Sheep Food

  “....and those who were ready... went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.” (Matt. 25:10) We’re reviewing the parable of the ‘Ten Virgins’ where we are told by Jesus at the start that five of the virgins were ‘wise’ and five were ‘foolish. And only the wise ones...’who were ready’ ...were the ones who ‘went in with the bridegroom to the wedding and the door was shut’. The other five were not included ...and later found themselves knocking and pleading at the door, to no avail. Why do you suppose Jesus shared this parable with us, what message was He wanting us to see and glean from this, and even most importantly- what does it mean to be ‘ready’? We know that Jesus is coming back for a ‘bride’, a picture of His ‘church’ and that it will be found to be ‘spotless, pure, blameless, holy...and without stain or wrinkle’ (Eph. 5:26-27). So the mention of ‘virgins’ here is a picture or type of the church. And do you know what all ten of these virgins had in their posse...

  I have a hunch that I know what the ‘elephant in the room’ is when it comes to all this talk and study about the compelling need to ‘follow and obey’ Jesus in order to be ‘sanctified’, a big word which means to be made pure, holy, and set apart for God. And that ‘elephant’ centers around whether one’s ‘salvation depends on how sanctified one gets’. Allow me to explain: If too much emphasis is placed on ‘believers’ surrendering their ‘whole heart’ to Jesus and submitting to the leading of His Holy Spirit in order that we can be ‘made pure’ or made ‘ready’, as we talked about yesterday, then it sounds like we are implying that our salvation no longer depends on trusting in the ‘finished work of Christ on the cross’. Others will hear it as we are advocating you’re not ‘saved’ until one is ‘perfected’. This is why I continue to make the case that our focus really needs to be on whether one is truly ‘abiding’ in Christ as opposed to constantly worrying and debating whether a person...

  What if…God really means what He says? Just to be clear - I’m referring to what He has made known to us in His word. And to the best of my knowledge, nowhere in our Bible are we told in no uncertain terms that we simply need to ‘ask Jesus into our lives, join a local church and start going there on a weekly basis as we do our best to read His word regularly, give up the big sins in our lives and try hard to work on committing those smaller sins less and less…and then when we die we go to heaven and live happily ever after’. But you can see why many people believe that… given the message we hear preached so often today. I will concede that one could extract a few verses from the scriptures and build a doctrine that supports such a ‘statement of faith’, but doing so at the expense of laying aside so many other things we read in the ‘good Book’ is a bit presumptuous, not to mention quite foolish and even dangerous. Allow me to explain by once again…repeating the original question o...

  Imagine being a POW (prisoner-of-war) who is held captive in some cage, deep in the jungles of enemy territory… with little hope of ever being rescued and making your way home again. Then one day, just like in all those ‘Rambo’ or Chuck Norris movies, your ‘bigger than life’ super-hero liberator arrives on the scene and breaks you out of that prison, taking out slews of enemy soldiers who were assigned to guard you. No doubt it would be a glorious day of liberation for you and your comrades. But…But…But…make no mistake about it: while you may have been ‘set free’…you are not ‘home’….yet. [long dramatic pause] You probably remember those genre of movies where Rambo led those men out of the jungle with the enemy in hot pursuit of them. There was all kinds of ‘action’ and gunfire and excitement as they made their way back to a waiting boat or small plane that would eventually get them home to the good ole USA. And oftentimes, there were a few of those liberated soldiers who did...

  “Christians can’t have demons!” Ever heard that line before? I suppose for anyone who has no interest in opening up their Bible to read what the scriptures have to say regarding this topic might find comfort in that attempt to offer assurance. (Jer. 23:16-17) But there’s a reason we are told that many people ‘who are perishing’ will be quick to ‘believe a lie’ and for this reason alone: ‘they have no love of the truth’. (2 Thess. 2:9-12) Once again, may I remind you that I am not here to ‘prove a point’ or to argue and debate theology. Fully aware that I can teach you nothing outside of what the Holy Spirit teaches and bears witness to you, I need not tire myself trying to convince you of anything. I simply submit to you in love and humility...more scripture to examine for yourself (Acts 17:11). And if you are willing to at least do that...then let me challenge you with this advice: When you come across scriptures in your Bible that seem to contradict and oppose what you may ...

