Obeying our King

When the high priest and those who were with him arrived, they convened the Sanhedrin—the full Senate of the sons of Israel—and sent orders to the jail to have them brought. But when the temple police got there, they did not find them in the jail, so they returned and reported, “We found the jail securely locked, with the guards […]

Effective Yeast

“Why is it you don’t understand that when I told you, ‘Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees,’ it wasn’t about bread?” Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the yeast in bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.(Matthew 16:11-12 HCSB ©®) Lies and misinformation are both poisonous. When they […]

The Church’s Foundations

The foundation of the church is theology and statements of faith. Contrary to the famous hymn, it has, therefore, many foundations. The stone which is the foundation of the ekklesia of Jesus is Jesus. He is the cornerstone. The height, the depth and width of His love are the planes by which those characteristics of His love can be measured […]

The Eye of the Lord

The Lord looks down from heaven;He observes everyone.He gazes on all the inhabitants of the earthfrom His dwelling place.He alone crafts their hearts;He considers all their works.A king is not saved by a large army;a warrior will not be delivered by great strength.The horse is a false hope for safety;it provides no escape by its great power.Now the eye of […]

Led to Listen and Learn

Lead us into Your vision, and speak to us with Your voice, Lord. Show us the path of righteousness, and cause us to walk in it without failing. Make us able to succeed at the work which You died to privilege us with. Give us grace that draws us to Your heart, Your purpose, Your life, Your love, Your throne. […]

For the Sake of My Servant

When the Rabshakeh heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish, he returned and found him fighting against Libnah. The king had heard this about Tirhakah king of Cush: “Look, he has set out to fight against you.” So he again sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, “Say this to Hezekiah king of Judah: ‘Don’t let your God, whom you […]

For Works, Not By Works

Most people want to live a life that has meaning and purpose. Some people want it badly enough to invest heavily in preparation for the fulfilment of some project or work that matters, even to the point of 15 years of preparation in some cases. Generally, only the people who are playing a “long game” with regard to their intentions […]

Be Encouraged

When has “encouragement” been reduced to the lower level of “pep talk?” At half-time in a ball game, each team’s coach has an opportunity to give her/his team a speech on something. If they are losing, they need to be reminded of strategies or mindsets that might help them turn the tide. If they are winning, maybe they need to […]

This Life

How much of our “good news” is left if we remove the religion? Is our invitation to unbelievers an invitation to Sunday meetings? Are we inviting them to avoid the lake of fire? To what do we invite those who are addicted to alcohol and other drugs? I have become convinced that the only appropriate invitation is to meet Jesus. […]

The Word Became Flesh

The Word became fleshand took up residence among us.We observed His glory,the glory as the One and Only Son from the Father,full of grace and truth.(John testified concerning Him and exclaimed,“This was the One of whom I said,‘The One coming after me has surpassed me,because He existed before me.’”)Indeed, we have all received grace after gracefrom His fullness,for although the […]