He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Matt. 4:19. What does that mean? I mean really, what does that mean to you and me in this day and age? OK I’m ready, tell me what ‘Follow Me’ means. Does it mean ‘walk behind Me’? Or does it mean ‘Do what I do’? Or maybe, ‘Be like Me.’? Think about that. You decide. What does it mean to you? Continue reading
“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good . . .” Genesis 50:20
You know the story of Joseph. He was the favorite son of Jacob, the eleventh of twelve, and when he was young he was a little arrogant. His father gave him the “technicolor dreamcoat”. He told his brothers he had a dream which showed all his brothers and even their father bowing down to Joseph. He probably shouldn’t have done that. Made ‘em mad. So mad they wanted to kill him. They even threw him in a well and left him there to die. But Reuben (one of the brothers) got him out and sold him to slave traders on the way to Egypt. Continue reading
[Jesus said] “Everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, is like a fool who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” Matt 7:26-27.
What does this mean? ‘House’ means me or you and our lives; the things we base our lives on; the things we surround ourselves with. The things we rely on when the storm comes. Continue reading
Matthew 25:35-36: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ Continue reading
“Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.” John 7:24
“For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7
Hebrews 4:12 says, “The Word of God is living and powerful . . and is a discerner of the thoughts and the intents of the heart.” Continue reading
The underlying key to all aspects of our relationship with Jesus is our surrender to Him. So how does humility express surrender in our lives? Early on, I thought the essence of humility is surrender; such as in Philippians 2:5, 8; where it says, ” Let Jesus’ attitude be in you. . Who, being found as a man, humbled himself, and became a slave, and was obedient unto death, even death on a cross.”
“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” James 1:2-4
“We also glory [rejoice] in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” Romans 3:4-5 When I was a little kid, my Momma used to say, often, that tribulation builds character.
Our friend, the prophet Isaiah, says, “Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on [trust in] the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:28-31. Continue reading
The only time you really get to rest in this life is when you find someone you can trust to protect you. And most of the time the only one you can trust completely is God. Everyone else, sooner or later, comes up short. They’re just not there when you really need them most. God is the only One who is really trustworthy. And when you have God to protect you, it’s a lead pipe cinch that nothing bad is going to happen to you. (No evil will befall you) And no catastrophe, no earthquake, no hurricanes, no swine flu, no cancer, and certainly no plague will come near your dwelling. Continue reading
“ . . the prayer of faith will heal the sick and the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.” James 5:15
Who is a “righteous” person? A righteous person is one who has Jesus’s righteousness in him because he has surrendered his whole self to Jesus. Not my righteousness but Jesus’ righteousness is the only thing that is going to save me, the only thing that is going to make me holy, as God is holy. Continue reading
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