Romans 2:4-5 9/23/2025

 “Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and restraint and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?  But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath …”

Do we think lightly of God’s patience, ignoring that it’s intended to lead us to repentance?  

Repentance may be the least popular subject in the bible. This passage says, if I have a stubborn unrepentant heart, I am storing up wrath… another unpopular subject. 

God’s wrath is not simply anger. It is the most dreaded force known to mankind, and Paul says we are ignoring its existence. God doesn’t tolerate sin… so, our unrepentant heart puts us in jeopardy.

We discount sin because it seems that God doesn’t punish evildoers. However, what we observe is not a lack of judgement, but  delayed judgement.  Make no mistake… the wages of sin have not changed.  The question is not whether they will be paid, but who will pay them?  God’s kindness is giving you time to repent and apply the payment He made for you.  

Contrary to popular opinion, the gospel demands judgement.  I’m not to judge people, but I am to look at scripture and judge actions …starting with mine. My sins may be impacted by family, trauma, or environment …but at the end of the day, they are choices. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says that we are never tempted by sin we cannot resist. We must own that fact in order to repent… and repentance is the only way to change. 

The unpopular truth is that not only am I to point out my own sin, but of those around me as well.  I can’t love others and ignore the sin that is destroying them.  Tolerating sin in the name of inclusion, or preference is the epitome of taking God’s kindness lightly. 

Sin is lethal, and we must confess it,  and repent… Jesus said,  “If you love me, keep my commandments”… So, if you love Him… adjust your conduct so it is in line with scripture, while His patience provides time for you to do it. 

 “If a man says that the wrath of God is too heavy a punishment for his little sin, I ask him, if the sin be little, why does he not give it up?
- Charles Spurgeon

Esther 4:16 9/16/2025

“Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”

Esther was facing a crisis that she had no part in creating. She had been minding her own business enjoying the blessings in her life.  But sometimes trouble just finds you. Esther’s life was going smoothly … and suddenly there was a crisis she could not avoid.  

Our lives are like that… There are seasons of sunshine, and there are seasons of storms.  This is to be expected in a broken sinful world, and not realizing that, can leave you unprepared and off balance. 

Esther, at first tries to ignore the problem and distance herself from it.  But Mordecai speaks truth, and she realizes that she must get involved  …so she chooses to face the challenge head on. 

Her battle plan, once she had decided to engage, was to request prayer support from her friends and family while she intentionally communicates with God for three days. Then she boldly acts on what she believes God wants her to do. 

And that’s the lesson for us this morning…  Challenges will arise in this life  …They are not mistakes, and we must realize that they have been allowed.  Nothing touches me that doesn’t go through God’s hands first. Do I trust Him? I must decide as Esther did, that I will do what He says, regardless – I will follow God, and if I perish, I perish. I am not to respond with surprise and fear when difficulties come.…. Fasting and praying are much better reactions… We should expect some hard times in this life. We have been told they will come.  But we have nothing to fear, because Christ has overcome this world, and He will not abandon us.  We don’t face trials alone.

So, WHEN hard times appear – if you want to be a man of God - proceed like this little orphan girl did… employ a team of prayer warriors,  diligently seek God’s will, and then no matter the cost, obey it.

"Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened" — Billy Graham 

Leviticus 17:5 9/9/2025

“This is so the Israelites will bring to the Lord the sacrifices they are now making in the open fields. They must bring them to the priest, that is, to the Lord, at the entrance to the tent of meeting and sacrifice them as fellowship offerings.”

Not long ago, Larry Fleet came out with a great song called, “That’s where I find God”.  It speaks to how we often find God when we are in a deer stand, or fishing, or on a road trip. And I regularly talk to God during those activities… but this verse caught my attention. God loves to meet with us spontaneously in the beauty of nature or the solitude of a long drive… But The Lord doesn’t want those times to replace the times I go to His house and meet with Him and His children.  

The first four commandments go like this… love God, no idols, Don’t use His name in vain… and go to church… OK, it doesn’t say go to church but it does say remember the Sabbath and keep it holy… Do we do that? Is Sunday set apart?  Is Sunday any different than any other day of the week? 

In Hebrews 10 it says, “Let us not neglect meeting together, as some have made a habit”… are you one of the “some”? Is going to church a “maybe” … or is it  “non-negotiable”?  The enemy doesn’t have to make you bad, he just has to make you busy… and when little league, fishing, hunting, or sleeping , takes precedence over going to church, then the enemy has achieved his goal. 

Life is a team sport… and church is the team meeting. It’s hard to play for a team when you don’t know the playbook, and don’t show up for practice. So, make attending church a priority. If you’re going to wait to decide about attending until Sunday morning,  don’t bother setting your alarm, you’re probably not going. Church must be a steady habit. A firm commitment to a weekly spiritual workout that  produces growth. 

We don’t often skip meals, and going to bed at night is seldom optional … so approach your spiritual health with the same discipline and common sense. Be a team leader and show up for practice.

"You are what you repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit," - Aristotle

Mark 9:40 9/2/2025

 “ …whoever is not against us is for us.”  

This morning might get confusing, so take another sip of coffee.  

Today's verse shares similarities with verses in Luke 11 and Matthew 12 but they appear to be opposites.   … Luke and Matthew record Jesus saying,  “Whoever is not with me is against me”. But in Mark He says, “whoever is not against us is for us”. The modification is no accident, so what is the significance?

If we examine the circumstances, we see that he is speaking to the Pharisees in Luke and Matthew,  and to the Disciples in Mark…  Different audience… different message. 

When Jesus says,  “if they’re not against us, they’re for us”  to His disciples, it seems like an admonishment for  those of us who follow Christ and expect every worship service to look and sound like ours.  Cautioning us to stop searching for unbiblical ways to disqualify people.  He is saying stop excluding those who don’t worship exactly like you do … If they love ME, and follow scripture,  they’re on our team.

On the other hand, Matthew and Mark are directed at the Pharisees who accused Jesus of casting out demons because He was the Prince of demons.  About them, He says, “Whoever is not with me is against me;”. He is telling the religious elite that He is the only way to God.  If you don’t cling to Jesus alone, you are not a Christian. He is the only way,  and if you are offended by the Cross, and insist on adding your traditions, you are against the gospel.

So, there is a narrow path and wandering away from scripture in either direction will get you a reprimand. I need to think through these situations and understand the times when God is inclusive, and the times God is exclusive… because He is both.  

Some religious leaders today demand unbiblical uniformity, while others ignore scripture because it is inconvenient to their lifestyle… both are wrong.  

We are to call sin, sin… not adding to, or  ignoring culturally unpopular Scripture. We are also to embrace those who love and follow His Word, regardless of how they dress, or their preferred style of worship music. 

Jesus meant what He said… both times … and He still does.

“We must be hard where the Bible is hard, and soft where the Bible is soft"-  John Stott