Mon, May 30th - 12:44AM

Galations 1

Galations 1:6 I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel ; 7which is really not another ; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed ! 9 As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed ! (NASB)

The false teachers that Paul was dealing with were what he called Judaizers.  They were Jewish converts to Christianity that were teaching that for the Gentile converts to be truly saved they had to keep the Old Testament Law.  Which is totally not true, we are saved by the grace of God.  We are saved by the blood of Christ which was shed on the cross for us when we accept Him as our Lord and Savior. 

We still have many false teachers today.  We still have small groups Judaizers.  We have Universalism, that teaches everyone was saved when Christ died on the cross.  There is no judgment or hell everyone is going to heaven.  We know this isn’t true.  A good part of the Book of Revelation deals with the coming judgment of God on the world.  We still have small groups of Gnostics and even larger false teachings like Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses.  This is why it is important to know the Bible.  So you are not led astray by doctrine contrary to the Word of God.  Each one of these groups takes small bits of truth and twist it into something distorted but a person that knows the Word of God can see through their falsehood. 

10 For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God ? Or am I striving to please men ? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ. (NASB)

Let me tell you you can’t please the world and please God.  I hate hearing a Christian trying to tone down the Word of God to appease society.  It doesn’t work.  The Word of God is offending to our society because our society lives contrary to the Word of God.  Abortion is wrong because it is murder.  It is not about women’s rights, it is murder.  Homosexuality is wrong because it goes against what God created sex for.  God created sex as a loving act between a married woman and man so they could reproduce children.  If homosexuality was natural then two men could produce children or two women could produce children.  Our society values wealth, fame, popularity, the materialistic, all things that are contrary to the idea of humility, serving others and seeking God over wealth, all things that Christ taught. 

Sun, May 29th - 12:31AM

Acts 24:24

Acts 24:24 Several days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish. He sent for Paul and listened to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus. ²⁵ As Paul talked about righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, “That’s enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you.” (NIV)

Felix had the same attitude so many people have.  They believe in God but it isn’t convenient for them to follow God.  It isn’t convenient to get up on Sunday mornings to go to church.  It isn’t convenient for them to commit to Christ.  It isn’t convenient for them to give up their sinful lifestyles.  You aint guaranteed another day on this earth.  A more convenient time may never come.  Don’t gamble eternity away waiting for a more convenient time to commit to Christ.

Wed, May 25th - 11:18PM

2 Corinthians 12

2 Corinthians 12:7 Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me-to keep me from exalting myself! 8Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. 9 And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. (NASB)

I don’t think anyone can honestly doubt the faith of Paul.  Paul was a great hero of the Christian faith but yet God allowed Paul to suffer what Paul describes as a thorn in the flesh.  No one really knows what this was because Paul never really describes it.  Many believe it was problems with his eyesight since Paul had most of his letters dictated by someone else.  Whatever it was Paul prayed three times for God to take it away and God didn’t.  Did that mean Paul didn’t have enough faith, no of course not.  Did that mean God didn’t hear him, of course not, God answered him.  God told Paul He was doing this to teach Paul to rely on Him.  And that is my point.  We don’t know the mind of God and we don’t always know the plans of God.  To accuse someone of not having enough faith because they are sick is foolishness.  God is not some magical genie waiting in heaven to grant our wishes.  Sometimes the answers to our prayers is the same answer Paul got, “my grace is sufficient for you.” 

10Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake ; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

When we are down and weak is when we having no other choice but to look to God.  To many times when we are on top and being successful we leave God out of the picture.  Sometimes the only time we call on God is when we need something from Him.

Tue, May 24th - 11:19PM

2 Corinthians 11

2 Corinthians 11

³ But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. ⁴ For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough. (NIV)

Just a few years after the death of Christ the church was already having to deal with false teachers.  There were those who were trying to force the Old Testament Law on the Gentiles, there were Gnostics who had created their own distorted version of the Gospel, and the ones that Paul is dealing with here is ones that were gifted speakers who were charging the churches large fees to hear them speak (sound familiar).  Today we still have false teachers and even more false doctrines, we still have people trying to force the Old Testament Law on people, the Gnostics are still around, we still have people getting rich of the Gospel, we have Universalism, we have distorted versions of the Gospel from Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses.  That is why it is important to know the Gospel.  Take this Harold Camping guy even though his prediction was a big flop he is back with another one and people are still listening to him.  When are we going to learn?  If his followers would have done their own research they would of known how false his predictions are.

24Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. 25Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. 26 I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren ; 27 I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure (NASB)

Paul is definitely one of the greatest heroes of the faith.  He endured a lot to preach the Gospel.  Our standard for everything is the Word of God including our preachers.  I aint saying if our preachers aren’t getting beaten then they are not worthy.  But when I compare some of our modern day preachers with the Apostles I start to wonder.  The Apostles endured a lot for the Gospel.  They did not seek wealth.  They were not rich men who lived in luxury homes and wore fancy clothes.  They were simple men who took on the mission to preach the Gospel even though they knew the dangers.  The same can’t be said about some of our modern day preachers.  And I am talking about the big name preachers here who live in mansions, fly around in jets, preach about prosperity and neglect the message of salvation.  How many of them would give up everything to go to some remote land to reach the lost?

Tue, May 24th - 12:45AM

2 Corinthians 10

2 Corinthians 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:

⁴(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)

⁵Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;  (KJV)

Some people have a hard time with the idea of spiritual warfare.  We are in the midst of an age old war for the souls of this world between God and the forces of evil led by Satan.  Satan has been in rebellion to God since he was cast out of heaven.  He knows what is in store for him and he is trying to drag as many people to hell with him as he can.  Some people don’t like to talk about things like hell and Satan.  They say we scare people and should only talk about love and happiness.  There is a saying in the Army, “know your enemy,” in other words know everything about him and his tricks so you know how to fight him.  The people of this world has been blinded from Satan to prevent them from knowing the truth.  If we don’t understand that we will never be able to reach them. 

⁹ I do not want to seem to be trying to frighten you with my letters. ¹⁰ For some say, “His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing.” (NIV)

I myself have been accused of being to bold in my beliefs but that is the way I am.  I hate listening to a wishy-washy preacher or teacher.  Look at Jesus and the Apostles of the Bible they were very direct when presenting the Gospel.  They didn’t hold back.  I hate hearing someone say, “well maybe we shouldn’t talk about that” or “what business is that of mine” these are expressions of people without spiritual backbone.  We should always show love and compassion toward others but when it comes time to take a stand we need to do so with all boldness of the Word of God.

Fri, May 20th - 12:47AM

2 Corinthians 7

2 Corinthians 7:1 Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God (NLT)

You want to get people upset bring up the idea of holiness.  In our modern society to many have lost the idea of living a life separate from the world.  Yes we have to live in this world physically but we are not to be part of the world emotionally or spiritually.  We can’t live with one foot in the church and one in the world.  What the world honors God despises.  God doesn’t care about the newest fashion, the newest songs, or who the hottest celebrities are.  God wants a people who is willing to live a life of holiness before Him.  People seem to forget we are ambassadors of Christ directed to represent Christ in our behavior and words before the world.  We can’t effectively represent Christ when we care more about the things of this world than we do about Christ.

Thu, May 19th - 1:00AM

2 Corinthians 6

2 Corinthians 6

¹⁴Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

¹⁵And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?

¹⁶And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

¹⁷Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.

¹⁸And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty

We have to be part of this world physically.  We are not to be part of the world emotionally or spiritually.  To many Christians want to spend their lives with one foot in the church and one in the world.  They are more than happy to spend hour on Sunday playing Christian but soon as they leave the church door they are back in the world.  They forget we are to be ambassadors of Christ, representing Christ 24/7 in a world of darkness. 

Wed, May 18th - 12:46AM

2 Corinthians 5

2 Corinthians 5

⁷(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)

As Christians we live by faith, we believe by faith.  Faith that Christ is the Son of God and the way to salvation.  Our salvation comes from believing He is the way to salvation and accepting Him as our Lord and Savior.  We have faith that the Bible is the Word of God and the things written in it are true.  We believe that God is the great creator of the world.  We believe He does care for us and that He does hear our prayers.  We believe we are going to heaven.  We believe these things through faith. 

¹⁰For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

The judgment of God is very real.  Some people like to dismiss the idea of the judgment of God.  You have some like the Universalists who say God isn’t going to judge anyone that we are all going to heaven no matter what we have done.  This isn’t true and nowhere near Biblical.  If you truly study the Bible you know at the end of the age God is going to judge the world.  The most important thing for you is how will you stand before God on that day.  Will you stand before Him and hear well done good and faithful servant or will you hear depart from me for I never knew you.  Heaven and hell are very real.  The biggest question in this life is where will you spend eternity.  If you don’t know Christ as your Savior hell is your destiny.

