The Intentional Scriptures! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 2 Peter 3:15-16,

"Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction."

Peter here observes that the delay Jesus Christ has made before returning to earth and bringing this present age to a close provides for more people to enter into his family. God is building his kingdom! This is what this age is all about.

There will be no procreation in the next age, that only happens here. The successive generations of mankind have provided opportunity for the growth of the kingdom of heaven. Once the Lord has decided he has all the souls he desires for his kingdom, the end of the age will come. This is why Peter says, "Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation..." One day a baby is coming that will be the very last baby to ever be born... and that day is headed our way at some point!

What catches my eye this morning is Peter's comment about Paul's writings. Paul wrote thirteen letters that compromise a large part of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament. These writings Peter calls Scripture. The term is a theologically technical one referring to the sacred library of writings that have been acknowledged as specifically inspired by God. He says that "ignorant and unstable people" distort Paul's writings as they do "the other Scriptures." Many people today outright reject what the Scriptures have to say. I offer you the notion that our culture as "evolved" on the practice of homosexuality as an example. People do so to their own peril. "Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God." 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 as an example.

The Scriptures, because they are inspired by God, are inerrant and authoritative. They are intentional by God to reveal himself to mankind and to express what he wants mankind to know and understand. As God is our Creator and the judge of all mankind when this age comes to a close, this means the inspired writings of Paul, as well as Peter and all the other books in our Bibles are vitally important. Our understanding them and responding to them in reverent fear will determine how each and every one of us will spend eternity.

Just thinking about that should cause everyone to dust off their Bibles and become intimately acquainted about what they have to say - about anything and everything.

A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

False Teachers! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 2 Peter 2:17-22,

"These people are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for 'people are slaves to whatever has mastered them.' If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true: 'A dog returns to its vomit,' [Proverbs 26:11] and, 'A sow that is washed returns to her wallowing in the mud.'"

These horrific words are Peter's observations about "false teachers." What a terrible future awaits them!

We learn from Peter that "there will be false teachers among you." 2 Peter 2:1. Peter describes them, talks about the damage they do, and, as we see above, what awaits them.

It is apparent they are all about us today. False teachers that promote doctrines of demons, "The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth." 1 Timothy 4:1-3. (Thanks Dave.)

We find false teachers on TV, we find them in the seminary and academia, we find them holding offices in denominations and various religious organizations, we find them behind pulpits and leading Sunday School and Bible classes. They are all about us.

How do we protect ourselves from these false teachers? We can know who they are if we know what God's word has to say. "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16-17. Does what they teach square with the Scriptures?

When we find someone teaching contrary to the Scriptures, we know they are false teachers. When we encounter them, we need to act accordingly.

A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

The Prowling Devil Stalks Us, But God is Powerful! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Peter 5:10-11,

"And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen."

Peter speaks of the believer's need to be "alert and of sober mind" because of the devil. Peter explains the devil is our enemy, verse 8, and prowls around like a roaring lion - as if he is stalking us, he looks for believers to devour.

Peter says that because of this, the whole family of believers undergoes a similar kind of suffering. However, as our verse above points out, after we have suffered for a time at the devil's hand, God will intervene and restore us. The end result of this is that the Lord makes us "strong, firm and steadfast." Then, as to assure us, Peter provides a short doxology, "To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen."

Why does God do this? Why does he allow this in our lives? He does it because we need to grow strong, firm and steadfast in our faith. The truth is we do not show up that way when we embrace Jesus Christ in faith. As new-born believers, we need to grow up and mature in our faith.

The writer of Hebrews puts it this way, "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." Hebrews 12:11.

As we grow older in our faith, we begin to develop the confidence that we can trust the Lord to see us through these trials. After all, as we read in 1 Peter 5:7, "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."

A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Its God's Plan I May Suffer? - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Peter 4:19,

"So then, those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good."

Hold on a minute here! I thought I heard that TV evangelist say that since God loves us he doesn't want us poor, he doesn't want us sick, he only wants to bless us. (Of course I need to sign up with him and send in my faith-promise pledge of $100 or more to get all the blessings...)

How often we have heard that God has a wonderful plan for our lives, and if we do all the religious things just right we will find ourselves reaping the best life has to offer, in terms of financial success, marital bliss, kids out of trouble and through college. This blessing is often defined as God getting us that job we really wanted, or that raise or promotion. How often it is defined by getting just the right girlfriend or boyfriend, or the hot sports car, the freshly minted new smart phone, the big beautiful new home with a very attractive mortgage rate...

