Revelation 22.12-13 promises, I’m on my way! I’ll be there soon! I’m bringing my payroll with me.
I’ll pay all people in full for their life’s work. I’m A to Z, the First and the Final, Beginning and Conclusion.
What will God pay men for? What is the product or service of which He is interested? Is He not God, the Creator of all things and thus the owner of all things? (more…)
1 John 2.2-6 observes, here’s how we can be sure that we know God in the right way: Keep his
commandments. If someone claims, “I know him well!” but doesn’t keep his commandments, he’s obviously a liar. His life doesn’t match his words. But the one who keeps God’s word is the person in whom we see God’s mature love. This is the only way to be sure we’re in God. Anyone who claims to be intimate with God ought to live the same kind of life Jesus lived.
Who are the people who truly know and belong to the One true God? They are easy to identify. (more…)
1 Chronicles 28-9-10 commands, Solomon my son, get to know well your father’s God; serve Him with
a whole heart and eager mind, for GOD examines every heart and sees through every motive. If you seek Him, He’ll make sure you find Him, but if you abandon Him, He’ll leave you for good. Look sharp now! GOD has chosen you to build His holy house. Be brave, determined! And do it!
This is Old Testament language to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength and to love our neighbor as our self by going and making disciples of all nations, teaching them to obey everything Jesus commanded us, beginning with our own household. (more…)
Amos 5.6 urges, seek GOD and live! You don’t want to end up with nothing to show for your life But a
pile of ashes, a house burned to the ground. For God will send just such a fire, and the firefighters will show up too late.
It is natural for men to want to live a life of significance. All of us want to leave a legacy and be remembered for doing good. But what does it mean to live a life of significance? (more…)
Matthew 9.13 records, I’m after mercy, not religion. I’m here to invite outsiders, not coddle insiders.
This ‘harsh’ word from God should cause us to pause and consider the importance of His message recorded for us so that we can know Him and do His will. God in Jesus is warning us, challenging us, seeking to penetrate our worldview so that we reconsider our ways and realign our priorities.
What does it mean to coddle? (more…)
Galatians 4.19 comments, Do you know how I feel right now, and will feel until Christ’s life becomes
visible in your lives?
The key phrase here is ‘until Christ’s life becomes visible in your lives.’ This is the goal of God in the development of our character. We are to bear the fruit of the Spirit, doing the work of Jesus, in the way of Jesus, for the glory of God and the welfare of humanity. What does this look like? (more…)
2 Corinthians 13.5-9 challenges, test yourselves to make sure you are solid in the faith. Don’t drift along
taking everything for granted. Give yourselves regular checkups. You need firsthand evidence, not mere hearsay, that Jesus Christ is in you. Test it out. If you fail the test, do something about it. I hope the test won’t show that we have failed.
In every endeavor where we measure performance we test. From academia to sports to the lab we test in order to determine strength, truth or ability. In Christianity, we tend not to test. (more…)
Ezekiel 9.3-4 describes, the Glory of the God of Israel ascended from His usual place above the
cherubim-angels, moved to the threshold of the Temple, and called to the man with the writing case who was dressed in linen: Go through the streets of Jerusalem and put a mark on the forehead of everyone who is in anguish over the outrageous obscenities being done in the city.
How many people would be marked by God today who grieve over the dishonor so prevalent against God in our society? So many grumble about the lawlessness. So many shake their heads at the violence but who is in anguish over the godlessness we see in the news daily? (more…)
1 Corinthians 9.19-23 records, even though I am free of the demands and expectations of everyone, I
have voluntarily become a servant to any and all in order to reach a wide range of people: religious, nonreligious, meticulous moralists, loose-living immoralists, the defeated, the demoralized—whoever. I didn’t take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in Christ—but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. I’ve become just about every sort of servant there is in my attempts to lead those I meet into a God-saved life. I did all this because of the Message. I didn’t just want to talk about it; I wanted to be in on it!
The purpose of the Christian life, the work we are to do, is to win people to Christ in order for God to accomplish His purpose of not seeing anyone perish but for all to come to eternal life. (more…)
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.
This passage has made Christians wonder for centuries. God praises a thief, a liar, an embezzler. What? (more…)
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