LOVE!!! If you walk in love and believe that Jesus Christ is your Savior, you are Christian. Note the first criteria that you must walk in love. It’s not sufficient that you simply believe in Jesus. There are a lot of so called “christians” (intentional little “c”) out there who walk in anything but love. Unfortunately, they are not real Christians. Continue reading “Are You Christian? Here’s the Acid Test.”
Tag: Bible
Get Real—The Devil is for Real!
I don’t live life obsessed with the devil. But I also don’t live it ignoring, or not believing, that the devil is for real. Open your eyes and see that evil is across the globe, a daily reality of life. And those whispers in your ear, especially the ones of doubt telling what you can’t do, are not from God. Get over it—the devil is real, alive in the world. Deal with it by acknowledging the reality and staying close to God, listening for/to him. Continue reading “Get Real—The Devil is for Real!”
God Means Life to Be So Very, Very Simple!
As I have said/written thousands of times, God means life to be so very simple. We are the ones who complicate it. Like a closet or basement, we accumulate “junk” that we don’t use but that crowds out useful living space. Rather than periodically go through our closets and throw out—or better yet, donate—what we don’t use we accumulate stuff. Well, that’s exactly what we do in our minds. What should be so simple we complicate. Continue reading “God Means Life to Be So Very, Very Simple!”
God Is Color Blind. Are You? Really?
God doesn’t see black, white, yellow, red, or any other skin tone. He sees inside to your heart. So, he knows if you are color blind deep inside. You’re not fooling him. Continue reading “God Is Color Blind. Are You? Really?”
Did You Know It Was Jesus?
The two disciples were so engaged in conversation that they failed to recognize Jesus—exactly who they were talking about on their walk to Emmaus! It wasn’t until they slowed down to eat that they saw it was Jesus, and only then when he went through the act of breaking and blessing the bread. How many times did you walk with or by Jesus yesterday and not know it was him? Continue reading “Did You Know It Was Jesus?”
GREAT Friday!!!
Am I saying that this Good Friday is a super, fantastic, great day? Well, yes, in a very special way. It commemorates one of the greatest days in human history when Jesus Christ gave up his life for each one of us. Not for humanity as a whole, but for each one of us individually. And then 3 days later, on THE defining day in human history, Jesus rose from the dead. Great? Great is an understatement! Continue reading “GREAT Friday!!!”
God’s Mulligan
In golf a “do over” is a mulligan. God’s mulligan is grace. You have it, over and over again. It doesn’t go away—ever! Translation to all of this—you have unlimited fresh starts with God. In fact, every second of every day is a fresh start with God. Continue reading “God’s Mulligan”
Passing Over into Easter
We’re all connected, sisters and brothers under God. At sundown today, Passover begins and leads into Easter next Sunday. The Jewish people commemorate fleeing from Egypt and, right before his death, Jesus did the same by celebrating the Passover meal with his disciples. The escape from the captivity of physical slavery and the escape from our sins with Jesus’ sacrifice of his life are both connected. As are we! Continue reading “Passing Over into Easter”
Is the Lord Among Us or Not?
“What kind of question is that? It’s the question (Exodus 17:7) that the Israelites asked all the time as they wandered the desert for 40 years. It’s the question buried in the devil’s temptation of Jesus in his desert of 40 days. It’s the question that we ask as we wander the deserts in our own lives. There’s a consistent theme at play here—wandering and questioning. As long as we wander our deserts we will ask the same question—Is God really with us, if he’s real at all?—or simply stop asking because God is nothing to us. Continue reading “Is the Lord Among Us or Not?”
Don’t Ask for Forgiveness if You Can’t Forgive!!!
I added the 3 exclamation points after my heading today for very intentional emphasis—Don’t ask for forgiveness if you can’t forgive!!! And I’m writing this not for you and others but for me. I’m preaching to myself this morning not to bother to ask God for forgiveness if I can’t forgive others. God is always less than a heartbeat away ready to forgive us, no matter what we do or don’t do to others. The question is do we dare to ask for forgiveness if we can’t forgive those around us. The answer is an emphatic “no!” Continue reading “Don’t Ask for Forgiveness if You Can’t Forgive!!!”