In this age of selfishness, and the hoarding to ourselves the riches of the earth, it is easy to give a tithe, and say it is enough, but that is just what God told us to set aside for His purposes. Is by tithing, or by our words, the only ways we have been asked to praise God, or is there more? Are we to adhere to the law, or go beyond it as Jesus did to feed the hungry, and give drink to the thirsty... even as He did for us with His own blood and body during communion.
Have you ever been comfortably living out your life when you suddenly realized that something you were doing wasn’t what Jesus would have you do? In our early years of faith this might be an obvious oversight in a major teaching of God or Jesus, but as we grow in faith it will most likely be something subtle. Yet, the blessing we gain from this realization, and the change it brings to how we live out our faith can be just as profound as those we experienced in the early days when we first believed. The subtle sins in our spiritual maturity are just as real and the disobedience just as abhorrent.
What will we look like in heaven? I have heard that question asked many times, heard it voiced for various reasons, and put in many ways. Young healthy people ask it out of curiosity, and the aged or infirmed ask it in either hope, or with fear and dread. Can we really know what our resurrected bodies will look like? Let’s explore some scripture that might help us determine the answer to this question.
God is our creator, and following the fall of Adam and Eve from grace in the Garden of Eden He has worked out the means of our redemption, and our salvation. His Son Jesus Christ was nailed to the cross, but wasn’t it God’s will that sent Him there? Since His crucifixion have we picked up our own crosses to follow Him? Do we do this because we believe or are we still waiting on God to say “come”? Believing becomes much easier once we realize that God formed us, provided us with a means of salvation, and that we will be living in His presence for eternity. But do we know who He is, or do we simply have faith and believe in Him like we would an unknown philanthropist or a mysterious benefactor?
Are we all witnessing to others about the Gospel of Jesus Christ; if so do we witness at home or abroad, and do we ever feel overwhelmed as we go about performing this task? If we are overworked, and find that there are way more souls than we can possibly reach, or teach, then let’s listen to the words of Jesus as He tells us how to call for help. However, if we find that we are not witnessing at all, or not going forth into God’s harvest field, then let’s resolve ourselves to listen for His call, and from wherever we might find ourselves let’s pray for strength and resolve!
When we say the word revival, as it pertains to our Christian faith, what comes to our minds? Do we imagine tent meetings that run late into the night? Is it a guest Pastor who preaches fire and brimstone to us, or as he directs the Church towards some new endeavor? Is it the return of calm to our chaotic world? No, although we might experience a sense of revival in these things, revival is actually the reawakening of the divine within our souls, our churches, and the world... it is the reinvigoration of our faith through the Holy Spirit, God’s presence, and the gospel Jesus Christ as He is served to us upon God’s table as living water, Holy blood, and His broken body.
Several years ago, I read a devotional about realizing the depth of our sins, and in it the author took a different view of them and turned the depravity of sin from one of heartbreak and remorse into the amazing heights to which we would be raised at the moment of our forgiveness. He encouraged those with the darkest of sins to confess them, repent from them, and ask the Lord for forgiveness not just because of the relief they would feel but because of the incredible love they would experience between themselves and God at that moment when He forgave them.
We recite a prayer before meals, and at bedtime, and together we pray in church service as we repeat the Lord’s Prayer, but for most Christians that is the extent of our regular communication with God. Oh, we might say a prayer when we are in danger or the midst of trouble, but that is a one-sided prayer and seldom a conversation, and all we really want to hear Him say in response to us is “I’ve Got it!” Does this describe your prayer life? If so then you are missing out on the greatest blessing of faith… conversational prayer.
05/17/2026 - Bold Humility; the Lesson of Christ
How humble do we find ourselves to be? Are we strong enough to maintain our course of faith, and yet meek enough to do so without rippling the water around us? Are we bold in our humility before the cross, or do we carry our faith before us like a sharp sword. As we approach Pentecost we can’t help but compare ourselves to the apostles before they received the Holy Spirit, then later, with those same men, after the Spirit had come upon them... when we find that they had left behind their selfish desires to be greatest, and became humble images of Jesus.
When we are hungry, who do we turn to? When we are thirsty, where do we look to have our thirst quenched? When we need a safe place to lay our head at night, whose name do we call out to? Before we search for food, water, or shelter, we should seek God, and then obey Him as He leads us, and provides for us. This was the message to the Israelites during their trek through the desert, and it is our message today.
Princes and principalities, customs and countries, circumcised and uncircumcised... these, and many others, are all things we have used to separate ourselves from one another, and to secure God and Jesus Christ for ourselves alone, but that is not God’s will, nor what Jesus meant to happen; it was meant for the Holy Spirit to bring us together at the Cross as one Church.
When we think of the ransom that was paid for us by Jesus, it is easy to think about that payment being paid to some entity, or to someone, for us, but this is not the case. Who would be powerful enough to hold us ransom from God? No, we are ransomed from the sin and death that is within us... the very punishment that was created and placed there by God Himself. God is ransoming us from His own steadfast law against sin... against the imbalance of wrong that became inherent in us.
Do we read our Bible, and say a prayer every morning before walking out of our homes feeling faithful, only to close the door behind us as we pick up the mantle of a worldly citizen once more, and repeat the same sins we committed yesterday? Well friends, reading and hearing the Word of God is a wonderful habit each morning, but it is nothing more than emptiness unless we obey and do what it says. Otherwise, it is a mental exercise in futility and meaningless vapor.
Is your life so disjointed, and your spiritual journey so up and down that you often doubt that God abides in you at all? If this describes you then you need to lean on the Word of God and listen as scripture reassures you that He absolutely desires to be the central and focal point of your life, and longs to give you the fullness of His joy and His overwhelming rest, peace, and comfort that resides within Him.
Do we stand at the ready, listening for God’s voice? Do we wait upon the Lord in this manner? We know instinctively that God is with us always, but sometimes we forget that He isn’t just there to serve us... He is also waiting to hear our voice. When we cry out to Him, when we joyfully sing to Him, when our pain and suffering leave our mouths like sorrowful moans... He waits for us. As we speak to Him in proper prayer He responds with mercy, grace, and yes, judgement too.