Sheep Food

  “Do you think these people were worse sinners than anyone else because they suffered this horrible fate? I tell you, ‘No’, but unless you repent, you too will all likewise perish.” - Jesus. (Luke 13:1-5) His words, not mine. I don’t know what that word ‘repent’ means to you, but the short and simple version means to ‘turn’; or have a change in the way you think… which will in turn change the way you walk, and talk, and live. If you don’t, then your fate or outcome is already determined; and it is not good. And this you can be sure of: It is not the will of God for ANY…to perish…but for ALL to come to repentance (2 Pet. 3:9). That verse there even reminds us of how patient God is, but He’s not going to force you to turn to Him. Friends, there is a darkness on this earth today, and has been here for a long time. When I say ‘darkness’, I am referring of course, to a ‘spiritual darkness’, and anyone who would take the time to just sit down and hear what God has to say about it mi...

  If you are like most students of the Bible, or even just casual readers, you probably know by now how easy it is to read over verses in those pages…maybe even nod your head in agreement as you underline it or highlight them…and yet for some reason you really didn’t ‘read it’. This becomes evident when you have those inexplicable moments where you come across that same verse one day….when it seems to just burst or jump off the page and pierces the deepest core of your heart and mind of understanding. That’s when we lean back in awe and take a deep breath as you ask yourself: “How have I never ‘seen’ that before?” It’s probably a similar experience that the disciples of Jesus had when they would spend time with Him …and He in turn would ‘open the scriptures to them’, or He ‘opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the scriptures’. (Luke 24:32,45) Would you please read that last paragraph one more time, and mentally ‘underline’ that phrase ‘spend time with Him’, befor...

  I feel no compelling, nor do I have any interest in taking on the role of ‘social commentator’ and wading into the debates of public opinion these days on many of the current events that come down the pipe and catches the public’s fancy. I do believe, however that I have been called for this season in my life to challenge us as ‘believers’ who profess to follow Jesus…to heed the words of Paul and to ‘examine our hearts and test them…to see if Christ Jesus in in us’ (2 Cor. 13:5). I firmly believe there is an awful lot of ‘small print’ that we have overlooked in our Bibles, and that we would do well to go back and do some more study…before it’s too late. All I can do is point out these things I have discovered and simply share them with any and all who may stumble across this page. What you do with them is between you and God. (Acts 17:11) But when it comes to ‘current events’, especially the ones that hit a nerve within us and stir up a lot of passionate feelings and opinions…...

  “Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.” (1 Peter 4:1-2) I would highly recommend  read yesterday’s message before continuing on here today; just saying ;-) Clearly, Peter must be mistaken here to suggest that anyone could possibly ‘cease from sinning’…because we all know that everybody sins…and that ‘Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven’…and that we will always continue to sin on ‘this side of heaven’, right? Oh, but wait…didn’t Jesus admonish us to ‘go and sin no more’? (John 5:14; 8:11)…and that “we know whoever is born of God does not sin’…because ‘whoever abides in Christ no longer practices sin’ (1 John 5:18; 3:6)? This all seems so confusing at times …when we read what is in God’s word…but then hear something differently from our pulpits, not ...

  You’re probably somewhat familiar with the story from the Book of Exodus that tells how God raised up Moses to lead the children of Israel out from their bondage in Egypt, where they served Pharoah as slaves for 400 years. After a series of plagues to help ‘motivate’ Pharoah to consent to their departure, we follow their ‘exodus’ out of Egypt which included a miraculous crossing of the Red Sea (Ex. 14). This passing through the river bed is often seen as a type or foreshadowing of water baptism that followers of Jesus experience when they repent from their old way of living as ‘slaves’ (John 8:34; Romans 6; Eph. 2:1-3) Best estimates as to the number of people we are talking about here range from one to two million people who came out of Egypt, passing through on dry ground when God parted the waters of the Red Sea, and then there was to be a brief passage through an inhospitable land known as the ‘wilderness’. It was only a place to pass through before another river would be ...

  Imagine if you will, a young high school graduate decides to enlist and join the Army, wanting to serve his country while also reaping some of the benefits that come with such an experience, including getting some college education paid for. So off to basic training he goes and passes. Six months later, he finds out he’s being deployed overseas because of some recent attacks on US interest and will most likely be called upon to take part some military action, as in ‘warfare’. What might be the reaction of his CO (commanding officer) if this young soldier goes to him and informs him that he’s ‘really not up to fighting’ in a military conflict right. now…because it just is not a convenient time for him to be involved with such activity. He’s not really ‘in to guns’ and besides, he recently got engaged and has a wedding to help plan, so going off to war right now could not come at a worse time for him. You have to wonder if this is the mentality of many professing ‘believers’ tod...

