Sheep Food

  Ok...I need you to hear me out on this one today as I anticipate it will be challenging to receive; so at least be willing to look up the verses and ask God to confirm if what I am sharing here is truth... or not (Acts 17:11;Mark 16:20)...and let me begin with what many might take exception to with a statement I have made in times past: Too many churches today spend more time ‘enabling’ people who sin instead of teaching them what true repentance is and then instructing them how to walk in the freedom that Christ purchased for us (Rom. 6:17-22,1-4). I mean we go out of our way to coddle, comfort, pacify, and yes...even ‘make excuses’ as to why 'believers' continue to sin. We ‘lovingly’ remind them that ‘nobody is perfect’ and we are just ‘saints who sin because we are sinners saved by grace’, capping it off with ‘Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven’. There’s just one small problem with that- it’s not biblical! (1 Cor. 5:9-13) Jesus calls us to ‘abide in Him’ if we ever ...

  It’s critically important that I provide much scripture here for you to look up and read for yourself in these daily postings of mine. To not read them is only short-changing yourself because it is God’s word that brings cleansing and transformation into our lives; not my words (Eph. 5:26; 1 Thess. 2:13). But there are times that I do bring up personal experiences and testimonies that compliment or go along with confirming what God’s word has declared. There is nothing wrong with sharing one’s personal testimony as we see where Paul oftentimes began his preaching of the gospel by first sharing what had happened to him on that road to Damascus. But personal experiences are just that- personal. Nothing can take the place of God’s word. And I only bring that up because much of what I shared yesterday is so very real to me as I can remember quite clearly how my walk with Jesus began early on. I’ve shared snippets of that in the past and will touch on just a couple of things here t...

  Why would we not... seek the guidance of the One who created us ...and inquire what His plans and purposes were for our lives? I mean...He ‘knew you before He formed you in the womb’ (Jer. 1:5) so it makes sense to believe that He actually had a purpose for bringing you into this world (Jer. 29:11-14). Wanting to know what God’s will is for your life is a pretty reasonable question to ponder and ask. And here’s some great news: He wants to make His will known to each and every one of us. But here’s the great irony- Knowing God’s will was never the issue with His people throughout their history; it was ‘doing it’ that tripped them up constantly. Even early on- Gen. 2:17. Take for example how the Israelites ended up in captivity as slaves to Egypt. God heard their groanings and was moved to raise up Moses and sent him to deliverer His people. This is what the whole book of Exodus relays to us. Most should know by now, the story how they were set free in dramatic fashion by the ...

  This idea of being ‘led by God’s Spirit’, which is what God’s children do (Rom. 8:14) strongly implies we are ‘following’. As we discussed yesterday, quoting Psalm 23 might provide some comfort during times of distress and darkness, but true ‘soul restoration’ takes place when we ‘follow the good Shepherd’, to which Jesus told us He was- (John 10:14). And it is in the ‘paths of righteousness’ that He is going to lead us in; as in...going and ‘sinning no more’. IF...we are abiding in Him...we are going to ‘walk as He walked’ (1 John 2:6) and ‘no longer practice sin’ (1 John 3:6,9; 5:18; 1 Pet. 4:1-2) So what does it mean to return to our ‘first love’ and ‘doing those first works’ as we have been talking about based on the passage in Rev. 2:4-5? It is good to make note that there can be no renewal where there is no repentance. Repentance will always precede God restoring and renewing us, and that my friends, comes from being in His presence. (Acts 3:19; 2 Chron. 7:14; James 4:7-1...

  After it was brought to the attention to the church at Ephesus, by Jesus...that they had drifted, or ‘fallen away from their first love’ (Rev. 2:4)...He admonished them to ‘repent and do what they did at the beginning when they first came to Him’ (5). Do you know how this ‘drifting’ usually begins? Hebrews 2:1 tells us that it’s a result of not ‘giving the more earnest heed to the things we have heard’. You see, it’s not enough to just ‘hear the word’ (or memorize or quote or read it); we are expected to...do it. James makes the case that if we are just ‘hearers of the word but not doers...we deceive ourselves’ (James 1:22) (Did you know that deceived people don't know they are deceived?) Why do you think so many sincere people sitting in churches today sense that something is ‘missing’ or ‘off’...in their lives and perhaps in their churches as well, yet are unable to put their finger on the answer? They know...there should be 'something more', yet they continue to str...

