The more directly the education received in our youth is related to our true identity and purpose, the more directly we can be about the business our Father intends for us to walk in. That which is born of flesh is flesh; that which is born of Spirit is spirit. The more we are spending this life preparing for what […]
Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, in order to know what has been freely given to us by God. We also speak these things, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual things to spiritual people.(1 Corinthians 2:12-13 HCSB ©®) Show […]
I have several versions of a sliver of wood called a “yardstick.” Once I had a stick that was a little different: it was called a “meterstick.” When this type of device is only 12 inches long, it is not called a “footstick,” though. It is then a “ruler.” These sticks are used to enforce rules, and to judge the […]
When Peter stood before the huge crowd of people who heard the Spirit fall on believers on Pentecost morning AD 1, he quoted a prophet and then told them who Yeshua was. Some of them responded, “Brothers, what must we do?” (Acts 2) Peter’s answer was not “Come down front,” nor “Join the seekers’ class,” nor “Be ready to be […]
Jesus chose the cross. He chose miserable death over glorious life. After He partook of the lamb at the Passover meal, He stepped in line behind millions of lambs who had been sacrificed by Israeli families through the centuries. As He went forth from the table to the sacrifice, the weight of the cost became more clear than ever. When […]
Jesus saw driving demons out of people to be a Kingdom work. Because His Kingdom had appeared among the people of Israel, it was overpowering the kingdoms that were trying to usurp its authority and its power. The line between being part of His Kingdom, (obeying Him), and being part of opposition to it is not always clear. It is […]
Islam has found a place and a welcome in the land of the descendants of Ishmael. At its core, it is intent on destroying followers of Moses and of Jesus: forcing them to convert to Islam and its moon god, or be killed. The door that opened to that hatred can be traced to an elderly couple not being patient […]
Our God created humanity with an inherent desire for Him. Since being poisoned by the fruit of the tree of death, humanity has a greater desire for the knowledge of good and evil than we have for Him. All our arguments are likely to be reducible to contention about what’s right and what’s wrong. We disagree with each other about […]
Even if you have every right to be angry at someone, even if your desire for revenge is perfectly justified, even if someone you forgive for hurting you doesn’t care; doesn’t care about you; doesn’t care about the fact that you forgave them; and will probably proceed to hurt someone else, even if a hateful person broke your favorite toy […]
A rich young elitist asked Jesus what he needed to do to be saved. Jesus told him to obey the law. “I have done that,” was his reply to that instruction. Jesus then gave him two more instructions, to which he refused to surrender. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was hung by Hitler’s thugs, wrote, “When Jesus calls a man, He bids […]