  So about treating that head-lice problem we mentioned the other day.... I’m guessing that most people have the same, or a similar reaction upon discovering the news that they or one of their darling children came home from school with head lice. Shock, denial, and disbelief might be the first reactions, followed up by repulsion, dread, and shame, ...before panic sets in wanting to take care of the problem immediately. (Anyone ever been tempted to want to dunk their kid’s head into a pail of gasoline?) Once a wave of calm sanity sets in, one becomes educated on how to treat this ‘plague’ so they can resume a normal life again. I don’t know how much has changed since we were forced into facing this back in the early 90’s, but it was not cheap, nor was it some ‘one and done’ treatment deal either. I remember all the sheets and bed linens needing to be stripped from the beds and washed in hot water with a pricey detergent additive or something similar. Then, there was the special...

  Whether you are diagnosed with an infectious bacterial disease that is deadly, or just have a severe case of head lice, I think we can all agree that the sooner we are rid of unseen and unwanted germs ...or tiny pest and their nits, the better off we will be, and able to rest well at night; yes? (yesterday’s message might help better understand where I am going with that opening statement) In the same way that microscopes opened up our ‘natural eyes of understanding’ to a world of unseen and harmful microbes and the damage they can do to our bodies, so does God’s word open up the ‘eyes of our understanding’ (Eph. 1:17-18) to a spiritual world where unseen agents of darkness are out to ‘steal, kill, and destroy’. (John 10:10) And to ignore them is to do so at our own peril, given we are taught to ‘resist’ them (James 4:7; Eph. 4:27; Hosea 4:6) Why is it when someone experiences a flesh wound, or even a minor cut, the one of the first things we want to do is flush and cleanse the w...

  “It’s not a shame to contract head-lice, but it is a shame to keep them and ignore the problem.” That’s a statement we were ‘comforted’ with years ago when one of our three daughters came home from school with a note from the nurse informing us that after a head-check at school, lice were found in her hair. Can I just tell you with this being our first experience with them that we were mortified. Thankfully a dear friend in our church who had been a hairdresser for years came to our rescue to show Kathy how to ‘treat’ the problem, reassuring us with that statement about not feeling shame over the discovery. Can I also tell you that ‘ignoring’ them, or pretending they don’t exist... won’t make the lice go away? On another note of interest- it was in the 1800’s that the recognition of bacteria and microscopic germs changed the way doctors practiced medicine, and more specifically the way they performed surgeries. It was during the Civil War that they learned that the spread of i...

  Not that my personal experiences count for anything or mean much to anyone else, but I have shared in the past how the very first, impressionable lesson that God made real to me, within 12 hours after I ‘prayed to give my life over to Him’...was ‘opening my eyes’ to the reality that I lived in a ‘spiritual world’ with a ‘spiritual enemy’ who was every much an active agent out to destroy... and that I would do good to sit up and take notice. (If you care to know more, message me and I’ll send you the link to that story). In my message yesterday, I pointed out how God made us as a 3-part being. We were created as a ‘spirit’, made in His image, since God is ‘Spirit’ (John 4:24; Gen. 1:26-27). We have a ‘soul’ that basically makes up our will, mind, emotions, personality, intellect, etc. And God even created us to be ‘housed in a physical body’. (If you are not fond of the ‘house’ He gave you...you can take that up with Him at a later time ;-) ). Hence, Paul’s prayer that we be ‘san...

