Sheep Food

  “Be sober [well balanced and self-disciplined], be alert and cautious at all times. That enemy of yours, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion [fiercely hungry], seeking someone to devour.” – Peter (1 Peter 5:8 -AMP) If this notorious ‘villain’ we read about so much in scripture is not... a literal entity, but more of a product of ‘figurative language’...you have to ask yourself if maybe the writers of the NT were guilty of ‘overkill’ in referring to him as often as they do...and usually with somber warnings when writing about him. [Figurative language] – “is the use of words in ways that deviate from their literal definitions to add creative, emotional, or vivid meaning to writing and speech. Key types include metaphors, similes, personification, and hyperbole. It is used to enhance, emphasize, or clarify, making descriptions more engaging and imaginative.” From Strong’s Concordance: The Devil, ‘Satan’- [diabolos] – a traducer, especially Satan; (A traducer – a person who...

  Like for many of you, my own ‘journey of faith’ and ‘coming to Jesus’, which began at the age of 20, for me...is personal and unique in its own way. While I was ‘raised in church’, or should I say I attended church weekly, I can’t say that I was ever really taught or indoctrinated to believe a particular tenet of beliefs that aligned with the particular denomination I was brought up in (Roman Catholic). It was just what I was ‘raised’ in. And while I heard various stories referred to and read from the Bible in those church services, I did not grow up reading the Bible, nor did I own one for myself. I may have glanced at one on occasion or two that we had in the house, but for the most part it was irrelevant to me. As you also might know...there is no shortage of church denominations out there to choose from, or ‘flavors’ as I like to describe them at times, and the one I landed or got ‘planted’ in during that first year of my faith walk was unique in many ways. Aren’t they al...

  Fruit Matters....in the most serious way. You might want to look up these verses as I suspect they are underlined by now if you have been reading here for any length of time - (Matt. 3:10; 7:17-20; Luke 13:6-9) “And by their fruit...you will know them.” - Jesus "But the fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us] is love [unselfish concern for others], joy, [inner] peace, patience [not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law” (Gal. 5:22-23- Amp) Have you discovered yet...that we don’t (nor can we) produce this fruit on our own; rather it is the byproduct of abiding in Jesus. There is no other way...outside of abiding in Him. “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; fo...

  [Do yourself a favor and fight that urge to 'skim over' these verses I shared here for you.  Take your time and read them...let them sink in] “Another parable Jesus put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” (Matt. 13:24-...

  In case you did not make it through my whole message yesterday, I ended with this paragraph: So what is it...with all the widespread deception that seems to be in abundant supply during these ‘last days’...which seems to be coming in like a ‘flood’? How many of you have been overwhelmed with the ‘back and forth’ that stems from all the political unrest surrounding various tragic events that are taking place of late. You see a handful of videos here, then read other commentaries there, and you don’t even know what to make of it all or who to believe. It almost makes you want to throw your hands up in the air...and then bury your head in the sand and scream out: “No More!”. What if I told you this wave of deception and lies was no accident, and actually part of a larger ‘scheme or design? If we’re just talking about ‘current events’...you have to admit- it’s been overwhelming of late, and downright depressing, regardless of which side of the fence you want to take and argue. An...

  Why? Why should a person think they are ‘saved’...if they are not surrendered to the Lordship of Christ? Did Jesus not pose that question to some when He asked: “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord’...and not do the things I say?” (Luke 6:46) Did someone tell you that you could easily sign on for the ‘convenient plan of salvation’ where you just acknowledge with your lips, and ‘say you believe in your heart...that Jesus is the Son of God’, as you “accept Him in your heart as your personal Savior” so you could go to heaven when you die? Is that really ‘a thing’...where one can have ‘Christ as Savior without making Him Lord’ of their lives? And may I ask...’who told you that’? (Gen. 3:11) What do you think Jesus meant when He declared: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord’...shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of My Father who is in heaven.” (Matt. 7:21)? Don’t you think there has to be more to ‘doing the will of God’...than just ‘saying you believ...

