The religious protocol that says God is first, family is second, and ministry is third doesn’t line up with Scripture and on days doesn’t line up with clear instructions from the King. A few verses that seem to teach a different idea: Luke 18:29-30 So He said to them, “I assure you: There is no one who has left a […]
A condition of drought causes some trees to stop producing hormones that cause stem or leaf or blossom growth, and focus on making hormones that make roots grow. It is a design from the Maker of the universe – tough times should be flipping switches in our lives that make us stronger drinkers from the fountain of Life. After that […]
Answering insults and accusations and arguments and unjust demands with the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) might make us so strong that we can walk away from encounters with people who are demanding a fight with smiles on our faces, peace and joy and love in our hearts, and no sense of loss, no matter what our detractors are […]
If you rebel against the the King of Heaven by refusing the assignment the King has given you in life, you are rebelling against your own value, your own identity, your own purpose. If you rebel against your true identity and purpose in life, you are rebelling against the King of Heaven. (Romans 6:17-23) It doesn’t matter whether you are […]
I have become convinced that when Jesus looks at His body, He sees its shape and systems and alignments very differently than our congregation-based, your-name-is-on-our-roll-or-you’re-not-a-member-of-the-church view. I am impressed by the prophetic view Paul revealed in a word to the believers in Ephesus (chapter 4) of a mature ekklesia who is no longer suffering from a lack of unity regarding […]
How do we decide how to deal with adversaries? In the facebook culture, the two options seem to be public accusation of evil identity and deeds, and unfriending them. What about the culture which should be ours? The culture of the church is frequently not discernible from facebook or the dog fights Jerry Springer enjoyed displaying on TV. The culture […]
When the servant of a pagan king was called to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, he faced much accusation and attack from jealous enemies of Yahweh. The stereotypical adversaries Sanballat and Tobiah constantly worked to discourage Nehemiah and the Israeli builders who helped him in the wall project. Their false accusations, physical attacks, and traps were wasted on Nehemiah. He […]
One concept Yahweh taught Israel when He made them His nation was that unclean things touching clean things make the clean become unclean. When Jesus touched something unclean, He made it clean. He cleansed leprous people. He cleansed whores and traitors and religious and sick people of their sins and their demons. There is a teaching among Pentecostals and Charismatics […]
To whom was Jesus talking when He said, “The Kingdom of Heaven is within you.”? (Luke 17) (Some translations render the statement, “among you.”) Clearly, then, the Kingdom and the Church are not the same thing.
Therefore, be imitators of God, as dearly loved children. And walk in love, as the Messiah also loved us and gave Himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God. But sexual immorality and any impurity or greed should not even be heard of among you, as is proper for saints. And coarse and foolish talking or crude joking […]