The Resurrection of Jesus is the most important, significant and dynamic event in all of human history. The brutally crucified itinerant rabbi-carpenter from an obscure province and an obscure people rose from the dead to be the central focal point in all of human existence. There is nothing that supercedes Him. All human existence, past, present and future, has to be sifted through Him, who He is and what He came to do. Our perception of life, its meaning, structure and purpose, can never…

The Resurrection put the final seal of approval on the life, the claims and the identity of Jesus. Each of these made sense out of the unseen, the spiritual dimension. What we are really doing here is what the disciples of Jesus did when they recorded His life. They were looking back in order to look forward. It was His presence they were called to proclaim and live. It made the Scripture the authority lifitng up the importance of the individual, gave every heart its true identity, its…

There is no more lingering shadow across the landscape of history than that of the Cross of Jesus. Wherever any person walks the daily pace of existence that shadow falls in front, behind, over and under the path they take. The Cross is the continuing reminder of four things. First, death takes us all. Second, Jesus, the One who hung upon it. Third, a question---why did He die? Fourth, the decision every heart has to make about Him. But the Cross is also a reminder that without it, without…

Three guys were tried for crimes against humanity.

Two guys committed crimes.

One guy didn't.

Three guys were given government trials.

Two guys had fair trials.

One guy didn't.

Three guys were whipped and beaten.

Two guys had it coming.

One guy didn't.

Three guys were given crosses to carry.

Two guys earned their crosses.

One guy didn't.

Three guys were mocked and spit at along the way.

Two guys cursed and spit…

Having a mind and having a heart are two facets of being human images of God. The third has to do with spirit, that which drives us into action. Everything Paul writes aims at bringing the spirit of a man in line with God the Holy Spirit. 1Cor.2 tells us that not only does God have the Holy Spirit but that man, being an image of God, has a spirit as well (vs.11). But there is another spiritual reality and that is the spirit of the world (vs.12). It is generated by ‘the prince of this world’,…

So the need to be right in the heart brings with it the need to be right in the mind, to justify why we respond to the need to be right the way we do. There is a real problem here because no matter how successful we are by worldly standards there is no ultimate satisfaction. We always seem to ask ‘What if?’ What if I had done things differently? What if I had been a better person? What if I had done a better job? What if I had tried harder? What if I had done something different with my…

People are created by God to be like Him. They are images of God having a mind, a heart and a spirit. They have the ability to believe, trust, have faith and justify why they think, decide and behave the way they do. Belief, trust and faith are what make us human. But, as Adam and Eve have shown, if what makes us human is used apart from God the end is disastrous. They learned the hard way that taking control apart from God and trying to justify why they did just doesn’t work. In fact the…

The natural sequence is from the heart to the mind because we are looking for a way to make reasoning sense out of what goes on in our heart, in the hearts of others and in the world around us. It’s in the mind that we build a system of principles to organize the way our heart responds. It’s the mind that sorts out our experience. It’s the mind that needs truth to build a stable belief. Without belief the heart doesn’t know what to trust which in turn opens it to living only for survival in…

Is Your Heart Being Held Captive?

Is Your Mind Being Held Captive?

Is Your Spirit Being Held Captive?

These are three questions we will try to address in the next few days as we consider what Holy Week is all about. Since all three are intertwined we only treat them separately in order to encourage their balance so when the moment to be a witness arrives we act more definitively, more courageously and more faithfully. Let’s look at the heart first.

There are 790…

As we approach Holy Week the Cross looms on the horizon of our daily experience. The claims of Jesus come in the context of Jesus’ declaration that He is the bread of life. It starts early in John as Jesus declares He is life and gives life and intends to share that life through faith. The Feeding of the 5000 builds on the idea of a spiritual feeding.

The abundance of bread and fish point to a deeper feeding available in the Word.

He reprimands the crowds that follow Him…

Vs.13 The armor of God, Gk. panoplion, spiritual covering for the mind, the heart and the spirit.

1. For the mind---against rationalization and self-justification.

2. For the heart---against the attitudes, strongholds that hold the heart captive.

3. For the spirit---against fear, pride and the numerous spirits that war against faith in Christ. The antichrist.

Also “the day of evil” is the present. When we are speaking about spiritual reality it is always in the…

Eph.6:10 "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after…

False teaching is the dangerous satanic interference in every generation. The positive stand of John in his letters is the antidote in every generation. Believers need not only right doctrine for their minds but encouragement for their hearts. This is exactly John’s purpose in writing for the Body of Christ at large.

The subtle infusion of heretical teaching was the devil’s ploy to sidetrack the early Body of Christ. One prevailing example was called Gnosticism. Part of its teaching…

Matt.4:1 “Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.”

Here begins the single most important process in the history of human experience. It is the process God gave man to discover who he is, why is here and where he is headed. Given by God, it is a spiritual process that takes place within. It is an invisible spiritual process that defines us by our visible behavior. Through it we know God, we know ourselves and we know each other. It also defines…

You don’t realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand. Jn.13:7

Now that you know these things…Jn.13:17

I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am He. Jn.13:19

Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in Him and if God is glorified in Him, God will glorify the Son in Himself, and will glorify Him at once. Jn.13:31-32.

Now [Father] they know everything you have given me comes from you.…

Gems of Jesus

Matt.5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven

There is no question that Jesus wants to completely reorient mankind’s mind and heart to process everything spiritually; who they are, why they are here and how they behave. His first teachings, the Beatitudes, are all spiritually rooted. Again remember, Jesus was conceived by the Spirit, is led by the Spirit and lives ‘…by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Mt.4:4).’ Evidence…

Lent is a great time to consider the depth of Jesus' sacrifice for us and what He came to bring. The following takes a look at 1John and let's us begin a trek into God's intention for us. Follow the logic and let the mind deliver truth to heart. Feel the heart's response and then let your day be an act of faith as you encounter every next moment.

Life, Light and Love Expose False Teaching

False teaching is the dangerous satanic interference in every generation. The positive…

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven (Matt.5:10).”

Righteousness, being right with God, self and others, will lead to some kind of persecution be it open or subtly disguised. Faith that makes one peaceful within can be a threat because it defies being controlled by the usual secular forces. Faith builds integrity and integrity builds confidence in spite of circumstance. This progression is part of the heart restoration…

Here is the human condition; people have a mind, a heart and a spirit. They have the ability to trust and justify what they trust in. If all these gifts are used apart from God the end is disastrous.

There is another internal need lurking in those shadows, the need that urges the mind to say ‘It’s OK, you’re doing the right thing.” It’s called self-justification, the need to use our mind to give a logical reason for our behavior. It is the mind that is under attack as well as the…

                                                           The Cross, Mind and Power

                                                           The Way The Truth The Life

                                                                Trust Belief Faith

We apprehend the image of the Cross.

                                                           We comprehend its meaning.

                                                                                       …