After I finished high school I had to leave the urban jungle and the gurgling sounds of what to me was the death rattle of toxicity, ‘toxi-city.’ So I got a job in a resort bartending one shift, kitchen staffing on another and then working the beach and tennis courts. There was a group of West Virginia kids working the same place who invited me to go home with them at the end of one Summer which I did. I knew their ‘genu-wine’ accent was like one I recognized but it wasn’t ‘y’all’ it was…

Living near Greensboro, North Carolina during my pre-teen years was like living in a wonderfully free time of wonder and discovery. The woods, the red clay roads, the fields of tobacco and corn, the neighbors, our free roaming dogs, the pine scents drifting in the breeze, Model-A’s and rumble seats, tractors plowing and kerchief wiping farmers in blue ‘hover-alls’ waving as you passed, even measles and mumps could not deter you because you kind of knew you’d get better. There was only fun…

When I was about 10 or 11 I remember traveling with my dad and visiting a friend of his for dinner in Salisbury, NC. His friend was very proper and much to my dad’s embarrassment corrected me about some local dinner etiquette that was quite uncalled for I found out later. When you are in certain levels of class conscious people there are a number of unwritten rules that govern the group. You are just supposed to know what they are. This is true not only of small areas, social levels and…

In the 1940’s West Point had two phenomenal football players. One was a half back named Glenn Davis known as Mr.Outside and a fullback named Doc Blanchard known as Mr. Inside. Mr.Outside could elude and outrun tacklers when he ran around end. Mr.Inside simply bowled over tacklers as he ran through the middle of the line. Together they helped the Army team run up remarkable scores as they won game after game. Of course it takes eleven to play but that combination was what gave their team the…

For this Reason 3

Being a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven means we have been gifted with a different perspective, a Heaven view as opposed to a world view, a different context for the mind, for the heart and for the spirit. We have been given a picture of spiritual reality which is eternal. It may be just a glimpse but it is an eternal glimpse for an earthly purpose. We see things above the world and its temporary conclusions. We see things in ideas, spiritual concepts and absolutes…

For This Reason 2

The specifics mentioned in Chapter 3 have to do with the difference between God’s and man’s definition of humanity. If Jews and Gentiles can be brought together then it can happen with any group. Jesus is the final and complete definition of humanity. He has made the two, Gentile and Jew, one in Christ. The why is clear, spiritual definition. Humanity is spiritually defined. Humanity cannot define itself. It has no objectivity. It is Jesus coming from outside into…

As we get into chapter 3 of Ephesians it is important to take in the verses that precede it and the verses that carry on the themes of chapter 1. The key to that transition is “For this reason.” Here Paul is appealing specifically to the minds of the Gentiles in Ephesus. Who knows what social and political pressure was being levied against Christians. It seems that the Gentile believers may have been questioning the validity of Jewish heritage as important since it was that of an obscure…

In John 10 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep (vs.7)…I am the gate, whoever enters through me will be saved (vs.9)…” “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep (vs.11)…I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me---just as the Father knows me and I know the Father---and I lay down my life for the sheep (vs.14-15).”

This is a fantastic passage. It reveals just how much Jesus has accomplished on our behalf by…

Two events this past week got me looking at Ephesians 2 in a slightly different light. One was a discussion in the Mountain Men’s group. The other was when a plumber’s assistant who came to fix a leak aimed to convert me to become a Jehovah’s Witness. Actually when joined both stood in contrast. One approached from the heart and the other from a heartless system. Both used Scripture but one was an interpersonally sensitive attempt by a group of men to share from the heart and the other was…

Faith is the stand we take in the Spirit. It is the spiritual fortitude to walk in the unseen dimension in every next moment. For us as believers in Jesus, to stand is to be filled with the Spirit (Eph.5:18), to live by the Spirit (Gal.5:16) and to keep in step with the Spirit (Gal.5:25). The secular ideas of standing are to remain motionless, do nothing, remain uncommitted, ready to compromise, ‘it’s none of my business,’ ‘let someone else do it,’ ‘I have too much to lose,’ ‘I’m afraid’ and…

Ephesians Plus Three---Colossians, Philippians and Philemon

As an aside it is interesting to see the similarity in Paul’s approach to the different congregations. I’d suggest a look at the message in each. We won’t do a comparison at this time. It is only to say the Gospel is not presented differently from one group to the other. There is one mind in Christ and the same Gospel goes to all believers. One size fits all. One cannot fail to see they are written with an eye to bringing the…

Eph.1:19b

Spiritual Citizenship and It's Power

The subject is the power of God. Again we want to make clear the difference between what the world calls power and God calls power. They are an eternity apart. Power in this world is to gain physical, social, institutional and intellectual control of the physical environment, the present moment, the people in it and supervise them through fear. The fact is that world power imprisons those who seek it. They find it is individual,…

Eph.1:15-19a

Spiritual Citizenship

Being a citizen of Heaven demands the kind of insight and behavior that goes far beyond that of any world citizenship. This part of Chapter One is the fulfillment of this new spiritual citizenship. Three things stand out as you read. First, you are not alone. You have the touch of God. Second, you have the Lord Jesus in your heart, and third, you have the Holy Spirit who is sealing the promises of God within you.

Vs.15 “For this reason,…