  If you’re not careful...you’ll miss it; it’s easy to do, especially if you find yourself on a mission to get through that last chapter so that you can ‘check off another book read’ in your Bible. There is a tendency for many of us at times to assume that the ‘more we read through in our Bibles (chapters and verses)...the better off we will be. (Whatever that means). It can prove to be challenging in our busy world and lives these days to carve out the time to spend feeding on God’s word, which to this date is the only way we can grow... and be ‘cleansed’ (1 Peter 2:2; Eph. 5:26-27). It is God’s word, and nothing else that supernaturally ‘works IN us...who believe’ (1 Thess. 2:13). Listening to or singing along with Christian praise music is nice, but it is no substitute for feeding on God’s word. Nor is taking in one devotional or Christian-themed book after another. It is God’s word alone that provides freedom and nourishment to us, given the fact His word is ‘truth’ (John 8:...

  Good morning and Happy Resurrection Sunday. The tomb is still empty and He is still alive; and here’s the really good news: Jesus is still offering life to all who are willing to come to Him. (John 5:40; 10:10) (I did not think I would be sharing an ‘Easter-themed’ message today for a couple of reasons, but the Holy Spirit had other plans.) Because Jesus came out of His tomb 2000 years ago...after being dead for several days, anyone can come out of their tombs as well If...they hear His voice and respond, just like Lazarus did (John 11:43-44; 5:28) I have a hunch it would prove to be challenging to silence anyone who was brought back to life after being ‘dead’, which might explain why I have continued to share daily here...after what God did in my own life just over five years ago. In other words, every day is ‘Resurrection Sunday’ for me as I continue to abide in Him. As Paul wrote: “In Him we live and move and have our being...” (Acts 17:28). Outside of Him...there is no li...

  “For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish.” (Ps.1:6) When you dive in to that verse reading other translations, the word ‘knows’ conveys a meaning of ‘guarding’ or ‘protecting’...the ‘righteous’. Would you now take a moment and go read 2 Thess. 3:3 and 1 John 5:18 please? You might also notice how the line is drawn there which separates folks into two distinct groups: the ‘righteous’ and the ‘ungodly’. And what is the outcome of those whom God refers to as ‘ungodly’? That word ‘perish’ should sound familiar to you...if you read yesterday’s message. It’s a chilling word when you realize its meaning is ‘to destroy fully’. And friends...it’s not God who is doing the destroying (John 10:10). Would you let that sink in for a moment. One other thing I should make mention of here when it comes to identifying who the ‘righteous’ are: Just because a person says they ‘believe in Jesus’...does not make them ‘righteous’. (1 John 2:29; 3:7-8; ...

  I’m not sure why we do this all the time, but we certainly are prone to wanting to ‘simplify’ things, be it ideas, storylines, and yes...even the gospel. This tendency goes back to a pet-peeve of mine where we have been conditioned to absorb, express, and summarize important information using sounds bites, memes, and catchy phrases. “Just give me the cliff notes”, as the saying goes, or ‘in a nutshell’...or the ‘Reader Digest Version, please”. We seem to have very short attention spans these days along with a lack of patience to ‘study to show ourselves approved’ (2 Tim. 2:15). Take John 3:16 , for example: yes, it is a great verse, but that is not the whole gospel. And the story of the thief on the cross where we get to eavesdrop in on the conversation between Jesus and one of the men who were crucified next to Him...is truly a gift to all of us; but it does not represent what the gospel is all about.  I heard a well-known and respected preacher recently expound on what h...

  There’s a video clip I’ve seen of a well-known TV ‘evangelist’ who looks into the camera and leads people to repeat the ‘sinner’s prayer’ which can be recited in about 30 seconds. Upon completion, this ‘preacher’ again, looks into the camera and informs any and all who just said those words have now been ‘born again’. I’m sorry...but that is about as shallow and ridiculous as greeting a newlywed couple the next morning, after consummating their marriage ...with a hearty: “Congratulations, you are parents now!” May I just state the obvious here? ‘Copulation nor conception equates to birth!” And as much as we have grown up hearing the expression  ‘Immaculate Conception’, which is what Mary, the mother of Jesus experienced, we forget that she first had to ‘receive the seed (word) as the Holy Spirit moved upon her (Luke 1:35-38)...but no birth took place until about 9 months later. Then, it would be 30 years down the road before God, the Father, publicly announced that Jesus ...