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Treasuring Jesus and leaving Mammon
It’s the Kingdom you seek, not the stuff of life.
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The need for greed
We wrestle with consumerism and materialism. I take that back. Some have long surrendered, actually. We may even fake wrestling because, quite frankly, we like our stuff. But when I read these challenging verses out of Luke’s Gospel, I am left with an aching heart, quite honestly. I realized today the compelling force of what Jesus says so plainly in…
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When we are out of power
As I read through the gospels again I am struck this time by the many ways the religious leaders tried to trap Jesus. When we have lost spiritual power and authority all we have left is manipulation. We are left trying to trap people in “doctrinal error” rather than walking in true authority ourselves. Mark 12:24 (CEB) Jesus said to…
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God isn’t fretting small beginnings
Mustard seeds. Five loaves and two fish. Twelve followers. 120 in the upper room. God isn’t intimidated or discouraged by what WE think is small. He asks for: 1. Surrender — Give what you have to him. All of it. 2. Trust — When he says YOU are part of the miracle, understand he just may know what he is…
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Principles for “loving the neighbor”
The second part of basic discipleship I will be dealing with at my church today is loving the neighbor. I am preaching a series through Luke 10-11 on four basic principles of discipleship. This week is about the parable of the Good Samaritan. There are three basic principles (and I think they are adapted in some way from something I…
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Rules … or relationship?
Thoughts from my morning reading
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The true POWER of the Kingdom
Luke 8 lays out several areas where Jesus demonstrates his authority. The Kingdom is powerful over nature, demons, death, and sickness. Then, in Luke 9:1-6, Jesus tells them simply to go repeat what they’ve seen him do. They obeyed. Here’s our challenge: Don’t argue yourself out of a victory. If Jesus said, “Go do this. The authority is yours. I’ve…
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Sin won’t go away
We want to rename it, ignore it, ridicule the thought of “sin,” but the fact of it just won’t go away. We do our best to ignore it, though. Bill Arnold in his commentary on 1-2 Samuel in the NIV Application Commentary noted this: Once “sin” is no longer in the church’s vocabulary, there is no longer a need for…
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Dealing with the “angry” God
If you have a problem with the “angry God” view of the Old Testament, don’t listen through this one. 😉
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Drifting into godliness
On Wednesday nights our adult Bible study group is going through a video series on Philippians led by Matt Chandler. It is simply good stuff. Reflecting on Philippians 3:12-15, Chandler said this at one point: No one has ever drifted into godliness. We need a hunger. We need a striving. We need to keep asking, “HOW do I know God…
Category: Bible Study
