Sheep Food

  Have you ever assembled something like maybe a piece of furniture from IKEA or a new grill or lawnmower you purchased from Home Depot...and when you were ‘done’, there were more than a ‘few’ pieces left over laying there on the ground? You probably had this gnawing sense inside of you that this was probably not a good sign, but when your spouse pointed them out and wanted to know what those ‘extra pieces’ were for, you quickly dismissed any concern (wanting to save face) by suggesting they were just ‘unneeded,extra or spare parts'. I mean, what you assembled ‘seemed’ to look right and function properly...so why worry over something like things that simply did not ‘fit’ into the overall finished product? And yet...that gnawing concern persisted....with lingering questions. I think we are guilty of doing that with the Bible at times; especially when it comes to answering questions like some of those early believers asked when they heard the gospel for the first time or experienc...

  So you want to talk about ‘end times’ and ‘tribulation’? I’ll go there, and the reason I will is because too many sincere ‘believers’ today think they will be ‘long gone’ when the ‘end times and tribulation’ unfolds. There’s just one small ‘catch’ that we forget sometimes. Every generation has their ‘end of time’ or ‘end of the ages’ or ‘last days’, do they not? And did Paul not remind us that “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.” (Acts 14:22). Trust me....I know how our ‘flesh’ bristles at such talk. And yet...there it is...plainly written out for us to read and take to heart. Jesus gave us an exhaustive description as to what unfolds in the ‘last days’ leading up to His return...talking of widespread deception and wars and how men’s hearts will harden because of the increasing amount of lawlessness and sin (5,12). He also points out that “he who endures to the end shall be saved”. (13) In Paul’s second letter to Timothy, he speaks of ‘perilous times’ ...

  In Matt. 23, we have recorded for us (in red letters even) one of the more scathing sermons Jesus preached as He rebuked the religious system of that day. The chapter opens up by stating those who were in attendance: the multitudes and His disciples. As you read through it, it becomes clear that the Sadducees and the Pharisees were also in attendance as He pronounces a series of “Woe to you...scribes, Pharisees...hypocrites...” even calling them ‘blind guides’.(24) In verse 33, Jesus calls them out as being ‘serpents, a brood of snakes’ before asking them “How can you escape the condemnation of hell?” I know, ...strong and chilling words for sure that we tend to shy away from and not want to associate with our sweet, loving Shepherd. But He said them. You can read them right there in that verse. Then there is a shift in His tone. You can almost hear Him take a deep breath and sigh as His physical body settles back. He has a lot on His mind now as the days leading up to H...

  [You might want to take your time with this one today...as in have pen/paper and your Bible open and ready to take notes.] While most of the world’s attention has been focused on a war that erupted last week in the Middle East, there is another war that has been going on for some time that many would appear to be ignorant of; or as some would suggest – ‘failed to show up for to fight’. And we are not talking about ‘conventional’ war either. This one is ‘spiritual’ in nature. And I probably don’t need to point out who the ‘enemy’ is, do I? I have admitted in times past, when reading books and articles and such that pertained to spiritual matters, I often succumbed to drinking in the words of the author of that book or article...and then when I would come across passages of scripture included, (usually written out in italics) I would ‘skim over’ those. And in hindsight...I find that shamefully ...interesting. Do you ever do that yourself...maybe even with these studies I post d...

  “The kings of the earth, and all inhabitants of the world would not have believe that the adversary and the enemy could entered the gates of Jerusalem...” (Lam. 4:12) “The Lord has done what He purposed; He has fulfilled His word which He commanded in the days of old. He has thrown down and has not pitied, and He has caused an enemy to rejoice over you He has exalted the horn of your adversaries.” (Lam. 2:17) The two passages above are recorded in Lamentations by the prophet Jeremiah after Babylon had come in and destroyed the temple and took great numbers of Jews into captivity where they remained during what is known as the 70 years of Babylonian Captivity. The book is short (5 chapters) and paints a horrific scene of the aftermath of what was clearly God’s judgement on the nation. And it did not come without plenty of warning either. As you probably are aware of, much of the world’s attention has shifted to the Middle East this past week following the dramatic and unexpecte...

  It was a simple directive that was given by Mary, the mother of Jesus; short and to the point. She was attending a wedding in Cana with Jesus and some of His disciples. The host ran out of wine which created a bit of a desperate situation for them. Mary was made aware, then got Jesus involved who was a bit hesitant at first to do anything. But it was time. So Mary said to the servants: “Whatever He says to you, do it!” (John 2:5)  There’s just not a lot of wiggle-room in that command to try and over analyze it in order to find other meaning. Just do...whatever He tells you to do. Don’t overthink it, don’t question it, don’t dig in to commentaries to try and refute it. In the words of the well-known Nike slogan: Just. Do. It. So Jesus turned and saw those six water-pots of stone sitting there and His directive to the servants took even less words than what His mother uttered: “Fill the waterpots with water.” (7) It was not complicated nor overly involved with a lot of ...

  Has it ever dawned on you how often those beloved songs and hymns we sing in church come near close to indicting many of us as liars? I’ll give you a moment while you wipe the coffee off your screen there. I know...that was a rather ‘in your face’ statement to open up with, but I think about this a lot regarding my own walk of faith. I’m showing my age here now with some of these well-known song lines from my past, but take a few of these, for example: “I love You Lord...and I lift my voice...” Jesus said “If you love me, keep My commandments.” (John 13:15) Or, “I surrender all...I surrender all...all to thee my blessed Savior...I surrender all.” And yet, how many of us are like that rich young ruler who initially came to Jesus, and had quite the spiritual resume having kept most of the commandments but was unwilling to ...’surrender all’. (Matt. 19:21-22). I mean, let’s be honest...no one is perfect, right? “Just forgiven”. Then there is this classic... “You are Lord....You are...