Sheep Food

  The parable of the sower, as told by Jesus in 3 of the four gospels is one of His more insightful stories which He expounded upon, to me at least. And Jesus did point out that if we didn’t understand this particular parable…that we’d have a tough time understanding any of the other parables, for that matter. (Mark 4:13) Now it should be noted that unless He ‘reveals’ the meaning behind that simple metaphor …which on the surface sounds like a simple lesson in agriculture, then that is all it will remain to those who hear/read it – a simple story that tells us what happens when a seed of some sort is sown into the ground. But the key element here that can go easily unnoticed is ‘who’…Jesus actually ‘reveals the mysteries of the kingdom’ to. In Matthew’s account (13:1-22), Jesus first tells the parable to the ‘multitude’ who had gathered along the shoreline to listen to Him. It sounds as if it was pretty short sermon, which I’m sure delighted some in the crowd no doubt. There was...

  The very fact that Peter took the time to write and admonish believers everywhere that we should remain ‘vigilant…sober-minded and alert’…solely for the reason that we have a spiritual ‘enemy’ whom he identifies as the ‘devil’, and that this adversary remains on the prowl ‘roaming about seeking to devour’…should give us all pause and have us thinking of the implications here. (1 Peter 5:8). And he doesn’t advise us to ‘ignore him’; rather to ‘resist him’ (9). James offers up similar counsel as well, adding that when we do ‘resist the devil…he will flee’ (4:7). Paul wrote to the Corinthians in his second letter, warning the believers there to forgive a certain individual who had repented of his sin…’lest Satan take advantage of them’…given we are ‘not ignorant of his schemes, or devices. (2 Cor. 2:10-11) You mean Satan has schemes or strategies which he employs against us? Well, Paul was pretty adamant in his convictions regarding this subject matter and expands in more detail ...

  It should come as no surprise to anyone …that the ‘world’ remains skeptical to believe the Bible is God’s ‘living word’ to us. Many will easily dismiss it, roll their eyes at those who do claim to believe in it, usually wanting to point out how it’s nothing but a collection of fables written by flawed men and ‘full of contradictions’. What can be surprising though, at times… is how many who profess to be a part of Christ’s church/body…tend to underestimate God’s word, simply based on their lack of hunger and interest to spend time feeding on it. But then, Jesus did point out how “Satan comes immediately…to snatch that word from our hearts lest we believe and are saved” (Mark 4:15; Luke 8:11-12). That would be the same ‘word of God’ that we are told is ‘living and powerful/active’, in Hebrews 4:12. This would also be the same ‘word of God’ that Paul declares “works effectively …IN those who believe” (1 Thess. 2:13). And this would also be the same ‘word of God’ that we are told ...

  Okay…confession time. Who reading here today would be willing to admit of doing what I have been guilty of doing in the past, when it comes to reading Christian books, devotionals, study guides, etc., written by your favorite author(s)? You find yourself totally engaged reading every page and every chapter, marking those profound statements made by the author. You might even share your favorite quote by that author on social media because it made such an impression on you. But as you are reading through that book, you’ll come across numerous paragraphs that are actually portions of scripture straight out of our Bible, and usually printed in italics to make it stand out; and yet we tend to do a funny thing when we come across those passages. We skim over them so we can hurry and get back to what our favorite author…is saying. [Me, sheepishly raising my hand as I admit- “yep, I’ve done that before.”] We ‘believers’ have a funny love/hate relationship with God’s word, if we’re hon...

  God said to Adam: “In the day that you eat off that tree, you will surely die.” (Gen. 2:17) The serpent said (to both Adam and Eve): “You can eat off that tree and you will surely NOT die.” (Gen. 3:4) So…which gospel did they believe? We were told long ago that “the time would come when people will no longer endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires…because they have itching ears…they will gather around for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables/myths.” (2 Tim. 4:3-4)  I hope that you gave some serious thought to the message I shared here yesterday, pertaining to how we can respond to God’s word…which is dependent on the condition of our own hearts. I think one of the more heart-revealing places we can come to is when we recognize it’s possible that we can actually love various teachings derived from God’s word… more than we love God Himself. Hence, the ‘test’ I put forth here occasionally when I...

  I’m not apologizing for what can be perceived as a ‘somber tone’ to my messages here of late, but I would like to at least offer up a simple explanation as to what is behind them. While not directly affected by the news of spreading wildfires (in southern CA), it’s no secret that they occur out here on a regular basis, usually as a result of strong winds and dry conditions. Can you imagine being on the firefighting crews that go into endangered neighborhoods and are helping with the ordered evacuations, only to be told by local residents to mind your own business as they are tired of hearing so much ‘bad news’? “Can’t you find something that is pleasant and comforting to tell us about? Why all the doom and gloom about spreading flames?” Yeah…God’s people had similar things to say when Isaiah came preaching to them as well. (Isaiah 30:8-15) Did you know in one place, God refers to His people as being ‘stupid/foolish’ (Jer. 4:22), and that they didn’t even ‘know or recognize the j...