Tue, May 17th - 12:31AM

2 Corinthians 3

2 Corinthians 3: ¹Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you?

²Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men:

³Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart

Paul says he didn’t need any letters of commendation exhorting the work he had done.  The Corinth church was his letter of commendation.  They were the result of the work he had done.

⁵Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;

This is something I have to learn daily. Put my trust in God.  Put my faith in God.  I am getting ready to retire from the military in a little over a month after 21 years of service and at the moment I don’t have a job to go to.  But I have to learn to trust God and know he will provide for me.

⁶Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

The Old Covenant could never bring salvation because no man besides Christ was ever perfect enough to keep all of the laws without breaking any.  The New Covenant is not a covenant established in laws but in the Spirit.  A covenant established in the blood of Christ.

14 But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ.

¹⁵But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart.

¹⁶Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.

¹⁷Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

¹⁸But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

There is freedom in Christ.  A freedom that could never be experienced under the Old Covenant because the Old Covenant keep people under bondage to a system of rituals and rules.  Under the New Covenant of Christ we have freedom from ritual and rules.  Rituals and rules can’t bring salvation.  Our salvation comes from accepting Christ as our Lord and Savior. 

Tue, May 17th - 12:31AM

2 Corinthians 4

2 Corinthians 4

³But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:

⁴In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

People are blinded to the truth of God.  Look at the world around us.  They reject God as a fantasy or a myth but make up the fantasies of the Big Bang Theory and evolution neither of which have been proven.  They reject God and instead listen to self-help gurus who tell them they are their own god.  They reject the ways of God and try to follow their own ways and created a mess of the world.  Then they blame the God they refuse to follow for the mess.

¹⁸While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

This world is temporary.  Our lives in this world are temporary.  Only the things of God are eternal.  You are going to spend eternity somewhere.  Those who have accepted Jesus as their Savior will spend eternity in heaven with Him.  Those who have rejected the salvation offered by Christ will spend eternity in hell.  Don’t get caught up in the things of this world which are temporary.  Don’t let things that are temporary decide eternity for you.

Sat, May 14th - 11:26PM

2 Corinthians 2

2 Corinthians 2

¹¹Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices. (KJV)

As the saying goes “Satan’s greatest deception was convincing the world he doesn’t exist.”  Many have been fooled into denying his existence.  They believe he is a piece of mythology or fantasy.  Don’t be fooled he is real.  He is a very real enemy of the Gospel.

¹⁵For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:

¹⁶To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?  (KJV)

The Word of God is powerful and people are always going to react to it.  To those who are being saved it is a sweet smiling aroma of life.  To those who reject God it is the aroma of death, spiritual death.  Look at the reaction of Atheists and liberals to the Gospel.  Nothing gets them riled up more than the Gospel of Christ.  Most of them want to destroy the Gospel.  They talk tolerance to every other religion while they want to destroy Christianity.  There is no power behind those other false religions but there is power in the Word of God and it tears at their soul until they feel a need to lash out.  That is the reaction of the darkness in their to the Light of Christ.

¹⁷ You see, we are not like the many hucksters who preach for personal profit. We preach the word of God with sincerity and with Christ’s authority, knowing that God is watching us. (NLT)

I like how the NLT puts it “hucksters” because we know we have them out there.  Those that preach the Word of God for profit.  I aint talking about your local full time pastor who is supported by the church.  I am talking about these televangelists that pull in millions of dollars a year.  I am talking about prosperity preachers who are getting rich off of the offerings of their followers.  There is one that comes on TV who spends a whole hour trying to convince people we should give him a $1000 dollar seed money so that God will bless us.  The blessings of God are free for all of his children you don’t need to give some huckster money to be blessed.  The blessings of God are not for sale.

Sat, May 14th - 12:42AM

Acts 21

^{Acts 21:10} And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus.

¹¹And when he was come unto us, he took Paul's girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.

¹²And when we heard these things, both we, and they of that place, besought him not to go up to Jerusalem.

¹³Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.

¹⁴And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done.

