Conversion from the self-serving ways of man to the otherness of the Kingdom is not an emotional decision but an intellectual one. One must first understand why God thinks our world is backwards, and they will then better appreciate the alternative and, as a result, be less likely to fall away...
Exodus 20:15
"You shall not steal."
Exodus 22:1-4
"Whoever steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it must pay back five head of cattle for the ox and four sheep for the sheep. “If a thief is caught breaking in at night and is struck a fatal blow, the defender is not guilty of...
The Sluggard
6 Go to the ant, O sluggard;
consider her ways, and be wise.
9 How long will you lie there, O sluggard?
When will you arise from your sleep?
12 A worthless person, a wicked man,
goes about with crooked speech,
13 winks with his eyes, signals with his feet,
points...
They Hated Him
“Now while they were listening to these things, Jesus went on to tell a parable, because He was near Jerusalem, and they supposed that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately. So He said, ‘A nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself, and then...
“Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” (1 John 3:18 ESV)
Whether this is talking about us loving God or it is talking about us loving other humans, this is absolutely the truth that we must hold to as God’s children. But we are only his children if we walk...
And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ For a...
“Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot—they were...
“So he told them this parable: ‘What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home...
Many think that going through the narrow gate is merely about being a better Christian. In reality, it's like walking up the ramp to Noah's Ark. It's about avoiding the destruction that is coming upon the Earth. The focus here is about events that will happen shortly before the return of Jesus...
Consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not take lightly the...
“Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, ‘This man receives sinners and eats with them.’” (Luke 15:1-2 ESV)
What was Jesus’ intention in eating with “sinners,” which all of us are outside of God’s saving grace? It...
“Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to...
“One of the lawyers answered him, ‘Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also.’ And he said, ‘Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets...
“While Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him, so he went in and reclined at table. The Pharisee was astonished to see that he did not first wash before dinner. And the Lord said to him, ‘Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full...
Following Christ faithfully will be very challenging at times. But many will make their lives unnecessarily difficult because of wrong choices that lead them deeper into sin. We must face up to the harsh reality that we all have the potential to behave in a way that draws us away from God. Real...
“No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light.” (Luke 11:33 ESV)
Jesus said, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life” (John 8:12). So, he is...
“Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, ‘Lord, do you...
There was remaining wood that they yet needed to gather, which Jecharon and those with him did right away, to soon return then to where the others were making camp.
Deseradar announced to them when they came, "I explored what could be seen from the other side of this grove of olive trees. I...
What is dark to us is not even dark to You, O Lord.
That which is brightened by your Light ushers You in.
Dark is dispelled from us. Your Presence--Light occupying the seized.
Basking, here is the new creation you’ve made of your shining saints.
Change undeniable! This knowledge...
“For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person...