The Small Branch

 There is often a big difference between being religious and truly loving Jesus.  There have been people throughout history that were "religious" but had nothing to do with the One True God.  Acts 19 talks about religious people who worship Artemis.  They joined in a riot where the whole crowd simply shouted "Great is Artemis of  the Ephesians!" (see verses 28 and 34).  But notice verse 32: "So then, some were shouting one thing and some another, for the assembly was in confusion and the majority did not know for what reason they had come together. " (emphasis mine).  Mob mentality.  How many "religious" people are caught up in mob mentality?  There are psychologist devoted to studying this phenomenon.  Basically, people go along with the mob whether they understand what the mob is fighting for or not.  God does not call us to have a mob mentality.  He wants us to know  Him.  He wants us to know  what we believe and why.   Going to church doesn&#

 Have you ever felt pressure to witness in "just the right way" so that someone would come to know Christ?  Have you ever thought, "Oh no, I forgot to pray for that person's salvation today!  What will happen?"  I'll admit to thoughts like that.  For me, they come from a background of people teaching me that Jesus was necessary for salvation, but then I had better get to work to sanctify myself.  Of course, that isn't what the Bible teaches.  I have been studying Acts recently, and I came upon some verses I wanted to share with you. Acts 16:14 says, "A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshipper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul." Acts 18:9 and 10 say, "And the Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, "Do not be afraid any longer but go on speaking and do not be silent; for I am with you , and no man will attack you in order to h

 In Acts 17:16-34, Paul is in Athens, a city "full of idols" (v. 16).  We are told that the Athenians had so many idols that they even had one "TO AN UNKNOWN GOD."  Verse 21 gives us further insight: "Now all the Athenians and the strangers visiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new."  Even after Paul tells them about Creator God, the one True God, and Jesus Christ, they just want to hear him again.  Very few believed.  You see, the Athenians had a mishmash of beliefs and, because of their love of talking and debating new ideas, they just kept adding to the mishmash.  It makes me think of paint colors.  When you see a pretty new color, if you choose to add it to all of the other colors, all you end up with is a really ugly brown.  You have lost all the other colors.  Mixing ideas together doesn't always end up with great thought.  It certainly doesn't end up with noble-mindedness.  Often, we mix i

 What is nobility?  The dictionary defines nobility as the quality of being noble in character, mind, birth, or rank.  Noble means belonging to a class of aristocracy or having fine personal qualities or morals.  Basically, nobility means that you are somehow "above" those around you.   Acts 17:11 says, "Now these were more noble-minded  than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so."  The Bereans were considered to think like nobility because they searched the Scriptures checking what they were taught against Truth.  These men and women were "above" others in their thinking because they were thinking for themselves and thinking about Scripture.  They didn't trust anyone when it came to what they needed to learn.  They trusted in the Word of God and therefore made sure that those they were listening too measured up to the standard of God's Word.   Are

 Acts 16 tells of Paul and Silas' missionary journey.  At one point, they are put in prison after being beaten with rods.  Their feet are even put in stocks.  But look at verse 25: "But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them;"  You know they were probably in too much pain to sleep, but they aren't complaining.  They are worshipping.  Their eyes are fixed on Jesus, not themselves or their circumstances (Hebrews 12:1-2).  This is lesson enough for us, but did you catch the last part of the verse?  I must admit, as many times as I have read that verse, the last part didn't really strike me until this morning. The last part of Acts 16:25 says, "and the prisoners were listening to them;"  Their fellow prisoners, criminals, were  listening.   They weren't mocking or ignoring or even sleeping.  They were listening.   How many times in our lives are people listening to us?  When

 I haven't been posting much because I am feeling a little lost.  I know that God always has a plan for my day and a plan for the whole of my days, but sometimes I feel like I can't possibly figure out what that is.  I usually end up doing something lazy at that point because I just don't really know what to do with my time.   This morning, I was continuing my study of the New Testament in Acts.  Acts 16:6-8 says, "They passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia; and after they came to Mysia, they were trying to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them; and passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas."  Paul and Silas needed direction.  They needed to know where to go and where to preach.  Did God make it a mystery?  something hard to figure out?  NO!  He made it clear to them by His Spirit. Why isn't it as clear to us?  Mostly, we aren't very good listeners.  If we