Paul knew what laid ahead for him.  We are sure the Holy Spirit had revealed to him also what laid ahead.  But Paul bravely persisted on trusting that God would be with him through the ordeal.  And we know that Paul was arrested in Jerusalem and was eventually transported to Rome but Paul never lost faith through the ordeal he continued to trust God and we know that Paul got the chance to witness to those in power through this ordeal.  Church legend has it that while imprisoned in Rome that Paul converted a large number of the Roman guard assigned to guard him.  Paul’s enemies and the biggest enemy of the Gospel, Satan, intended this imprisonment to harm the spread of the Gospel.  They thought they had taken one of the most influential evangelist off the street but all they did was put Paul in position to reach people he never would have been able to reach before.  What was meant as attack against the Word of God, God turned it around to His purpose.  God is always in charge even during the darkest of times.  When the Jews thought they had destroyed Jesus God was actually using His death toward His purpose.  When the Jews scattered the early Christians God used the event to spread His Gospel by allowing His people to be scattered throughout the Roman world.  No one can stop the will of God from happening.

Thu, May 12th - 11:15PM

2 Corinthians 1

2 Corinthians 1

⁸ We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. ⁹ In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead. (NLT)

We often ask why we go through trialing times and here is part of the answer.  Paul went through a lot to preach the Word of God in new lands almost to the point of death and eventually he would die for the Gospel but during that time he learned to rely on God.  Paul had come a long way from Saul that persecuted the church to Paul that preached the Word of God in the Greek world and suffered mightily for the Gospel.  He had learned something he didn’t have before humility.  And that is part of the answer why we sometimes go through hard times.  God is strenghting us to teach us to rely on him in the hard times.  God is teaching us humility.  To no longer rely on ourselves but to rely on him.  It is the hard times that makes us stronger.  When soldiers go to basic training they are put through the ringers physically, emotionally, and mentally and the point is to break them down so their drill sergeants can build them up again into a stronger person.  Well as believers sometimes God put us through our own spiritual boot camp.  He breaks us down to get rid of the old selves so he can build us up in his image as a strong soldier of Christ.

Tue, May 10th - 12:42AM

1 Corinthians 15

1 Corinthians 15

³For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

Paul preached salvation in Christ by showing how the scriptures pointed to Jesus.  In Paul’s days the scripture would have been what we called the Old Testament.  The New Testament wouldn’t of been composed yet.  Paul used the scriptures to reveal the truth about Christ.  We can’t neglect the scriptures.  Everything we do should be based on the scriptures.  Anything contrary to the scriptures is not of God.

¹⁰But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

Paul did a lot for the Gospel of Christ.  He endured hardships, beatings, stoning, imprisonment and eventually death, he wrote a vast majority of the New Testament.  One of the reasons I believed he worked so hard was because he did have such a huge debt to pay.  Paul had blood on his hands.  We know he was present at the death of Stephen but after that he was responsible for sending other Christians to prison and we don’t know what happened to them in prison.  It could very well be that some of them died on prison but yet God chose Paul to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles.  We don’t know the mind of God and why He makes the decisions He does.  He obvisiouly knew Paul was the right person for the job.  Just as Paul showed great zeal for destroying the church he showed even greater zeal for spreading the Gospel.

Yes Paul had committed serious sins but God forgave him and used him for His purposes.  Our past doesn’t matter to God.  The only ones that seem to get wrapped around people’s past is other believers.  When we are forgiven of our sins our past is forgotten about in the eyes of God.  He looks on the heart and what we can do for the Kingdom of God.

Sun, May 8th - 12:49AM

1 Corinthians 13

1 Corinthians 13

¹¹When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

We are expected to grow and mature as believers.  We are expected to grow into strong and mature believers that feed on spiritual meat not milk.  We are expected to grow into strong soldiers of Christ that are actively involved in the Kingdom of God.  We grow spiritually by having a daily pray life, by having a daily time for studying the Word of God, by letting God develop our spiritual gifts and using these gifts for the Kingdom of God.

We have people in the church who are quick to point out that they have been Christians for 20 or 30 years but yet they are still spiritual babes.  They have never moved past the point of a new child of God.  In that 30 year time they have never taken the time to read the Bible, they only pray when they are need, and they never have gotten involved in the church.  I aint your judge I am just pointing out facts but you need to take a hard look in the mirror and ask yourself why is it that I claim to be a child of God but have no desires for the things of God.

Sat, May 7th - 1:18AM

Acts 17

Acts 17

¹Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews:

²And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,

You know you do have some people that doubt the truthfulness of the Old Testament but the best case for its truthfulness is that Jesus and the Apostles quoted from it and taught from it and that should be our standard today.  Everything we do should be based on the Word of God.  All preaching and teaching in the church should be based on the Word of God.  As Christians we should know the Word of God.  You know singing, worship, dramas and all this is great for church services but that shouldn’t take away from the pastor’s responsibility to teach his church the Word of God.

