Sheep Food

  Whether you are a parent, a teacher, a coach, or even a drill sergeant, you have found yourself in a position to raise up or train young people to ‘perform’ at the ‘next level’ in life in whatever role that may be for them.   And regardless of which title you chose to pursue and find yourself in, one would hope that you do it because you have a genuine love for these people you’ve been given responsibility for.   I think we also understand that part of this role in training, is laying down expectations that you have for those under you, be it your child, student, player or new recruit.  With maybe an exception to the parenting role, what coach or teacher or drill sergeant does not spell out on the first day of class or practice the goals and visions and expectations they have for you.  With the parenting role, those expectations are laid out over the years as the child grows and develops for obvious reasons.   I cannot imagine my daugh...

  {Heads Up: This one today is going to require some time to chew on and study out. I am not going to engage in online debate or deep discussions here on my postings, but welcome private messages if you have questions. I even welcome scripture from you that would suggest I’m in error if you care to send me some}   So what is my preoccupation with this ‘law stuff’ that I keep bringing up here?   Let me begin first by saying that my days are not consumed by waking up with a long list of ‘laws and commandments’ that I go about trying to keep.   Nor am I advocating that being a ‘rule keeper’ or a ‘law follower’ is what saves a person or makes them ‘righteous’ in the eyes of God. We've proven repeatedly our inability to do that.   I think part of the great deception and ‘sleep mode’ that many believers find themselves in today has been brought about over time as a ‘planned strategy’ by a spiritual enemy. I mean, it’s what he (Satan) has been ...

  You do realize that for the most part, since the inception of the church that formed after Jesus ascended back into heaven, that most all believers had a sense they were living in the ‘last days’.  Various writers used terms similar if not exactly with lines such as ‘God has spoken to us in these last days’ (Heb 1:2)  John even got specific when he wrote: “Little children, it is the last hour” (1 John 2:18).  Looking for the ‘end of all things’ and the imminent return of Christ has always been a common practice and characteristic of the New Testament believer. And I don’t believe there is anything wrong with that. I mean, let’s face it, every generation has their own ‘last days’ or ‘end of time’ as we know it.  Gosh, when I first came to the Lord in 1980, Hal Lindsey’s book ‘Countdown to Armageddon’ was my ‘second bible’. I remember those days well. There was no way you could have convinced me that I’d be around in the year 2022. Yet here we are…  P...

  {You may find this posting ‘heavy on the analogies’ today. It is what it is}   I feel like that last 22+ months I have been back in school with the Lord teaching me (John 16:12)…plowing through the Word and revisiting various books in the bible and seeing so many verses again for the first time with more clarity and understanding.  And as I look back over so many of my notes, I can see where much attention has been given to three specific areas of study that I fear is neglected in our modern church world.  Now I don’t want to set myself up as some all knowing expert who has traveled the world and reviewed what churches across the country and world are teaching and not teaching. I guess I have no idea what is being taught out there. Maybe it’s just the Spirit of God prompting me with that idea or intuition. You can bear witness to that after reading my postings. Things I have been sharing…are you hearing this in detail in other places?   This I ca...

  You can take this assessment of God to the bank…  He is Good.  He is Love.  He is Patient. He is All Knowing.  He is All Powerful.  He is Holy.  And He is a whole lot smarter than all of us humans combined…which is not really saying much since He likens us to ‘sheep’.   He created this universe and this planet that we inhabit for oh, but such a brief moment in time.   He also created each and every one of us…regardless of the circumstances in which led to your entrance into this world. And we were created with a free will but inherited a ‘defective-sinful’ heart.   When God first created the earth and set man into His ‘garden of paradise’, His only requirement was that they were to walk in love with/for one another and to Love Him as they were created in His likeness and image.   Enjoying this special place of fellowship and relationship did have boundaries, as does any healthy relationship. And those boundarie...

  Listen to God’s declaration through His prophet, Hosea:   “My People…are destroyed…for a lack…of knowledge”. (4:6)  Start that quote for most believers as you are walking out of church to your car and they can finish it…with a somber, pious nod of agreement.  Pause. … “So what time does the game start?” -- Ever notice how quickly that ‘switch’ can change within us?   And have you ever taken the time to walk that quote back and figure out WHY…God’s people are seemingly and needlessly being destroyed?   Well…for one, as stated, it’s due to a ‘lack of knowledge’   I’m sure you know what the ‘beginning of knowledge’ includes, yes?   “The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” (Proverbs 1:7)   Then God declares that: “There is no fear of God before their eyes” (Rom 3:18)   Want to take a guess why there is a significant absence of a ‘fear of God’ today?   We don’t even recognize Go...

  There’s a very telling passage buried in the middle of the book of Isaiah found in chapter 30. God spoke to his prophet and told him, regarding His people …(not the ‘worldly sinners, mind you)… “This is a rebellious people…lying children, children who will not hear the law of the Lord.” (vs 9)   Then God tells us what the words being spoken by, and the mindset of His people were regarding the constant warnings they were getting. One translation conveys it this way: “They tell the prophets, “Don’t see dreams about things we should do. Don’t tell us the truth. Say nice things to us and make us feel good. See only good things for us. Stop seeing things that will really happen. Get out of our way. Stop telling us about the Holy One of Israel.” (vs 10-11)   I guess that should not come as a surprise to any student of the bible. We have often heard, and repeated ourselves that familiar passage found in 2 Timothy 4 where Paul writes “For the time will come when ...