Thoughts on Christ and His Word

The prophet Elijah asked God to send down fire so that the people would know "that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again." 1 Kings 18:37. God is always looking to turn our hearts back to him.  Sometimes He does it in a dramatic way like fire from heaven, sometimes He whispers to us words of love and forgiveness, and sometimes when our hearts are really rebellious He may opt to deliver sickness or other tragedy to our door steps. Whatever the method He uses our response should be like that of the Israelites on the day He sent fire - "The LORD-he is God! The LORD-he is God!" 1 Kings 18:39  

When can you tell your grandmother to "go take a hike"?  When she sets up a wooden pole and tells you to worship it. This is what King Asa did:  Asa did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, as his father David had done. 12 He expelled the male shrine prostitutes from the land and got rid of all the idols his fathers had made. 13 He even deposed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother, because she had made a repulsive Asherah pole. Asa cut the pole down and burned it in the Kidron Valley.  1 Kings 15:11-14 God wants our heart.  We cannot have divided loyalties, even with family members.  Jesus told us what the high cost of being His disciple was: Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me Matthew 10:37 So love your moms, dads, children, and grandma, but Jesus must be the #1 love of our lives.

You've heard of 5 Hour Energy drink, or Red Bull? These boost the body, but how about your soul. For that you need the Power of the Spirit of God. So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came upon David in power . Samuel then went to Ramah . 14 Now the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him. 1 Samuel 16:13-14 Notice the contrast. David now had power because the Spirit of God was upon him. Saul's disobedience and pride led to God taking away the Spirit from him and thus he was left vulnerable to greater demonic influence and bouts with depression. In the power of God's Spirit, David went on to kill lions, bears, Philistines, and giant Philistines. He lead Israel to become a powerful kingdom and groomed his son to lead an empire. Through humility, surrender, and obedience we can access the power of the Spirit God has placed in us....

When I was a child I used to like for my uncle or others to carry me. I used to enjoy jumping on people's backs for a horsy ride or have my uncle lift me up with one hand. I still like to be carried, although not by humans, but by God. God loves to carry us during hard times - our trial, troubles, and tribulations. He carried the Israelites out of Egypt while pummeling the Egyptians. At the edge of the Promise Land, God reminded Israel: “Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. 30 The LORD your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, 31 and in the desert. There you saw how the LORD your God carried you , as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.” Deuteronomy 1:29-31 God is a gracious God who in our times of trouble is there to carry us while He fights for us and takes us to a place of victory. .

Are you afraid of snakes? Most people are. I am not afraid of them; I just have a healthy respect for them. The people Israel sinned against God (again) by speaking against Him and against Moses. They cried out with their usual imbecilic statements: “Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die in the desert? Numbers 21:5 God let loose the snakes that bit the people and they died. Once they repented, God did not take the snakes away, but He did provide a way for them to live. He had Moses make a bronze snake, put it on a stick and raise it up high so that “when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived.” Numbers 21:9 When they looked at the bronze snake they were putting their faith in God and his provision for their healing. This became the picture of how God would save us through Christ. Christ was lifted up on a cross and anyone who looks to him in faith receives healing – eternal life. This is how Jesus put it: Just as Moses l...

If you wanted to be a judge under Moses you had to meet at least four qualifications. You needed to be: 1. Capable – Educated enough to know or be able to learn God’s laws and apply them to people’s points of dispute. 2. God-Fearing – You needed to love and respect God so much that your own life reflected holiness and obedience to His laws and values. 3. Trustworthy – You needed to be a person worthy of this position. You needed to be faithful to God, hard-working, be where you’re supposed to be at the time you are supposed to be there type of person. 4. Hater of Dishonest Gain – In your integrity, you would not use your position to gain riches for yourself nor would ever take a bribe nor distort justice for selfish purposes. …select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. Exodus 18:21 Even if we don’t want to be a judge for Moses, we should al...

It's better to be tongue-tied than to have a loose tongue. We all know that people who can't control their tongues get into a lot of trouble. Talking back to parents, teachers, and police officers can get us trouble with authorities. Letting our tongue loose with our friends and family is a good way to lose those close relationships. But did you know that a person with a careless tongue is also an unspiritual person? Spiritual maturity is measured (in part) by one's ability to control one's tongue. If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. James 1:26 A loose tongue is like a loose cannon in old naval ships. It rolls all over the place doing more damage to friends than to the enemy. James encourages us to learn to rein in our tongue, or we run the risk of believing we are spiritual because we know a lot, but in fact our loose tongue makes our relig...