¹⁰And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.

¹¹These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

What a great example for the modern church.  The Bereans are a great example of people dedicated to knowing the scriptures..  They searched the scriptures daily.  Whatever Paul told them they verified it themselves through the scriptures.  You might have a great pastor or teacher but still verify what he is teaching through the scriptures.  He is a man just like us prone to make mistakes.  One of the reasons cult leaders and false teachers are able to gain a following is that no one challenges what they are teaching.  They prey on the naïve and ignorant and by ignorant I mean ignorant of the scriptures.  Often a quick cross check of what they are teaching with the scriptures would reveal their true nature.  Verifying your pastor’s teaching shouldn’t be seen as disrespectful in fact he should want a church that is knowledgeable about the scriptures.  It means he can move pass dosing out milk to dosing out the meat.  In other words move from the basics of Christianity and start digging deeper into the scriptures.

Fri, May 6th - 1:08AM

1 Corinthians 12

1 Corinthians 12

⁷But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.

⁸For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;

⁹To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;

¹⁰To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues

²⁸And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.

²⁹Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles?

³⁰Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?

The focus of chapter 12 is spiritual gifts.  Verse 7 says ALL have been given a spiritual gift.  The all here means all believers.  But I highlighted all because all means all of us have been given a spiritual gift for the benefit of the God’s kingdom.  I say that because some feel they don’t have anything to benefit the church and am more than happy to come to church once a week and get no more involved than that.  We are expected to grow spiritually and we are expected to assist in the growth of the Kingdom of God by using the spiritual gifts we have been given.  You know Jesus gave the parable of the talents and this is what the parable was about.  Using the gifts God has given you to spread the Word of God.  You might not be a preacher or a teacher but we all can be witnesses of Christ to our families, friends, co-workers, schoolmates, etc.  A couple of the job titles in verse 28 are helpers and administrative workers.  These people are as just as useful to the Gospel as Preachers and Teachers.  No organizations runs effectively without a good support structure running things behind the scenes.  So there is a role for everyone.  Even if it is on the internet writing in a forum or a blog.  You are still being a witness of Christ.

Thu, May 5th - 1:18AM

1 Corinthians 11

1 Corinthians 11

People sometimes get tripped over chapter 11 with its verses about head coverings and long hair but just like anything this chapter has to be read with an understanding of the culture of the time and the context it is written in.  The Corinth church had Jewish and Gentile believers.  In Jewish culture a woman always covered her head when she was in public as a sign of submission and modesty.  In Jewish culture a woman that was in public without her head covered were considered women of loose morals most would be considered prostitutes.  In Gentile cities men with long hair were usually male prostitutes.  They grew their hair long to look like women.  Paintings of Jesus and other Bible characters with long hair are historically inaccurate since most Jewish men kept their hair cut short.  But remember the main theme of these verses are modesty in dress.  Most churches today have relaxed appearances for church worship which I agree with.  We don’t have to be dressed in a 3 piece suit to worship God but at the same time remember we are coming to church to worship the almighty God and our dress should be respectful.  We shouldn’t be looking like we belong on a street corner hooking ourselves and we shouldn’t be coming to church looking like we just rolled out of bed and still have our PJs and slippers on.  Even in public on a daily basis we should remember as Christian we are representing Christ and our dress should represent that.  Do we represent Christ when we look like a prostitute, a gangster, or we dress Gothic?  The Gothic subculture has deep ties to the occult and Satanism so it is more than a style of dress.

Thu, May 5th - 1:17AM

Acts 15

The significance of the council in chapter 15 is that the church made an official statement regarding Gentiles and the observance of the Mosaic Law.  Some of the Jewish believers were asserting that the Gentiles believers were required to observe the Mosaic Law including circumcision.  Basically they were asserting that the Gentiles had to become Jewish to be believers.  That is not why Christ died on the cross.  His death on the cross did away with the Old Testament Covenant and established a New Covenant established in his blood on the cross.  The only requirement to go to heaven is salvation in Christ.  No ritual, rules, or ceremonies is required for salvation.

Thu, May 5th - 1:16AM

1 Corinthians 10

1 Corinthians 10:1 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;

²And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;

³And did all eat the same spiritual meat;

⁴And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

⁵But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.

