of the air.....

  It has been fun to watch our twin grandsons, who received some age-appropriate jigsaw puzzles for Christmas...learn how to put them together, then immediately dismantle them before putting all the pieces back together again. They even take those to bed with them at night and repeat the process over and over until they fall asleep. I only mention this because I have referred to this Bible of ours as having many ‘pieces’ of scripture that when put together, with the leading of God’s Spirit...allows a clear picture to emerge that reveals what we are seeing happen in the land today. And it's really not the 'same picture' that so many others seem to see. Yesterday, I touched on this idea of ‘walls’ being erected to provide protection for the land. God does that with His ‘vineyard’, as well. (Matt. 21:33). These walls, or ‘hedges’ are designed to keep ‘unwanted creatures’ out so that the growing fruit within its borders are allowed to thrive and reproduce. It is good fruit, ...

  I want to continue on from where I left off on Monday when I touched on this idea that God’s ‘wrath’ is already here today...being unleashed...and much of the world is blind to it. They have eyes...yet do not see, they have ears...yet do not hear. John the Baptist warned the prevailing religious order of the day that they better ‘flee from the coming wrath’ (Matt. 3:7), even declaring that the ‘ax is already laid to the root of the trees’ ... using the words “even now...” (10). And what kind of ‘trees’ were in the process of being ‘cut down’? Every tree that did not bear ‘fruits of repentance’, or 'good fruit'. (8-10) Couple John’s warning with what Paul wrote in Romans 1:18 saying: “For the wrath of God IS...being revealed...from heaven against ALL...ungodliness and unrighteousness of men...”and you begin to sit up and notice, as more scriptures line up, that just maybe this gospel message we all ascribe to is a tad more serious...and urgent that what many in the ‘church ...

  I’m sensing a need to take a pause here today, and share a message to clarify something I feel the Lord has put on my heart. It has to do with to whom... are these daily messages I post/share here... directed to? In other words, who is the intended audience? It is a great question to which I am happy to answer. I have no doubt that the people for whom my heart has been burdened to share these with... are anyone and everyone...who considers themselves to be a ‘believer’, a ‘follower’ of Jesus. That’s it...to those who call themselves ‘Christian’. Truth be told, I have often said over the years that we would probably do better to let others call us ('Christian') that instead of us trying to convince them that is what we are...’Christ-like’. (John 13:34-35) No, I do not see myself as some self-appointed ‘prophet’ or anything else other than a fellow believer who met Jesus 45 years ago, had a life changing experience when I did, and then overtime...somehow lost my way and di...

  When John the Baptist arrived on the scene causing quite a stir amongst the locals back in his day, he confronted a group of Pharisees and Sadducees with this question: “Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?” (Matt. 3:7). I should also point out here that this message was not being directed to 'unchurched heathen folks' either. So exactly what ‘wrath’ was coming, when was it coming, and what would this ‘wrath’ even look like? Surely he was not talking about all the plagues and judgements that would be unleashed as spelled in in the Book or Revelation during the ‘great tribulation’, was he? In hindsight, John uttered those words some 2000 years ago and we are still waiting for this ‘tribulation’ event to unfold. His next statement to them was “Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance.” (8). I point this out here because this past week, we’ve been looking at what ‘repentance’ looks like when it comes to ‘turning away from our wicked ways’. (2 Chron. 7:14). And there...

  Regarding these ‘conditions’ ...we read about in 2 Chron. 7:14... where God’s people need to ‘turn from their wicked ways’ if they expected their ‘land to be healed’...Do you think it’s possible that our idea of ‘wicked ways’ and what God calls ‘wicked ways’ might differ? The Catholic church thought they could simplify it and break them up into two categories, ‘venial’ and ‘mortal’ sins. One group for sure would keep you out of heaven and send you to hell while the others were to be expected ,though not encouraged, and at worst could make life a bit more challenging for you. All I know to do is point you back to what the Bible says...and how you receive and process these verses is between you and God. I just want to make sure you know they are there. Paul writes: “These things should not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints...” (Eph 5:3). In other words...’saints’ (followers of Jesus-John 10:27) don’t do or live like this. Shall we proceed and see what some of tho...

