The Temptation of "Do Not!"

 

One of the treasures of the Bible is that it reveals human nature.  Every child is taught “to do” and “do not.” Eden’s snake zeros in on the word “not,” creating an attractive nuisance. The temptation of the “do not” is a still in effect today, most obviously with children and criminals.

Genesis 3:1-4 (TLB) 1 The serpent was the craftiest of all the creatures the Lord God had made. So the serpent came to the woman. “Really?” he asked. “None of the fruit in the garden? God says you mustn’t eat any of it?” 2-3 “Of course we may eat it,” the woman told him. “It’s only the fruit from the tree at the center of the garden that we are not to eat. God says we mustn’t eat it or even touch it, or we will die.” 4 “That’s a lie!” the serpent hissed. “You’ll not die!

5/25/2025

All Humanity Defaults to Sin

In most religious traditions, if you seem to “act right,” no one knows otherwise. Jesus brings something profound:  ALL action comes from earthbound thinking. The enemy attacks you right in the life force within that comes from God, just as he did Adam and Eve.

Mark 7:20-23 (TLB) 20 And then he added, “It is the thought-life that pollutes. 21 For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts of lust, theft, murder, adultery, 22 wanting what belongs to others, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, pride, and all other folly. 23 All these vile things come from within; they are what pollute you and make you unfit for God.

5/18/2025

You'll Never be Condescended to

 

Sometimes you don’t know what you need; other times you do. These verses say to ask God without wavering in faith for his answer. If you don’t know specifically what you need, go boldly to God anyway. You’ll never be condescended to. God loves and respects your asking too much.

James 1:5-8 (AMPC) 5 If any of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of the giving God [Who gives] to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or faultfinding, and it will be given him. 6 Only it must be in faith that he asks with no wavering (no hesitating, no doubting). For the one who wavers (hesitates, doubts) is like the billowing surge out at sea that is blown hither and thither and tossed by the wind. 7 For truly, let not such a person imagine that he will receive anything [he asks for] from the Lord, 8 [For being as he is] a man of two minds (hesitating, dubious, irresolute), [he is] unstable and unreliable and uncertain about everything [he thinks, feels, decides].

5/11/2025

Unwanted Breaking News

Believers, even at their best, can hide sin and become haughty all at the same time. It isn’t easy to keep presenting in one way while sinking lower into sin. God always knows and if you don’t stop, everyone else will too!  Let humility and surrender guide you each day.

Luke 12:2-3(MSG) 12 1-3 By this time the crowd, unwieldy and stepping on each other’s toes, numbered into the thousands. But Jesus’ primary concern was his disciples. He said to them, “Watch yourselves carefully so you don’t get contaminated with Pharisee yeast, Pharisee phoniness. You can’t keep your true self hidden forever; before long you’ll be exposed. You can’t hide behind a religious mask forever; sooner or later the mask will slip and your true face will be known. You can’t whisper one thing in private and preach the opposite in public; the day’s coming when those whispers will be repeated all over town.

5/4/2025