Some of us may be surprised that we take what our King has invested in us (talents & minas) to Heaven with us without having invested it in anything ourselves. Paul, to the congregations in Philippi, wrote in what we call chapter 2 of his letter that they should have the mindset Jesus had. He was humble. He emptied Himself. He became […]
Paul wrote a letter to the congregations in Ephesus that became part of the Holy Book. In what we now call chapter 4 of it, he informed the Ephesians that the power that builds the Church up to maturity is love, and the process for love building the Church up is that every part of the Body does its work, […]
Someone has said well that we are CHRISTians, not BIBLians. We should be more founded in Him than in His Book, as valuable as it is. He is the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. The Ekklesias of Christ proved that we can be powerful Christians with or without a printed New Testament. For a few hundred years they […]
What Jesus said to the rich young ruler (Luke 18:22, Matthew 19:21, Mark 10:21) was, “Sell everything you have, give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven. Then come, follow me.” What He said about the rich young ruler was, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a […]
“But what do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘My son, go, work in the vineyard today.’ “He answered, ‘I don’t want to!’ Yet later he changed his mind and went. Then the man went to the other and said the same thing. “‘I will, sir,’ he answered. But he didn’t go. “Which […]
Being confused about the nature and of the manifestations of the Kingdom of Heaven, many have effectively closed the doors of the Kingdom to those who want to enter it. By not having knowledge that could open the doors, they have left them closed and hidden. Jesus promised a curse of woes to lawyers who were doing this in Luke 11:52. […]
Disciplines, or, as John Wesley would call them, “means of grace,” are activities (or refrains from action in some cases) that can put us in a position or a condition in which the Holy Spirit can work in us and/or for us more easily or more deeply. They can help us focus or communicate (both speaking and listening) by insulating […]
A woman was in my office this week who was dependent on county-funded, chartered transportation. She was brought from a nursing home in a van, and the van driver left to go deliver others elsewhere. When she called for a pickup service to take her back to the home, she was not satisfied with the van that was sent, so […]
You can’t become a disciple of Jesus without being disciplined. If that seems too harsh, or too inconsiderate of possibilities, change the format to the one James used: “Show me your faith without works.”; show me a disciple who found themselves in the position of being one by some path other than discipline. Discipline and disciple are forms of the […]
The boy Samuel served the Lord in Eli’s presence. In those days the word of the Lord was rare and prophetic visions were not widespread. 1 Samuel 3:1 Now Samuel had not yet experienced the Lord, because the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. 1 Samuel 3:7 Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him […]