 The other day I was talking with someone who has been struggling for the last few years.  He wanted to present a theory.  He thought that perhaps God was very distant and didn't deal with the things on earth much.  His example was the holocaust.  How could God be involved and still allow things like that to happen?  Needless to say, I pointed him to verses about how God has numbered the hairs on our heads and takes care of us even more than the sparrows which He carefully watches over at all times.  But this morning, as I was reading in Acts, I found another example of God allowing tremendous persecution, including death.   Acts 8:1 says, "Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him (Stephen) to death.  And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles."  Verse 3 continues, "But Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house, and draggi

 I've been listening to a sermon series on Galatians .  I'm no where close to done with it (there are 24 sermons, as you can see), but I am finding my thinking challenged and convicted.  You see, I grew up in a "performance based" household.  Everything I did was to gain favor with someone.  In a lot of ways, while I had a basic understanding of grace, I thought God was the same way.  This balance of works/law and grace is hard to figure out.  Especially for someone like me who wants to puzzle things out until complete understanding dawns.  I don't really think complete understanding will dawn for me on this one for a very long time, if it does this side of heaven.   Galatians 5:1 says, "It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery."  At the same time, in chapter 6, verse 9, Paul says, "Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow wear

 "Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe;" Acts 2:43a In the end of Acts 2, we are told about the baby church.  They functioned in a way that was beneficial to all and led many to Christ.  I have a note written in my Bible (not sure where I got it) that says, "The church before people started messing it up."  As I was reading this passage the other day, one thing stood out to me more than anything else - their sense of awe.  We have lost our sense of awe.  How sad for us!  We serve an Awesome God!  He is holy and perfect and amazing.  We should be in awe constantly that He would pay the slightest attention to us rebellious humans.  Awe.  When we spend time with Him, often and consistently, we can feel that awe.  Verse 42 of Acts 2 says, "They were continually  devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." (emphasis mine)  Maybe that is where the awe comes from.   Maybe we need to be continually

 Today, I finished a book called Out of the Saltshaker and into the World:  Evangelism as a way of life  by Rebecca Manley Pippert.  If you are looking for a book that is full of encouragement as you seek to "Go and make disciples" as the Lord commanded, I would recommend this one.  She also lists many other books in the appendix for further study.  This book isn't about a formula or a program to share the gospel, but about how to live our faith and communicate well so that sharing the gospel is natural as we develop relationships.

 "Therefore Pilate said to Him, "So You are a king?"  Jesus answered, "You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth.  Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice."  Pilate said to Him, "What is truth?""  John 18:37-38a "What is truth?"  We think this is a question only of our relativistic time, but Pilate asked that question 2000 years ago.  People have been asking that question since there were people.  In Psalm 119, we are told "Your law is truth" (verse 140), "Your commandments are truth" (verse 151), and "The sum of Your word is truth" (verse 160).  This tells us that God's Word is truth.  John tells us that "the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:14)  If God's Word is truth and His Word became fles

  2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (ESV) "7  So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.   8  Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me.   9  But he said to me,  “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.   10  For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong." A lot of people quote verse 9 when others are struggling, but let's look at the context.  Paul has been given some kind of "thorn in his flesh" to torment him.  We don't know exactly what this means.  Some have proposed it is a physical ailment, possibly having to do with his eyes.  Others think

