Sheep Food

  All this talk about snakes and serpents and such...might create a bit of anxiety in folks who have a phobia towards such critters. And yet...you have ‘churches’ out there today that make ‘handling them’ a part of their church services...go figure! But all we are going to do here today is look further into scripture as to how God used ‘serpents’ and what they may possibly represent. (You might want to read the past few days’ posts to catch up if you missed them) Why is this even relevant? Well for starters, Paul writes in 1 Cor. 10 how a bunch of God’s people were ‘destroyed by serpents’ because they ‘tempted God’ in the wilderness. (9). And I only mention this because Paul drives home the point that these things were written down as examples, warnings, and an admonition to us NT believers...”upon whom the end of the ages has come.” (6,11). You can refer back to Numbers 21:4-6 to discover how that played out when the people began to speak out against both God and Moses. You can ...

  It was an interesting warning Paul slipped in there when addressing the folks at Antioch: “Beware therefore, lest what has been spoken in the prophets come upon you...(Acts 13:40 - and he goes on to quote from Habakkuk 1:5). Seems we are advised in several places to give heed to what those prophets of old shared in their writings...as if it has relevance for us today. Imagine that! (Acts 3:24-26; 2 Pet. 3:1-2; Luke 21:22; Jer. 23:20 Dan. 12: 4,9-10; 1 Cor. 10:1-11) Regarding that warning from Habakkuk though, let me summarize the first chapter there and you can read on your own later. God once again is bringing in an ‘enemy’ to carry out His judgments. He really is serious about this ‘sin’ thing, contrary to popular belief today. We read there in 1:5-7 that He is ‘raising up the Chaldeans...a bitter and hasty nation...that are terrible and dreadful’ and actually come in to ‘possess dwelling places that are not theirs.” Interesting word picture there, don’t you think, especially...

  When we are given continuous warnings to heed, there is usually a good reason for them: if we ignore those warnings...bad things can happen, and oftentimes...do. This does not mean one becomes consumed with those potential ‘bad things’ and live their lives on the edge in fear that those bad things will happen to them... they just know to avoid certain things because if they don’t, there most likely will be unpleasant consequences. This should not come across as some earth-shattering revelation. Many might just call it good old common sense. God gave a pretty simple warning to Adam and Eve back in the garden. (Gen. 2:17) And who came along to dismiss the warning, actually diluting it with ‘words’ out of his mouth before turning that warning completely around? Yep...it was the serpent of old. (Gen. 3:1-5) That same serpent is still doing the same thing today...spewing water (words) out of his mouth to carry people away to destruction. (Rev. 12:9,15; 1 Tim. 4:1; Luke 17:27; Isa. ...

  Ah yes...that ‘serpent of old’ (Rev. 12:9)...who deceives the whole world and leads men further into darkness and captivity by ‘blinding their minds’ (with a veil of sorts) from seeing the ‘light of the gospel’ and being set free. (2 Cor. 4:3-4). This would be the same ‘serpent’ I mentioned at the close of yesterday’s post, the one who was cursed and relegated to ‘eating dust’ all the days of his life. (Gen. 3:14). I left off reminding you what our ‘flesh’ was made of too. And when I say ‘flesh’, you might read Gal. 5:19-21,24 & Rom. 8:13. Oh, I forgot to mention that the quickest and most effective way for that ‘veil to be removed’ is to turn to Jesus with your whole heart. (2 Cor. 3:16). And make no mistake about it, - for all the bondages and chains that you might have at this moment, there is not a demon in hell (or demons- as in thousands) that can keep you from running to Jesus. (Mark 5:1-6). This ‘serpent’ has been around for quite a while and we need to study furthe...

  God did not send Jesus into this world to condemn the world. On the contrary, God sent Jesus into this world to save...any all who would call upon His name, believe in Him and repent, (or turn)...and surrender to His lordship. What part of this do we find so hard to understand? (John 3:17; Rom. 10:13; Luke 13,3,5; 6:46; Matt. 7:21) And the same God who wanted us to hear what John wrote: “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers,” (3 John 2) is the same God who deeply yearned that His people...”had such a heart in them that they would fear Him and always keep all His commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever.” (Deut. 5:29) Friends, let us never forget what it is that Jesus came to ‘save’ us from: it was the wrath of God, and His judgements that were on the earth that we are ‘saved’ from. (Rom. 5:9) And why was all this wrath and judgment and death and condemnation on the earth? It was becaus...

  Why would any NT believer need to ‘fear God’ since Jesus loves us and has promised us we’d spend eternity in heaven with Him after we died if we would just ‘accept Him as Savior’? I suppose if you were taught that your ‘salvation was guaranteed’ (or secure), even though God knew you would always continue to sin, being the wretched sinner you are, then that might explain that opening question. ‘Everyone knows’ all we have to do is just ask Jesus to forgive us and we are ‘good with God’, right? I wonder if this was the same message those ‘many’ we read about in Matt. 7:21-23 heard? The concern here is for the ‘many’ today who have been lulled into a false sense of security because of twisted teachings that both Paul and Jeremiah warned us about. (2 Cor. 11:3-4; 1 Tim. 4:1; Jer. 23:16-20; 1 Thess. 5:1-3). Those who have been convinced that “nothing evil shall come upon us” (Jer. 23:17) would be puzzled to read such NT passages like Acts 2:43; 5:5; 9:31; 2 Cor. 7:1; Heb. 4:1; Phil....

  It’s one of those passages we don’t really like to spend much time on given how it can spur some uncomfortable scenarios and questions for us ‘believers’. You can read there in 1 Cor. 11:27-32 how Paul was explaining why ‘many’ believers were being ‘chastened and judged by the Lord’. (32) He did not mince words either telling them why many were ‘weak, sick’, and yes...even ‘dead’. (30). Would you take a moment and just let this sink in ... that what you are reading is indeed written down right in front of you in your own Bible? And please remember, we need not be afraid of things we read in our Bible, even if/when they don’t always ‘fit’ with how we have been taught to believe. I would also caution you to not get ahead of me here or start jumping to conclusions; the enemy likes to use that tactic when his lies are about to be exposed. I warned you a few days ago that we’d be wading in to a subject matter that many might find unsettling. God’s word can do that oftentimes, espec...