1 Peter 2:11 2/28/2017*

"Dear friends, I warn you as "temporary residents and foreigners" to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls."

Do you ever stop and consider your destiny.  Do you ever meditate on your pedigree as a Christian?

We are in this world, but we are not of it ...we are aliens... royal ambassadors from another place.
We don't belong here permanently...we are simply on our way home.

Like fish from the ocean placed in a fish bowl, we are restricted, and not in the environment for which we were created.

The problem is if you only focus on your life in the fish bowl, you forget about the ocean.  If you only pursue worldly desires, only focus on your daily circles in the bowl, the depression of meaningless, and not belonging, will war against your soul. You will forget the magnificence of the sea,  as you are consumed by your preoccupation with plastic plants and painted rocks.

Don't allow yourself to lose your identity.  You must remember who you are.  Do the things of your homeland.  Make church a priority. Faithfully attend a bible study. Sit and read the Word of God, and ponder the truly meaningful things in life.  Break the monotony of swimming in circles and remember your destiny.

There are people in this world with empty lives who think this is all there is... They think they were created to swim in circles ... tell them about the vast, magnificent home you are headed for, tell them your Father has prepared a place for them as well ... and then bring them with you.

"Purposes, plans, and achievements of men may all disappear like the cloud upon the mountain's summit; but, like the mountain itself, the things which are of God shall stand fast for ever and ever."  -  Charles Spurgeon

Galatians 1:10 2/21/2017 *

"Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ."


Paul is defending himself from those accusing him of being, in essence, a salesman.  People in Galatia were saying he would preach whatever he needed to get converts.

His enemies were sighting Paul's willingness to do whatever it takes to reach others for Christ. In his letter to the Corinthians Paul said  "To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some."
(1 Corinthians 9:22)

Some churches today have done what Paul's enemies accused him of doing.  They have watered down the message of God in order to increase membership.  Some have explained away things in scripture that might be offensive, and replaced them with feel good platitudes.

But that is not what Paul was doing.

So what is the difference?...

The difference is found in Paul's statement to the Galatians, and it deals with who you serve.  If your goal is popularity?...if the size of your following is your main objective, then you are serving men, and cannot be a servant of Christ. 

Our conviction must be, that we will do anything it takes,  and become anything we must become,  in order to reach others for Christ....but we will not change the message.  

As soon as we change the gospel, it is no longer the gospel.  If you alter the Truth, it ceases to be the Truth...and it is gutted of it's power.  We must speak the pure, unpolluted Truth of God.

Be careful not to let the pendulum swing in either direction....don't water down God's word so it does not offend, and do not demand more than scripture does from those who seek to be children of God. 

Your responsibility is to serve Christ only...take His unchanged message to His children, and get it to them any way you can. 

"You are not only responsible for what you say, but also for what you do not say."
 Martin Luther

2 Timothy 4:3 2/14/17*

2 Tim 4: 3 "For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear."

Oxford dictionary named "post-truth" the word of the year in 2016.  The recognition that truth doesn't matter anymore is sobering, and indicates that the time this verse was warning us about, has arrived.

Debates today, whether personal or public, no longer deal with facts.  They are all about cleverness and emotion. People flock to whoever makes them feel good. Not to who tells them the truth.

We want to feel good without change. We bend the Word of God to fit our lives, instead of bending our lives to fit the Word of God. We no longer want advice on how to correct things, we just want to be affirmed.  This is both comfortable and deadly, as we slowly drift away from God's plan until we no longer recognize right and wrong, good and bad, or truth and lies.

We were warned that this time would come, and God is clear about what we must do now that it has arrived.  "Be self-controlled in all things, endure hardship, do an evangelist's work, fulfill your ministry." (2 Tim 4:5).  

We must be lighthouses in the storm. We are called to point to the truth with unyielding commitment. It may be unpopular, but it is the purpose of our ministry.

Speak the truth in love and don't expect applause.  In fact you will probably be attacked and vilified ... but in the end you will be their only chance of escape.  As though it were in quicksand, the world is sinking deeper into it's own lies, and we are the only lifeline that will hold when the deception is exposed.

Tell the truth whatever the cost ... it is not what they want to hear, but it is the only road to redemption and freedom.

 "...you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
- Jesus
John 8:32

Numbers 13:30-32 2/7/2017*

"Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.” But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored."

Are you a Caleb,  or one of the guys that went with him? 

Both saw the same thing, but came back with very different recommendations. 

Not only did the men give a negative public report,  they also privately campaigned against God's plan to take the land because they were afraid of the challenge. In their fear, they ignored what God commanded,  and chose what was safe. They focused on the power of the enemy... Caleb focused on the power of God.

Caleb publicly stood on God's plan.  He did not take a position that allowed him to "save face" in case of failure.  He boldly put all his eggs in one basket and trusted God to be faithful. 

The world needs more "Calebs"...more courageous men of action.  We need men not afraid to take God at His word and do something about it.   It is not hard to choose inaction, and safety. But inaction and safety never accomplished anything great. 

This week let's be recklessly faithful.  Let's follow God no matter the cost.  No second guessing... no whispering doubts to the crowd...no excuses....just men of action, boldly living out our faith.  

Today there are more than enough cowards...we need more "Calebs"

"Those who lack the courage will always find a philosophy to justify it."
Albert Camus