  I know just as well as anyone what it is like to read over scripture, come across various passages and nod my head in agreement, maybe underline or highlight those verses as I mutter to myself: “that’s good!”...and yet...still not ‘get it’. I would also think most of you would agree that it is easier to analyze scripture than it is to apply it, do it, and live it out daily. Take for example, Peter’s somber words of exhortation in his opening letter: “As obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in ALL your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear...” (1:14-17) Two notable points there, which you might want to underline - ‘be holy in ALL your conduct’ ... along with that reminder of how we should conduct ourselv...

  Subjects that make us feel uncomfortable...or maybe topics we don’t really understand ...tend to keep us from wanting to pursue them in our studies, especially when it comes to things we read and hear about that come directly from the word of God. Take for example...God’s ‘wrath’. When was the last time you heard an in-depth study (or sermon) on it at your church? I would imagine it has been awhile, if ever, and I can understand why. Your pastor/preacher only has the bulk of his congregation for less than one hour a week to get his message across. He knows the multiple struggles and battles and hurts that so many in those pews are going through, and in his mind...the last thing they need to hear when they come to church is some sermon on something that has such a heavy and negative connotation to it; so we tend to want to focus on good, positive, and uplifting themes, heavily complimented with encouraging worship songs of hope. We sure love to make people ‘feel good’, do we not?...

  “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” (Eph. 6:12- NLT) I know....that one is a ‘sticking point’ for a lot of well-educated, clear and logical thinking people today; but it came out of the same book all those other verses we love to quote did. And the sooner we begin to see the reality of their existence in this world today, then the sooner we might be more inclined to get serious about this ‘abiding in Jesus’ thing. And I will explain here today why that is so, and not just a bunch of church-speak hyperbole or ‘figurative language’. John, writing to genuine followers of Jesus...affirms to them: “We know...that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the influence/power...of the wicked one.” (1 John 5:19). Paul gives us helpful insight as to just how this spiritual enemy does that...working through the...

  “But you will receive ‘power’ when the Holy Spirit has come upon you...” - Jesus (Acts 1:8) Friends...would you take some time with this today and ask the Lord to ‘open your eyes and hearts’ in order to grasp what Jesus was promising those early followers, just before He ascended back into heaven. Jesus did not want them to be in a hurry or to rush out and to try and ‘help God out’ by getting ahead of Him, wanting to ‘be about the Father’s business’ before it was time. Jesus of all people knew how prone we can be to doing that in our ‘zealous youth’. (Luke 2:49) That’s why He told them to “wait in the city...until you are endued with power from on high” (Luke 24:49) And did you read yesterday where we explained just what kind of ‘power’ Jesus was referring to there? He was not talking about some limited form of human power or strength, or the ‘power of being positive and saying or thinking positive things’. The Greek word used there and in other passages is the word [dynamin...

  God never expected us to walk out this journey of faith on our own; because for one, He knew we were incapable of doing it in a manner that would honor and please Him. That’s why Jesus promised to send us the Holy Spirit to dwell within so we could be endued with supernatural, miraculous ‘power from on high' (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:8). Did you catch yesterday’s message, by chance? Look what He told His disciples there at the very end of His earthly ministry before He returned to heaven: “I am with you always” (Matt. 28:20). Then, flip over to Mark 16:20 as we learn how those disciples “went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs”. How do you think we can do the same thing if we are lacking that same Holy Spirit who empowers and equips us to ‘walk just as He walked’ and to ‘love others as he loved us’ (1 John 2:6; John 15:12). You do realize there is nothing wrong when you are traveling somewhere, and you pull ov...

  When it comes to walking out your faith on a daily basis, have you ever given pause and asked yourself – ‘what am I missing here?’...or perhaps – ‘what am I not doing right?’; because it seems as if there should be ‘something more to this’...if I’m supposed to be ‘walking as Jesus walked’ (1 John 2:6) and ‘loving others as He loved us’ (John 15:12). And just what if there is...’something more’ to all this that you are lacking? Would you be open to discovering just what that might be, and then maybe drawing near to God and asking Him for that which you might be lacking? Jesus spent three years training a handful of men who were, for the most part, ‘unpolished’, unlearned and ‘rough around the edges’ ...when it came to matters of the kingdom of God. But something happened to them and their lives were forever changed as they then went out themselves and delivered this same message they had received...to others throughout the world. And please note - this messages was not designed a...