So, what is this about continuing to do good and suffer... according to God's will? Peter didn't seem to get that message that is so prevalent today. He says that people, who are already doing good in their relationship with God may suffer, "according to God's will"!

There is a lot of poor religion, a lot of poor theology that is being passed around in the church these days. We need to find our knowledge of God and his purposes for us in the pages of Scripture. As an apostle of Jesus Christ, Peter knew what he was talking about.

In what must have been a shout out to Proverbs 3:11-12, in his letter to the Laodecians, Jesus said, "Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline." God does cause us to suffer according to his desires for us and his plans for us. He is stretching us spiritually and/or possibly using our suffering in the lives of others. The writer of Hebrews goes into this in chapter 12.

I think it best we go to the Scriptures to see what the Lord really is doing today. Trust me, Peter knew better than the voices today that are attempting to fill their coffers and gain large followings.

A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Our Old Sinful Self Put to Death - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Peter 3:18-22,

"For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits— to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him."

What a wonderful statement about our Savior Jesus Christ! Here we learn he suffered once, "Christ also suffered once for sins" -  all our sins! He did it as the righteous Son of God, that we might share in his righteousness, "to bring us to God."

This passage also points to the water that covered the earth during the flood of Noah's day. Peter tells us the water that deluged the earth back then symbolizes baptism that is practiced within the church today. In Noah's day, the waters that covered the earth brought death. Today, baptism represents the death of our old self that we now be identified by "the pledge of a clear conscience toward God."

Paul makes the point in Romans 6:3-4, "Don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life."

Paul goes on to say, "For if we have been united with him [Jesus Christ] in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin." Romans 6:5-7.

I find this to be pretty amazing! We are no longer to be identified by our old sinful self, but, now that it has been put to death, "we too may live a new life."

How amazing is that?!

A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Overcoming Sin - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Peter 2:1-3,

"Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good."

Peter has an assignment for folks here. Who is he talking to? Believers. All believers! The "Therefore" in the above passage refers back to chapter one where we read, "For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God." 1 Peter 1:23. This is who he is talking to.

On his mind is something important to him: that those who are followers of Jesus Christ, who have embraced him in faith need to "grow up in your salvation". His concerns are issues like malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander. In verse eleven of this chapter he exhorts believers to "abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul."

You can find them on any given Sunday. Sitting in the pew, all cleaned up and present in their "Sunday best", all smiles and seemingly free from the struggles with sin you and I might be wrestling with. Where you and I may have disappointed the Lord in one way or another in the past week, disappointed ourselves and possibly others, these fellow believers appear to be above the fray in dealing with sin in their lives.

Don't believe it for a second. We all struggle with sin in our lives. Just as Peter says as he urges us to abstain from those sinful desires which wage war against our souls. The lady singing the special music for the service that morning... the accompanying organist... even the guy behind the pulpit! All, each and every one, struggles with an abiding sinful nature.

The reason for this is that even though we are redeemed, our bodies yet await redemption, something that is yet future for all of us. "We ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies." Romans 8:23. A few verses earlier Paul observes, "But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness." Romans 8:10.

The good news in all this is something Paul further explains, "For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children."

Even though we retain a sinful nature following our salvation, we have a new nature with the indwelling Holy Spirit in us that provides us help in our struggle with sin. With Him we find that we have an ability to overcome the promptings of our sinful natures - a maturing process. As we read the Scriptures we find that God is working in our lives to conform us to the image of his Son, Jesus Christ. A big part of that process is the ability he provides us to overcome the temptations that old nature generates within us.

We will never be free from the sinful nature that resides within us as we remain in this life. However, normal Christian maturity brings about a gradual ability to overcome its promptings.

I love the words of Paul in Romans 7:24-25, "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!"

A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Sojourners With An Astonishing and Exciting Hope! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Peter 1:17,

"Since you call on a Father who judges each person's work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear."

Peter exhorts us to live our lives here in this life as "foreigners." It reminds me of what the writer of Hebrews said of the heroes of faith of long ago, "All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them." Hebrews 11:13-16.

It seems quite natural to focus ourselves on what we have in this life: our families, our health, our finances and resources, our entertainment, the things we enjoy - you get the drift. After all, we only have one shot at this life and most of us determine to make the most of it.