 Life is a struggle.  The past few days, I have not been feeling great physically.  It is amazing to me how much I still let physical struggles make me lazy about what goes into my mind.  It takes too much effort to think only on things that are pure, right, excellent, praiseworthy, lovely, admirable, noble, and true (Philippians 4:8) so I just make excuses and let my mind go.  It is never a good thing.  Then I deal with guilt for thinking unkind, bitter, just plain wrong things, not to mention watching them on tv or reading about them.  This is not the life the Holy Spirit wants for us.  But the struggle is real.  We have to listen to His warnings, no matter how we feel physically, no matter how much stress is going on around us or in us.  That is tough.  That's why we have the Holy Spirit in the first place.  We CANNOT do it on our own.  Even submitted to God, we often have trouble hearing the Holy Spirit over our flesh.  We have to practice listening and obeying.  And when we fa

 A few weeks ago, God brought together the perfect storm of conviction for me and I began exercising again.  So far, I have worked out every day for just over two weeks.  Not much, I know, but it is a start.  While I am on the treadmill, I usually read, listen to sermons, or watch videos on RightNow Media.  This morning, I was reading Shepherding Women in Pain  by Bev Hislop.  In my exercises after the treadmill, I was pondering the chapter I had just read, all while sweating and groaning as my muscles struggled to work.  The author had made a very good point about the Western view of pain.  We always look at pain as something to avoid.  Something to be fixed.  Something that is just plain wrong.  This viewpoint often leads to very unhealthy reactions to pain.  As I was feeling the pain in my workout, I realized that this is true, except in the gym.  Anyone who exercises will tell you "no pain, no gain."  We all know that if we don't suffer the pain of breaking our muscle

 "So the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead, continued to testify about Him.  For this reason also the people went and met Him, because they heard that He had performed this sign."   (Luke 12:17-18) Do you notice why the people went out to meet Jesus?  They went because of the miracle.  We might condemn them for their lack of faith, but how often do we do the same thing?  "God, I will believe You are with me if You get me out of this situation."  "God, I will trust in You if my life is easy, but once it gets hard, forget it, You obviously don't care."  "God, when things go my way, we're good, but when things don't go my way, I'll be mad at You."  We really say those things, or at least think them.  That is NOT faith.  That is looking for a god in our own image.  We have to believe in the REAL God, the REAL Jesus.  That means trusting Him no matter what is going on in our l

 I wanted to add to what we started in the previous post.  If you are wondering if you can be used by God with your past, the genealogy of Jesus is a great place to look.  Noah imbibed too much (Genesis 9:21).  Abraham lied about his wife to save his own skin, possibly sacrificing her, not once, but twice (Genesis 12:11-13 and Genesis 20:2).  Rahab was a prostitute (Joshua 2:1).  Ruth was a Moabite, a hated race (Ruth 1:4).  David was an adulterer and a murderer (2 Samuel 11).  Solomon was a task master and loved too many women (1 Kings 11:3 and 12:4).  The point is, even though these men and women were totally human and made huge mistakes, God still used them to bring the Savior of the world to earth.  You see, it isn't about us.  It isn't about our skills, talents, "goodness", or mistakes.  Everything in life is all about God.  So the question isn't if we have done too much to be lovable and used of God.  The question should be, "is God big enough to change

 Have you ever thought that?  Said it?  Turned your back on God because you believed it?  Looked for life in other places because you were sure you had blown it too badly?  Today I want to look at one example that might help put some of those lies to rest. Acts 7:23-24 says, " When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his own people, the Israelites.    He saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he went to his defense and avenged him by killing the Egyptian. "  So Moses is a murderer.  He was defending someone else, but still, he killed someone.   But then Stephen continues in verses 35-38, " This is the same Moses they had rejected with the words, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’ He was sent to be their ruler and deliverer by God himself, through the angel who appeared to him in the bush.   He led them out of Egypt and performed wonders and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea and for forty years in the wilderness.   This is the Moses who told the Israelit

