Jesus answered them…you have been searching for Me…because you were fed…and were filled and satisfied. – John 6:26, Amplified Bible (AMP) Nobody knows better than Jesus how effective it can be to reach someone’s soul by first taking care of his/her physical needs. By healing the sick, casting out demons, and feeding the hungry, Chirst opened hearts… Continue reading Beware the trappings of a soup kitchen ministry.
Category: Christlikeness
Spiritual prosperity is everything it is cracked up to be.
May grace (God’s favor) and peace (which is perfect well-being, all necessary good, all spiritual prosperity, and freedom from fears and agitating passions and moral conflicts) be multiplied to you in [the full, personal, precise, and correct] knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. – 2 Peter 1:2, Amplified Bible, (AMP) One of the components of having “peace,”… Continue reading Spiritual prosperity is everything it is cracked up to be.
Don’t be like the folks that Ezekiel preached to.
And they come to you as people come, and they sit before you as My people, and they hear the words you say, but they will not do them; for with their mouths they show much love, but their hearts go after and are set on their [idolatrous greed for] gain. – Ezekiel 33:31, Amplified Bible (AMP)… Continue reading Don’t be like the folks that Ezekiel preached to.
Life is like three dozen apple cider donuts!
Making the very most of the time [buying up each opportunity], because the days are evil. – Ephesians 5:16, Amplified Bible (AMP) Every October my family takes a trek to Skytop Apple Orchard in Zirconia, NC, just outside of Flat Rock, NC. We love the scenic drive, we love the fresh apples (Fuji’s are our… Continue reading Life is like three dozen apple cider donuts!
God will hold you accountable for not caring about the souls of others.
…but his blood will I require at your hand. – Ezekiel 3:18, Amplified Bible (AMP) Let’s be brutally honest: most of us don’t believe Jesus’ words in Matthew 28:16-20 really apply to us. Oh, we give lip service to the importance of the Great Commission, and we give a mental nod to the idea that… Continue reading God will hold you accountable for not caring about the souls of others.
Beware of the land of stupid arguments.
But refuse (shut your mind against, have nothing to do with) trifling (ill-informed, unedifying, stupid) controversies over ignorant questionings, for you know that they foster strife and breed quarrels. – 2 Timothy 2:23, Amplified Bible There is old proverb I’ve heard many, many times over the years, and the older I get, the more sense… Continue reading Beware of the land of stupid arguments.
Where do you get your energy?
So then, any of you who does not forsake (renounce, surrender claim to, give up, say good-bye to) all that he has cannot be My disciple. – Luke 14:33, Amplified Bible (AMP). I was involved in a discussion not long ago where there were differing opinions about what makes someone an “extrovert” or an “introvert.”… Continue reading Where do you get your energy?
Quit nagging about the stuff you don’t have.
And should you seek great things for yourself? -Jeremiah 45:5, Amplified Bible (AMP) The Book of Jeremiah is saturated with extremely long chapters, but it has a few short ones as well, with one in particular standing out. Jeremiah Chapter 45 is a mere five verses long. In it God addresses Baruch the son of… Continue reading Quit nagging about the stuff you don’t have.
God will bless you once He’s ripped you away from your home.
One basket had very good figs, like the figs that are first ripe… – Jeremiah 24:2, Amplified Bible (AMP) What if the city you lived in was ransacked by invaders? What if your home was burned to the ground and your family and friends were hauled off to an unfamilar land? What if the people… Continue reading God will bless you once He’s ripped you away from your home.
Let God tell you the point of good preaching.
Whereas the object and purpose of our instruction and charge is love, which springs from a pure heart and a good (clear) conscience and sincere (unfeigned) faith. – 1 Timothy 1:5, Amplified Bible (AMP) There is an old saying that goes, “Birds of a feather flock together.” In other words, people who are alike tend to hang out together.… Continue reading Let God tell you the point of good preaching.