Consider your hand. With your hand still in sight, consider my hand. When the new dog bites my hand, you don’t experience the pain. You can care about my pain, you can show me real compassion if you have been bitten before, but you can’t feel it if the injury is in my hand. You feel the pain when your […]
A work that happens through the gift of prophecy is the ability to interpret events by the application of Scripture that explains them or by receiving fresh revelation from the Spirit that God is saying something to help the events make sense, or to instruct believers regarding how to respond to the events. The interpretation of Scripture that is prophetic […]
Suppose that each week you had the profound privilege of gathering with some other believers who are mature with regard to their level of knowing Jesus personally and of manifesting Him frequently by bearing much of the fruit of His Spirit. Imagine that the meeting includes a meal, a time of praising God by declaring His mighty works in the […]
In 1604, King James of England called on some of his employees to take all of the Scriptures from books and scrolls and translate them into English, and gather them into one volume. This was the third English translation, and was really prompted by complaints from Puritans about the inaccuracies of the earlier works. Most editions of the “King James […]
In the beginning of the second chapter of Matthew’s good news, he mentioned some “wise men” who appeared in Jerusalem and caused quite a stir by asking King Herod where his replacement was. “Herod” is a compound word that is a title, not a name. It describes its bearer as a “hero”. This Herod was Herod the Great. He was […]
Next time you are busy being miserable because your money ran out, or your infection won’t heal, or your lying accusers are readily believed by the people you thought were your friends, or you got fired for not lying or stealing, or you are tired of warring and fighting, Do not forget to worship your King. It might sound like […]
Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations — “Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,” which all concern things which perish with the using — according to the commandments and doctrines of men? These things indeed have an appearance […]
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.” (Matthew 13:45-46, NKJV) Some things you only find when you are looking for them. In the beginning of having a Life with Jesus, it is sometimes impossible to […]
What very good advice Paul wrote to the congregations in Colossae about being co-members of Jesus: Therefore, God’s chosen ones, holy and loved, put on heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, accepting one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a complaint against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so also you must forgive. Above all, […]
We have spiritual gifts. Our ministries flow out of the gifts, influenced by our resources: who has parented us, what skills we have, who our neighbors are, and what other gifts are functioning around us. If I am an evangelist, I will need to be around unbelievers to have effective ministry. If I am a pastor, I will need to […]