What is the deal with temptation? Are we just playthings that God is watching as we struggle with an enemy that is invisible and amazingly deceptive? Does he enjoy seeing us get trapped and fail? Are we being tested with some vast rewards going to those with the best score, but most of us feel like the perpetual “D” student? The Bible tells of three battlegrounds with three different human representatives. We gain invaluable insight as we examine these. We begin with the presupposition that is c...
May 01, 2019•54 min•Season 2019Ep. 5
I have mentioned in earlier messages how confusing all the discussions about the end of the world had been to me during college and seminary. The coffee shop debate often brought out charts and maps. The pressure was on to declare your stance on the issue of “pre-,” “post-,” and “a-.” If you didn’t experience the intensity of those discussions in your journey, the issue was about whether Christ’s return would occur before the beginning of the millennium (“Pre-” as in Premillennialism), after it ...
Apr 01, 2019•48 min•Season 2019Ep. 4
It seems that some have missed the point of the apostle Paul’s warning about pow- erless religion because they have delayed it to some future last days. He is clear that he is not speaking of some distant future, but the last days that were present then and are present now. Paul was living in the last days of the Old Testament era, as it was being fulfilled in Jesus and his new people. This era officially ended in 70 AD when Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed by Rome. Paul also is aware tha...
Mar 01, 2019•46 min•Season 2019Ep. 3
It is common to hear of someone going off the rails with a temper tantrum and justifying it by their pent-up anger but seldom do we diagnose our inner frustrations as coming from pent-up love. I think we should consider it. One of the blessings we receive by sharing life with Christ is the love poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.
Feb 01, 2019•48 min•Season 2019Ep. 2
In a culture where the economy is largely based on people being discontent with what they have so that they will buy something more, contentment is a rare state of mind. Too many of us have bought the lie that more stuff will mean less misery. We are captives of materialism, which demands that we measure our happiness by what we have, compared to what some others have. We already have so much that we must rent storage space to house our stuff. Sadly, much of the stuff we pay to store will be sol...
Jan 01, 2019•38 min•Season 2019Ep. 1
The public’s perception of Christians is not very good. Various surveys reveal that many have bought the description of Christianity offered by secularism and have focused on the failings, mistakes, immaturity, and imperfections of Christians. We should expect this since our culture seems to be obsessed with distorted caricatures of those we don’t want to know. The common complaints regarding Christians are that we are hypocritical, judgmental, and unloving. Where those criticisms are true, we s...
Dec 01, 2018•49 min•Season 2018Ep. 12
Spiritual warfare has been dragged through many pits of distortion in an effort to establish how we relate to the forces of evil in the world. It seems that every 20 years or so, there is another outbreak of “deliverance ministries” focused on how we gain victory in our own lives over the influences of demonic powers. Those of us who have been through some of those cycles can remember screaming at demons in the middle of the night, arguing with voices that claimed authority beyond ours, and real...
Nov 01, 2018•54 min•Season 2018Ep. 11
It is significant that the first 11 chapters of the book of Romans do not give many instructions. In fact, there are basically two imperatives in that section. One is in chapter six when Paul tells us to reckon ourselves dead to sin, alive to God, and yield our members as instruments of righteousness instead of wickedness. The other is in chapter 11 where Gentile believers are warned not to be arrogant toward Jewish prospects. But, chapter 12 opens the floodgates to the instructions regarding th...
Oct 05, 2018•49 min•Season 2018Ep. 10
On our journey with Paul through the theological fulfillment of Israel’s trip from Egypt to the promised land and exile in the book of Romans, we come to chapters 9-11. Some biblical scholars see these chapters as sort of a parenthesis where Paul feels the need to address the true identity of God’s Israel. Personally, I think this discussion fits in perfectly with his timeline, explaining the theological significance of the Red Sea experience, the Law at Sinai, entrance into Canaan, and now the ...
Sep 03, 2018•46 min•Season 2018Ep. 9
The latest embarrassing eruption of incivility in the public eye has been reported recently including several people in President Trump’s administration being harassed by those holding different political views. But it has been escalating for some time, with multiple universities shutting down divergent political voices that might question the prevailing sexual revolution’s agenda. Late night TV is rife with vitriol, and public dialogue is becoming more difficult each day. Many are uncomfortable...
