Luke 12.33 encourages, sell your possessions and give to the poor. Make money-bags for yourselves
that won’t grow old, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.
Most people want to be wealthy. Being wealthy means an easier life, cool stuff, beautiful places, good food, etc. Everywhere you go in the world, people want to be wealthy. (more…)
Luke 6.26 warns, woe to you when all people speak well of you, for this is the way their ancestors used
to treat the false prophets.
Most people would think God wants us to be the kind of people that others speak well about. Most Christians strive for this type of ‘witness.’ Indeed, no one should be able to say to those in Christ that we do things that Christ would not do. Those who claim to be Christians must live as Jesus did. (more…)
1 Corinthians 2.12 observes, now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who comes
from God, so that we may understand what has been freely given to us by God.
God wants us to know Him. That makes sense if there really is a God. Why would God want us ignorant of Who He is or what He requires of us? Of course He doesn’t! It behooves us then to know God so we can know His will. God has given us the two things we need for accomplishing this objective. (more…)
Romans 16.19 commands, I want you to be wise about what is good, and yet innocent about what is
evil.
How do we become wise about what is good? We have to know what good is. In our arrogance, we all think we know what good is. We look into ourselves and create a self-centered, self-preserving, self-gratifying definition. If it works for us then it is good. (more…)
Romans 7.19-20 observes, I do not do the good that I want to do, but I practice the evil that I do not
want to do. Now if I do what I do not want, I am no longer the one that does it, but it is the sin that lives in me.
There are some who claim that as Christians it is possible for us to no longer sin. I do not adhere to this belief. While I have been declared dead to sin and am recognized as such by God, it is not the presence of sin that is dead in me but the consequences of sin that is no longer condemning me and the power of sin over me has been broken. (more…)
Matthew 24.12 describes, because lawlessness will multiply, the love of many will grow cold.
Disobedience to God leads to dishonor of men. It is only the One True God Who commands humanity to love our neighbor as ourselves. The false gods of the world’s numerous religions consistently allow certain groups of humans to justifiably kill other humans. (more…)
Acts 14.22 reports, strengthening the disciples by encouraging them to continue in the faith and by
telling them, “It is necessary to go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.”
When we preach the gospel we promise people their lives will get better not harder. We want success in our ask not commitment to our offer. We get people to pray with us but few walk with us. We are doing it wrong. (more…)
Acts 15.4 observes, when they arrived at Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church, the apostles,
and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them.
There should be among Christians, an expectation, that the people of God accomplish something of the work of God. There certainly is such expectation by God Himself which will become clear to us on that day when we stand before Him, to be rewarded for the works we have accomplished for His purposes while we lived upon this earth. (more…)
Matthew 10.22 promises, you will be hated by everyone because of My name. But the one who endures
to the end will be saved.
This section contains one of God’s most stern warnings to us about His expectation from us to serve Him as witnesses of His work in the world through Jesus the Savior. He reminds us that we are to share Him with others but warns that in sharing Him we will suffer for Him, for even those in our own household will reject the Lordship of Jesus. (more…)
Matthew 2.16 remembers, Herod, when he realized that he had been outwitted by the wise men, flew
into a rage. He gave orders to massacre all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, in keeping with the time he had learned from the wise men.
The age old question of why bad things happen to good people is never answered satisfactorily to those suffering. The Bible has a clear explanation but men find it unpalatable for it makes men responsible for all the suffering in the world that has ever been. (more…)
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