The two periods of life in which people are more likely to draw near to Jesus are in youth and in old age. A child is looking for purpose and fullness. An old man or woman is looking for safety from death. What about all of the life between those bookends that could be full? When we feel invincible, and […]
Before Eve and Adam ate from the tree of death, Yahweh didn’t give them any instruction about right and wrong but one: don’t eat from the tree of death. Beyond that, there was no right or wrong. Life was simple before they got the knowledge that there is good and evil. Once they got that knowledge, they still didn’t know […]
There is a level of freedom that we can experience in life that is only possible to reach by desiring that the people around us achieve it. When it becomes available to the body, it will be available to us. Love must be without hypocrisy. Detest evil; cling to what is good. Show family affection to one another with brotherly […]
I sought Yahweh, and He answered me. He delivered me from all my fears. (Psalm 34:4) We don’t get rid of fear just by deciding to be less afraid, or by deciding to be more courageous. Faith and peace are manifestations of His Spirit. We combat fear by seeking Yahweh. When we have drawn close to Him, we gain strength […]
Lazarus, after his trip through Hades, gave Jesus a feast in his home in Bethany (John 12). His sister Mary took a pound of nard, an expensive fragrant oil, and anointed Jesus with it. Judas said that he thought that was too much money to waste on Jesus. Well, he didn’t say that exactly, but that is what he said […]
Spur one another on to love and good deeds (Philippians 2:5) Recently one person asked me why I wasn’t trying to influence another person, regarding their faith to be delivered from a problem they were facing. I replied that we cannot hold a person in the place of faith where we think they should stand. We can help them find […]
When we are in conversations with others, our answers to their comments are usually on our minds, and frequently on our tongues, before their comments are finished being stated. Agape is required to be able to listen to what other people are saying. Patience is required. Even when we do listen, we are prone to answer with, “Yes, but…” Suppose […]
Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane that His Father’s will would be done in His life. His flesh wanted to lead Him to ask for deliverance from the cross. His spirit wanted to lead Him to pay for our sin. Asking Yahweh to deliver us from troubles is rarely as effective as asking Him what He is doing, and […]
What day are you longing for? The last couple of centuries have found most of the church crying for the “sweet by and by.” Most of her hymns have been prayers that her God would snatch her out of the earth and let her lounge in heaven forever. Perhaps the most pitiful of such whinings was “Precious Lord:” “Precious Lord, Take […]
We are always walking in faith. Sometimes what we have faith in is foolish, sometimes its awesome, sometimes it is pretty much antichrist. Faith in one thing is by default doubt in opposite things. We always are putting faith in something, though. Faith goes beyond trust. It is imparted to us by the Holy Spirit, and it is a spiritual […]