However, for those of us who have embraced Jesus Christ in faith, something else has come into our lives that should rightfully turn what I just said in the previous paragraph on its head. We now have what the Scriptures call a new hope, a "living hope." Peter puts it this way, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time." 1 Peter 1:3-5.

Rather than simply ordering our lives in a way that comports with the notion that we only have one life to live, (our temporal lives in this age), Peter tells us to order our lives in a way that recognizes another dimension, a wildly fantastic and incredible dimension: eternal life! As sons and daughters of God himself, we now possess an inheritance in God's family as co-heirs with Jesus Christ (see Romans 8:14-17).

To be sure, the Scriptures inform us of responsibilities and things to pursue while we remain in this life. However, with the glorious eternal life that awaits us, we should be developing an outlook that this life is not our home... we are simply sojourning here. Our home is within the family of God for all eternity following the resurrection! As such we need to be living out our time here "as foreigners here in reverent fear."

A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

The Purpose of This Age - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Matthew 28:18-20,

"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

These words of Jesus brings Matthew's amazing and stunning book about the life of Jesus Christ to a close. To be clear, it is the close of Matthew's gospel - and not the close of Jesus' life (he lives on!)... after all, the book informs us of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and within its pages (and particularly for me, 23:30-51 and 25:31-46) we read of the return of Jesus Christ, both to gather those who are his, who are destined to eternal life, as well as to judge those who reject Jesus Christ, those that are destined to eternal death.

Frequently these verses are referred to as the "Great Commission". They include a three part imperative Jesus gave his disciples: make disciples, baptize them and teach them.

However, there is more here that we can learn of from this commission Jesus gave. It expresses what God is doing in this age. It answers the question as to why this age that we live in exists and the purpose of our lives within it. It is not complicated and it is not difficult to understand. What is bewildering is that more people do not seem to be clear on it.

Here it is: God's purpose for this age is to build his kingdom, to build his family. This is God's agenda for today! This is God's program for this age, it is what is on his calendar for this age, it is what is on his docket.

God so loved the world that he sent his one and only Son to make a way for sinful man to enter his family, his kingdom. By dying on the cross, Jesus took our punishment on himself to satisfy our Heavenly Father's precise sense of justice and only asks us to embrace him in faith.

In an interesting observation, Peter speaks of why this age exists and why it has lasted as long as it has, "Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, 'Where is this "coming" he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.'... But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." 2 Peter 3:3-9.

God is wanting as many as who are willing to "come to repentance" that they may enter into the next age as a member of his family, an age without end… eternal life! He is building his kingdom!

A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Beware of the Moral Do-Gooders! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Matthew 27:6-8,

"The chief priests picked up the coins and said, 'It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money.' So they decided to use the money to buy the potter's field as a burial place for foreigners. That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day."

Talk about straining out gnats and swallowing camels! Just as many "do-gooders", these pillars of virtue are oh-so-very-careful to not allow some perceived minor transgression take place in the midst of something much more morally horrific they were pursuing - murdering the Son of God! This "blood money" was provided by these very same men to secure the delivery of Jesus into their hands. Now they are careful to see this money didn't make it into the temple treasury - that just wouldn't do! How lofty of them to provide for the foreigners that die in their midst!

The notion these chief priests and elders just didn't recognize who Jesus was and sought to stop what they thought was the blasphemy of Jesus' words and led to their actions out of a mistaken reverence for God falls apart when we read what Pilate knew to be true, "For he [Pilate] knew it was out of self-interest that they had handed Jesus over to him." Verse 18.

No, the feigned concern for the purity of the temple treasury by these religious leaders had nothing to do with reverence for God and everything to do with their own murderous sinful hearts.

These were the moral "do-gooders" of the day. Beware of the moral do-gooders!!

A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Perspectives Require Recognition of Spiritual Context - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Matthew 26:6-12,

"While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table. When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. 'Why this waste?' they asked. 'This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.' Aware of this, Jesus said to them, 'Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial.'"

I am reminded from this passage that the perspectives we hold should recognize the potential spiritual context within which they reside.

Where there may be those who are rigid in their view of things, even though well-intentioned, there always exists a context within which considerations should be made. I am certain the impulses of Jesus' disciples were noble in their concern for the poor, however, they expressed those concerns without regard to the larger context within which this event took place.

I suspect I would have been right there with the disciples. I would like to think I'd be in sync with Jesus, seeing clearly what was afoot at this time. However, I tend to seek out those broader guidelines for decision making - and I am certain I have made decisions without regard for connecting some dots.

