Many Christian organizations feel that erecting a magnificent building in which to worship honors God. Some claim that the Holy Spirit lives in such edifices. Not true!

Acts 7:48-49 says:

⁴⁸ “However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says:
⁴⁹ ‘Heaven is My throne,
And earth is My footstool.
What house will you build for Me? says the Lord,
Or what is the place of My rest? (ref: Isaiah 66:1)(NKJV)

And in Acts 17:24 we find: Continue reading “The Broken-Down Temple”

I don’t know too many people who say they are not concerned by recent world events, the economy, and the current political climate.  In fact, most people I know spend a lot of time being angry or frightened (or both) about these things and so much more.  Yet, the Bible tells us that, as believers, we are not to worry.  About anything.   How can we do that?

In the modern vernacular “worry” means to be anxious or disturbed.  The Greek word translated as “worry” is merimnao, which also means to be anxious and that comes from the word merimna which means “to be divided or pulled apart”.  This is appropriate because worrying about things outside of our control will only pull us apart from God and the peace He promised us. Continue reading “Being Happy in Unhappy Times”

“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” – Matthew 16:19

When I became a Christian, all the instruction I received about the Kingdom of God was to protect myself from the corruption of the world, to avoid spending too much time with “sinners,” and to hold on until Jesus came back. Christianity was presented to me as a waiting game not something I could be active and thrive in. Getting to heaven simply meant avoiding Satan. Continue reading “A Closer Kingdom”

What a wonderful thing it must have been to live while Jesus walked the earth, to see him heal and cast out demons, to hear him teach about God the Father and The Way. And yet so many of those who did see and hear marveled at it all, then walked away: rejecting his message.

His disciples noticed this too. In Luke 13:22-30 we have this discourse:

The Narrow Way

²² And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. ²³ Then one said to Him, “Lord, are there few who are saved?”

And He said to them, ²⁴ “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. ²⁵ When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,’ ²⁶ then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’ ²⁷ But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’ ²⁸ There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out. ²⁹ They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God. ³⁰ And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last.”

When Jesus worked miracles and astonished many with His teaching, the Jews were hopeful that He was their promised messiah. But, they were expecting a military leader, someone who would rise up against Rome and restore Israel to preeminence among all the nations. Naturally, the Pharisees and Sadducees would be this leader’s cabinet, his governors over this new world order. But Jesus taught forgiveness, love, and repentance. He wanted them to abandon their traditions and follow Him in a new direction. So they rejected Him, despite all they saw and heard.

Today, Jesus does not walk among us, we cannot listen to Him declare the truths of God. That is done through the Bible: God’s Holy Word, and the urging of the Holy Spirit. But now, as it was then, mankind does not want to hear what the Gospel tells us, so mankind edits The Word through exclusion and re-interpretation. Mankind wants to build a wider gate through which to enter Heaven.

But mankind does not build gates into Heaven, only Jesus grants that access through the authority given Him by God the Father in Jesus’ death and resurrection.

The door that the Master of the house closes in the parable is death. As long as we are alive, we have the ability to accept Jesus. Death locks that door closed.

On the day of judgment, many of the people of Jesus’ day will say, “We knew you, you taught in our streets. Let us in.” But He will refuse them admittance because they rejected Him.

On the day of judgment, many modern Christians will say, “We worshiped you and did many great works in your name, let us in.” But if they followed an edited gospel, they followed a gospel of their own making, not that of God. In so doing, they carved their own God to follow. And on that day, Jesus will tell them, “I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.”

There will be some who are considered mighty men of God by this world: respected and followed by a multitude, who will be turned away. And there will be those who were despised by this world as “Jesus freaks” who will be welcomed and given positions of preeminence in the kingdom of God.

That is not my opinion: that is what The Word says. That is what Jesus told the people of His time, and His words stand as truth today.  Read His Word for yourself.  Follow its teachings.  Be careful who you trust as a teacher.

People of the world say, “knowledge is power” and set about gathering knowledge about people and situations that concern them. Knowledge is an assemblage of facts and datum. Those facts and datum are of little use, except for small talk at parties, if you lack the wisdom to interpret and use those facts. Wisdom is the proper interpretation and application of knowledge. Wisdom allows you to interpret information properly, however pressing information into the mold of our own opinions and ideology distorts it and renders it less useful.

Proverbs 2: 1-7 says:
¹ My son, if you receive my words,
And treasure my commands within you,
² So that you incline your ear to wisdom,
And apply your heart to understanding;
³ Yes, if you cry out for discernment,
And lift up your voice for understanding,
⁴ If you seek her as silver,
And search for her as for hidden treasures;
⁵ Then you will understand the fear of the Lord,
And find the knowledge of God.
⁶ For the Lord gives wisdom;
From His mouth come knowledge and understanding;
⁷ He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
He is a shield to those who walk uprightly; Continue reading “Acquiring Wisdom”

Previously we looked at The Mysteries of God. This time, let’s take a deeper look at how believers fit into the handling of these mysteries.

1 Corinthians 4:1 says, “Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.” (NKJV). Before we go further let’s look at the word steward. In modern-day terms this word evokes images of people who serve meals and attend to passengers aboard airplanes, trains and ocean liners. In Biblical terms, a steward was a slave that is given responsibility for managing the master’s household or business. Joseph was steward over the household of Potiphar: a powerful man: a Captain of Pharaoh’s Guard, “And his master saw that the Lord was with him (Joseph) and that the Lord made all he did to prosper in his hand. … Then he made him overseer of his house, and all that he had he put under his authority.” (Genesis 39:3-4).

Stewards of the Mysteries Continue reading “Stewards of the Mysteries”

The Apostle Paul writes to the church in Corinth and explains that when he first came to them he spoke to them not in mysteries but in simple terms, speaking only about Jesus, Him crucified, and the salvation that comes from that act. Paul says he spoke “not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:4-5 NKJV).

This was not because Paul was incapable of eloquent speech. Before his conversion he was a Pharisee who had been educated at the knees of Gamaliel, a most respected teacher of Judaism (Acts 5:34). Paul was known for his persuasive speeches. But he chose to approach the Corinthians with simple speech. He goes on, “However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature … the wisdom of God is a mystery … ordained before the ages for our glory … as it is written:

‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.’
But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 2:7-9 NKJV). Continue reading “The Mysteries of God”

Sometimes the simplest things can end up meaning so much to someone.

Just yesterday I had a brief encounter with a young woman at a filling station. I know nothing about her except that she drove a truck with a flat tire, and she was crying; had been for some time from the looks of her. I offered to help.

She sat in the cab of her truck and dabbed at her eyes with a Kleenex as I aired up her tire. Continue reading “The Good Deed”