Reflections
Greetings and blessings to all of you. This past Tuesday Yom Kippur was celebrated in the Jewish communities. “It is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come” (Lev. 23:31) For them it is one of the holiest of days along with Rosh Hashanah. During those holidays but especially on Yom Kippur the Jews come together to fast, reflect, and repent; to take stock of their actions in the past year, to seek forgiveness and commit to doing better in the year to come. Only on this special day it has been noted in the OT the high priest would enter the inner sanctum of the Holy Tem...
(Read More)Greetings and blessings to all of you. Did you know that God looks at us as Sojourners, Exiles, Pilgrims, or Strangers? Do you see yourselves as this? I assert that this is difficult only because we are so programmed to live in the here and now. For example when we became a Christian we think…..what will this do for my marriage? How will it help me raise my kids? How will being a believer help me to succeed in my career? Will it help me solve personal problems? Will it help me to be happy? It is nothing wrong to enjoy God’s blessings and His provisions for us….but if we do ...
(Read More)Greetings and blessings to all of you. I have a best friend on a blog. Her name is …. Joni Erickson -Tada. She is the poster child on “suffering.” She is a follower of Christ and a quadriplegic for a little over 50 years…and a cancer survivor. Married to ‘A Man of God’ who takes his vows seriously. Today she wrote “remember at your weakest most vulnerable moment you are never nearer to the unlimited inexhaustible power and love of the living Christ. Reach out your hand and if you cannot manage that…. just lift your little finger. Whatever your...
(Read More)Greetings and blessings to all of you. In the Church at Corinthian the people were exhibiting un- Christlike behaviors and Paul had to come to them direct and very clear as to how followers of Christ should behave. The people just like us today {when given a message by the Pastor or a leader of a church} may have “feelings” of anger or guilt or sadness. You may leave the church in a huff or quit going to church altogether with a negative attitude bringing that same attitude to another church as some do. This passage alludes to how your response could be. In 2 Cor.7:9-10, “Now...
(Read More)Greetings and blessings to all of you. The word of God says, “the Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any who understand, any who seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy; there is none that do good, no, not one.” (Psalm 14:2,3) That is an adequate definition of a Humanist. This is saying that a man without God is {void of understanding.} You may have higher education; you may be a very studious person of the world affairs. But you must stop and ask the question, why are we in such a mess today? Maybe you are not...
(Read More)Greetings and blessings to all of you. In Luke 4:18
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”.
Surely there are no people on earth who should be as happy and rejoicing as those who have been redeemed by the precious blood of the Lord Jesus. We were chosen to serve God by the above. That assignment for all of us believers should make us inexpressibly happy. Think...
(Read More)Greetings and blessings to all of you. Question: Since we all arrive in this world spiritually dead, the only way to be brought to life is to be Born Again. Are you Born Again? Or as one author penned, “Are you a fan or a follower? Jesus had many fans but not many followers. Only 12 Disciples. Jesus said to the crowd, “Truly Truly I say to you; are seeking me not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate your fill of the loaves.” This crowd was motivated by superficial desires(food) and not the true spiritual significance of knowing Jesus and his mission. His missi...
(Read More)Greetings and blessings to all of you. Question: Do we value God above all else? Paul having been converted to Christianity and being beaten, arrested and told to stop preaching exhorted the Ephesians in 4:1 “to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” How do we as Bible believing followers of Christ do that? #1 Live obediently. We are no longer children of the devil. We live in a decidedly optimistic but delusional age that places man at the very center of the universe and hails himself as the measure of all things. And because of this powerful delusion we may say to ...
(Read More)Greetings and blessings to all of you. Jesus spoke in parables or divine truths to those who are seeking after Him. Parables required more explanation and are rich in meaning. In the Parable of the Sower (Mark 4) Jesus made it clear that the seed represents the Word of God. The field is the world. The farmer is Jesus. The four soils represent the heart of four kinds of people and/or the congregation. Pastors understand this as they teach/preach; but we also must understand this concept when we minister to our family members and others so we will not get discouraged and give up talking and or p...
(Read More)Greetings and blessings to all of you. It has been said “that all sin is deceitful, but pride is especially sneaky.” Think of OT people such as David, Samson and the Israelites; we think to ourselves, “What is the matter with them? Why did they act so stupid? How gullible and foolish these guys were.” And in the NT we read about the Pharisees who knew God but refuse to know Jesus. Herod allowed himself to be acknowledged as “ A god” and it cost him his life (Acts 12:21-23) Our Bible warns us about pride. In Proverbs 3:7 the Word tells us “Be not wise i...
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