  Let’s begin today with a very simple question that is designed more for you to reflect upon and examine than it is to blurt out the first thing that pops in our head.  And the question is.... How do you know if you are being led by God’s Spirit? I mean...How. Do. You. Really. Know? It’s an important question to address, for sure, and I cannot underscore enough how important it is. This is a good thing to reflect upon, especially since we are admonished to “examine ourselves as to whether we are even ‘in the faith’...and to ‘test ourselves’ so we might ‘know that Jesus Christ is in us’!” (2 Cor. 13:5) I don’t know who needs to hear this, but if you are beginning to feel a bit miffed or offended for being challenged by such a question, then I can I just tell you now that despite whatever ‘spiritual resumé’ you might have (Matt. 7:22; 1 Cor. 13:1-3), you may be in greater peril than you could ever imagine (1 Cor. 10:12) I only say that because when John wrote his first epistle,...

  For a ‘believer’ (follower of Jesus) to be deficient in having both genuine peace of mind, along with lacking an abundance of joy...is a likely indicator that one is not truly walking where they need to be, as in ‘abiding’ in Jesus. And it is quite possible that whoever just read that will either be offended and take exception to it, or on the other hand- be greatly encouraged to know that this walk with Jesus is supposed to be much better than what you are experiencing. And if you are in that latter category, you will be happy to know that it’s only a matter of making a ‘slight course adjustment’ that can remedy this deficiency. When the church at Ephesus received ‘their letter’ (Eph. 2:1) they were commended for doing a few things well in the past, but it was then pointed out by the Lord Himself that a serious problem had arisen among them and it boiled down to it being a ‘heart issue’; they had ‘forsaken their first love’ (4). It sounds from reading there that action was bein...

  “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full...”  (John 15:11) In His presence, there is fullness of joy (Acts 2:28; Ps. 16:11). “Perfect peace have they whose mind is stayed on Him...” (Isa. 26:3; Phil. 4:6-7) Is it not amazing that the two things that so many people today would admit to be suffering a lack in....happiness and peace of mind...is promised in abundance to those who would consider abiding in Jesus. Perfect peace and fullness of joy is found in Him; which leads me to think that we probably have to not only first come to Him... to be recipients of such promises, but we must  continue on with Him if we truly yearn for what so many in this world are desperately seeking and crying out for. Sadly, there are many in our churches today who are not fairing any better than those ‘sinner folks’ who don’t come to church when it comes to lacking in those two areas. And how many of you know, from personal experience...

  So what happened to Peter that transformed his life in such a radical way that led to God using him so powerfully back in the early days of the church’s inception? I would submit to you that Peter had ’reached the end of himself, and found the beginning of God’. And it began with him standing face to face with Jesus who asked him three times in a row: “Do you love me, Peter?” (John 21:15-17) Not many days after this exchange, Peter was filled with...and empowered by the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 1:8; 2:4)...and his life was never the same. No longer do we read about impetuous Peter jumping out of boats or cutting off ears or trying to rebuke Jesus, not to mention falling away and denying Him before strangers. I’ve never understood why so many sincere believers today always want to point to the past failures of notable Bible characters to somehow justify their own ongoing sins and imperfections.. I know...we like to toss around man-made quotes about how “God uses...

  There is a familiar definition used for the word ‘insanity’ which explains it as ‘doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results’. I hate to point this out here today, at the risk of sounding pompous and haughty...but friends...our churches are full of a lot of ‘insane believers’. Yep...I said what needs to be said because the sooner we come to grips with this truth, the sooner many of us can be restored and brought back to our ‘right minds’...after...God does some cleansing and deliverance in His church (Mark 5:15). Let us never forget that it was God’s people who were always in ‘captivity’ and in need of being ‘set free’. (Jer. 13:17; Isa. 5:13; Luke 4:18; John 8:32-36; 2 Tim. 2:25-26) A lack of knowledge is not a good thing-(Hosea 4:6). Our efforts...in ‘trying harder to do better’ in our walk of faith with Jesus...is what many continue to fail at; and it’s because we keep trying in our own strength to please God. It has nothing to do with our effo...

