Right Works

But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without works, and I will show you faith from my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. The demons also believe—and they shudder. Foolish man! Are you willing to learn that faith without works is useless? Wasn’t Abraham our father justified by […]

Sanctified Doubt

“If it be Thy will, Lord,” is sanctified doubt. If you don’t know what the will of the Lord is in a situation, ask Him. The one who asks will receive answers (Matthew 7:7). Yahweh said to Jeremiah, “Call to me and I’ll answer you. I will tell you great things – wondrous things that you don’t know yet.” (Jeremiah […]

Access

Some days, whatever I post will have value to some people and not for others, based on what each person’s circumstance or attitude or energy level is that day. On those days when what I say doesn’t seem to hit either a target or a nerve, I give you access to much more anyway: at the bottom of each email […]

Being Filled With the Spirit

Philip, having been filled with the Spirit through the act of the apostles laying hands on him, as Luke recorded in Acts 6, was thrust out of Jerusalem by the persecution following the death of his friend Stephen in Acts 8. Clearly, his gift was evangelism, because he led an entire city to Jesus and baptized them. Peter and John […]

Romance / Agape

Please think back to the first few months after you became a believer. How many things did the Lord do to confirm to you His presence, His love, and your transformation? How much of that has been replaced on your side of the relationship with coolness, or how much is taken for granted now, that inspired awe in those first […]

Yeshua, the Messiah

Christ is a title. It means “one anointed.” In Hebrew, christ was messiah. The term was used to refer to Cyrus, king of Persia (Isaiah 45:1), David (2 Samuel 23:1), Saul (1 Samuel 24:10), others, oil, and Jesus. Jesus is a name. It means “Salvation of Yah.” Jesus is a Greek transliteration of Yeshua, His real name, which is a […]

What we Give

In a sense, we are not required to give anything to Jesus in this life. We are called to give everything, but not required to give anything. Pretending to give all when we are not is dangerous, though. Give all, give none, do something half-way; whatever you do, though, be honest: with yourself, your neighbor, and with Jesus. This includes […]

Cash-Free Baptism

The third page of my website offers access to several articles I have written. If you have read Being Baptized, which is posted on that third page, you will quickly see why I call Peter’s cash problem in Acts 3 a baptism. Peter and John encountered a man at the gate called Beautiful as they went to the temple at […]

The 120 Clerks

Is it possible that the 120 believers who were gathered on Pentecost as described in Acts 2 were all clergy? At least 11 were apostles. If the Holy Spirit was OK with an apostle being chosen by means of winning a game of dice, there were at least 12 apostles (Matthias: Acts1:15-26). What about the rest of them? How many […]