  Imagine being invited to a wedding that you cannot wait to attend, and in the days leading up to the ‘Big Event’, you find yourself talking about it more and more amongst your other friends who plan on attending as well. But for some curious reason, nobody has yet to go shop for new clothes, schedule hair appointments, dust off those shoes, or anything else that one might normally do when planning to dress up for such a special occasion. I mean let’s be real here...normal people just don’t come in from working outside and plan on attending a wedding without a bit of ‘cleaning up’...do they? Now take in to consideration ...we are talking about the bride herself...who seems to have forgotten to get ready. Talk about confusing irony! If we personally knew the bride-to-be and lived close to her and we saw she did not seem to be overly concerned with ‘making herself ready’, we might start second guessing ourselves as to whether we had the correct date written down in our calendars. ...

  It’s one of those very telling passages in the Bible that is easy to just ‘read over’ and miss what it’s saying. We probably are guilty of doing that more than we care to admit. Take a look at Romans 10:1-3 where Paul writes expressing his heart’s desire for his fellow Jewish brothers to basically ‘come to the light’ as he did in recognizing Jesus as the Messiah, so that they too, might be ‘saved’. Paul acknowledges they have a ‘zeal for God’ (2) and knows how sincere many of them are; yet as we like to say...one can be ‘sincere...yet sincerely wrong’. But it’s verse 3 we need to underline and examine closely. - “For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.” For starters, they  seemed to be unaware, as in had no idea, (which is what it means to be ‘ignorant’), when it comes to understanding God’s ‘righteousness’. Think of it this way- if you are building something out back,...

  I came across a podcast on YouTube last week that was a Bible study of sorts, titled: “Can a Christian ‘lose’ their Salvation?” And honestly...the question itself confused me. Having been raised in a church where not much thought or attention was given as to ‘who goes to heaven or not’, I just grew up assuming we ‘all went’ as long as we tried to live ‘good’ lives. I certainly was not brought up in the camp where this idea of ‘once saved, always saved’ was drilled into my belief process though; i.e. – once you pray and ‘accept Christ’, nothing can ever change the fact that after you die, you will for sure go to heaven. But this idea of ‘losing one’s salvation’ seems to suggest that salvation is a golden ticket, of sorts, a ‘guarantee’ that ensures your entrance through the ‘pearly gates’. I suppose that is why opponents of that teaching often point out to those who believe this, that there are many who think they got their ‘ticket punched’ when they prayed a prayer or got bapt...

  I’m not sure if it has dawned on you, but the majority of what is written down in our Bibles, from Genesis to Revelation, is not a message to or for the ‘world’ at large; it is actually directed towards God’s people. Yes, we see extensive history recorded that enlightens us to the condition of the world at large, and how it ended up in the condition it did (not to mention how it was created to begin with). We read how this ‘whole world’ is under the influence of the ‘wicked one’ in 1 John 5:19 and how this ‘serpent of old, the devil...deceives the whole world’. (Rev. 12:9). And we even learn why God brought judgement on the whole world back in the days of Noah. (Gen. 6:5-8) Another noteworthy morsel of thought regarding this Book is found in Matt. 13 where Jesus was teaching to the multitudes, using parables to illustrate the message of the kingdom. But it was only when He was alone with His disciples...that He explained ...(or ‘revealed’) what those stories even meant. He ref...

  We are picking up where we left off yesterday in examining an often quoted verse found in 2 Chron. 7:14 where God promised to ‘heal the land’ of ‘His people’...if certain conditions were met. This promise of healing begins with ‘IF...My people’. Today, we are looking at just who exactly ...God’s ‘people’ are. And let me establish up front here, that God truly did/does...’so love the world’, (John 3:16), He desires for ‘all men to be saved’ (1 Tim. 2:4) and He is not willing that ‘any perish, but that all come to repentance’. (2 Pet. 3:9; Acts 17:30). Failure to do so comes with a very sobering warning – Luke 13:3,5; Acts 3:22-23. I cannot stress enough the fact this is indeed a warning, and not a ‘threat’. When rescue workers climbed the towers on that fateful day back on 9/11, they found people huddled up in smokey rooms and came to rescue them from impending death and destruction. Instructing them to ‘follow them out or else’ was a loving and caring warning filled with hop...

