"So the king did not listen to the people, for it was a turn of events from God that the LORD might establish His word, which He spoke through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat." - (2 Chronicles 10:15, NASB)    "Thus says the LORD, 'You shall not go up or fight against your relatives; return every man to his house, for this thing is from Me.' So they listened to the words of the LORD and returned from going against Jeroboam." - (2 Chronicles 11:4, NASB)     Two verses of Scripture today that point to the same general idea. Solomon was the wisest man to ever live, according to Scripture. However, in his humanity, he acted foolishly by erecting and worshiping idols and "other gods", As a result his kingdom was going to suffer. After he died, his son Rehoboam became king. And, due to foolishness of his own, the kingdom of Israel split into two groups of people: the kingdom of Judah, with Rehoboam as ruler, and the ki...

"Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense either to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God; just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit but the profit of the many, so that they may be saved." (1 Corinthians 10:31-33, NASB)    Two weeks ago I read an article by a notable Christian magazine which presented the idea that Christians are free to use marijuana, but they should not. Although I cannot speak directly for Paul, I'm pretty sure that this was not what he meant when speaking of liberty. Usually, any discussion of questionable behavior eventually devolves into a legalism-vs-liberty debate, with supporters on each side brining in "other" topics, which clouds the issue. Christ has given us freedom: freedom from sin, not freedom to sin; freedom to live and serve, not freedom to indulge.    My heart and spirit is deeply disturbed by the willingness of some within the c...

"And God created the great sea monsters, and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind, and God saw that it was Good." - (Genesis 1:21, NASB)  I do not usually place disclaimers at the beginning of posts, but this one is needed. I hope I can accurately present what is in my heart. I am not concerned with your understanding near as much as I am with my presentation.    God set a divine order in place in Genesis: things will produce after their kind. It means that bacteria does not produce fish, fish do not produce crocodiles, crocodiles do not produce monkeys, and monkeys do not produce humans. This is also true in the plant kingdom, where we find apple trees producing apples, and not oranges. Within creation, each produces after its kind. A pattern emerges:  plant produces plant, animal produces animal, man produces man. "After its kind."    Several months ago as I was p...

    "...And they were scattered, because there was no shepherd; and they became food to all the beasts of the field, and were scattered." (Ezekiel 34:1-5, ASV)     The painting here is entitled, "The Bad Shepherd," by Pieter Brueghel II in the 1600s. If you look closely you can see where it receives its name. The shepherd is running from a wolf who is devouring one of the sheep. If you look closely, there appears to be another in the distance doing the same. It is a pretty good visual illustration of the LORD's scathing words through the prophet Ezekiel. The LORD had not-so-kind words for His ministers, His shepherds, that were responsible for caring for His people, but shrugged off their responsibilities to the sheep for their own interests.    I fully expect to be taken to task over this post, but I cannot remain silent. Several days ago, I posted a blog on alcohol consumption, looking at the OT priests' responsibility, and making appli...

"The LORD then spoke to Aaron, saying, 'Do not drink wine or strong drink, neither you nor your sons with you, when you come into the tent of meeting, so that you may not die--it is a perpetual statute throughout your generations--and so as to make a distinction between the holy and the profane, and between the unclean and the clean, and so as to teach the sons of Israel all the statutes which the LORD has spoken to them through Moses.'" - (Lev. 10:8-11, NASB)    In addressing the issue of alcohol within the Christian community, there is an often overlooked principle in Scripture that cannot be ignored. In the Old Testament, the priests were not permitted to drink when they were going to enter into the temple of God, period. To do so would invite death. By abstaining from drinking, they established what is right and wrong as examples for the people of God.  These are not my ideas, these are God's ideas, outlined in the verses above. The Old Testament is ofte...

"And also I gave them My sabbaths to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies." - Ezek. 20:12 (NASB)    (I've had this one sitting "on the desk" for a while).    I love the Old Testament. There are many in the Christian world today who dismiss the OT as outdated and irrelevant, but I am not in that group. There are some issues in the OT that do not apply directly to us (blood sacrifice for example) because Jesus came and died, fulfilling this requirement forever. However, even in those parts of the OT that have been fulfilled, or those for which we are no longer responsible to, we can still learn much in regard to the truths and principles that God established long before Jesus arrived.    The passage above is a prime example of what I am talking about. The sabbath was the holy day for the Jewish people. It was a day in which all regular work was ceased, and the people spent resting and worshipping God....

