Sheep Food

  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...

  Yes, I realize how easy it is to want to dismiss, scoff, laugh and even roll one’s eyes the moment we try to have a serious conversation about ‘demon spirits’. I totally respect your right to not believe in their existence or write it off as nothing but antiquated superstition tied in with religious 'fables'. But I do have one question to ask if you are in that ‘camp’- How can you be so certain... they don’t exist, let alone mingle, influence and interfere with the affairs of humanity here in this life? Jesus took it a step further and said, referring to devil/demons as a ‘thief’, and that they come to ‘steal, kill, and destroy’. (John 10:10). In other words, according to Jesus and plenty of scripture to back up, they bring much affliction and suffering on people, which is probably why God ‘anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and with power’ so that He could go about ‘healing all who were oppressed by the devil’. (Acts 10:38) And what did Jesus do for His disciples, accord...

  Pssst- hey...can we talk about ‘them’, again? Yes...I’m talking about those ‘demon/unclean spirits’ that can make some folks quite uncomfortable (or amused) to discuss in our enlightened and ‘educated’ world we live in today. I mean really, that is so ‘mid-evil times’, is it not? People back in the 12th century saw demons and devils being all the source of evil and bad things. Clearly they were ignorant and just needed to be educated, right? Believe what you want...but I’m picking up where I left off yesterday and want to spell out as clearly as I can, why dealing with this carnal, flesh nature once and for all...is not some ‘holy option for super-saints’. Not only does your life depend on it, but the eternal well-being of your soul is at stake, and I don’t say that lightly at all. We’ll probably take several days here to review many verses that lay there in the pages of your beloved Bible. You might want to grab a pen and paper as well. Last week, I pointed out how there ...

  It really is not hard at all to take God’s word and manipulate, dilute or water it down, and then try to make it say something else. In fact, it’s pretty common place today which might explain why so many ‘Christian’ denominations exist. And truth be told, this is not some ‘new thing’. Satan has been doing this ever since God first told Adam about staying away from that ‘one tree’...and if he ate of it, he would ‘surely die’. (Gen. 2:17). In came the serpent and showed us how to do it, how to take God’s word and turn it around to say just the opposite. You can read for yourself there in Gen. 3:1-6. Paul even refers to that event in 2 Cor. 11:2-4, warning the same thing could happen to us. Then it is recorded there in his second letter to Timothy, for all the world to see, that a day would come when people would ‘no longer endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires...wanting their ears tickled...would gather up for themselves teachers (who would tell them what t...

  One has to do some pretty fancy ‘tap-dancing’ to get around the profound truth laid out in Galatians 5:24. – “And those who belong to Christ Jesus (the Messiah) have crucified the flesh (the godless human nature) with its passions and appetites and desires”. (AMPC) I can remember so clearly...coming across that passage in a seminar I was attending back in 1985 and that verse just hit me hard right between the eyes/heart. Friends...God has been trying to get my full, undivided attention for a long time now. I was sitting near the front and when those words rolled off the page as the speaker read it aloud...I was afraid to look up, or at anyone else around me for that matter. Despite all my busy ‘activity of sincere service’ in my church life over the previous 5 years since ‘coming to Christ’...I knew...that I knew...that I knew...my ‘flesh nature’ was NOT dead, but very much an ongoing ‘battle’ I had to contend with. And yet...there it was clearly spelled out....”those who belon...

  It would seem that there is no shortage of sincere ‘believers’ today who can become easily distracted with trying to ‘help God out’ when it comes to building His kingdom. (Matt. 7:22; 1 Cor. 13:1-3). It’s an easy path to find yourself on with no shortage of company. (Matt. 7:13-14). Most everyone claims their heart’s intent is to ‘glorify God’...and yet, we seem to forget what Jesus taught truly glorifies the Father- Fruit does, and much of it –  “By this...My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.” (John 15:8). And guess what? If we are not truly abiding in Him...there ain’t gonna be no fruit produced. (4-5) I hate to bring this up again, but we cannot hear it enough: IF...we are truly abiding in Him, we will be ‘walking as He walked’ and we will not continue to sin’. (1 John 2:6; 3:6-9; 5:18) Have I mentioned lately how important fruit is? (Matt. 3:10; 7:17-20). I realize that we often like to seek out ‘shortcuts’ and ‘easier ways’ to ...