Aug 13, 2018•55 min•Season 2018Ep. 8
A friend recently spoke of the prevalence of “Adam’s itch” in all of us. He was talking about the compulsion to do something to get back into the good favor with God—back in the Garden of Eden—back to where we can be the recipients of God’s blessing rather than the object of curses. Like all itches, Adam’s itch begs to be scratched, and it feels so good for the moment, but later causes further inflammation and infection. It seems that we will go to any length to hear another clever way to pull t...
Jul 01, 2018•37 min•Season 2018Ep. 7
In the eighth chapter of Romans, the apostle Paul is describing what living in the promised land looks like since the resurrection and ascension of Jesus. He skillfully uses the story of Israel’s exodus and occupation in Canaan as a template for us. The Spirit leads us rather than an actual cloud and pillar of fire. We share the full inheritance, which is the life of Jesus rather than a small piece of real estate. We share not only in his access to the Father and the assurance that we are now id...
Jun 01, 2018•49 min•Season 2018Ep. 6
Acts 4:20 - The state of current American Christianity is generally rather shaky. For generations, we have spent the capital of moral strength we had stored up from generations that preached and practiced the gospel of transformation. We have tried to maintain a moral society without the infusion of passion that comes only from believing in the resurrected and ascended Lord. When we look at the model of New Testament believers in comparison to contemporary Western Christians, we are astounded. I...
May 01, 2018•42 min•Season 2018Ep. 5
Acts 2; Hebrews 1:1-2 - When I was a teenager, the big question at church youth camp was whether it was possible to know Jesus as Savior and not as Lord. Many of us wanted the assurance that we were “saved” from the penalty of our sins, but we weren’t sure we wanted Jesus to be the Lord (Boss) of our lives. Little did we know how dangerous it is to confess Jesus as Lord. There is good news: Jesus is Lord. It is true—and dangerous. Since Jesus is Lord, and he has spoken, his word carries ultimate...
Apr 01, 2018•47 min•Season 2018Ep. 4
News today is suspect. We aren’t sure there is any source we can trust. What we hear is mostly bad news, and it comes with such a spin, we can barely get hold of it. We know that the American dollar bears the weight of such debt that it is threatened by currencies of other national economies along with multiplying crypto-currencies. The American dream has dimmed in the eyes of a young generation realizing they probably won’t even have the prosperity of their parents. They cringe at the debt they...
Mar 01, 2018•42 min•Season 2018Ep. 3
We all like to be comfortable, but probably don't consider what is involved in such a state. We think of quiet, soothing, non-judgmental treatment. If we should think of a church service that is comforting, we might imagine an affirming message promoting how wonderful we are despite our missteps. That is a pretty popular approach of many trying to attract the contemporary consumer, but the word "comfort" used by Isaiah to describe what God had in mind for the remnant of Israel is much stronger. ...
Feb 08, 2018•46 min•Season 2018Ep. 2
Isaiah is one of the most important figures in the Bible. His writings are some of the very best, not only in the Bible but in history. His influence on the revelation of the gospel is unparalleled in the Old Testament. His story is fascinating. He was reared in an aristocratic environment. His family was well respected, and he was well trained as an elite in society. He was a faithful Hebrew having been taught the basics of Israel’s covenant with God. He lived in the last half of the 8th centur...
Jan 01, 2018•45 min•Season 2018Ep. 1
Considering the apparent increasing darkness swirling across the land, many church people are talking about the need for another Great Reformation. This has been a good year to talk about the Reformation. It was 500 years ago this year that it began. On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed 95 theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg Germany noting the issues he had with the corrupt Roman Catholic Church. Historians mark that date as the beginning of a move of God that eventually a...
Dec 12, 2017•40 min•Season 2017Ep. 12
I was extremely blessed in my early years to know a businessman who loved to share Jesus with men who claimed not to be interested in salvation. He called it “winning souls.” He was very good at it as he would not try to convert someone who was not being convicted by the Spirit. One day he approached a man and offered to talk with him about his relationship with God. “I don’t want to talk about God. Anyway, I’m no worse than half the people down there at the church, even the deacons,” he bellowe...
Nov 02, 2017•43 min•Season 2017Ep. 11
While surveying the current landscape of voices telling us what we can do to move God in our direction, I was confused and appalled. I wasn’t sure if I should send money to the speaker, fast more, pray harder (whatever that means), denounce my citizenship, lobby for Israel, or go to the mission field. One thing was evident: the subject of interest was about moving God to act on our behalf. Individuals want God to act in liberating them from debt, depression, sickness, and poverty. As a nation, w...