"...He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you." - Romans 8:11 (NASB)    Security is a word that is being thrown around a lot today. For a moment I want to focus on the most important security aspect, spiritual security. In Paul's words above, he writes that our mortal bodies receive spiritual life through the presence of the Holy Spirit. Although no one every used these exact words, there was a false idea that I was given about salvation as I was growing up. It was my understanding that  salvation was something like a gift or possession, something that I could hold onto and keep as my own. It was mine, for the LORD gave it to me. Since it is mine, I get to hang on to it forever. Salvation is certainly a gift, in that the LORD offers it to us freely, but salvation is not something that we possess. He does not simply drop life into our bodies and then go His own way.     Salv...

"The backslider in heart will be filled with the fruit of his ways, and a good man will be filled with the fruit of his ways." - Prov. 14:14 (ESV)    Popeye was one of my favorite characters as a child, although I still will NOT eat spinach. Even as a child I got the message that if I ate my veggies I would grow up big and strong like him, rather than like Wimpy who ate cheeseburgers continually.  Popeye had a great catchphrase, "I am what I am and that's all that I am." Pretty good philosophy from a sailor with freakishly-large forearms and no biceps. It also sheds light on this verse of Scripture in Proverbs.     I confess that it took me several times reading this verse, and six different translations, before I got what Solomon was saying. We know that a backslider is full of their own ways. Backsliders are those who walk away from the LORD into their own interests. The problem is Solomon wrote that the good man is filled with ways, just as ...

"Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses. - Joshua 1:3 (NASB)    If you look forward from this point in Joshua you will find that Josh and the Israelites are constantly driving out their enemies. At every turn they are taking up their swords and routing another enemy. In some cases, the enemy routes them. Eventually they manage to conquer the Promised Land, but not completely, for they let some of their enemies stay because the fight was too difficult.        This brings me back to the verse above. The LORD told Josh that He was going to "give" the land to him. Give. When I think about someone giving something to me, I envision me reaching out my hand and simply taking hold of what is being given. The LORD said He was giving the land to Josh, he simply had to reach out and take what God was giving. It belonged to His people, but His people would have to fight to claim it.    As...

 "Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father's house, To the land which I will show you;"  ( Gen. 12:1, NASB)     I love this passage of Scripture. The LORD made Abram, aka Abraham, some fantastic promises, and Abraham was apparently eager to get started. However, the LORD never told Abraham what his path would be like. That his life would be in danger, that he would have to rescue his nephew from captivity, that he would be in danger of losing his wife, that he would fail God. No, all he knew is that God was going to direct him "to the land which I will show you."      Well the year 2014 is here. What paths will you take as this new year unfolds before you? Is there little doubt that this year will have laughter and tears, joy and pain, abundance and want, life and death? We do not know what will come our way this year, but we do know that our God is leading us forward. Reg...

"Do not move the ancient boundary which your fathers have set." - Prov. 22:28 (NASB) [The original post was back in July, but it bears repeating. This is one the the most read and shared that I have posted to date.  I have update a few items, but the message is the same.]    As I think about it, this verse seems especially appropriate for our world today. We do not think about it too much, but our world is filled with boundaries. Boundaries serve several important tasks. First, they keep things in. There are some pretty amazing creatures to see at a zoo, many of which are extremely dangerous to us. However, because of the barriers erected, we can observe lions and hyena from a safe location. Barriers also keep things out. Again think of the zoo. Imagine sitting down with your family in the designated picnic area, and the keepers allow the hyena to come and join in. Hyena are still dangerous, regardless of which century you live in. Just because there is new ...

"Be on the alert..."  1 Cor. 16:13 (NASB)      A few days ago I saw a bumper sticker that caught my eye: "If you are not outraged then you are not paying attention." There was an obviously political point to this sticker, especially it you noticed the other stickers attached to the car, but reading it sent my mind to the Bible. Spiritual blindness is one of the greatest resources evil has at its disposal. Paul writes,  "And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." - (2 Cor. 4:3-4, NASB)   Notice in this passage that Paul says it is the god of this world, Satan, who blinds the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see.      In the verse for today, Paul begins simply with, "Be on the alert." With technology, and the speed of our ...

