Leaving Laodicea

How to Understand ProphecyWhen we are faced with either believing God’s Word or the prevailing, confusing, and ever-changing voices of our culture, many Christians find themselves in a conundrum. They want to believe everything God’s Word says, yet they don’t want to be called a bonehead by their high school biology teacher or to be deemed anti-science by the pro-vac crowd. So we frantically look for some rules to help us understand what the Scriptures say about everything, and then we adopt those rules as the parameter of His sovereignty and try to funnel our understanding of His truth through this grid we have created to help us save face among our friends in this declining culture.Over the centuries, there have developed several methods of Biblical interpretation, or grids, that are used to set the parameters of our understanding of Scripture. These methods are collectively called the study of hermeneutics (Greek – to interpret, to translate). But not all hermeneutics are created e

How to Take Every Thought Captive to Obey ChristIn God’s word, some of the hardest things to obey are the sanctification passages that are specifically our responsibility to fulfill. These are passages like the command to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thes. 5:17), or “to walk by the Spirit and not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (Gal. 5:16). We all agree these are the commands of God we are to obey. After all, we can read them for ourselves in Scripture. But what is often missing are the “hows” to obey His commands. We know what to do, but struggle in how to actually make it happen. So today we’re going to look at just one of these often difficult to follow commands: How to surrender our thought life to the obedience of Christ.The verse that commands us to surrender our thought life to Him is found in 2 Corinthians 10:3-6. Here, the apostle Paul shares four things we can achieve when we fight our battles with spiritual power instead of just relying on our own strength. 

What is Church?This is a question we should ask ourselves each time we trek off to a worship service on Sunday mornings. What is church or what is church supposed to look like? Is church a building? Or is it something more? Is it something we do or something we become? And if church is something we do, how do we do it? How do we “do” church? But if church is something we become, then how do we become the church and what takes place in us to become His church? Whew. See the problem with simple words and changing definitions?From a doctrinal standpoint, the church is defined as “the community of all true believers for all time.” So, the term “church” is used to apply to all those (people) whom Christ died to redeem, all those (people) saved by the death of Christ, past, present, and future. It encompasses both the local church and the universal church (which is a topic we will address at a later time).But note, there is no mention of a building, denominatio

Don’t Fall in the Same Hole TwiceIn the first chapter of Ecclesiastes, Solomon, once the wisest man who ever lived, tells us how he really feels about life. He says, “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity” (Eccl. 1:2). Or, all of life is meaningless, useless, pointless, of no real value, and a colossal waste of time. And so is everything a man does or builds while he lives his life on earth. Solomon continues, “What profit has a man from all his labor in which he toils under the sun?” (Eccl. 2:3). Really? Sounds a bit selfish and narcissistic to me. How about you?But it gets worse for Solomon by the time we get to chapter two.In chapter two, Solomon tries to find his purpose, not in serving the Lord as he did when he was a young man, but in gratifying his flesh in every way imaginable, making all of life about him. And he knew his plan of trying to find the meaning of life in fleshly pleasure would lead to nothing, yet he continued anyway. Why? Maybe, “Stupid is a

Everyone Has to Choose Between Right and WrongIn the Christian life, God makes it pretty simple for His children to follow Him by offering them only two choices, and two outcomes. These two choices, however, are portrayed in several different ways in Scripture. For example, there is the choice between light and darkness, life and death, good fruit or bad fruit, the wide road or the narrow path, walking by the Spirit or by the flesh, having faith or doubt, the blessings or curses, boldness or fear, embracing truth or deception, and many other mutually exclusive examples of God’s way or the ways of man.But essentially, they all boil down to the choice of obedience or disobedience. And there is never a third option, no middle ground. You are either all in or all out. Right or wrong, with nothing in between. Yet we all must make a similar choice in our lives.Solomon is a chilling example of someone who chose wisely in his youth and then made disastrous choices as he got older. H

Making the Most of the Time You Have LeftSolomon, it would seem, was in the middle of a spiritual mid-life crisis. When he was young, he ran after God with reckless abandon and God blessed him with wealth and wisdom beyond compare. And what did Solomon do with all God had given him? He took it for granted, made unbelievably bad decisions about the things God clearly talked about in Scripture, and followed his own heart and forsook the wisdom of God. He began to believe his own press releases and followed the ways of the world and not of God. He did not finish his race (life) well.And we know how that turned out. Disaster, with a capital D.So now he is older, set in his ways, and longing for the intimacy he once had with God, but refusing to repent and return to Him. He wanted the blessings on his terms, but not the obedience, which is always God’s terms. He longed for God’s hand of blessing, but not His face. Solomon was in an awful place spiritually, one of his ow

Trying to Follow God in the FleshLiving the Chistian life is hard, even for the most committed. Why? Because it is a life of surrender, of giving all to Him and allowing Him to live His life through us. And when we attempt that, our flesh, our independence, screams in rebellion. There is no way to live the life of faith in the flesh. No way to manifest the fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23), without the Spirit. Or, when attacked unjustly, to turn the other cheek out of sheer determination and the force of your will (Matt. 5:39). It cannot be done, long term, no matter how hard you try.After all, the Spirit and the flesh are at war with each other and only one can win (Gal. 5:16-17).Josiah became king of Israel at the ridiculously young age of eight. He must have been taught properly, because by the time he was a young man, he took great, and unpopular strides to right the wrongs committed by previous kings and approved by the people.For in the eighth year of his reign

