No matter how hard atheists, agnostics, intellectuals, and religionists try and destroy belief in Jesus there is no way anyone can deny He is the pivotal point in the development of modern history. The growth of science, education, medicine, economics and civilization itself erupted from the event of His life and its impact on the hearts of mankind. But what made His life such a force was the volcano that blew the roof off of the sinful human heart, His Resurrection. He dug in where no one…

The last two mornings on Sugar Mountain, July 5th and 6th, 47F., clear sky, the sun rising over the ridge across the valley, the fullness of the surrounding greenery, birds gathering their feed and a great weekend to celebrate the Lord's hand having initiated the beginning of a nation dedicated to Him. Isn't that what this nation we live in is all about really? Mountains give you that sense of formation, something being formed out of nothing. Creation. They force you to look up, see the sky,…

People who run marathons talk about what happens when they reach the last few miles of their race. “They hit the wall.” This means their bodies run out of the necessary physical means to finish the race. What they do is to reach down deep and try to finish the best they can. Keep this in mind as we continue.

The quest for the meaning of life, why we are here and all those philosophical questions, is not found in pursuit of an answer that causes me to search within but in putting those…

46AD. That was the year, according to biblical scholars, Paul and Barnabas began their first missionary journey (Acts 13). Because of that fact we need to get a feel for what the early church was like. We are talking 'early' here. This is just a bit over a decade from the Cross, the Resurrection, the Ascension and Pentecost. In that incredibly short period of time the Body of Christ shot up like a rocket in a spiritual atmosphere heretofore dominated by the devil. The launch of the Son of…

Priority, priority, priority! Thinking spiritually, trusting spiritually and acting spiritually---spirituality is the base for true living, for facing reality and being a person. Our very existence is dependent on how we focus spiritually. There is not one human activity that is free from spiritual consideration. Name any human involvement and its foundation is based on some invisible concept, motivation and inspiration. Spirituality is invisible, unseen, beyond physical measurement. So is…

I'm sure you're asking if this is all about the gift of the Holy Spirit why is it still in an Easter named series? I'm glad you asked. Obviously the Holy Spirit is God the Spirit finally and openly revealed during the Jewish celebration of the annual corn harvest which was celebrated fifty days after Passover. It was known as Pentecost (Gk. 'fiftieth day). Also known as the Feast of First Fruits it is another example of how Jesus came to open the whole spiritual dimension for us to…

The Holy Spirit has three objectives, internal, external and functional. The internal is establish and grow a living relationship with Jesus and His family. The external is to be Jesus' disciple in order to grow Jesus' family and make disciples. The functional is to make the Scriptures, the Lord's growth manual, come alive in the minds and hearts of disciples. All three work together simultaneously under the Lord's personal direction. Through worship, prayer, shared study and ministry in the…

“A promise is a promise” is what we usually say to someone when we want to make sure they will do what they promise because of the importance of the outcome. Hopefully you'll get a response like, “You've got my word on it.” That is precisely what Jesus did. He made promises and He fulfilled them based on His Word. Like the Great Promise coming out of His Resurrection, Him living in us, and then the second part of that promise, to send the Holy Spirit who will enable Jesus to live in us. This…

"Promise dictates how we pray, how we think, how we feel and what we do." The Great Promise is loaded with implications. If Jesus has promised He will live in us always (Jn.14:20), that means the whole Jesus; mind, heart and Spirit, can be defined for us, each of us, specifically. That is why He has given us His Word. It's spiritual, personal and relational in an eternal context. Listen to these words from an old love ballad by Ira Gershwin and think of them spiritually. Be willing to leave…

Easter 20 The Great Promise

When Jesus gave the Great Commission He also gave within it the Great Promise, “And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age (Matt.28:20).” Three things stand out about this promise.

First, the Greek word for 'surely' is 'idou.' Actually it is a very strong word in Greek. It is more than 'surely.' In the old English it was 'behold' and 'lo.' In our day Jesus might have said it differently. It has the flavor of "I want you to pay real…

Easter 19 Resurrection, Realization and Reality---”I am in you!”

Continuing our look at the way the Resurrection affects how we think we need to look at one of the “Greats” not usually described in that way. There's the Great Commission to go and make disciples (Matt. 28:19-20), the Greatest Comandment to love God with all our mind, heart and strength (Matt.22:37) and the Great one just like it to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matt.22:39). What we have here in John 14:19-20 is the…

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another (John 13:34-35).”

This is a pivotal moment in Jesus' teaching. But first, consider the occasion, its context, the atmosphere, both in the world and the hearts of His disciples.

It takes place on a very special occasion. Jesus brings His disciples to an upper room to share the Passover meal with Him. What…

Meditation is exciting if you will allow yourself into its refreshing springs. Especially in this season when we celebrate Jesus having risen from the dead. The Resurrection is a great prompter when it comes to interpreting the Psalms. As a result the Psalms become a meditative oasis, a reservoir of spiritual detail for insight and wise response. You can see the depth of the person of Jesus in every psalm. From the most general of themes to the minute intricacies of their implications for us…

Have you ever kicked yourself, you know, been sorry you said or did something? It 'sticks in your craw' as the expression goes. When you read about Jesus in the Bible you find out this one incredible reality about Him. He is the only man who ever lived who never felt the need to kick Himself. He never regretted, felt embarrassed, apologized or said He was sorry for what He said or did. Jesus never had to repent for anything. He never worried about what other people thought about Him. He was…

Easter 14 Resurrection, Let It Hit Home

In this time when we have just celebrated the Resurrection of Jesus we really need to get down to the business of communicating our faith. Why is the Resurrection so important? What does it mean for the world? What does it mean for me? It’s a lot more personal than we think and has a lot less to do with religion. It’s got everything to do with who we are as images of God, how we think about Him, one another and the world around us. why we are…

The Days of Socially Acceptable Christianity Are Over

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I just had my eyes checked for a new pair of glasses. I have the usual aging symptoms but no surgery required (thank you Lord). The tests were new and the doctor very informative and up-to-date. It was interesting since the following article was in the process of being written. But what I noticed in the process was the interesting people that were working there. Each had their own story. I found myself seeing them in terms of what you can't see. Know what I mean? That's what we are supposed…

Hope and the Resurrection of Jesus go together. When Jesus was raised it was done so that we too could have the hope He experienced for us. Hope is real. Hope is as real as the faith and love with which God blesses us all the time. Prayer is the practice of hope. If the practice of hope is prayer, consider five hoping points that allow the current of God’s will to flow---Praise, Thanksgiving, Confession, Asking and Meditation. Let's take them in that order.

First, Praise assures God…

The Resurrection turns the world on its ear. When Jesus was resurrected it threw a monkey wrench into the machinery of the world’s standards, goals and strategies. Now there really is a demonstrable, focused image of God through whom we can decipher the unseen,--- the invisible spiritual dimension that motivates reality. Jesus is the visible ‘Rosetta Stone’ enabling us to interpret and understand Creation and man’s place in it. In other words, spirituality in its breadth and depth as…

“We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we…