 In John 9:41, Jesus says, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say 'We see,' your sin remains."  Jesus is talking to the Pharisees, who have been questioning Him about healing a blind man on the Sabbath.  He is trying to make them see the importance of true sight.  Are we as blind as they?   Jesus tells us, as do Paul and the other authors who have written parts of the New Testament, that we are saved by faith.  We must believe in Him.  But, in order to believe, we must be able to see.  We must be able to see our own sin.  Our own need.  If we are blind to our sin, we will be too blind to believe.  If we don't realize we are blind, we won't have the faith we need to be healed.  We need the Lord to open our eyes to see ourselves as we are and to see Him as He is.  We are sinful, dark, lost.  He is perfect, pure, holy.  The contrast is so great that, when we can see it we are brought to our knees in repentance.  But we have to be able to see

 “ 1  To the angel [ a ]  of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands.  2  I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false.  3  You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. 4  Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.  5  Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place."  Revelation 2:1-5 I have been a Christian for more than three decades.  I grew up in the church and cannot remember a time when I didn't know and love Jesus.  But lately, I have been very convicted.  Because of the ministries of our church, I have been exposed to more brand new Christ

 In John 5, Jesus encounters a man who has been sick for 38 years lying near the pool of Bethesda.  We are told that, when an angel of the Lord stirred the waters, the first one into the pool was healed.  The man had been there 38 years, though.  In verse 6 we are told, "When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, "Do you wish to get well?""  This seems like an odd question.  When we are sick, of course we want to get well.  Or do we?  It is amazing how much we wallow in our sicknesses, whether sickness of the body, mind, or spirit.  Sometimes, when I have a headache, my husband will say to me, "did you take anything?"  In my stubbornness, the answer is often "no."  I don't want to take the medicine that I know will make my head stop hurting.  It seems silly, but that is what happens.  Here Jesus gets to the heart of the matter for many of us.  Do we want to get well?  Do we

 Life is rough.  There is never a doubt in anyone's mind about this truth.  Life is hard.  Sometimes, we get knocked down by circumstances completely beyond our control.  Sometimes, we get knocked down as a consequence of a bad choice.  But, no matter what knocks us down, God is faithful.  No matter how we suffer, God is faithful.   Psalm 119:75 says, "I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are righteous, And that in faithfulness You have afflicted me."  Even when the turmoil is a direct result of our own actions, God faithfully allows us to suffer in affliction to bring us back to Him.  It is the discipline of a good, good Father (Hebrews 12:10).   When we are suffering because of circumstances out of control, He is also faithful.  Psalm 119:49-50 says, "Remember the word to Your servant, In which You have made me hope.  This is my comfort in my affliction, That Your word has revived me."  We are revived by the Word of God.  That means that we need to know it, lov

 John 3:5-6 says, "Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." In order to be saved, we must be born of the Spirit.  This is Jesus' answer to Nicodemus.  We are often confused about what this means.  Many people talk about "inviting Jesus into your heart" or "making Jesus Lord of your life" or "praying the prayer" to be saved.  None of these things aline with what the Bible teaches.  God does the work of our salvation, we just have to repent and believe.  Jesus already is Lord of everything, including our lives.  We repent because we have rebelled against that Lordship.  His Holy Spirit chooses to take up residence in us because, by the faith God has given us, we believe that we are sinners and Jesus died, was buried, and rose again to pay the price for our sins s

"Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.  If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."  Joshua 24:14-15 Choices.  We have so many choices in our day.  When to wake up.  What to do each minute.  What to eat and drink.  Who to talk to.  Choices.  But how often do we choose the things of God?  We need to remember that we are always making a choice.  When we choose to ignore God, we aren't "not choosing yet" we are choosing to ignore God.  When we choose to think about serving Him later, we are choosing not to serve Him now.  There is no fence sitting.  We are making a choice each moment.   We could rewo

 Jesus appeared to many after His resurrection.  Two of those were disciples who were walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus.  When Jesus approached them, they didn't know who He was, but they had plenty to tell Him.  They were amazed that this "stranger" didn't know about what had been going on in Jerusalem.  As they told Him about Jesus, they said, "But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel"  (Luke 24:21a).  They wanted Israel to be redeemed.  What does that mean?  The dictionary defines redeem as "to save someone from sin, error, or evil."    I think this is what the men meant.  They wanted Israel to be saved from the big bad Romans who were making their lives difficult.  But another definition from the dictionary is "to gain or regain possession of something in exchange for payment, to pay the necessary money to clear a debt."  The Greek word for redeem means "to ransom."  While the word redeem may mean diff

