Desire to Honor and Receive God’s Truth

 

A relationship with the Lord comes to those with pure hands and hearts, who do not practice dishonesty and lying. You can call on the Lord at any time but to benefit most fully, you must be honest before God, and pure in your desire to honor and receive his truth. 

Psalms 24:1-6 (TLB) 1 The earth belongs to God! Everything in all the world is his! 2 He is the one who pushed the oceans back to let dry land appear. 3 Who may climb the mountain of the Lord and enter where he lives? Who may stand before the Lord? 4 Only those with pure hands and hearts, who do not practice dishonesty and lying. 5 They will receive God’s own goodness as their blessing from him, planted in their lives by God himself, their Savior. 6 These are the ones who are allowed to stand before the Lord and worship the God of Jacob. 

4/29/2021

Wealth and the Lottery

 

Some people win multimillion dollar lotteries and run out of the money, lose relationships or lose their peace. In Proverbs, King Solomon explains why: Working steadily toward something will always produce greater yield than a windfall you didn’t work to earn.

Proverbs 13:11 (ESV) Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it.

4/25/2021

Witnesses to the Resurrected Christ

The Bible references over 500 who saw and heard Jesus after his resurrection (1 Cor 15:3-8 (TLB). Mary Magdalene was the first to see him. His ministry was earth shaking and his resurrection the crowning touch. It was prophesied he would be executed and return and he did.

Acts 2:22-24 (GNT) 22 “Listen to these words, fellow Israelites! Jesus of Nazareth was a man whose divine authority was clearly proven to you by all the miracles and wonders which God performed through him. You yourselves know this, for it happened here among you. 23 In accordance with his own plan God had already decided that Jesus would be handed over to you; and you killed him by letting sinful men crucify him. 24 But God raised him from death, setting him free from its power, because it was impossible that death should hold him prisoner.

4/18/2021

The Entrapment of Jesus

 

Religious authorities tried to entrap Jesus many times. In Mark, Jesus agreed to show his authority was of God if they answered one question of his. They dodged answering because it was not a sincere question. Let God show you who is a sincere seeker and who is not.

 

Mark 11:29-33 (MSG) 29-30 Jesus responded, “First let me ask you a question. Answer my question and then I’ll present my credentials. About the baptism of John—who authorized it: heaven or humans? Tell me.”31-33 They were on the spot, and knew it. They pulled back into a huddle and whispered, “If we say ‘heaven,’ he’ll ask us why we didn’t believe John; if we say ‘humans,’ we’ll be up against it with the people because they all hold John up as a prophet.” They decided to concede that round to Jesus. “We don’t know,” they said. Jesus replied, “Then I won’t answer your question either.” 

4/14/2021

Jesus Curses a Fig Tree

 

Jesus cursed a fig tree that wasn’t producing. He said when you have faith and do not doubt, you can tell a mountain to throw itself into the sea. Conditions not bearing fruit or causing a mountain of trouble will be eliminated when you believe and ask in prayer. 

Matthew 21:19-22 (NIV) 19 “May you never bear fruit again!” 21 “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. 22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

4/11/2021

Brothers and Sisters in Christ

 

Many Christians refer to each other as brother, sister, mother or father. When you ask Christ into your life, you enter into the family of God. Families are for teaching the basics of life and how to love and support one another. Ask God to show you your faith family. 

Luke 8:21 (NIV) 21 “My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.”

4/4/2021