I’ve read the gospels many times but as I was reading Mark the other day, it struck me that we have no real perception or understanding of what Jesus experienced the night they came for him. “They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Sit here while I pray.’ He took Peter, James and John along with Him, and He began to be deeply distressed and troubled. ‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,’ He said to them. ‘Stay here and k

Della and I went to see the first two episodes of season five of The Chosen yesterday. They did an excellent job with portraying many of the problems the Jewish people were experiencing at the time. But, for me I was extremely shook when Jonathan Roumie reenacted Jesus cleansing the temple. Mark 11: 15-17 (ESV) “And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out  those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the

Let’s open the Book of Truth and delve: Psalm 53:2 (ESV)  “God looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek  after God.” Deuteronomy 4:29 (ESV)  “But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find  Him, if you search after Him with all your heart  and with all your soul .” I don’t mean to always sound like a broken record, but God has a lot of servants. They are called angels. But His free will children are rare.

Mark 4: 35-41 (NASB)  “On that day, when evening came, He said to them, ‘Let us go over to the other side.’ Leaving the crowd, they took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him. And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up. Jesus Himself was in the stern asleep  on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, ‘Teacher, do You not care that we are perishin

Ephesians 4:29-32 (NASB)  “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. Do not grieve  the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness  and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God i

Zechariah 4: 6(NASB)  “…Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.” As believers in our Lord Jesus Christ, we need to understand that we are on a treacherous journey through a world overflowing with obstacles, hindrances, quagmires, and pitfalls. They are challenges that on our own strength we are incapable of defeating. But with the Holy Spirit all things are possible. And He is where we must place our trust. So, what do I mean by “further in?” A s

Let’s cut to the chase! A surrendered life is an abundant life. A life that has been given up to Christ is full of the Holy Spirit because your heart has no room for you. A surrendered life voraciously consumes the Scriptures and plans all its decisions based on what it finds in there. A surrendered life has no pride, no arrogance, and no selfishness. It does not judge or gossip or blame. It belongs completely to Christ. And it is free. Some don’t care. But you might say, how

This year I will turn seventy years of age. I’m much closer to the end than I am from the start. So, what have I learned? Matthew 6:19-21 (ESV)  “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” A while back in time there use

1 Peter 3:15 (ESV)  “In your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope  that is in you; yet do it with gentleness  and respect .” Those who are shy tend to think they will just let the “Bible thumpers” handle the gospel. But that’s not what Peter is telling us here. First, “in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy.” This part of the verse is crucial to our witnessing. You see, there is a

The writers of our Epistles in the New Testament called us out on our divisions, factions, arguments, and quarreling. None of which is good for any of us. Instead of quarreling today, we decide to go our separate ways. I have observed quite a few church splits, and my observation has been the stubbornness lodged in our own souls. And if we are stubborn towards other believers, then most likely we are stubborn towards God. The Holy Spirit never calls us to quarreling. He calls

Colossians 3:1-2 (ESV)  “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is , seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth.” Have you ever heard the phrase, “That person is so heavenly minded, they are no earthly good?” It’s an old phrase, but what does it actually say about a person? Not only that, but it is usually another believer that says it about a fellow believer. Do

Ephesians 4; 11 (ESV)  “And He gave the apostles , the prophets , the evangelists , the shepherds , and teachers . There are those people who have definitely been called by God to do the work for both the Church and the Lost. These are very special people. They are also extremely important to the Church and to the Lost. Without them we would have more hurt than we can deal with. My first writing on witnessing was for those who want to witness but really are too shy or timid t

Matthew 28: 19-20 (ESV)  “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Mark 16: 15-16 (ESV)  “And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.’”

Hail the King, the great Christ Jesus! He came to us in a stable. He came in humbleness. That was the first thing He did. That is the first thing we should copy. He came ready to obey. He was committed to do and say whatever the Father wished. That was His next example. We should definitely copy that. He spoke only the truth. A holy truth, far beyond our capacity to comprehend. But still, we should only speak truth (in love) to the best of our ability. He feared nothing and n

The world will tell you that the Bible is completely antiquated and that it has no relevance today. They have been saying that for years. Could anyone be more wrong? I was planning on becoming a history professor back in college, but life took a strange course. The one saying that we claimed to be true is that History always repeats itself . What was true 2000 years ago is still true today. Consider this; We are all in there. When it talks about the prodigal son, that’s me. W

John 16: 7-15 (ESV) “Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send Him to you . And when He comes, He will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see Me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is jud

In our Christian faith, knowledge will never be enough. I have seen it in my own life where knowledge only brings pride or judgement. So, knowledge alone is dangerous and one of the main causes for church splits. However, knowledge is extremely important because it is the beginning of growth. When we read the bible with an open heart and mind, we gain knowledge. Do not be satisfied with only that. With knowledge as our only tool, we can argue any point we wish. We will also h

Matthew 18: 21-22 (NASB)  “Then Peter came to Him and said, ‘Lord how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.’” Most of us know this conversation between Peter and Jesus. But not so much in the context as it was explained to me by the Spirit. “You’re the other guy.” “What do You mean?” “You’re the one who needs to be forgiven seventy times seven!” I

Psalm 133: 1 (ESV)  “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell together in unity .” Follow me on this; We are the body of Christ, correct? And according to the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 12, the body is made up of many different parts. Paul goes even further to state that where would the hearing be if we were only eyes. And for the eye not to reject the hand. We are interwoven together as one. We need our different parts! However, when I visit a church, I som

Psalm 51: 6 (ESV) “Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.” Those of you who read my stuff know how much I love the bible. I read, I ponder, I take long drinks of insight, and devour the solid food. Those who do not read the bible mistakenly think it is full of rules and don’ts. I guarantee you it does not. The Father is all truth. The Son is all truth. And the Spirit is all truth. I didn’t say They have truth, I said Th