"But the fruit of the Spirit is . . . joy . . ." - Galatians 5:22-23 (NASB)       Happiness and joy are not the same. I realize that any good thesaurus will list these as synonyms for each other, but they are different. According to one Biblical language resource, joy (Greek chara)  means "exultation, exuberant joy, good cheer, mirth, gladness of heart," and is "related to grace, as if joy is a direct result of God’s grace.”*  Happiness is an emotion. And, like other emotions, it can come and go in a whim. Joy, however,  is a spiritual state of being within the heart and spirit of believers. A believer can have joy even in the midst of great hardship, because the joy is a result of God's presence. If joy is a "fruit" or a byproduct of God's presence within is, then it stands to reason that as long as He is present in our lives, then joy is present also. Happiness is dependent upon circumstances, but joy is dependent upon the LORD. The LORD...

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love . . ." - Galatians 5:22-23 (NASB)    It is no coincidence that Paul begins this list we know as "the fruit of the Spirit" with love (agape). Love is the beginning, the middle, and the ending of this thing called faith. Our God is not merely a loving God, but love is His very essence, His nature (1 Jn. 4:7-8).   Love is the very reason God looked down on fallen humanity and provided a way for forgiveness, restoration, and salvation (Jn. 3:16) . Furthermore, among the endearing religious qualities of faith, hope, and love, it is love which is the greatest (1 Cor. 13:13). In addition, it is this quality if agape love which proves to the world that we are believers and disciples of Jesus (Jn. 13:34-35) . Finally, the greatest task that we can attempt, in honor of what Jesus did for us, is to emulate His life by laying down our lives for others (1 Jn. 3:16) .    Scholars have told us that the term agape does not...

"But the fruit of the Spirit is...." - Galatians 5:22-23 (NASB)    I began a new series yesterday morning with the above mentioned title. For the next few weeks we will be looking at Spiritual fruitfulness according to Paul's listing in Galatians. However, we did not look at any among the itemized list yesterday. We began by looking establishing a simple fact of Scripture: God wants His people to be fruitful, or productive, in our life of faith. One major point that we drove home yesterday is the fact that bearing fruit is conditional. By conditional, I mean that we are going to bear fruit, either of the Spirit or of the flesh. The kind of fruit we bear is conditional upon the environment we establish for our lives. If we choose to make the things of God (Scripture, prayer, worship, communion with other believers) a priority, then we will bear Spiritual fruit. If we neglect those things then we will ultimately bear carnal fruit.    The reason I am informing you of...

A Brief excerpt from yesterday's message.    The term "baptism" is familiar to most people, regardless of the particular church they may be involved in. However, as we read the Scriptures, we soon learn that baptism does not refer to one but three separate events. The first baptism is into the body of Christ, a.k.a. salvation, the new birth, or being born again. They all refer to the same. This is the process by which the Holy Spirit, through the regenerative work of Jesus, brings us from spiritual death to spiritual life, thus making us part of the "body" of Christ. Paul writes, "For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and were all made to drink of one Spirit.” (1 Cor. 12:12, NASB) I refer to this baptism as a baptism of position, because we have moved from an existence apart from God due to sin into a position with God due to the right-standing that is ours due to Jesus Christ's death a...

"If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit." - Gal. 5:25 (NASB)    In recent weeks I have not posted as regular as has been my custom. As many of you know, much of the postings that I share come straight out of my time alone with God. In many cases, the insights I share are still turning over in my own heart and mind even as I post them. For the last few weeks, the LORD has been speaking to me concerning the area of Spirit living, but has not released me to share those things here. In the future, I believe I will be sharing much more in regard to this necessary area of our Christian walk. However, today I want to share a simple and yet profound truth.    In the verse above, Paul is concluding some thoughts on living by the Spirit as opposed to living "under the law" or living as natural/carnal men. It is as this point that he makes powerful statement, "If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit." The "if" is for ...