This morning I was pulling weeds and had the very frustrating experience of not being able to get them up from the roots.  I was feeling pretty lazy, so I just pulled what I could.  That often meant just getting the above ground parts.  The Holy Spirit whispered a lesson to me in this.  We can't just clean up the sin on the outside.  We need to be cleaning up on the inside, pulling out the roots of our sin.  RC Sproul talks about this in The Holiness of God .  He mentions the Pharisees' need to look good on the outside, while perpetuating their misunderstanding of the Law that addresses the inside.  Moses talks about this in Deuteronomy.  He makes a covenant with the people and all those who come after them, warning them to serve the Lord only.  Verse 18 of chapter 29 says,  "so that there will not be among you a man or woman, or family or tribe, whose heart turns away today from the LORD our God, to go and serve the gods of those nations; that there will not be among you

 Have you ever felt like asking God why something is happening to you?  Why are you suffering, when you are trying to be obedient?  Why does it hurt?  The world has filled us full of lies about suffering.  The world tells us that, if we are good enough, we won't suffer.  But that just isn't the case.  This morning I was reading Luke 23:32-43.  Take a moment to read that passage. Do you see the different ways Jesus, the women, the crowds, the soldiers, the religious leaders, and the people in general look at suffering?  Followers of Jesus are asking "Why?"  The rest of the people are mocking Him, saying that He couldn't possibly be Messiah because He is suffering.  But how does Jesus look at it?  Jesus sees the purpose of His suffering, so He can suffer with humility, dignity, and honor.  He knows that there is a reason He is suffering, and it is love for us that allows Him to see that reason, the joy of it all (Hebrews 12:2).  Suffering with purpose.  Not asking &

 Have you noticed how anything of worth takes time and effort?  I read an article this morning interviewing a weight lifter.  He was talking about how weightlifting had taught him some disciplines that have really helped with his spiritual growth, too.  When one wants to lift weights, bulk up, etc., one must work hard, day after day.  There are small gains and sometimes set backs.  One must start small and build up to the heavier weights.  All of these have parallels to our spiritual lives.  As I was pondering this, I was working in my yard.  When we bought our house a year and a half ago, the previous owners had been struggling with health issues for a few years and the yard had been neglected.  I want a nice looking yard, but I despise yard work.  But I realized today that there was a lesson to be learned here, as well.  My yard will probably take a few years to get back into shape.  It will take time and effort.  It will take planning and I will need to start small.  Just like weigh

 Have you ever heard the expression "use it or lose it?"  As I get older, I often hear that said in regards to physical fitness and even mental fitness.  While the expression fits with both of these, this morning I was thinking about it another way.  Have you read the parable of the talents?  In the book of Luke, it is "minas" rather than talents, but the idea is the same.  In all the Sunday school lessons I have heard, we focus on the parable as one showing us we need to cultivate and use our talents for the kingdom.  I want to look at that with a little bit of a twist. Luke 19:20-26 says, "Another came, saying, 'Master, here is your mina, which I kept put away in a handkerchief; for I was afraid of you, because you are an exacting man; you take up what you did not lay down and reap what you did not sow.' He said to him, 'By your own words I will judge you, you worthless slave.  Did you know that I am an exacting man, taking up what I did not lay d

 When you think about a holy God, how does that affect how you see yourself?  I have been wrestling with this often lately, as we are reading a book by RC Sproul called The Holiness of God  in our women's group.  God's holiness is often overwhelming.  One reason is because it causes us to see our sin so clearly.  We see our need and our inadequacy.  Our inability to "fix" ourselves.  I have struggled a lot in the last week or so and am so aware of my inability to "fix" myself.  This morning, I was reading in the book of Luke, chapter 18.  Towards the end of the chapter, Jesus encounters a blind man while approaching Jericho.  The blind man is told that Jesus is passing by and has a simple response, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"  Jesus, of course, stops and heals the man, but what struck me was the man's cry.  "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"  Oh, how often I want share the same cry.  God is merciful.  It is the only