I am reminded that my perspectives, my considerations and my decision-making should never be taken without regard to a potential spiritual context within which they may exist: there just may be spiritual realities I could be missing!

A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

The Two Groups - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Matthew 25:41,

"Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels."

As Jesus explained how things would be at the end of the age, he spoke of two groups of people. Not one group and not three - just two. The "sheep' separated to his right, and "goats" separated to his left.

Every last living soul that has ever lived will be found in one of these two groups. No one will not be in either one or the other, and no one will be in some other fanciful group that ignorant people invent in their own minds to their own peril.

The one group, those to his right, will be ushered into eternal life, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world." Verse 34. Those to his left will be cursed, "Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels."

The two groups will be marked by a number of things as Jesus explains in this passage, but the determination for each of us, as to which group we find ourselves at the end of the age will be based on one thing, and one thing alone - did we embrace Jesus Christ in faith?

John puts it very simply so that even someone like me can even understand, "... to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God..." John 1:12. In another place we read of Jesus saying, "Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life." John 5:24. And, of course. most of us are familiar with Jesus words to Nicodemus, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16.

What group are you in? The offer is extended to you - an offer like no other you will find in this life!

A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Better buckle up! Exciting Things Are Headed Our Way! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Matthew 24:27,

"For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man."

The Son of God appeared some two thousand years ago just as the Scriptures foretold. We read in Isaiah 9:2, 6, "The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned... For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

However, Isaiah's prophecy does not end there. It continues on, "Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this." Isaiah 9:7.

It is this continuation of the prophecy in Isaiah 9:7 that Jesus spoke of when his disciples asked about his future return, Matthew 24:3, "what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"

Jesus is coming again! It will usher in the end of the age, the separating of mankind between those that are his, to enter into eternity with him and those who will suffer judgment for rejecting him.

Just as I expected gravity to still be "a thing" when I woke up this morning, just as I expected the darkness of today's early morning to turn into daylight, I expect the return of Jesus Christ.

I don't know when he will get here, as he told us, "... about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." Matthew 24:36. Therefore, I do not know if he will return during my lifetime or yours. However, it really doesn't matter because he is coming for all of us, for those still alive and for those who have passed on by the time he arrives. He did say we would know the season... and frankly it seems to me to be the season now (although many generations have felt the same).

Nevertheless, he is headed this way, bringing an end to this age. Nothing can alter that fact and it is just as certain as this email I am writing at this very time.

Better buckle up! Exciting things are headed our way!

A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Direct Access to God! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Matthew 23:8-11,

"You are not to be called 'Rabbi,' for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth 'father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. The greatest among you will be your servant."

Jesus comments here remind me of what Paul told his protégé, Timothy, "For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people." 1 Timothy 2:5-6. One, and only one mediator!

Our contact with God, our reach to God, our relationship with God, is not something that finds itself facilitated by anyone other than the Son of God himself. We do not require anyone to stand in the breach between us and God, save the Son of God himself. The reason for this is that there need not be any breach between us and God, as the Son of God has made our reach to God immediate (not just in terms of time but in terms of distance). Jesus has closed the gap, making peace possible for us with our Heavenly Father.

We don't need a priest, as Peter points out we are members of God's spiritual priesthood, "As you come to him, the living Stone [Jesus Christ]—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." 1 Peter 2:4-5. He goes on to say, "You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy." 1 Peter 2:9-10.

We have no need of a pope, we have no need of some kind of guru. No Muhammad, Joseph Smith or that TV evangelist  No "spiritual leaders" required here. Our access to God is through Jesus Christ himself - direct!

Reach out to him today, embrace him in faith. Something that can be done right from our own kitchen chair today!

A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Religious Leaders Proving Their Foolishness - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Matthew 22:34-40,

"Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 'Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?' Jesus replied: '"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: "Love your neighbor as yourself." All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.'"

Pharisees had come to try to trip up Jesus with a question about taxes. His answer to them, "Give back to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's" left them amazed and so they went away.

Next came the Sadducees who tried to trip him up with a question about the resurrection. Since the Sadducees didn't believe in a literal resurrection of the dead, they attempted to use what they felt was an unanswerable question regarding marriage in the resurrection. Jesus responded with a remarkable use of the Scriptures regarding the tense of the verb in Exodus 3:6, "have you not read what God said to you,'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not the God of the dead but of the living." This left everyone astonished.

