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Two demons have plagued man since he stepped out from under the shadow of his creator. They whisper in our ears the words that tie us to the mud. They help us build our dead religious systems. They blind us to the possibilities of who we really are and what we can really do. Their names...

Revelation tells us that Christ was slain before the foundation of the world. Again John tells us in his gospel that before there was anything there was Christ and that all things are created through Him. Today we celebrate His birth that to us happened 2000 years ago. In eternity however it is...

God gave me a vision of a broom Thanksgiving morning. I saw that it was coming. Sunday I saw it again. This time it swept down a swath from Maryland to the northern part of Louisiana. It swept in an arch across the area between the Mississippi river and the east coast. In its wake was a great...

It is odd for me to find myself on the “religious” side of any issue. If you know me, you know I’m all about grace and freedom. Yet, this year more than any previous I have been vexed by all the Halloween stuff. Every show on the tube, every movie offered up this week has...

I find myself saying and doing stupid things a lot lately. This seems to be the lot of myself and my race. Reflecting on this, I thought about Isaiah as written in chapter 6 “I am a man of unclean lips from a people of unclean lips” I had always seen this as a statement about...

My Church Prepares to Study “Who Moved My Cheese” Having spent the last 30 years of my life in the corporate world I’ve learned that whenever management asks you to read “Who Moved My Cheese” they plan to move it somewhere else. I suppose it makes them feel...

Religion is a snare so skillfully hidden that it can be found even in the religion of those who warn us to “avoid religion”

Dealing with the Gibeonites It occurs to be today that there is a difference between what we know and what we believe. For example, I know that I drove my car to work this morning. This is a fact and while some could dispute it I know it to be true. Now, I believe that I will drive it home...

I believe that the story of the exodus, while true, is also an allegory for our own journey. Nowhere in the story is the symbolism more astute than in the story of the Passover. It does not even take much imagination to see how Jesus is our Passover lamb and how His blood delivers us from death...

Someone said that we all have a cross to bear. I guess this is true, but, our cross is not a show piece to be drug around to show our piety. If you have one, use it for what it was created for. Let God nail you to it so you can die to the issue and then be raised to new life. John O.

One of our cats, Simba, died this morning. She was fine one moment sitting in Cathy’s lap and the next moment she was gone. Apparently she had a stroke. She was a fine cat as cats go, but I’m sure she never really believed herself to be one. She always seemed to look upon the other cats as...

It is ironic that wounded flesh never wants to die. Apparently my broken heart must be healed before I can fully place myself on the alter. John O.

Man was created with a conscience. He is by nature then a moral being. Therefore to him some things are right and some things are wrong. However, in his fall from grace man chose to define for himself the parameters of right and wrong. This was the exaltation of his throne above God’s. This is...

Freedom does not come from the law. If I put my faith in the law I will loose upon myself the very thing I want to avoid. (See Romans 7) I am in a very real sense free to do whatever I want. Is it good for me? No, but the law against it will not make me free. God knew about my sin, past...

Hey I don’t know what it’s like where you are but somebody dumped a big O’ bucket of “crazy” on me, mine and the whole city of Memphis last week. John O.

Don’t misunderstand me. Its not that I don’t wish you well, it’s just that I don’t know you and you don’t me. I suppose you are famous in some circles and I wonder what kind of toll that places on you. You may not want to be an idol (I don’t know since I don’t know you) but it appears that you...

I think the church is better served by looking for what is right about something as apposed to looking for what is wrong. If we turn on a light darkness flees. (We do not need to take a light bulb and beat the darkness out of the room) Philippians 4:8-9 8Finally, brothers, whatever is true...

I do not need to live by the Law, as, through grace, and grace alone God is writing it on my heart. It lives through His character now alive in 100% of me (not just a little corner of my heart). If I do attempt to keep it I am no longer resting in His grace, I am attempting to lean on it...

Have you ever wondered why those denominations with the strictest moral codes seem to be the ones whose leaders seem to fall the hardest? Why? Is it because the devil tries harder to make holy people stumble? Is it just that we notice it more in that population? My pondering of this...

In Christ I am 100% righteous. Right now, why would I want to exchange His righteousness for mine? It is the flesh that wants to add its weight to His. It can’t of course but it would rather be religious then die. John O.