 Where I live, we are experiencing a pretty significant drought.  A few years ago, we were experiencing some pretty significant flooding.  It is amazing the difference.  A few years ago, the grass was so green it almost hurt to look at it because of the bright color.  Now, the grass is having a hard time greening up at all.  Most of it is still pretty brown.   Our spiritual lives are like that.  It seems like it is always feast or famine.  Drought or flooding.  Usually, at least in my experience, the drought comes because I take the flood for granted.  I expect it to always be there and don't realize that maybe I need some irrigation ditches or even a dam for a reservoir.  But I do need those things.  Most of all, I need a constant source of Living Water.  When I take the Living Water for granted, I soon find that I am not taking the time to purposely stay in the flood waters.  I wander away.  I put my Bible down.  I make other plans during Bible study time.  I talk to myself rathe

  Luke 13:6-9 says: 6  And He  began  telling this parable:  “A man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any.   7  And he said to the vineyard-keeper, ‘Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?’   8  And he answered and said to him, ‘Let it alone, sir, for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer;   9  and if it bears fruit next year,  fine ; but if not, cut it down.’” In Matthew 3:8, we are told to "bear fruit in keeping with repentance."  In Luke, Jesus tells a parable about a fig tree not bearing fruit.  The tree is to be cut down, as we will be if we are not  "bearing fruit in keeping with repentance."  But notice this as well, the tree is spared for a time while given every opportunity to bear fruit.  The tree is pampered and nourished so that it can bear fruit.  God gives us

 Have you ever used whitewash?  I haven't, but a lot of the books I read mention it (remember Tom Sawyer ?).  Basically, it's paint.  Paint makes things look pretty and new.  But have you ever painted over something only to later realize that you shouldn't have?  Take mildew.  If you paint over mildew without first scrubbing it out and killing it all, it will just grow back.  The paint doesn't fix the problem.  Paint is just a temporary cover up.  Our lives are like that.  If we think we will be better by looking better on the outside, we soon find that it is only a temporary cover up for a heart problem that needs to be fixed.   Matthew 23:25-28 says: 25  “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.   26  You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean. 27  “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! F

 I think I have recommended this before, but I feel the need to recommend it again.  If you don't spend some time in the Psalms often, it is a great place for prayer and worship.  Today, I will just share with you one of my favorites: Psalm 130 Out of the depths I have cried to You, O  Lord .   Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive To the voice of my supplications.   If You,  Lord , should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?   But there is forgiveness with You, That You may be feared.   I wait for the  Lord , my soul does wait, And in His word do I hope.   My soul  waits  for the Lord More than the watchmen for the morning; Indeed, more than  the watchmen for the morning.   O Israel, hope in the  Lord ; For with the  Lord  there is lovingkindness, And with Him is abundant redemption.   And He will redeem Israel From all his iniquities.

 Sometimes, I wish I could just be with Jesus, hanging out at church, doing "Jesus things" with no complications.  But we have a bigger mission than that. In Luke, chapter 8, we are told of a man possessed by a legion of demons.  His life is no life at all.  Jesus crosses the lake to heal him.  He drives the demons from him and makes him well, whole, in his right mind.  The reaction of the crowd is interesting.  In verse 37, we are told, "Then all the people of the country of the Gerasenes and the surrounding district asked Him to leave them, because they were overwhelmed with fear."  These people had just seen the man formerly acting as a wild animal in his right mind, and all they could do was cower in fear.  They sent the One who casts out fear away.  The man's response is much different.  "But the man from whom the demons had gone out kept begging Him, pleading to go with Him;" verse 38 tells us.  This man desperately wants to stay right with Jesus