Oct 01, 2017•49 min•Season 2017Ep. 10
We haven’t lost the desire to know the times and seasons of God’s calendar. Books flood the marketplace, offering clues to the end of time and the meaning of certain political decisions and astronomical occurrences in the heavens. It has been true since the first couple ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. We still clutch to the notion that if we knew everything God knows, we would be fine. So, we speculate. As the book of Acts opens, Jesus has spent 40 days since his resurrection ap...
Sep 01, 2017•53 min•Season 2017Ep. 9
We continue to get confusing definitions of what a Christian is. It is not uncommon to hear some person make an off-the-wall statement and then back it up with, “because I am a Christian.” Dr. J. I. Packer has long been a trusted voice for evangelical Christianity. He says that a Christian is one who has God as Father. In his classic standard, Knowing God, he goes on to say that Father is the Christian name for God.
Aug 01, 2017•32 min•Season 2017Ep. 8
2 Timothy 3:17 - All Christians are aware that we are called to be disciples of Jesus. Many of us don’t know what that means. We have gotten lost in trying to plant and grow local churches, seeking to influence our culture, and holding civil leaders accountable to their callings. We have tried to apply the industrial revolution’s assembly line approach to our own demise. We have often settled to have church attenders who think more like the secular culture than Bible-based believers.
Jul 01, 2017•47 min•Season 2017Ep. 7
1 CORINTHIANS 10 - How does the story of Israel’s journey from Egypt to the promised land relate to us? In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, chapter 10, he uses their experiences in the wilderness as a warning for Christians to reject idolatry, moral impurity, and grumbling. But there is much more that we miss if we only value their journey as a lesson in morality. God isn’t just saying, “They really messed up in these areas, and the consequences were dire. You had better learn from their ...
Jun 01, 2017•47 min•Season 2017Ep. 6
2 CORINTHIANS 6:14–18 - Cultures clash over the narrative that defines them. Every culture has its story, and those whose story coincides with reality as God defines it in the Scripture have the potential to flourish. Those who neglect or contradict God’s story are doomed to failure. We in western civilization are increasingly being influenced by secularism and its God-denying narrative. The dominant theme of secularism is that there is no overarching narrative—that there are many stories with e...
May 01, 2017•43 min•Season 2017Ep. 5
TITUS 2:11–14 - One of the participants in an event at the ranch confessed, “I have read your books and listened to other teachers saying what you’ve said, and I know it is right. But I’m telling you, grace is hard.” I chuckled at the irony of that statement but had to agree. When we have been programmed to live with guilt and shame, grace is hard. It is both counter-intuitive and counter-cultural. As many have said, “It is too good to be true.” Why is it so hard?
Apr 01, 2017•40 min•Season 2017Ep. 4
PSALM 2, HEBREWS 8:6-12 - We live in a day of a self-proclaimed identity crisis. It seems that the whole society is trying to figure out how we decide who we are. It is true that authenticity requires that we act out of who we are. No one can find their destiny trying to be another species. No matter how much a dog tries to improve in its meowing, it will never be a good cat. We have obsessed with our own identity markers. Without dismissing the importance of knowing who we are, I suggest that t...
Mar 03, 2017•38 min•Season 2017Ep. 3
Who among us values prayer so much that we make daily ethical decisions based on how it affects our prayers? This seems to be what the apostle Peter is suggesting—and even instructing us to do. In his discussion of the husband’s attitude toward his wife, he adds, “ . . . so that your prayers may not be hindered” (1 Peter 3:7). In writing about living a blessed life, Peter emphasizes the eyes and the ears of the Lord being open to our prayers as we consider what we say and how we behave (1 Peter ...
Feb 01, 2017•42 min•Season 2017Ep. 2
Since the tragic fall in Eden, humans have been confused about identity. We weren’t made to live independently from God. Feeling alienated from God, our forebears began to incorrectly name things. In the divine design, Adam and Eve were given the ability to name the animals. This meant they had the capacity to see the essential difference in created things and thereby had the ability to manage them. To misname is to mismanage. When they were cut off from God, they lost the insight necessary to p...
Jan 01, 2017•40 min•Season 2017Ep. 1
Revelation 18:4 -- In the final book of the Bible, the Revelation—amidst all the symbols and visions—there is a scene where the world system is described as Babylon. The word of God to his people in that situation is: “Come out of her, my people.” Could that apply to God’s people now?
Dec 01, 2016•37 min
