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  Deceived people don’t know they are deceived. And what was the one thing Jesus warned for us to be on guard against at the ‘end of the age’ prior to His return? “Take heed...that no one deceives you...for many will come in My name, saying...I am the Christ and will deceive many.” (Matt. 24:3-5,24). I hope you have your Bible close by for this study today and that you use it to look up these verses. When James wrote: “Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren” (1:16), do you think he intended to suggest that ‘brethren’ could actually be...’deceived’? Would you turn to and read 1 Cor. 6:9-11 right now? Why would Paul have felt a need to make such a strong point here regarding who will ‘inherit the kingdom of God’...and who won’t? Does it sound as if people might be ‘deceived’ on such matters? And what about those folks we read about in Matt. 7:21-23 who had clearly been quite active doing ‘great things in the name of the Lord’, yet were told by Jesus that He ‘never knew them’ ......
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  It is considered to be inhumane to bury someone alive, be it a human or even an animal, a pet perhaps. That’s because we tend to only bury things that have died and don’t expect to see them anymore; in this lifetime...at least. I’ve presided over many funerals in the past 35 years. I’ve watched the painful agony as grieving loved ones are literally peeled off the caskets where their deceased spouse or child or parent lay in, just prior to seeing them lowered six feet into the ground. When all the final words are spoken and/or sung, and tears and hugs are exchanged, that casket is covered in soil and that is it; another life has ended...and people move on with their own lives; some slower than others. And may I tell you that in all those years I have taken part in this ritual, I have yet to ever see a person who was laid to rest...show back up out of the blue, weeks or months later where I ran into them at a local coffee shop or Home Depot or Walmart. Which leads me to believe th...
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  “If you are living according to the [impulses of the] flesh, you are going to die. But if [you are living] by the [power of the Holy] Spirit you are habitually putting to death the sinful deeds of the body, you will live forever.” (Rom. 8:13 Amp) Speaking from personal experience now...I know how easy it is for us to faithfully read our Bibles, and at the same time...just glide right over so many significant verses without taking them to heart. We can highlight them, quote them, write them out on a ‘sticky note’ and post somewhere as a reminder, and yet still not ‘get it’, and even worse...not apply it to our lives, which then creates other issues for us (James 1:22). We can be taking part in a small group Bible study and come across certain passages like the one I began with here today (Rom. 8:13), and find ourselves nodding our heads in agreement and wanting to ‘discuss’ that verse in greater detail. We might take turns sharing what that verse means to us as we ‘ooh’ and ‘aah...
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  Clearly...not everyone in the world bought, or buys in...to the message of the kingdom Jesus came preaching, even though His message was for the whole world (John 1:10-12; 3:16; Acts 17:30). And even at that...many who started out following Him, decided the path was too steep and demanded too much of them, so they turned and walked away...no longer following Him (John 6:60-66). That is still happening today. (2 Thess. 2:3; 1 Tim. 4:1; 2 Tim.4:3-4) But to those who did ‘receive Him...to them He gave the opportunity, the right or capacity to ‘become...children of God’ (John 1:12). The first important nugget of truth we should glean from that passage is this: We are not all children of God! You might look at John 8:42-44 and 1 John 3:10 for further reference. Care to guess who the true ‘children of God’ are? If you read that verse I ended on yesterday, you should know already: “Those who are led by His Spirit” (Rom. 8:14). And if you did read yesterday’s message, it focused on wh...
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  Lots of people in the world have no problem acknowledging that Jesus most likely lived on the earth, and will concede He was a great prophet and/or teacher who had many good things to say. And you will find no shortage of people today who profess to ‘believe in Him’, having no qualms admitting they believe He did indeed die on a cross and was raised from the dead three days later. These would be the same people who claim to ‘know’ Him and yes, even ‘love’ Him. Interestingly, Paul spoke of those whose minds and consciences had been ‘defiled’, and while they might ‘profess to know God’...they would actually ‘deny Him...by their actions’. (Titus 1:15-16). Has you ever wondered how we do that, how we ‘deny Him’? I’m always amused when I see a post on social media by people who will make mention of that scripture where Jesus talked about how if anyone ‘denies Him before men, He will deny them before His Father in heaven’ (Matt. 10:33); and then they promptly ‘go on record’ with a pu...
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  “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...resist him...” (1 Peter 5:8 - Amp) “Do not give the devil (the enemy) and opportunity or any opening...” (Eph. 4:27) “Forgive one another...lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices/schemes” (2 Cor.2:10-11) ... If there is anything beneficial that can be gleaned from witnessing this ‘conflict’ in the Middle East unfold before us, it should be a stark reminder of how serious ‘warfare’ actually is... And yet, while sitting back in the comfort of my leather recliner as I was doing last night, flipping through various news reels giving updates as I watched dramatic video clips of bombs and ensuing destruction...I was reminded how the graphic reality of what happens in war can be easily lost on us. I turned the TV off and went to our bedroom and crawled ...
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  You’re probably familiar with that story found in Luke 15, told by Jesus, of the ‘prodigal son’. A certain man had two sons, and the younger of the two got it in his head that he needed/wanted/deserved his inheritance up front; so his father gave it to him. And off he went traveling to a ‘far country’ where he ‘wasted all that he had.’ When famine struck, he found himself in a desperate place and ended up feeding pigs for a citizen of the country whom he hired himself out to. (11-15) It was only a matter of time before this young prodigal ‘came to his senses’, confronted his sins and foolishness and with a broken and humble heart...he resolved to return to his father and confess his sins to him, hoping...that he might at least be welcomed back as a ‘servant’, since he saw himself as no longer ‘worthy to be a son’ (Luke 15:17-19). Let’s pause here for a moment as I interject something for you to consider: Probably one of the dumbest, silliest, and most fruitless conversations (...
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