Tag Archives: faithfulness

Purge Out The Leaven

1 Corinthians 5:7-8 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: 8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

The fallen world often frightens me.

I was reading an article in Touchstone magazine (“A Journal of Mere Christianity”) that noted:

“In February of last year, The Dallas Observer reported that the Satanic Temple of Texas had filed a First Amendment religious liberty lawsuit to defend its right to perform child sacrifices as religious ritual. The reason this otherwise shocking news may not have crossed your transom is that the Satanists only perform this ritual during abortion procedures. … once the doctor has killed the child, the mother affirms her deed by saying, ‘By my body, my blood. By my will, it is done.’” The author of the briefing, J. Douglas Johnson (Deputy Editor of Touchstone) went on to note, “… like the demons who knew exactly who Jesus was when they saw him and said so, the Satanists know a child sacrifice when they see one”.

Sadly, though the demons and their followers often know right from wrong, Christ’s Church sometimes blurs the lines of truth and fallacy. No where is this more evident than in the matter of human sexuality. When God created man and woman, He gave us not only His command to “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over {it}…” (Genesis 1:28), but God gave us an appetite to love our opposite. God said:… Continue reading

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Be A Good Steward Where God Puts You

Please turn with me in your Bibles to Ezekiel 34. We’re going to go on a journey today that will end up in Bethlehem. Get ready to travel!

We have a tendency to think that what we do does not matter. After all, who am I? But the Bible is very clear that everything we as Christians do is important. The Apostle writes:

Colossians 3:23-24 (ESV) Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

And this as well, Galatians 6:7-8 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

What you do (or don’t do) matters

Ancient Israel got into a mess because the leadership of the nation turned away from following God. The leaders didn’t do their jobs, and the people did not try to correct the problem. God told Ezekiel:

Ezekiel 34:2-8 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks? 3 Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock. 4 The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them. 5 And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered. 6 My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them. 7 Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord; 8 As I live, saith the Lord God, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock;

The “shepherds” or leaders in Israel … Continue reading

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Stand In The Gap

Sin is against nature, against light, against life. If sin goes unchecked, society collapses. In the middle of our town is a terrible section called “West 7th Street”. In addition to tearing up the center of town, our leadership pathetically has decided to allow the roads there to be not just torn up, but unlined. The lines on the road are checks and balances telling us where it’s safe to drive. I have seen several near accidents on that stretch of road, because people drive any way they want to – there is no demarcation! Can you imagine driving on an interstate without lines, or through a major city without any traffic control whatsoever. It would be dangerous, chaotic.

Six hundred years before Christ became incarnate, Judea… Continue reading

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Let The Right One In

If you are a Christian, you were “CALLED” to salvation by Jesus. You are “the called of Jesus Christ” (Romans 1:6), “called to be saints” (Romans 1:7). The Bible declares:

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 … your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

If you are a Christian, you are a walking miracle. God saved you by His Grace. He called you to life with Him.

The day you called upon the name of Jesus you were …

1 Peter 1:23 … born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
“Born of His Spirit with life from above,
into God’s family divine,
Justified fully through Calvary’s love,
Oh what a standing is mine!

Adopted into the Family of God, the believer belongs to God. God owns everyone. God said… Continue reading

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There Came A Lion And A Bear

Life is a gift from God. The Lord does not want us to waste the life He has given us, but to live it fully WITH Him. This Sunday night I’ll be talking about abiding in Christ, and how the is the normal state the Christian is supposed to be in. The Psalmist said:

Psalm 90:12 {Lord}, teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

Illustrate A believer died, and entered Heaven’s Gate, there meeting Jesus. Jesus said to him, “I gave you Grace, and called you into my family. Your sins are forgiven you. Your life was a stewardship, and as I told you through Paul, “every one of {you} shall give account of {themselves} to God” (Romans 14:12). What noble things have you done in My Name while on this earth?” The man replied, “I heard a woman in distress, and found a biker gang attacking her. I jumped in, and allowed her to get away.” Jesus said, “When did you do this?”. The man replied, “About a minute ago”.

I commend that fictional man for intervening – but I hope he, and every believer listening to me, do more than just ONE THING for Jesus. You were saved by the Grace of God in Christ to be light in the midst of a dark world. Jesus said:

Matthew 5:14-16 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

You, along with other believers in Christ… Continue reading

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Speak To The Mountain

We have restarted Sunday School classes for the children in our Church, and so far things are going well. The Coronavirus has really hit our Church attendance, though things are still going well. Our Sunday School is down to just a few people. Fear has gripped so many. I came across this little story, and thought I’d share it with you.

Illustrate A little boy had just begun to attend Sunday School. His teacher gave him a colorful bookmark for his Bible. On the bookmark were the words, “Have Faith In God”. As he and his parents headed home… Continue reading

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God Owns All Of Me

The Christian no longer owns himself, but is the child, the obedient child, of the Master. We are not our own – we are bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:20; 7:23). We belong to God.

The Believer in Christ belongs to God.
The unbeliever also belongs to God.

But what of others who are not saved. What of the rest of the earth? To whom does it belong? Psalm 24 tells us that God owns everything. Read with me.

Psalm 24:1-10 The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. Continue reading

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Blessed Be The Name Of The Lord

“Are people “good”?

Now I didn’t ask if people are “moral” or “nice” or “friendly”. There are a lot of “moral” people in the world. There are a lot of people who have never met a stranger, that are pleasant to be around. But are any people “good”? Before you say “Yes, there are”, may I point to the words of our Lord Jesus Christ:

“there is none good but one, that is, God” (Matthew 19:17; Mark 10:18) Continue reading

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Three Pillars Of Christianity

We defined “faith” as a surrendered trust in the character and promise of God. So what is “hope”? Hope is the cousin of faith. If you have a present faith in the Biblical God then you are not frightened by the future. The God Who saved and continues saving me today will save me days, months, years from now. Continue reading

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A.B.I.D.E.

Much of American Christianity has so blended with the world that it is impossible to recognize it from the world. What has caused this problem is a confused preacher in the pulpit. Many preachers – in an effort (in many cases, sincere effort) to reach a lost world have eradicated “repentance” from the Gospel message. Quoting “by the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified” and famous texts like… Continue reading

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