  If you claim to ‘have no sin’, then you ‘deceive yourself and the truth is not in you’. That’s what the Bible teaches and you’ll find it there in 1 John 1:8. But that is not to suggest that a follower of Jesus will continue to practice sin simply because they are a ‘flawed human being’ or, as we like to say in our church circles…” a sinner saved by grace”. I still remember the first time I heard someone make the statement: “I’m a saint who sins.” They had a hard time coming to terms with several passages I shared that stated “those who abide in Jesus no longer sin.” (1 John 3:6,9; 5:18). Let me be clear here: We were ALL sinners at one time, and to suggest otherwise is to call God a ‘liar’ (1 John 1:10; Rom. 6:23). But that doesn’t mean you continue to sin after you repent and come to Jesus with a surrendered heart in order that He might cleanse you with His truth (and blood) and set you free from all sin (John 8:32-36; 1 John 1:7). But…But…But…IF….you do stumble and sin along ...

  What dog owner has never had to remove a tick from their beloved pet? Whether you do it yourself or have someone else with a stronger stomach do it…you probably know that those pesky arachnids (in the spider family) just don’t leave on their own. If you ever had a dog run off into the woods and stay awhile, chance are if/when they returned, they were in great need of a long cleansing bath. You might even use some of that expensive dog shampoo that promises to get rid of ticks and fleas as well, but you probably also know that after you have them bathed and dried off…you will most likely still need to comb through their hair and ears, leg crevices and all… to remove numerous stubborn ticks that did not come off in the bath. IYKYK This might be an odd illustration to use for today’s lesson, and I don’t believe I’ve ever made this comparison before, but there is no shortage of God’s people, whom He likens as ‘sheep gone astray’…that might be in serious need of having some ‘spiritua...

  One last thought to pass on regarding my message yesterday where we touched on the tragic story and ongoing trial of Lindsay Clancy, who could very well hear the jury’s verdict sometime this week. The labor & delivery nurse, and mother of three children, whom she admits to taking their lives… entered a plea of ‘not guilty by reason of insanity’. In simple terms, to be labeled ‘insane’ suggests a person is, or was not…in their ‘right mind’. You may recall my recent lesson where we looked at the account found in Mark’s gospel when Jesus encountered a man who was in serious need of some ‘deliverance’, a term we associate with being freed from ‘unclean’ or ‘demon’ spirits. The man was sorely afflicted and in great torment as we learn that he could not be controlled or contained. He was known by the townspeople to run through graveyards at night, crying out, along with cutting himself with stones (Mark 5:2-5). In modern day terms, some people would label him as a ‘cutter’, amo...

  Over the past five years…I’ve done well to avoid wading into addressing ‘current events’, for the most part, when writing and then sharing my daily blog lessons here on social media. Every now and then (and it’s rare)…I might feel compelled to point out something that strikes me as worth using as an object lesson; but by the grace of God I feel confident that I have kept these message ‘word centered’ and have avoided getting entangled with ‘news events’, and the cares of this life which can easily capture people’s fancy on any given day (Mark 4:19). But today will be one of those exceptions. The reason I am going down this path in my lesson this morning is because both examples seem to ‘fit’ with a narrative that I’ve been addressing the past few days, and have been over these last several years. Take what you want from today’s message, but I do believe that many ‘natural’ events that pop up in our daily news cycles can oftentimes serve as a reminder, or better yet…a ‘reflection...

  I am not one who claims to have a continuous flow of ‘spiritual dreams’ where I believe God is ‘speaking to me’; but I have had a couple of notable ones over the years where that seemed to be the case; and that is ‘scriptural’ in case you are wondering (Acts 2:17). Yet I am an active dreamer, meaning something always seems to be going on in my head when I sleep, but seldom do they ever make sense or bear worth repeating to anyone because of that. But I did wake up the other morning after dreaming about a particular Bible verse, of all things. When I say I was dreaming about a ‘verse’, it really was a particular passage with reference and all, and it just kept boring into my subconscious as if to drive a point home, and when I finally woke up, I could not get it off my mind, so naturally I went to spend some time looking it over. It’s a verse I have cited here numerous times before and it is John 3:36. “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believ...

  It’s called ‘taking possession of the land’, and it is what God wanted that first generation of Israelites to do after He delivered them from slavery in Egypt centuries ago under the leadership of Moses. You now the story…the plagues, the great escape, the crossing of the Red Sea and then a short passage through the wilderness where God delivered the 10 Commandments to them. It was never a final destination for them to inhabit this inhospitable land, it was merely a ‘testing ground’ on their way to a better place (Deut. 8:2). The problem was…the people failed the test in multiple ways, capping it off by refusing to go in and to take possession of the land God had for them; a land I might remind you that was fertile and fruitful, flowing with ‘milk and honey’. But the people just didn’t think it was remotely possible that life could be that good, or that they could take the necessary actions to ‘overcome the enemy’ and live as conquerors which God had promised them would happen...