READ, PROCESS, LINGER… Christ propitiated the Father for you and for me (satisfied His justice). The grace of God depends on the works of Christ on the cross. This salvation does not depend on the merit a person achieves by doing something worthwhile. Salvation is a gift from God because Jesus Christ paid our sin debt on Calvary (Reference…
READ, PROCESS, LINGER… I read a true story once about a forest fire in Yellowstone Park. Forest Rangers, after the fire, were ascending a mountain to assess damage to the forest. One of the Rangers noticed what looked like a bird petrified in ashes, perched on the ground at the base of a large tree. The Ranger touched the…
Grace defined – (several factors involved): Grace is all that God is free to do for mankind because of Christ – His cross sacrifice. FACTORS: God is free to express His love toward us because of Christ and what Christ accomplished on the cross. The important thing in divine love is character, NOT sentimentality. God loves us because of who…
Reference verses: Deuteronomy 5:1 through 6:1 After dictating the Ten Commandments, God wrote them in stone. He said nothing else. These laws were given by God Himself. They are an indictment against the obvious traits of human nature. Therefore, all moral conduct and theory hangs on the commandments. Redemption is the only hope for fallen humanity as proven by…
READ, PROCESS, LINGER… TRUTH: Truth is incomparable. Each of us must learn to live the truth – let us begin by speaking it and learning it. The deviation from truth is a journey of regret. Truth is priceless and self-sustained – truth is self-evident. We exist in untruth – truth is a constant reminder; pay attention to truth –…
It is in trials and adversity that we are selected by God to endure difficult situations. It is not deliverance from but deliverance to that is at stake: Deliverance to the next level of spirituality by victory over circumstances. Through God’s personal plan for our sometimes messed-up lives, God will deliver us up, not down – just stay with Bible…
How can I express the inexpressible? Perhaps… silence? If I listen to music, music expresses itself. If I watch and listen to creation all around me, creation expresses itself; if I look closely, I see beautiful expressions inexpressible. I perceive that the inexpressible must, by necessity, express itself. We must learn to look and listen to the inexpressible. God is…
READ, PROCESS, LINGER… The uniqueness and depravity of human self-hood – the nature of humanity. The amazing thing about destiny is when two separate and unique lives, by chance (or is it?), come together. One fulfills, one completes – creating one life, stronger and more beautiful than if they had remained unknown and alone. Humans are unique to all…
READ, PROCESS, LINGER… It is imperative to stay near the Lord, stay in the Word, and remain occupied with Christ, without discipline or with discipline. When you learn to stay near the Lord without discipline, then God will bless you without discipline. Either way, God blesses you – always with love and mercy, always with kindness and patience, always…
What is the meaning of words? What is the meaning of meaning? Questions search for answers. Answers create more questions. The cycle is endless because knowledge is an endless river flowing from God, the source of all knowledge. A look at the meaning of words requires the study of numerous categories of knowledge. It requires thought. Thought requires vocabulary. The…
If you are a serious student of the Word of God, you should be aware of Koiné Greek terms and their usage and significance. Why? Because there are only a handful of churches and clergy who teach from the original languages of Scripture (when in reality, each and every pastor and teacher of the Word of God should definitely teach…
Each and every person ever born must sooner or later confront the truth of their moral condition. We are the unrighteous at the mercy of a righteous God. God Himself solved our dilemma of unrighteousness by substitutionary atonement – the just for the unjust (Romans 3:26), so His justice is served and our justification is provided for by the cross-work…
Marriage is a union of one man and one woman who become one holy unit, one holy union. This holy union is a covenant, witnessed by God (Malachi 2:14-16). The Lord’s intimate involvement renders the marriage commitment a spiritual union for life (Matthew 19:6). One of the purposes of marriage is to enjoy one another in true companionship (Genesis 2:18;…
READ, PROCESS, LINGER… Life has reason, which reason does not know. The mills of faith grind slowly but surely; they grind exceedingly fine when mixed with Biblical Truths. To mature is to learn discipline, respect, control, and tolerance for the lack of same in others. The journey begins with the breath of soul-life, and ends with its removal. Yesterday…
The day of eternity is nearly here My destiny ahead, straight and clear. The sun of my fate is in decline, But I know Jesus, He is mine. The winds at war against the sea Like sin battle-tossed within me. A war of the many, with me as one Thank God for the work of Jesus, His Son. From each…
READ, LINGER, PROCESS… Intellect wants to receive glory, to be the God it denies. So intellect is a spiritual battle between unregenerate humanity and God, leaving God out of the equation. Whisper, wonder, and wind – perhaps akin. Wisdom is both knowledge and discernment – the exercise of judgment – as opposed to folly, yet there is wisdom in…
At dawn’s early light, the Lord awakens me. He whispers, I write… “I heard your prayer and I saw your tears,” said the Lord. “Your voice has entered my Throne Room, even into my ears.” The Lord has given me His ears that I might hear the Songs of Eternity, the Chorus of Creation, the Music of Heavenly Hosts, the…
As I drove the final miles toward home, the breeze through the car window was pleasant and warm. “There’s no place like home,” I thought, nothing like opening the front door after time away, like sitting around the kitchen table and a cool drink or a hot meal with family or friends. There is nothing like a loving smile and…
Communion with God is creation in all its forms The dawning of light from darkness fills the morn The warming sun awakens the little flowers Rivers rise, time stills, in rainbow showers The sea like silver bares its bosom to the moon The desert floors are busy until high noon The wild bees buzzing on their daily chases Trees sing…
I concur with Chuck Colson and his panel of experts regarding biotechnology. Here are my thoughts in my own words… To take a life created in God’s image is a sin against God and man. To make a life created in man’s image is a sin against man and God. Taking human life or making human life – where is…
