Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ. Acts 5:41,42 ESV Worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. This statement stood out as I am currently studying the Acts of the Apostles. Those words seemed to hang in the air after reading it out loud. I…
The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers. John 10:3-5 ESV My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. John 10:27 ESV There…
There is this gospel that has been preached and offered up to some in the modern day church for quite some time. It is a beautiful prison, adorned with walls of half truths and sweet words of personal affirmations seeming to come from God Himself. There is no judgment or chastisement. There is no call to die to self or any biblical teaching to discipleship. The use of “offensive words” causing us to think that we are anything less than…
No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel can avail against the LORD. Proverbs 21:30 ESV Yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. 1 Corinthians 8:6 ESV Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither…
I did not send the prophets, yet they ran; I did not speak to them, yet they prophesied. But if they had stood in my council, then they would have proclaimed my words to my people, and they would have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their deeds. Jeremiah 23:21,22 The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Revelation 19:10 Pandemic prophecies with erroneous time stamps, double-minded declarations and cryptic words regarding international leaders…
So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32 ESV Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is…
Count it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. James 1:3-4 ESV If you and I were truly honest, we would be completely content going through this life having never suffered any sort of hardship. No one wants to face difficult times, times that test our…
Within the past year, a great change has taken place in my personal life and in my walk with Jesus Christ. It has come with a price, but having counted the cost, it was well worth any perceived loss to truly know Christ. During that time, I grew restless in the realization that I had been spiritually starving. The hype and the sensationalism were tiresome. Hype sells but it doesn’t save. Oh, I longed for the Word of God to…
I sit here late on a Sunday night with a pit in my stomach, grieving for the church. For over a week now, I have heard about a prophecy concerning the Superbowl, the Chiefs and revival pending their win. Many were banking on this victory as it was prophesied as a sign of a great move of God on the horizon. I was not. It was troubling. As I personally watched the game, I found myself having several thoughts and…
These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly…