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 […]
A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a difficult time. * In a little village named Bethany, Jesus had 3 friends: Lazarus, Mary, & Martha. They welcomed Him. They even welcomed the people to whom He was a Friend – His disciples and followers. They served Him and His friends meals. The trouble He brought […]
When two people get married, the woman usually becomes pregnant soon. Normally, if she does not become pregnant, it is because they have done something to prevent it. The design of humanity includes an intentional benefit of intimacy being reproduction. The design of the Ekklesia – the Bride of Christ – includes a similar benefit of intimacy. When our relationship […]
If you want to build something, laying the foundation is always the first practical step. You can’t install a window or door without a wall to put it in, either. If you need to build a team for a project, it will be a stronger team if you build the peoples’ relationships before you put them to work by assembling […]
Now I want you to know, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from a spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock […]
Somebody sinned against me. Since Jesus said that all sin had forgiveness available but blaspheming the Holy Ghost, perhaps, since John says there is “a” sin unto death (1 John 5:14-17), this is the sin he is referring to. He doesn’t say, so I will not presume to know surely. At any rate, that still leaves a grand pile of […]
Prophetic ministry since Jesus gave gifts to His body includes three works: Announcing the future (like Agabus predicted a famine in Acts 11:28) Interpreting current events based on something God has said to the person prophesying, either through Scripture or by His Spirit (like Peter, interpreting the events on the day of Pentecost by quoting Joel, or Paul, interpreting an […]
When Saul of Tarsus met Jesus while traveling one day, Jesus introduced him to His Ekklesia. He pointed over Saul’s shoulder and identified the people Saul had been persecuting as “Me.” “Why are you persecuting Me?” Have that fact in your mind every time you read something Paul wrote about “the Body” or “members” or “the Head.” When Paul looked […]
Handing out free condoms to teenagers might protect them from some of the consequences of stupid behavior. It won’t make them smarter, though. It will encourage stupid behavior, actually. Jesus was tortured to death to protect us from the penalty of stupid behavior. Even that might not protect us from all of the consequences of stupid behavior. By itself, even […]
You are the living God, And there is no god besides You. You put to death and You bring to life, You have wounded and You will heal, And no one can deliver from Your hand. (From Deuteronomy 32:39) It is appropriate to frequently consider Who our God is in detail. The only appropriate response to the in-depth consideration is […]