  Peter...Peter...Peter... Bless his heart...how many of us can relate to this impetuous character we grow fond of as we come to know him through our reading in the gospels. “Peter was one of us”, as many might suggest. There are so many things about him that we can relate to and appreciate; and my goodness even his flaws and failures along the way ought to be a source of encouragement for us all as we see how God’s love, grace, and mercy continued to work and transform this fisherman with all his ‘rough edges’. There are books and movies and TV shows that have been written about him where much liberty has been taken to add to and bring life to this character who is not fictional. I have no intentions of doing that with him here today because all I have to go on is what I read in scripture. And from what we do know of him, it’s safe to say that when he had his first encounter with Jesus, Peter was not looking for some kind of ministry to pursue, let alone looking for a ‘good chur...

  We know very little about this man who had been afflicted with an ‘infirmity for 38 years’ whom we read about in John’s gospel, chapter 5. We don’t know how he ended up in this condition, nor is any info provided as to how he tended to his basic life needs, given he was incapable of moving very fast, if at all (7). What we are told in this story was that in Jerusalem, by the Sheep Gate, there was a pool of water that existed and that from time to time, an ‘angel went down and stirred up the water; and whoever stepped in the water first...would be made well of whatever disease they had”(4). This would explain the crowd of folks who gathered around it constantly and were “sick, blind, lame, or paralyzed...waiting for the moving of the water”(3). I can’t help but wonder to myself...how many sincere people today...attend church regularly, and sit on church pews week after week...’waiting for some moving of the Spirit’...with the desperate hopes that they too...might be delivered fro...

  We started yesterday to examine four questions asked by God that might better help us understand and appreciate what those ‘first works’ are that Jesus advised a church to do that had ‘lost their first love’ (Rev. 2:4) So if you missed the past two days, may I encourage you to catch up before reading on here today. Now before we continue on with the other ‘two questions’ that we have on record where God asked some folks, (and I believe He’s still asking us today)... I feel a need to address an important point from yesterday’s message. It has to do with this ‘walk of peace’ that we’ve been called to walk in. It really is ‘a thing’ and not just some good, flowery, religious words that we like to acknowledge or sing about from time to time. His ‘peace’ was meant to abide in us and be our ‘guide’ (Phil. 4:7; John 14:27); and when we stray from that ‘path of peace’ (Luke 1:79)...we will ‘lose that peace’ which is God’s way of letting us know we are ‘drifting out of our lane’ and/or ...

  Several years ago I was making a return trip back from Colorado in our motor home. I was taking a different route that included many miles southward in eastern Colorado, down a lengthy stretch of a two-lane highway, and was just sailing smoothly along when I crossed the state line into the panhandle of Oklahoma. I don’t mean to disrespect that state, but I’m telling you my RV rattled and shook the entire time, letting me know where every loose dish or unfastened door was...until I crossed over into Texas. The change was dramatic... as a peaceful calm resumed in my drive as I made my way home. I share that to illustrate what happens to us when we begin our walk with the Lord, and then we ‘sin’. You will know it immediately. “How”, you ask? That’s an easy one: you lose your peace. That’s how God lets you know when you veered ‘out of His lane’. And the best piece of advice I can share with you here is you would do well to ‘get back in your lane’ as quickly as possible; which is...

  Can we be honest and ‘get real’ here for a few moments today? I’m writing to those of you who at some earlier ‘season’ in your life...you had a moment, an experience with, or better yet...you had an ‘encounter’ with the living God, your creator...who made the heavens and the earth (Acts 17:24). It may have been at a church altar on any given Sunday, or perhaps at a youth retreat you attended years ago. It might have happened when you as an adult...were at a really low place in your life and the darkness and despair had set in all around you. You were compelled to strip away all the masks and facades... as you just bore your shredded heart to God and called out to Him from the depths of your pain and misery... and He heard you. You had arrived at a place of no longer wanting to negotiate and ‘make deals’ with God; on the contrary...you were in a place to simply ‘surrender all’ to Him, as we like to sing at times in our worship services. And while you cried those ugly tears, you j...