"...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...

"Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship." - Romans 12:1 (NASB)     Worship is not singing, although singing is a part of worship. Worship is not praying, although praying is part of worship. Giving is not worship, and neither is Bible reading, attending church services, witnessing, or any number of activities that we often combine together and call it "worship". So then, what is worship?    If you look at any Bible dictionary you will find a definition that states something along the lines of "homage paid to God." Paul notes above that worship is presenting our lives as a living and holy sacrifice (or offering) to God. In other words, worship is both an attitude and posture of the heart in which a person humbles himself (or herself) before God,  surrendering to His will, His plan, and His desires.    Please do not mi...

"...And what will You do for Your great name?" - Joshua 7:9 (NASB)    Israel was in a tough spot. After an incredible victory over Jericho, they faced a humiliating defeat at Ai because one man chose to defy the LORD's command. The verse above is the end of a prayer that Joshua is offering to God in trying to discover why God would let them fail after bringing them so far. The failure was not God's fault, but man's. And the verses that follow reveal the "rest of the story."    Look back at Joshua's prayer for a moment: "And what will You do for Your great name?" Contrary to what some may think, God is not in the business of exalting man. Yes, he elevate any man or woman in a public manner for His purposes, but the reason is never to bring attention to the individual. When man attempts to "touch" the glory of God, or try to "take" some of it for himself, he is setting himself up for failure. The LORD wants His creat...

"And Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, 'Take up the ark of the covenant and cross over ahead of the people.'" - Joshua 3:6 (NASB)    There is an old French proverb that states, "The more things change, the more they stay the same." The proverb fits a number of areas in life, but it also fits in relation to faith. In the verse above, Joshua and the Israelites are facing the prospect of crossing the Jordan River to enter the promised land. After forty years of rebellion, they would succeed where their parents had failed, but how would they get across was still unclear. Approximately forty-one years ago the entire nation crosses the Red Sea on dry ground, so perhaps God would work in the same manner.     There certainly are some similarities. We know that the LORD caused the river to dry up before Joshua, just as before Moses at the Red Sea, and they crossed safely. However, there was one major difference. At the Red Sea, the waters parted before th...

"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...

" But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone." - Mark 13:32 (NASB)      There is a lot of talk about "the end" these days, and depending on your eschatological view (end-time theology), there are various ideas even within Christianity. Recently I have read articles from several sources telling us that Jesus' return would coincide with the comet Ison. The Jehovah's Witnesses "prophesied" the return of Jesus at least four separate times in history. Many of us will remember, back in 1988, the book "88 Reasons Jesus Will Return in 1988," and it's companion volume, "99 reasons...."  I can tell you with a high degree of certainty that they were wrong.    The problem is that Scripture is perfectly clear that no one knows when "the end" will be here. Supporters would argue that since Jesus said "day nor hour" that we can know the year, mont...