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
In the 22nd Chapter of Genesis is the story of when God told Abraham to get his son Isaac, the ‘Son of God’s Promise’, and take him up on a mountain, and “offer him there as a burnt offering.” The very next verse in the story says, “So Abraham got up early the next morning and started out.”
It really is clear in the Bible, that from the beginning, God’s preferred means of reconciling Himself to men (really His only method and means) is by grace through faith; and this episode is but one of many examples of that message found in the Bible. 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
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
In John 5:24, Jesus says, 24 “I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe [trust] in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned, they have already passed from death into life.” This is the most basic expression of the Gospel.
Matthew 25: 14-30: This passage is usually called the “Parable of the Talents”, but I call it the “Parable of the Unfaithful Servant”, because that is what the story is all about. Y’all know the story. Three servants (really slaves). Their master, referred to as ‘lord’ in the story, goes on a long trip. Before he leaves he calls his slaves in and says, “Slave 1, I’m giving you 10 talents; Slave 2, 5; Slave 3, 1. Y’all invest the money. See what you can make for me while I’m gone.” A talent of gold was several lifetimes of wages for the average man in those days. Estimates have it at $300,000.00 in today’s currency. (One talent) Continue reading
I’m always talking about how God will take care of you if you’ll just trust Him. But will He really? Will He still take care of you even if you do something really bad; something you knew was wrong before you did it, and you did it anyway? I mean like when you were doing it, you looked God in the eye and said, “I don’t care what you think; I’m going to do this anyway” Will God take care of you, even then, even after that? Continue reading
Hebrews 11: 6, says: “Without faith (trust) it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe (trust) that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek him.” This is about the attitude of trust in God. You just don’t have a chance with God unless you trust Him. Since you can’t see Him, you must trust that He exists. (Funniest thing though, when you start trusting Him, you start seeing the things He does, and feeling His Presence all around. He reveals Himself to you.) And you must trust that He’ll reward you if you earnestly seek Him. Like it says in James 4:8, “Draw near to God, and He’ll draw near to you.” ‘Drawing near’ could be translated, ‘earnestly seek Him’. Continue reading
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