  I have legitimate concerns today that so many of us failed to get the memo on how serious God was when He made it known that ‘coming to Him’ involved coming to Him with ‘ALL our hearts’. I cannot stress the fact that this ‘faith walk’ really can’t even begin...until we lay it all down at His feet. Did you catch my post about the rich, young ruler a few days ago (Monday)? And if/when we do come to this point of surrender, only then...can God begin... to do a work of making us a ‘new creation’...where ‘old things are passed away and behold, all things become new’. (2 Cor. 5:17) IF there is any confusion as to what that ‘new work’ looks like, you can refer to Rom. 8:29, 1 John 2:6; 3:2-3 along with Eph. 5:27 & 2 Cor. 7:1. I mentioned yesterday how God is not going to compromise ‘quality’ for ‘quantity’. There’s an interesting story found in Luke’s gospel where ten lepers had an ‘encounter with Jesus’, actually being blessed with a physical healing from their ailment (Luke ...

  May I state the obvious here and say that there is quite the difference between ‘putting something down’, like a rabid, aggressive and uncontrollable wild dog perhaps, as opposed to ‘keeping it locked up in a cage or kept on a leash’? And when I use the term ‘put it down’, I trust you understand I’m talking about ‘putting it to death’ so it no longer poses a threat or danger to anyone. You have to ask yourself...how many sincere ‘believers’ today, continue to suffer needlessly (yesterday’s message) because they have failed to follow through in ‘putting that rabid dog to death’, once and for all? And of course I am referring to that ‘old man’ or ‘carnal nature’ that most will admit sheepishly...’gets the best of us at times’. Paul was not ‘suggesting’...that we ‘put to death your earthly body [with its sensual, self-centered instincts]’ (Col. 3:5- Amp.)...it was a command. And I would go as far as to submit to you that this was to be done on the ‘front end’ of our walk of faith...

  You don’t need me to point out the fact...there is an abundance of ‘suffering’ that takes place in this world today. When the question often arises as to ‘why so much suffering’, we usually see the shrugged shoulders raised followed by the anemic response of: “well...we do live in a fallen world”. Even in the church world, in those small spiritual communities we adjoin ourselves to or have been raised in, there is no shortage of suffering amongst the believers there, as well. Suffering, I might add, that takes on many forms, and comes in all different shapes and sizes in the manner in which it affects (or afflicts) people. But is it possible that much of the suffering that we see and/or experience could be filed under the heading of ‘needless’ suffering? I’m sure we all have experienced that for ourselves, and witnessed as countless others....endure ‘suffering’ that could have been avoided; am I right? I mean, after all, even God said His own people were ‘destroyed for a lack...

  I would like to offer up, a possible explanation as to why there can be so much confusion, division, and yes...even deception that exists in so much of the ‘church world’ today ... despite everyone preaching/teaching out of the same ‘Book’. I have heard and read for years that there are over 400 ‘Christian’ denominations that exists around the world today. It seems everyone is building their own tower telling us how to get to heaven, yet everyone is speaking a different language. Genesis 11 reveals a similar effort that took place among men who were building a tower to heaven themselves. It was called ‘Babel’. Interesting side-note here, but that word (Babel) in Genesis 11:9 literally means: ‘confusion by mixing- (Strong's concordance)'. It is also where we get the word ‘babble’, that you are familiar with where one definition is: talk rapidly and continuously in a foolish, excited, or incomprehensible way; "they babbled on about their vacation"; or -the sound of...

  In modern-day ‘church lingo’, we might relay what could have happened in our Sunday service this way: “We had a visitor today at church. There was quite the buzz of whispers spreading amongst many of the church members because nearly everyone knew who this ‘celebrity’ was. I mean, just the car he pulled up in alone, should have told you something if you were not clueless. You can only imagine the added pressure our pastor must have felt as his imagination had to have kicked into high-gear when he saw the guest take a seat on the back pew. Why was this ‘influential’ person visiting our church, of all places today.” “I sure hope the choir does a good job...and Lord please don’t let ‘so-and-so’ sing a ‘special’ today...we really need to let ‘you-know-who’ sing; that will really impress our special visitor! I wonder if Pastor is changing up his prepared message for another one that will touch the heart of our guest. Lord...please minister to this young man. What an asset he would...

