READ, LINGER, PROCESS… We are not a God-shaped species as some would have us believe. We are a soul-image species (as in God created man in His own image). I believe our soul-image becomes a higher image when we are born again. It is at this new birth, spiritual, that God reinstates our spiritual heritage and honor as heirs…
READ, LINGER, PROCESS… Every human begins life in bondage. By faith in Christ, we rise in courage into the liberty of Bible doctrine, where we find peace, joy, love, and true, lasting inner happiness. Interesting how we attempt to live each day’s comfort with the counterfeits of illusion. The corpse, thought dead, continues its advance in corruption. The day…
Relativism: “Truth for you, not for me. My truth is what matters.” This mindset leads to, “It’s true for me, so I will make it true for you,” and “You will participate in my truth.” Truth is not relative, it is an absolute. The plan of satan is whitewashing God’s Word. Merchandising the gospel is whitewashing grace. Activism by believers…
In certain parts of California, it can be a disaster of catastrophic proportion to the citrus crop if the temperature drops below 32°F. Therefore, the industry, in an effort to help reduce loss of crops, place thousands upon thousands of little pots in the citrus groves, which they light at night during freezing temperatures. These little pots are called “smudge…
I am a terrible, sinful son made perfect forever by the Author and Finisher of my salvation, who suffered horribly on the cross for me (Hebrews 2:10; 5:9). By one offering, God has perfected those who trust Christ, and all believers will be presented by Christ to the Father without spot or blemish (Hebrews 10:14; Ephesians 5:27). Keeping the law…
READ, LINGER, PROCESS… I suppose we could say that matter is most real to our senses. But, having said that, matter only substitutes for the unseen spiritual reality we cannot see while in the flesh. Therefore our deepest longings that go unfulfilled are for the resurrection of, or restoration of, our original senses (Hebrews 11:1). It is the frivolous…
When sick or injured, our instinctive fear is of dying. In poverty circumstances, it is natural to fear hunger and even exposure. Our flesh is weak and selfish. But the crown of life demands sacrifice of self –suffering while in the world and, through it all, keeping the faith no matter what. Human life is unique. Human death is unique…
READ, LINGER, PROCESS… Living our lives in a time-centered existence has its tensions. We are nostalgic for yesteryear, which lives on only in memory, in the midst of a disappearing present – time is elusive. Time is God’s creation. What we do in time matters. Our decisions have eternal consequences. Time gives us opportunity to know and believe and…
There once was a raindrop Believe it or not Afraid to fall from the sky. He looked down and said, “This is too high, I might get hurt, I might even die. What can I do, where can I go? How can I get to the earth below” “You could slide down on me,” said the rainbow. “I touch the…
We enter this world with heart and soul We’re here for a while, then called to go. Death is passing through the door That leads us on to evermore Where loved ones patiently wait For our arrival at Heaven’s Gate. Then, we’ll walk together by sacred streams In beauty transcended beyond our dreams Where light and life are one in…
If God should beckon with outstretched hand I will be transferred to the promised land He may call my name in sleep some night And I shall wake in heaven’s light – C. S. Craig May 2021
God is the mature believer’s superhero on the stage of human history. Threads of spiritual heritage from the wisdom of ages are sewn together to form the mosaic of God’s love throughout the ages. God’s love for us was poured out for us in eternity past, with the result that our love for God is poured out toward God in…
READ, LINGER, PROCESS… We live today in a divided world, and this is by design. God works even through our weaknesses, and for His purposes, which will eventually bring blessings to believers and glory to God through Christ. Christ must be first and foremost in our thinking. Horizontal: Gain the world for yourself, serve yourself, and lose yourself and…
READ, LINGER, PROCESS… A loving God does not reject the unbeliever, the unbeliever rejects the love of God demonstrated on the cross when Christ died as a substitute for all humanity. The sin nature remains active as long as we live (1 John 1:8), so God added 1 John 1:9. Throughout our lives we will continue to use our…
READ, LINGER, PROCESS… We’ve all learned very well to listen to the world. It comes natural to us. But as believers, we must learn to listen to our bodies (health reasons), and we need to listen to the Holy Spirit. The world reveals human viewpoint. It also reveals divine viewpoint, which are the doctrines of the bible. Our flesh…
READ, LINGER, PROCESS… Truth in America isn’t what it used to be. Deconstruction of truth undermines the Bible and the Creator. Divine viewpoint is a God’s-eye view, a revelation from God that literally demonstrates truth as absolute (Romans 3:4; 2 Timothy 3:15-17). Intellectual indifference is the enemy of morality and virtue. Even before humanity was created, the sacrificial lamb…
READ, LINGER, PROCESS… When one’s ego is inflated, one is without integrity. Kill… your… ego (and kill your TV while you’re at it). If this old house could speak, its stones would cry out from the walls, and the rafters would answer them from the woodwork. Flaming arrows, shining spears, and chariots of fire… “And I turned, and lifted…
READ, LINGER, PROCESS… The laws of nature (or, more properly, creation) are established by “nature’s” God. Believers are citizens of heaven, the kingdom of God, therefore the believer’s first loyalty is to the King of kings and Lord of lords – Jesus Christ. The transformation in the believer’s life is from physical to spiritual, from the world to the…
READ, LINGER, PROCESS… Removing anything from the Word of God is liberalism. Adding to the Word of God is legalism. The wisdom of God is there for the benefit of humanity. God honors our choices – God or self. Humanity prefers self on the throne with its self-satisfaction and self-desires and perverted insistence. There is ruin (because of us)…
READ, LINGER, PROCESS… I seem to hear the call of the wild in the impatient wind, and I yearn to connect with both mysteries. Even more as I see the northern lights, I long to merge into the beauty and the wonder of the splendorous – to be immersed and filled until we become one, flashing forth to and…