Next came the Pharisees again with a question to trip him up, "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus answer to this question is provided in our verses above. What I find fascinating about Jesus pointing to these two commands is that these were the very commands these Pharisees and Sadducees were violating in their attempts to discredit Jesus.

The first command, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." was clearly an indictment of them as they were doing anything but loving God as they attempted to discredit him. Whether they recognized who Jesus was or not, they were not loving God enough to realize exactly who it was they were attacking.

The second command, "Love your neighbor as yourself." was another indictment of them in their efforts to discredit Jesus. You can't say you are loving someone as you attempt to destroy that same someone.

Following their attempts and Jesus' answers to them, he then challenged them regarding their understanding about the coming Messiah as foretold in the Scriptures, the very person he was!

I just don't think I would ever want to find myself in the position these religious leaders placed themselves in with the Son of God. I am enough of a fool already without troubling the Lord to enumerate the obvious indicators proving that very fact!

A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Authority Questioned - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Matthew 21:23,

"Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. 'By what authority are you doing these things?' they asked. 'And who gave you this authority?'"

Here is quite the spectacle! The Son of God is teaching the people in the temple courts and here comes the religious "leaders" demanding an explanation. The people Jesus was teaching at the time were there to listen and be taught, so the only ones clueless in the scene were these "leaders".

In verse 15 we read, "But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he [Jesus] did and the children shouting in the temple courts, 'Hosanna to the Son of David,' they were indignant."

Clearly they thought authority was their own domain. However, any claim to their authority rested in the supposition they were representing the very One whom they confronted, that they challenged! From one viewpoint, we might find this quite humorous. However, from another, what a frightful position these "learned experts" in the things of God placed themselves in!

I wonder how many "religious authorities" of today will some day find they have been at odds with the very One upon whom their claimed "authority" derives from.

I am quite certain these religious leaders of Jesus' day felt threatened by him and sought to protect their authority by confronting Jesus. Good luck with that! I suspect there are a number of religious authorities today who will not entertain any perceived challenge to whatever authority they lay claim to.

A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Blindness and Sight, Darkness and Light - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Matthew 20:33,

"'Lord,' they answered, 'we want our sight.'"

This cry from two blind men to Jesus, as he and his disciples were leaving Jericho, reveals his compassion for the infirm. In the account we learn that Jesus touched their eyes and healed them.

There is another blindness that afflicts mankind. We find that Jesus has great compassion for those who struggle with this blindness as well. The blindness is a spiritual blindness that John talks about in 1 John 2:9-11. "They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them." 1 John 2:11.

The blindness John speaks of is a result of our own sinfulness and estrangement from God. Sin separates us from God and results in this spiritual darkness or spiritual blindness. It prevents us from being able to perceive God and blocks us from understanding the things of God. We all come into this world in the midst of this darkness.

The two blind men from Jericho that pleaded with Jesus for their sight knew they were blind. However, those who remain in spiritual darkness do not realize their spiritual blindness and fail to recognize they are stumbling about in spiritual darkness.

On the other hand, those who have embraced Jesus Christ in faith gain spiritual enlightenment, spiritual sight. John tells us these have nothing to make them stumble in life, unlike those who walk "around in the darkness."

In a prophecy of the coming Messiah, seven centuries before the birth of Jesus Christ, we read, "The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned." Isaiah 9:2. This is why Jesus proclaimed, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

Come out of the darkness and embrace the "light of life"! Cry out, as the two blind men did in Jericho, and Jesus will provide spiritual light, spiritual vision that only those who are his have.

A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

God Makes The Impossible Possible - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Matthew 19:25-26,

"'Who then can be saved?' Jesus looked at them [his disciples] and said, 'With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.'"

I find so much in these few words. Jesus had left Galilee and gone to Judea following the astonishing episode of his transfiguration of glory accompanied by Peter, James John, Moses and Elijah. While in Judea a rich man approached Jesus to ask how he could inherit eternal life. Hearing that he needed to sell his possessions and give to the poor, he left sad.

When the rich young man left, Jesus made the well-known statement to his disciples, "Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." Verses 23-24.

In astonishment his disciples asked him, who then can be saved? His response is quoted in our verses above.

Some things I observe are: inheriting eternal life requires one to be "saved". Saved from what? While many people think it means to be saved from the devil, it is not that at all. The reference to being saved, is to be saved from God's own judgment of us. We have all sinned and therefore we are all destined to face God's judgment of us. We are told that judgment will be horrific.

