Praying for Boldness

After they were released, they went to their own fellowship and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. When they heard this, they raised their voices to God unanimously and said, “Master, You are the One who made the heaven, the earth, and the sea, and everything in them. You said through the Holy […]

Yoked to His Burden

Whatever you are excited about is probably an arrow aimed at your future. If it happens to be the burden that Jesus is offering you, it will draw you to the yoke that can affect it. For it is God who is working in you, enabling you both to will and to act for His good purpose. Do everything without […]

Not Weary Yet

Don’t be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows he will also reap, because the one who sows to his flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit. So we must not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the […]

Finding Home

If you are shopping for a new church to join, the first test is to find your favorite denomination, usually. Further tests are preaching style, music style, dress code and level of friendliness/welcome. Some theologians have managed to discern that looking for a position in ekklesia is very different. Not really grasping how different the socio-governmental word ekklesia is from […]

Give a Good Report

The Lord responded, “I have pardoned them as you requested. Yet as surely as I live and as the whole earth is filled with the Lord’s glory, none of the men who have seen My glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tested Me these 10 times and did not obey Me, will […]

Ishmaels and Isaacs

Ishmael was a son. He was not, however, the promised son. Saul was a king. He was not, however, the promised king. The church is a gathering of the people of Jesus. It is not, however, the promised gathering. The house of Saul was at war with the house of David for a long time, with the house of Saul […]

New What’s Next Things

I expect that until there is a new earth and a new heaven and a new Jerusalem passing between them, there will continue to be “what’s next” things. What was next to wrestle control of the people of Jesus from the soiled hands of the popes was a movement Luther helped mid-wife. A bit later, the holiness movement was birthed […]

Three Tribes of Believers

Consider some exaggerated extremes of description: Some believers have been convinced that Jesus is coming to pick them up this afternoon and relieve them of their fear and lack of preparation and take them on an eternal vacation. They are hiding from the ever-increasing darkness and evil and listening through the locked front door for the horn of the gospel […]

Pursuing My Goal

My goal is to know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, assuming that I will somehow reach the resurrection from among the dead. Not that I have already reached the goal or am already fully mature, but I make every effort to take hold of it because I […]

Who Are You to Judge Me?

That’s a popular question. It parallels “Who are you to disagree with me?” Though there are many ways to do it wrong, there are correct ways to pass judgement on others’ behavior and values. Some wrong ways include judging someone through a lens of jealousy or fear or pride. Some people hate other people because they have better clothes or […]