The Depression of SolomonThe old adage goes something like this: “Everything the Bible speaks about is true. And the Bible speaks about everything.” This is also true, especially concerning some of the timeless questions we ask ourselves, such as “What is the purpose of life?” or “How can my life have meaning?” Both questions, and many more just like them, are specifically addressed in the Scriptures, especially in the book of Ecclesiastes.Ecclesiastes is a timeless book written by Solomon, the wisest (at least at one time) and richest man who ever lived. And Solomon wrote it towards the end of his life when he should have known better than to make the profound mistakes he did (remember 700 wives and 300 concubines, just for starters). It seems as if the wisdom and fervency for the Lord Solomon had as a young man slowly dissipated as he got older, which unfortunately happens to many people, and Solomon failed to finish his life well. Actually, it is kind of depressing. But t

The Problem is Not the Growing Darkness…As we shared last time, the problem today in our culture is not the increasing darkness, but the ever-diminishing light that is found in believers. And this seems to be a problem that has stalked believers since the beginning of time, both in the Old and New Testament.It’s not that our enemy is too big, but that our God is too small. And we make Him that way through our doubt, fear, insecurity, and lack of faith. So how can that change? Simple, we just have to see God for who He is and not who we think He is after we’ve stuffed Him in a box of our own understanding and left Him there. And we allow our lack of faith to do that all the time.Today we are going to look at David in Psalm 18, just the first 3 verses, and see how David encouraged himself in the reality of who God is and not who our culture wants us to believe He is, which is impotent, distant, not caring, and apathetic to the cries of His children. And nothing could be further fro

We are the Light of the World… MaybeThe problem today in our culture is not the increasing darkness, but the ever-diminishing light in believers. For darkness is defined as the absence of light. And when light appears, it immediately vanquishes darkness without a struggle. But there is more. Scripture tells us that Christ is light, and therefore, so are we. We are children of light and are commanded to “walk as children of light” (Eph. 5:8). And Scripture describes the enemy as darkness.There was a man sent from God, whose name was John (the Baptist). This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light (Christ), that all through him might believe. He was not that Light (Christ), but was sent to bear witness of that Light (Christ).Summary: That was the true Light (Christ) which gives light to every man (was) coming into the world – John 1:6-9.But it gets even better. Consider what John later says about light.This is the message which we have heard from Him and

The Mark of the End Times? Deception  In Matthew 24, Jesus revealed to His disciples the signs to look for when the end of the age appears. And the number one sign is deception. He actually began this teaching this way: “Take heed that no one deceives you” (Matt. 24:4). And how will they, and you and me, be deceived? Jesus said Satan would unleash all he has in his bag of tricks. First, “For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many” (Matt. 24:5). Next, we have false prophets who claim to speak for God. “Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many” (Matt. 24:11). This is followed by more false prophets pointing now to false christs who will perform counterfeit signs and wonders that only the real Christ should be able to do. In fact, the deception is so great, that all but the elect will be deceived. “For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the el

The Two Ordinances of the Church  There are two ordinances the church celebrates: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Baptism is a once in a lifetime event for the believer that publically displays their passage from death to life through the salvation offered by the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a picture of being “born again” (John 3:3, 7). The Lord’s Supper is something different. It is an event of self-examination and repentance that is celebrated on an ongoing basis, as often as the church desires, whether it be weekly, monthly, quarterly, or whenever they choose. The Lord’s Supper is a reenactment of the Last Passover celebrated by Jesus and His disciples, but with one significant change. During the Last Passover, Jesus gave deeper meaning to the wine and bread. He said the bread represents His body that was to be “broken” for them (1 Cor. 11:24). And the wine represents a new covenant He made with us through the shedding of His blood on t

Trust Grows One Promise at a TimeUndeniably, one of the most difficult aspects of the Christian life is the idea of surrender and sacrifice (Rom. 12:1-2), or of fully understanding the implications of Jesus being not only our Savior, but also our Lord. Yep, it’s that sinister, four letter word that spells disaster for most… Lord. Recognizing the Lordship of Jesus means He is predominant over everything, including you and me, what we want to do, and when we want to do it. And pride always seems like the last holdout of our sinful flesh to recognize His Lordship and fall under its authority. That’s why the Lord never promises to make us better. He promises to make us new, to be born again (John 3:16). For there is nothing in our old life that has any place or serves any value in our new life. Our old nature is continually at odds with our new nature and only one can reign supreme (Rom. 7:15-25). And the process of feeding one and starving the other is what we call practical sa