  I don’t know who needs to hear this, but God is not...an ‘American’; nor a Republican or a Democrat, for that matter. And I can assure you with 99.99% confidence that a U.S. flag is not flying on a pole outside the gates of heaven. I know this because God is ‘no respecter of persons’, nor does He show partiality (Acts 10:34). Jesus came proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, later reminding us that His kingdom is ‘not of this world’ (John 18:36). Paul said ‘our citizenship is in heaven’ (Phil. 3:20) And Peter advises us as to how we should live and ‘conduct ourselves throughout the ‘time of your stay here’ ... in fear ...’begging us as sojourners and pilgrims’, we are simply people...who are just ‘passing through’. (1 Pet. 1:17; 2:11) You know we often hear, or like to share, that familiar passage found in 2 Chron. 7:14 – “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, a...

  We are either going to ‘overcome by the blood of the Lamb, by the word of our testimony, and by not loving our lives to death’...or we will be overcome. (Rev. 12:11) Seven times, in Rev. 2-3, we read where those letters to the seven churches end with the same reminder...all these promises are given to those...who ‘overcome’. Jesus said in Matt. 24:13...those who ‘endure till the end...will be saved”. Today, I want to focus on three passages found in the NT – Matt.12:43-45, John 12:35-36 and 1 John 1:5-7. We have been studying about ‘unclean/demonic spirits’, which the Bible has much to say about. Jesus shared an interesting lesson there in Matt. 12 about what happens...when an ‘unclean spirit goes out of a man’. (43). It’s safe to say that if that spirit went ‘out’ of the man...then it must have been ‘in’...the man, yes? Take a quick look at Eph. 2:2 and see where exactly this unclean spirit resided or operated from, if you would please. Do you realize why so many countless pe...

  I read years ago where one of the many gruesome methods in which persecuted Christians were forced to endure... was being made to watch their children ‘dressed up’ with lamb skins and then be paraded out into a coliseum where they were soon devoured by wild beasts....much to the delight of those cheering on in attendance. How factual this was...I can neither confirm or deny. But friends...is it possible that many ‘churches’ have done this very thing with their young converts and members who have joined their group and then sat under the many false or distorted teachings that exists today? Jesus accused the Pharisees of making new converts a ‘two-fold child of hell’ by similar practices. (Matt. 23:15). The way we do this today is teach a watered down gospel that offers up a false security without fully educating those who have ‘made a decision for Christ’ as to what that decision fully entails...by not declaring the ‘whole counsel of God’, as Paul did (Acts 20:27). Those who prom...

  If you had told me on this day when I turned 20 back in 1980 that I would start the morning of my 65th birthday writing and sharing with others what I had come to learn about ‘demon spirits’, I would have probably looked at you like a young calf stares at a new gate; but here we are. :- ) I waded back into this topic several days ago after promising I would address why dealing with our ‘carnal nature’ was so critically important. And when I say ‘deal with’, I mean dealing with it the way the Bible teaches and the need to ‘put it to death’. (Rom. 6:6-7; 8:13; Col. 3:5-9). That is, after all, what those who belong to Christ have done (past tense- Gal. 5:24) Again, we were not advised to ‘dial it down, put it on a leash, or in a cage’ either. It. Must. Die. For the record, when we refer to or speak of ‘the flesh’, we are talking about that carnal nature (the old man) many, if not all of us seem to manifest early on in life that is rooted in selfishness, pride, and rebellion. The...

  I have no hesitations talking about the existence of ‘demon spirits’ or ‘spiritual wickedness in the heavenlies’ (Eph. 6:12) with anyone who cares to listen, read, or discuss. That is because on the very day I took that first step and asked Christ into my life 45 years ago, the very first lesson God wanted to teach me... was just how real these spiritual forces of darkness were, and that I better sit up and take notice. I so wish...I had not ‘grown at ease in Zion’ along the way, falling ‘asleep’ to this reality along with ignoring the ‘schemes’ this enemy uses. (Amos 6:1; 2 Cor. 2:11) It was a night, and a lesson I would never forget though. You can read about it on my Blog post platform archive dated 2.17.24. After weeks of talking to Glen, the gentleman at work who led me to Jesus, I was full of questions, and my heart was hungering to hear more. What fueled this ‘hunger’ in me was all my questions were being answered directly from the Bible, and I wanted to hear more. E...