Sheep Food

  You are certainly entitled to having your own opinions and personal ‘points of view’ on just about any given subject matter, topic...or even ‘current events’ of the day. And...according to the 1st Amendment as provided in our U.S. Constitution- you are free to voice and share... those opinions and thoughts; but that doesn’t necessarily mean that God always wants you... to voice those opinions and thoughts. Hello? [long dramatic pause here] I know how easy it is for professing believers to ‘slip, stumble, and sin’ on an regular basis over the course of time, yet are also quick to follow up with this form of ‘self-assurance’ by adding: “But I’m still ‘saved’, though!” And I will continue to beat that 'drum of a message' suggesting we ought to be more preoccupied with the question of ‘are we abiding in Jesus’...more so than whether one is ‘saved’ or not. Care to guess which scripture reference always comes to mind when helping identify whether I am abiding in Jesus or not...i...

  [The message... some of you may have to ‘shelve’... until the Lord gives you further understanding /confirmation - 2 Tim. 2:7; Acts 17:11] Jesus did not come to ‘change’ the world; He came to save us from it. So why do we think it’s our mission to go out and try to change it? “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world- the lusts of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life- is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” (1 John 2:15-17) ....'and the world...is passing away...' “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Rom. 12:2) “Seek first, the kingdom of God...(and HIS righteousness” Matt. 6:33)...and by the way - “My kingdom is not of this world....

  I have discovered in recent years that nothing... can get a rise out of professing ‘believers’ quicker... than to suggest they can be set free where they can actually go and ‘sin no more’. “Nobody can do that!”, I’ve been told. “I don’t know anyone who lives like that except Jesus!”, I’ve been assured. “Are you saying you don’t sin?”...I’ve been asked. “We will always sin on this side of heaven!”; “Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven.”; “We are simply ‘saints’ who sin”. “Oh...now you are getting off into that dangerous doctrine of ‘sinless perfection’”. Yep...I’ve heard all of these voiced to me in the past 5 years. And yet...every time I go back into God’s word (which is daily), I see just the opposite jumping off the pages. (1 Pet. 4:1-2; 1 John 3:6,9; 5:18; John 8:34-36; 5:14). Let me ask you this: Why would Jesus have issued such seemingly unreasonable, unrealistic and impossible to do ‘commands’ ...to flawed humans...if He knew it was impossible to do? You know...th...

  I know there are many things that Jesus was recorded to have said/taught...that can have me scratching my head at times as I try to figure out what He was trying to convey in that moment. But there were also plenty of times He was quite plain spoken and made things very clear. Take for example that passage I left you with yesterday, in Matt. 12:43-45... “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places seeking rest, and finds none. Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came. And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven others spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.” Still not sure what to make of all this ‘unclean spirit’ talk? Can I have you jot down Eph. 2:1-3; 1 John 5:19, and Acts 10:38 for additional reference? This past Sunday at church, we were singing ...

  If you remain skeptical over the Biblical claim that ‘spiritual forces of darkness’ are actively working in this world today, going about like a ‘roaring lion seeking to devour’, and they come only but to ‘steal, kill, and destroy’...then today’s message might be more of a ‘mental flyover’ if you attempt to trudge through it; just saying.... (1 John 5:19;1 Pet. 5:8; John 10:10). However, if you remain open to the possibility that what I am sharing here has any relevant truth, then it will help you better understand how God’s ‘grace’ works in our lives, which I addressed in yesterday’s message. (Can of spinach, anyone?) I have vivid memories of when God first began to open my eyes to some of what I have been sharing here with you these past four years, and this analogy came to light for me to explain how misguided so many sincere believers were when it came to understanding God’s ‘grace’. The word picture (which I have shared before) goes like this: You get pulled over one day b...

  “ For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Eph. 2:8-9) I should also mention the verse that follows this one says: “We are His workmanship...” (10). If we claim to have given our hearts/lives to Jesus years ago...and yet still ‘sputter, stumble, and sin’ on a regular basis, as most will freely admit to doing...what does that say about God’s ‘workmanship’? I thought if we were truly abiding in Jesus, that we were being ‘conformed to His image/likeness’ (Rom. 8:29) and ‘ought to be walking as Jesus walked’ (1 John 2:6)...where ‘all men would know we are His disciples by the love we demonstrate’ (John 13:34-35)? Oh, but you were taught to believe that this will never happen on ‘this side of heaven’... which is why we rely so heavily on God’s ‘grace’ to ‘save us’? Maybe we should take another look at what this ‘grace’ is...and ‘how it works’. Do you think there is any remote possib...