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Galatians 5:13: “You were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only don’t let this freedom be an opportunity to indulge your selfish impulses, but serve each other through love. All the Law has been fulfilled in a single statement: love your neighbor as yourself. But if you bite and devour each other, be careful that you don’t get eaten up by each other!” Freedom is a tricky concept in western democratic societies. Most of us think we know what it means. Or at least, we certainly react when we believe our personal freedoms are being t...
Imagine that you have never owned a home, but one day someone offers to sell you theirs (with ample property) for pennies on the dollar. There is only one catch...your country has just been invaded and that property lies within what is now enemy territory. To make matters worse, you are in the one city still left standing, with the enemy literally crashing the city walls, and you know for a fact that very soon everything will be destroyed, and the majority of your people will shortly either be executed or taken captive to a foreign land. Would...
We once more have arrived at the great celebration day of our nation’s adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Blood, sweat and tears were shed so that we can enjoy benefits such as free speech, life, liberty, independence, freedom of religion, the right to bear arms, etc. This year is unique from all other Fourth of July’s in my lifetime, in that many events have been canceled due to COVID-19. That does not mean that we cannot celebrate in different ways. I thank God for the sacrifices made so that we have something substantial to celebra...
Everyone’s life journey fulfills prophecy (Scripture) in one place or another, in or out. The great concern should be in what location? John/Yohanan 17:21 “So that they all might be one, as You, Father, are in me, and I in You…” What an in: Father, you in me and me in you. OH how good we have it. FATHER, can we make it that way for all of them that you gave me, they that keep your word? V: 6. I in them and you in me – that would be perfectly yoked. V:23 “I in them, and you in me, so that they might be perfected into one, so that the world k...
Our nation is reeling from the COVID-19 virus and the rioting and looting that is occurring across this nation. People's lives are void of true peace and quiet moments and that is one of our greatest dangers. Mr. Charles E. Hummel wrote an article titled "The Tyranny of the Urgent" for Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship in 1967. In this article he related a conversation he had with a cotton mill manager who told him, "Your greatest danger is letting the urgent things crowd out the important." I...
I recently went to the hospital for a small procedure. As I entered, two gals checked my temperature and gave me a mask. I consider myself a reasonable person and thought this makes sense in this situation. But I won't spend what few years I have left look'n like Jesse James ready to rob the bank at Northfield, Minn. Then you have big outfits like Walmart and others open with a lot of folks close together while small independent shops are forced to stay closed and are going bankrupt, losing a...
If you're like my wife you're probably asking what is "unconscious unreality?" It's a phrase I picked up while reading Oswald Chambers, one of my favorite authors. Chambers made the statement that, "The deadliest Pharasaism today is not hypocrisy but unconscious Unreality. What he was getting at is our ability to (without even being conscious of it) commit sin and then justify it to ourselves. Let me give you an example: If you've ever been guilty of being angry with someone and then justified i...
My favorite online used bookstore recently shared about the all kinds of treasures that have been found left inside used books. Over the years, as they have sorted and cataloged used books, they have discovered a wide variety of items left hidden in the pages of used books. The biggest treasure was a bundle of 40 $1,000 bills. Also found was a Mickey Mantle rookie baseball card, a marriage certificate from 1879, a diamond ring and a baby's tooth. None of these interesting and valuable objects...
“Do not fear, for I am with you, do not be afraid, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 Fear is dangerous. On the one hand, it can get us to act and bypass our thought process. On the other hand, it can get us to act and bypass our thought process. Sometimes that is good, sometimes that is not so good. How do we know? Should I be afraid? Shouldn’t I be afraid? Fear and reason don’t play well together. They make for a very difficult emotional experie...
God had covenantally promised property, posterity and prosperity to the children of Abraham (see Genesis 12:1-3) if they were loyal to Him. At Mount Sinai, God revealed the covenantal instructions for loyalty through Moses to the Israelites. Insofar as the Israelites were loyal to God by keeping the commandments, they experienced the blessings of the Abrahamic covenant. And insofar as they were disloyal to God by purposefully breaking the commandments and refusing to heed God's loving...
Maybe I have a weird sense of humor but an old bluegrass song with the title “Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven, But Nobody Wants to Die” came to my mind as this pandemic was starting to really hit here in the United States. The last part of that for sure rings true in the times we’re in. At least as far as I can tell, the author of the song is unknown. We cannot ask about their intended meaning for the song, but like art does, the song can get us to think about it. Although the title generally does ring true, it is a bit exaggerated. There are t...
Synopsis: God made us to know, love and serve Him and to gain eternal happiness with Him in heaven. God’s grace saves us through faith, when we do His will. With sin we disobey and offend God. God sent His dearly beloved Son, Jesus, who founded His universal/Catholic Church. Jesus’ willing sacrifice on the cross paid the price for our sins and restored our right relationship with God; Jesus’ resurrection restored our life. By God’s justice, through His Sacraments and Masses, everyone owes a grave debt of worship and thanksgiving to Him. Pa...