  A few months ago, I shared a post regarding a ‘journey’ I began t his past summer that involved working out regularly in a gym, even using a trainer a couple of times a week. It was unlike anything I have ever embarked on before. Seven months later, I’m still at it, hitting the weights and exercising 5 days a week. I’m down 22 pounds and those ‘other numbers’ the trainer looks at are all headed in a healthy direction. The bottom line: I’m not so winded after playing with those twin grandsons of mine anymore which was what motivated me to start working out to begin with. I only bring this up again because there have been some good ‘spiritual lessons’ that have come with this change of lifestyle. I have to admit while I’m aware that many athletes talk about experiencing a healthy dose of endorphins being released when they work out, I have asked Jordan, my trainer, more than once...when will I begin to experience those? ;-) But the ‘lesson’ I want to share with you today that ha...

  Apparently, Jesus placed some pretty ‘unrealistic expectations’ on those who heard Him preach, as some today would suggest. I mean...after all, do we not hear Him tell others to ‘go and sin more’? (John 5:14; 8:11) I will be the first one to admit that reading through much of that Sermon on the Mount, found in Matt. 5-7, there are some tough things to digest there, especially that portion found in 5:21-48, where He caps it off by saying: “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” (48) I read the other day where someone was sharing how they had recently accomplished something they were proud of, while adding the reminder they were ‘not perfect’. Now I totally understand the spirit in which that statement was made, but it was a comment made by someone else in response that caught my attention. It was something to the effect that anyone who ‘expects perfection has unrealistic expectations’ and ‘all we can do is try’. And again, I understand the t...

  So we love to remind people that it’s ‘by grace we are saved, through faith...it’s the gift of God...not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Eph. 2:8-9) Here’s a question I would like for you to ponder: When did obeying God become a ‘work’? Jesus asked: “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord’...and not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46) I could be wrong, but I don’t think responding to that question with “I didn’t feel like it” or “I’m a flawed, imperfect human who sins”...is the answer He is looking for. We read in Hebrews 5:9 that Christ became the source of eternal salvation to all those who ...obey Him.” “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but those who DO... the will of My Father in heaven.” – Jesus (Matt. 7:21) And yet, it seems the popular theology which many have ascribed to would suggest at the end of the day... none of that really matters...because it is by ‘grace and faith alone’...that we are ...‘saved’. And therein lies a ...

  Can I just tell you that these past (almost) five years, I have nearly worn out this Bible of mine! The pages are worn and dog-eared, while markings and notes and highlighting’s abound; and yet...I continue to see verses jump off the pages that capture my attention as if I had never seen that verse before in my life. The most recent one...is found in Titus 2:11-14. Would you take a moment and turn there and read it through real quick, please. We started looking at what ‘grace’ is (and isn’t) ... and ‘how it works’, in yesterday’s message. I made the point that grace was NOT...some canopy to cover your sins, hiding them from God’s sight, nor is it some ‘get out of jail for free -card’. So let’s examine what Paul wrote to Titus there... “The grace of God...that brings salvation has appeared to all men...” (11). Don’t ask me to explain how that happens, but it would seem to me that we are all without excuse if it has been made known to ‘all men’. And let’s not forget what ‘sal...

  “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Eph. 2:8-9) What 'believer is not familiar with that passage? And yet if asked just ‘how are we saved by grace’ ...are we even able to explain it? Sadly...too many sincere people have been conditioned to ‘hang the hat of their salvation’ on that one verse and think all is well with their soul. These same people can be quick to point out how we are “not under the law, but under grace.” (Rom. 6:14). But then they fail to make the connection with what Paul would write in Galatians 5:18...”those who are led by the Spirit...are not under the law.” “Led by the Spirit?” So is that really...’a thing’? Well, yes it is because that is who the true children of God are if Romans 8:14 counts for anything. I would venture to guess that many new converts have been taught that being ‘led by the Spirit’ means that He will 'lead' you to attend church re...