 Do you ever have doubts?  About God, I mean.  Do you ever wonder if He is really there or if He really cares?  Do you ever wonder if He really does have your best interests at heart?  I have been looking at two stories of doubt recently.  One ended well.  The other did not.   Let's start with Eve.  In Genesis 3, Satan tempts Eve to dwell on her doubts to start her down a road to destruction.  He begins by asking her "did God really say . . ."  Here, he is opening the door to doubts.  How does Eve handle it?  She first defends God, but then she adds a twist to the command.  God told her not to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:16-17), but He didn't say she shouldn't touch it (Genesis 3:3).  Eve makes a classic error in judgement.  When trying to deal with the doubts presented to her, she tries to justify herself and talk herself into believing, all while feeding the doubts with more manmade commands.  We all know how this ends.

 Luke 6:44a says, “For each tree is known by its own fruit.”   Have you ever claimed Jesus just because your family goes to church?  Because your mom loves Jesus?  Because you were born into a “Christian” family?  Because you went to “Christian” school?  Jesus squashes all these claims in Luke 6 when He tells us that we are known by our “own fruit.”  We must know Jesus and be obedient and submissive to Him ourselves.  We can’t rely on the “trees” around us to bear our “fruit.”  Fruit is personal.  Ephesians 2:10 assures us that God has prepared “fruit” for us to bear.  He has a mission just for us and we need to be on our own personal mission, obeying Jesus every step of the way.  To be saved?  No.  Because we love Him and He is truly our Lord.

 I have some people in my life who have met Jesus in very instantaneous and radical ways.  Sometimes it makes me question my own faith.  Paul met Jesus like this on the road to Damascus. But then I read about the disciples.  Peter, James, John, and the others first heard John the Baptist preach (John 1:35-42), then they heard about Jesus, next they heard Jesus teach, and finally they began to follow Him.  It was after they followed Him that they truly began to believe and not until after they had witnessed His death, burial, and resurrection that they were fully surrendered, even though they were as surrendered as they could be from the moment they left everything to follow Him.  Layers.  They came to Jesus by Him pealing off one layer at a time.  Saved by their faith by God’s grace, but changed little by little.  Notice that there is only one Paul, but there are 11 changed by this process.  There may be a moment when we decide to surrender, but don’t think that you have to have a huge

 Did you know that there are several women listed in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew?  The fact that there are women isn’t what struck me as significant, it is who they are.  Tamar, who pretended to be a prostitute because her father-in-law didn’t do right by her.  Rahab, a Gentile prostitute.  Ruth, a Gentile.  Bathsheba, an adulteress.  These women led rough lives in rough times, but they all have one thing in common, God redeemed their lives and used them to bring salvation to the world.  God can redeem anything and anyone.  We just need to repent, trust, and obey, surrender and let Him produce fruit in our lives.  

 Jesus told us "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20) We are to be making disciples.  Teaching others the Truth and all that Jesus taught.  In other words, we are to be guiding others through the Word and showing them how to live It.  At the same time, we should have others that are further along in their walk who are doing the same for us.  Discipleship is a continuous process.   Do we make disciples in our churches in America?  Not hardly.  Many churches are more like country clubs than discipleship schools.  Many churches are more about entertaining the people than about worshipping the One True God.  There are some churches that are really serious about discipleship (I happen to be blessed enough to go to one), but they are rare.   So what happens when we neg

 Luke 1:38 says, "And Mary said, "Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word." What did she mean "according to your word?"  What had Gabriel told her?  Gabriel told her that she would become pregnant with the Holy Child.  While this is a great honor, think about what it really meant for her.  She would be pregnant.  Out of wedlock.  While engaged to a man who would know for sure that the child was not his.  In a culture where this sort of thing was punishable by death.  This doesn't even take into account that she would be raising the Son of God.  Not long after He is born, she is even told that a sword would pierce her soul because things would be so hard.  (Luke 2:34-35) Mary only knew a small fraction of the difficulties she would face by being the Lord's mother, but she did know that it would be hard.  So what does she say?  Does she say, "That's a great honor, but, I'd rather not, thanks." ?  Do