I would often wonder about the Hebrews that were led out of Egypt.  They were led by God personally.  He fed them from heaven.  Made rocks sprout water and they still rebelled.  They still doubted God.  But are we different?  I absolutely believe in God but I am going through some trying times right now.  I am looking for a job.  I have prayed over and over again and still have found nothing.  I know God cares about me and I know God can provide but I let the devil get me frustrated sometimes thinking why hasn’t God answered me.  I can’t give the devil a toehold.  I know God hears my request and I know God has a plan for me.  I have to be faithful and patient and let God’s will come to pass. 

⁷Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.

⁸Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand.

⁹Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.

¹⁰Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.

¹¹Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

The events in the Bible are written for us.  It is full of examples for us of righteous living and unrighteous living.  The Hebrews were led out of Egypt by God himself, fed by God himself, God provided everything they needed while in the desert and they still rebelled.  Rebellion is such an evil sin in the eyes of God.  It is rebellion against the will of God.  God gave us life, He gave His Son that we might have eternal life but yet we reject His gift of eternal life and mock and reject God.  Don’t be fooled there is a coming day of judgment when God will judge the world and woe until them who have rejected God and mocked the almighty God of heaven.

Sun, May 1st - 11:19PM

1 Corinthians 9

1 Corinthians

¹ Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not the result of my work in the Lord? ² Even though I may not be an apostle to others, surely I am to you! For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. (NIV)

Satan is a deceiver.  One of his ways to sow deceit is to cast doubt on the Word of God.  Paul wrote a good percentage of the New Testament.  One way to cast doubt on the Word is to attack the validity of its authors including Paul. 

In recent years Paul has been attacked by some who claim he was a false prophet.  This is such a ridiculous statement that it shouldn’t be worth mentioning except for the fact you have weak believers giving heed to such heresy.

Paul was accepted by the other Apostles as a valid child of God.  He was accepted by the early church fathers as a Apostle. 

The problem with casting doubt on Paul is that if Paul was a false prophet then that means Luke had to be a false prophet because he was Paul’s partner.  That means you have to throw out all the writings of Paul, the Book of Luke and the Book of Acts because Luke wrote Acts.  In 2 Peter Peter calls Paul a beloved brother.  Was Peter deceived when he wrote 2 Peter?  Do we throw out 2 Peter?

People who support the idea of Paul being a false prophet say God allowed this to happen to test our faith.  Seriously?  Basically what they are saying is that they believe God is behind a 2000 year old conspiracy to lead people astray.  In other words God wants you to be deceived.  I think Peter had it right in 2 Peter when he said.

¹⁵ 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. ¹⁶ 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.

9:18 What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make use of my rights in preaching it.

The Gospel of Christ isn’t for sell.  You can’t buy the blessings of God.  Don’t let some hustler in the pulpit trick you.  You don’t have to give somebody a $1000 dollar seed money to get blessed.  The blessings of God is free to all of his children.  If a preacher is preaching for personal gain he needs to be thrown out.  The number one goal of a preacher should be preaching the Word of God to feed the sheep and to reach out to the lost.

Sun, May 1st - 12:33AM

Acts 14

Acts 14

¹And it came to pass in Iconium, that they went both together into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spake, that a great multitude both of the Jews and also of the Greeks believed.

Paul and Barnabas is continuing the pattern they had set before of going into the synagogue and preaching first to the Jews and as it said a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed.

²But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles, and made their minds evil affected against the brethren.

This is a pattern we have seen over and over again.  The Jews stirred up the people against Jesus, they stirred up the crowd against Stephen and now the same thing.  In fact the Jews would follow Paul and Barnabas wherever they went harassing their ministry.

³Long time therefore abode they speaking boldly in the Lord, which gave testimony unto the word of his grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands.

Even though there was much opposition Paul and Barnabas continued to preached boldly the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  We have to speak boldly the Gospel of Christ.  There is always going to be opposition.  Jesus said if they opposed him they will surely oppose us and they do.  The Gospel of Christ is powerful and it is definitely not politically correct by today’s standard.  When you preach against abortion, gay marriage, sexual immorality you are not going to make yourself popular.  But this is not a popularlty contest.  It is about saving souls.  If you are truly speaking the Word of God you are going to have opposition.  In fact I would be kind of wary of any preacher that is to popular.  A lot of these televangelist preach a feel good message with very little teeth to their message because they are more concerned with ratings than the power of their message.  I aint saying this is true of everyone.  The Word of God is powerful and it will attract the blind to the light.  I aint going to call no one out but you know who is preaching softballs on TV to attract ratings.  I would rather have a old time fire and brimstone preacher any day that preaches the Word of God with power.