Christian Living

Are You An Apprentice of Jesus?

Matthew 5.1-3 observes, when Jesus saw His ministry drawing huge crowds, He climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to Him, the committed, climbed with Him. Arriving at a quiet place, He sat down and taught His climbing companions. This is what He said: “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and His rule. MSG

 

Do you long to be with Jesus? Have you apprenticed yourself to Him? Have you paid to learn from Him, to be with Him, near Him, in order to learn from Him? Are you practicing His works to master His ways so that you are easily identified as one of His, having been with Him? (more…)

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June 30, 2021
Christian Living / Judgement / obedience

Who Are We Listening To?

Deuteronomy 29.14-21,29 records, I’m not making this Covenant and its oath with you alone. I am making it with you who are standing here today in the Presence of God, our God, yes, but also with those who are not here today. You know the conditions in which we lived in Egypt and how we crisscrossed through nations in our travels. You got an eyeful of their obscenities, their wood and stone, silver and gold junk-gods. Don’t let down your guard lest even now, today, someone—man or woman, clan or tribe—gets sidetracked from God, our God, and gets involved with the no-gods of the nations; lest some poisonous weed sprout and spread among you, a person who hears the words of the Covenant-oath but exempts himself, thinking, “I’ll live just the way I please, thank you,” and ends up ruining life for everybody. God won’t let him off the hook. God’s anger and jealousy will erupt like a volcano against that person. The curses written in this book will bury him. God will delete his name from the records. God will separate him out from all the tribes of Israel for special punishment, according to all the curses of the Covenant written in this Book of Revelation………God, our God, will take care of the hidden things but the revealed things are our business. It’s up to us and our children to attend to all the terms in this Revelation. MSG

 

The sign of our commitment to God is our obedience to the Word of God. Are we Christians? Then like Christ we seek to obey every word that comes from the mouth of our Father. His word is our bread, His will is our food, living His ways are the sign of the abundant, life giving, waters residing within us. (more…)

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June 24, 2021
Christian Living / evangelism

Getting Over Our Shame of God

John 9.20-23 records, his parents said, “We know he is our son, and we know he was born blind. But we don’t know how he came to see—haven’t a clue about who opened his eyes. Why don’t you ask him? He’s a grown man and can speak for himself.” (His parents were talking like this because they were intimidated by the Jewish leaders, who had already decided that anyone who took a stand that this was the Messiah would be kicked out of the meeting place. That’s why his parents said, “Ask him. He’s a grown man. MSG

 

Fear of men, shame of God, are the result of sin. We were created to love God and to serve Him, to encourage one another to stay true to God and to do His will together. Now, many of us, too often, love men more than God, at least their approval and their opinion. We often fear men despising us more than God condemning us.

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June 8, 2021
evangelism / faith

God Wants A Personal Relationship with YOU

John 4.23-24 states, believe Me, woman, the time is coming when you Samaritans will worship the Father neither here at this mountain nor there in Jerusalem. You worship guessing in the dark; we Jews worship in the clear light of day. God’s way of salvation is made available through the Jews. But the time is coming—it has, in fact, come—when what you’re called will not matter and where you go to worship will not matter. “It’s who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That’s the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before Him in their worship. God is sheer being itself—Spirit. Those who worship Him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration. MSG

 

The love of God, a relationship with God, is and has been extended to all people by God Himself when He came to live among us as one of us in Jesus the Savior of the world. People no longer must become Jews and worship in Jerusalem to be a child of God. (more…)

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May 27, 2021
Christian Living / evangelism / Judgement

What Marketplace Christianity Looks Like

Luke 12.4-5,8-9 commands, I’m speaking to you as dear friends. Don’t be bluffed into silence or insincerity by the threats of religious bullies. True, they can kill you, but then what can they do? There’s nothing they can do to your soul, your core being. Save your fear for God, Who holds your entire life—body and soul—in His hands………“Stand up for Me among the people you meet and the Son of Man will stand up for you before all God’s angels. But if you pretend you don’t know Me, do you think I’ll defend you before God’s angels? MSG

 

This is how Christians are to live in the marketplace. The answer to the question, what does it mean to be a Christian in the marketplace, is given here. Fear God alone, and make Him known, so that all might come to know Him as God and Savior. Simple but not easy. (more…)

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May 11, 2021
heaven

Can You Get To Heaven Without Loving God?

Mark 10.23-25 describes, looking at His disciples, Jesus said, “Do you have any idea how difficult it is for people who ‘have it all’ to enter God’s kingdom?” The disciples couldn’t believe what they were hearing, but Jesus kept on: “You can’t imagine how difficult. I’d say it’s easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye than for the rich to get into God’s kingdom.”

 

Truly one of the most disturbing teachings in all of Scripture for us in 21st century America. Are we really going to be saved? Would any of us give everything we have to the poor and follow Jesus, trusting Him to supply our housing, food, and other necessities? (more…)

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April 12, 2021
evangelism / obedience

Following Jesus Means Serving Jesus

John 12.26 instructs, if any of you wants to serve Me, then follow Me. Then you’ll be where I am, ready to serve at a moment’s notice. The Father will honor and reward anyone who serves Me. MSG

 

The invitation seems unconditional, optional, as though we are free to take it or ignore it. Indeed, we certainly live this way. Most ignore the invitation, like the people of Jesus’ day, they see Him when He comes to town, like the circus, otherwise they go about their own business each day.

 

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April 6, 2021
Christian Living / Theology

Following Jesus Is Not Following The Crowd

Ephesians 4.17-19, commands, and so I insist—and God backs me up on this— that there be no going along with the crowd, the empty-headed, mindless crowd. They’ve refused for so long to deal with God that they’ve lost touch not only with God but with reality itself. They can’t think straight anymore. Feeling no pain, they let themselves go in sexual obsession, addicted to every sort of perversion. MSG

 

Where is the crowd today? It is hell-bent on the road toward sexual perversion. So many who claim to be Christians are joining those who deny Christ on this same road. How? By supporting LGBTQ arguments, these ‘Christians’ advocate for tolerance of their behavior, acceptance of their ideology and even special legal privileges so that they cannot be rejected.

 

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March 24, 2021
Christian Living / heaven

God Wants Us Smart About Him

Luke 16.8-9 observes, here’s a surprise: The master praised the crooked manager! And why? Because he knew how to look after himself. Streetwise people are smarter in this regard than law-abiding citizens. They are on constant alert, looking for angles, surviving by their wits. I want you to be smart in the same way—but for what is right —using every adversity to stimulate you to creative survival, to concentrate your attention on the bare essentials, so you’ll live, really live, and not complacently just get by on good behavior. MSG

 

What does it mean to be kingdom street smart? For this is God’s will for us in Christ Jesus. A clue is found in this passage, we are to be focused on the things above and not be sucked into the things of this world. Like the man on the streets who is wary of the pimp, the drug dealer, the gang leader who might grab him for his own evil purposes, so too the man of God must be wary of the allurement of power, pleasure, and possessions from taking him off God’s purposes.

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March 15, 2021
evangelism / faith

Courageous Christianity Needed In These Times

Luke 12.5,8-9 records, Save your fear for God, who holds your entire life—body and soul—in His hands……Stand up for Me among the people you meet and the Son of Man will stand up for you before all God’s angels. But if you pretend you don’t know Me, do you think I’ll defend you before God’s angels? MSG

 

We are in desperate need of people who will live the way God warns us to live in this passage. As the culture increases its antagonism toward Biblical Christianity, that is the recorded will of God in the Scriptures, Christians will have to choose between fearing God and fearing society. What does that choice look like practically?

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March 2, 2021