Nothing From Nothing Leaves NothingIn 1974, Billy Preston, affectionally known as the fifth Beatle, had one of his major hits with the song “Nothing from Nothing,” which reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for one week in October of that year. There was not much substance to the lyrics of his song, just a catchy phrase and an upbeat melody, but the overriding message of the title still rings true today. If you put nothing in, you’ll get nothing out. There is no free ride, no free lunch. Success doesn’t just happen, it’s the result of hard work. Nothing is ever truly free, it always costs someone, something. Same is true in our spiritual lives. Even the free gift of salvation cost Christ His life. Jesus said we must deny ourselves, pick up our cross daily, in order to follow Him (Luke 9:23). Likewise, in the wilderness where God provided manna to feed His children for forty years, He still required them to get off their backsides and go out each morning and pick it up.&n

God Didn’t Save Us to Make Us Better…One of the key elements of salvation is something called sanctification. This strange word means to be separated unto God. It is the act of becoming personally more dedicated to God. Literally, it means living a life of holiness, which is the very reflection of the character of God. And sanctification is a part of the process of salvation, whereby we become more like Christ and less like the world. Hence, after salvation, we are commanded not to “walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:1), which is the perfect description of sanctification. And sanctification is a product of our will and a practical result of our obedience to Him. In fact, most of the commands God gave us after salvation are those we choose to do because of our love for Him. Consider the implied you in these classic passages. (You implied) Bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ – 2 Corinthians 10:5. Fina

We Need Practical Application, Not Just TheoryIn our educational system, the old adage goes, “Those who do, do. And those who don’t do, teach.” And the truth sometimes stings, but it is still truth. In college, for example, most of the professors who teach business classes, even on a graduate level, have never run a business themselves. They can teach you what others say to do to be successful in the business world, yet they have never lived under the pressure of having to make payroll or survive a tax audit. And for some strange reason, we are content with learning from those who can only point the way to the Emerald City, but not lead us to where it is because they have never been there themselves. This is the definition of Convoluted Logic 101. But, I digress. Often, we find the same mindset when looking at Scriptures. We see theory and commands given, sometimes with a reason, yet it is seldom followed up with practical application. We are told what to do and why, bu

The Three Phases of a Dying CultureIn Romans 1, the Holy Spirit reveals the three phases a dying culture goes through when God removes His hand of grace and allows a people to experience the consequences of their own sin. We have seen this unfold in our own country over the last 60 years. And unfortunately, once a culture reaches the third phase, the debased mind, there is no return. The dye is cast, and the day of grace has passed. These three phases are introduced by the phrase, “God gave them over” or “God gave them up” (Rom: 1:24, 26, 28). Literally, it describes a people who have rejected His Word, demanded their independence, and received just that. God removes His hand of protection and allows those in active rebellion to experience, first-hand, the consequences of their sin as they strive, by their actions, to look less and less like Jesus and become more and more like Satan. And we can see the downward trajectory our own culture is following. The first phase, or the

And Unfortunately, He Has Granted Our RequestIt appears we, as a culture and a nation, may have tested the patience of God one time too many. We have, for example, murdered over 60 million innocent, unborn children in their mother’s womb while the church has basically remained silent. As Ruth Graham once said, “If God doesn’t judge America, He will have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.” And just this week, after the Supreme Court ruling regarding Roe v. Wade, President Biden signed an Executive Order basically promoting abortion in our nation. So the killing will continue, and God’s judgment is sure to come. As a nation, we have asked, and are still asking with even a louder voice, for the Lord’s judgment. How? By killing more babies and shaking our fist in His face in open, blatant defiance. And when the judgment falls (and I believe we are now under His judgment), the church is not immune. Again, why? Because we have remained silent while His little ones die i

The Gift of Spiritual MentorshipOne unappreciated gift given the church is the fact we have those who are older and wiser than we are to help guide our way in this life with Christ. After all, it is no merit for a son to make the same mistakes his father did.  Each generation must learn how to make their own way in this fallen world, but only a fool fails to learn from the mistakes of those who have gone before. So today, we are going to glean some insight into the full, abundant life with Christ, the https://higherchristianlife.com/ (Higher Christian Life, )as it is called, from a man who is speaking to us from a position of victory. And that man is Oswald Chambers. You may recognize his name from the classic devotional, My Utmost for His Highest, that was compiled from his teachings in 1929 by his wife, Biddy. Oswald Chambers, who died in 1917 at the age of 43, lived what he speaks about and can show us, by experience, how to achieve the spiritual victory that only co

Every Good Thing Has a Potential Dark SideWith every good thing, there is always a potential dark side, or the possibility of collateral damages or unforeseen consequences that often come with it. The blessings of rain sometimes come with a flood. And pain accompanies the joy of childbirth. Or, as Newton’s law of motion states, “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” So let me give you a few examples from last week. These are some of the recent rulings from the Supreme Court. •  June 23rd – New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruden, Superintendent of New York State Police. This, on the surface, was a victory for the Second Amendment, effectively banning Draconian laws in New York that limited the ability to receive a concealed carry permit in that state. •  June 24th – Kennedy v. Bremerton School District. This ruling was a victory for religious freedoms and the ability to pray in a school setting. It drove a small st