Being saved from God's judgment brings with it eternal life. Since we are the ones who have sinned, it is impossible for us to effect our own saving. However, Jesus pointed out that with God, all things are possible.

God made it possible by placing the punishment due each of us for our sins on Jesus, as he hung on that miserable cross. He took what we deserved on himself, satisfying God's sense of justice and opening the way to salvation.

All this become ours, as we learn in the Scriptures, when we place our faith and trust in him. That is when Jesus' payment for our sins gets credited to our account.

"With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." How wonderful is that?!

A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Need An Intervention? - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Matthew 18:15-17,

"If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector."

Personally, I don't hold the Roman Catholic church in high regard. I find it an astonishingly paganized perversion of Christianity. However, I do recognize that many people find their connection to Jesus Christ through it and many have very strong family ties that join them to it. On the positive side, the Roman Catholic church has encouraged their members to read their Bibles over the past few decades (a decided turn from the days when they kept "everything" under wraps, hiding the truths of God behind Latin and an authoritative demand that God's "truth" be accepted as that which flowed from ranks of the Pope, the College of Cardinals on down through their "priesthood.")

I certainly have little desire to offend people, but there are just some things that beg to be pointed out. An example might be the homosexuality and pedophilia of its priesthood and the manner in which it has handled these issues leaves little room for commending itself to the things of God. There are so many other problems with this organization that books could be written (and have been written) about this group.

Today, the Roman Catholic church has taken a decidedly turn to the political left with the current Pope Francis and his Latin American "liberation theology". It won't be the criticisms I and others might observe of the Roman Catholic church that leave its members stunned and perplexed, but by the change in direction this pope is taking it.

Whether Pope Francis knows Jesus Christ on a personal basis or not is something only he knows himself for sure, but the positions he takes and the things he says strains the notion of it.

This past week, as an example, he changed the church's teaching on capital punishment, rejecting the death penalty and committing himself and the church to work on abolishing the death penalty worldwide. This places him in opposition to none other than God himself. When following the flood we associate with Noah, God said to Noah and his sons, "Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind." Genesis 9:6.

When we commit the sin of substituting our notions for God's commands, we just may be in need of an intervention. This is what Jesus taught in Matthew 18:15-17. What do you think?

A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

It is All About Faith - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Matthew 17:17-20,

"'You unbelieving and perverse generation,' Jesus replied, 'how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.' Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment. Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, 'Why couldn't we drive it out?' He replied, 'Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, "Move from here to there," and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.'"

When Jesus, Peter, James and John came down from the mountain where Jesus was transfigured into his full glory, a man approached Jesus on behalf of his demon-possessed son. He told Jesus that his disciples were unable to help him in his absence.

Jesus' healed the boy and his disciples privately asked him why they could not. Jesus had already sent them out to heal and cast out demons (see chapter 10), but now they were incapable.

Jesus response included a rebuke of his disciples. calling them an "unbelieving and perverse generation" and questioning how long he would have to tolerate them, "How long shall I put up with you?" He then answered their question: lack of faith was the answer.

In answering, Jesus did not say it was because they belonged to the wrong church. He did not say it was because they drank beer and smoked cigarettes. He did not say their inability to help the boy was because they failed to keep themselves from sin. He did not say it was because they were not "spiritual" enough. It was due to the paucity of their faith.

In contradiction to much of the theology bandied about today, faith is something every human being is capable of expressing. Placing our confidence in God, being assured he can fulfill all he promises is the heart of the gospel message we are to take to the world. We don't get saved to find faith. It works the other way around, and Jesus' disciples had a short supply when this event took place.

We learn from Paul that God gives us faith as believers to equip us, "For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you." Romans 12:3. 

However, our capacity to place our faith in things has been given us as a part of how God designed us. We would not get close to the faith Paul speaks of God providing (as he mentions in Romans 12) if we do not express faith in God initially for our salvation and to receive all that God gifts us with. "Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ." Romans 10:17.

Faith unlocks the door for eternal life. Faith also brings God to bear on what we desire to see happen. I note it is not faith in ourselves that does the miraculous, it is faith in God  - he is the One capable of delivering us, not just from the infirmities of this life, but also from his own judgment of us and thereby providing us eternal life.

A blog with my ruminations over the years can be found here: http://worshipfortoday.blogspot.com/

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.