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  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?...
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  “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...
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  “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...
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  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...
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  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...
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  I would invite you to look over yesterday's post once again, maybe for the first time. And may we all remain humble as we examine our own hearts (2 Cor. 13:5).  Do you remember when Jesus foretold His disciples that one of them would betray Him? (Matt. 26:21)  The only finger pointing that followed was at themselves asking: "Lord...is it I?" Have a blessed day.
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  “But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” – Jesus. (Matt.12:36-37) So if I’m not wanting to make these recent messages about ‘immigration’, then why do I keep bringing it up and ‘stirring the pot’? I’ll tell you why – because it is the ‘issue’ staring our country in the face right now...and we can either be like those religious men who walked around it...or be like the Samaritan and face what is before us. (Hope you are caught up reading here from the past two days). And when I say ‘face what is before us’, I mean we first better stop and examine our hearts... as we are admonished to do in 2 Cor. 13:5. We read in Jeremiah 17:9-10: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fru...
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