Everyone is on a Journey. How we live out our personal journey will determine our eternal destination. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and while there seems to be many different and sincere opinions, on the day of reckoning there will only be one! What will be your destination of your journey? There is only one “opinion:” The word of Elohim, made flesh that will judge righteously according to what man has done in the body. See 2 Corinthians 5:10. While in the judgment seat, you will need reliable witnesses – let Yahuah be found true....
Have you ever been lost in the woods? For those who have, the first thought is how to find your way to safety. The number one danger is usually not the elements, lack of water, etc. It is panic. For those who do not survive, in most cases it was overwhelming fear that led to a bad situation becoming worse. What is needed in such situations is a fixed, known and visible reference point...a focus. One of the most obvious of those is the night sky. Throughout the ages, people realized that focusing on the most prominent star they saw was not...
Well, this is a new one. At least, it is for me, and for the vast majority of you who read this, and the vast majority of Americans. We are undergoing an historic event that will likely alter the world we know going forward and we are being required to stay at home, except for essential activities. This event has taught me a few lessons, with more to come I expect. Let me share a few. First, life is uncertain. We do not know the future and no matter what anyone tells you is going to happen, we do not know if it will happen until it does. This...
The COVID-19 virus is causing panic and fear and no one likes the uncertainty. So, we all scream for some peace and stability in this chaotic world. We wrestle with trust and not having control. However, this struggle is universal and comes with living in a fallen world. Believers in Jesus Christ know that God is in total control. Those who deny God's existence or who do not turn to Him in their lives, deny themselves the greatest treatment for fear, anxiety, worry and doubt. Our God offers us s...
Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, "Let me take the speck out of your eye," while the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor's eye. (Matthew 7:3-5 NRSV) I heard recently that many Americans have lost their capacity to be surprised. The person surmised three primary cultural shifts have given...
As I advance in years, I find there is a temptation to want to just sit back and rest on my accomplishments. It is tempting to just say, "I've worked hard, I've done my work and it's time for someone else to pick up the burden." And yet as I examine scripture, I see that this is clearly not God's plan. In 1st Thessalonians 3:6 I read: "Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the...
Years ago, the movie Castaway came out, in which Tom Hanks played a FedEx worker whose company plane went down, stranding him on a desert island for years. Not long after that FedEx ran a Super Bowl commercial that spoofed the movie "Castaway." Looking like a man who had been stranded on an island, the FedEx employee in the commercial goes up to the door of a suburban home, package in hand. When the lady comes to the door he explains that he survived five years on a desert island and during that...
Have you been to New Orleans for Mardi Gras? I have not but I am, like most of us, certainly aware of the annual event. Mardi Gras Day is Feb. 25. This day is also called Fat Tuesday. Fat Tuesday is that last day of the Carnival season and it always falls the day before Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent which, this year, is Feb. 26. You can learn more about this year's Mardi Gras 2020 at its official website www.mardigrasneworleans.com. People party hardy on Fat Tuesday because Ash Wednesday,...
There is the story of a shipwreck on a dark and tempestuous night, when not even a star was visible. A ship was approaching the harbor of Cleveland, with a pilot on board. The captain, noticing only one light as they drew near - that from the lighthouse -asked the pilot if he was quite sure that it was Cleveland harbor, as other lights should have been burning at the harbor mouth. The pilot replied that he was quite sure, whereupon the captain enquired: “Where are the lower lights?” “Gone out, sir,” replied the pilot. “Can you make the harbo...
Especially after the loss of a loved one, our thoughts are often directed to the brevity of life here on earth. As I advance in age, time seems to rush by faster & faster each year. Surely, we all need to be very aware that are days are numbered here in this temporary existence. And, Christians should most assuredly fix their eyes toward Heaven and hold fast to God’s promise that after we depart this earth, we will live eternally in Heaven with our Savior Jesus Christ. In the beginning when Adam and Eve disobeyed God, sin then filled the w...
“All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;…” (2 Timothy 3:10-17). For proper biblical understanding, supportive scriptural context is often required. Consider this: “...if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:1-[9]-21). By expressing faith in Jesus, we act upon faith to manifest faith; we obey all of God commands; we believe everything revealed by God. With fait...
Everyone possesses one of two spirits, that of the world or that of Yahuah. The spirit of the world sees that which is of the flesh and no eyes to see that which is of obedience unto everlasting life. “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost. In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Yeshua, who is the image of Yahuah, should shine unto them.” 2 Corinthians 4:3,4. No one can do this without divine assistance. “But we have this treasure in earth...
"But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or upon the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7 Today, the most sought-after (and most expensive) violins in the world are those crafted by Guaneri del Gesu and Antonio Stradivari, going for prices reaching millions of dollars. What is it that makes them so valuable? The short answer is that...
