Eternity is a Long Time

  We misname the last meal Jesus had with His disciples before His crucifixion. We call it The Last Supper when it really should be called The Last Passover. Why? Because Jesus actually says so -  14  And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him.  15  And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.  16  For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 22:14-16) Notice when Jesus says He will not eat "it" in verse 16, He is referring to the Passover meal. Why is this important? Well, we have to remember what Passover is. It is the celebration of God passing over the houses of the Children of Israel who had the blood of the lamb over their door sparing their first born sons but killing the first born sons of those who were not covered by the blood of the lamb.  This 10th plague, the Passover, is a foreshadowing of what is to come...

  The Christian’s walk with Jesus has to be one of intimacy and action. These attributes must occur together. Where there is closeness with Jesus there must also be activity for Him. Ours is an active faith. In the great invitation of Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus calls us to discard our heavy burden of effort in exchange for His requirements which are easy and light. Notice we are still expected to act – but on Jesus’s terms, not our own. What we are supposed to do is summed up in the Great Commission at the end of Matthew’s Gospel which states: “Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19) Unfortunately, history has many examples of those who have tried to go and do what they thought was good for God in rash and inappropriate ways. Most times, it is because these people have forgotten their first love (Jesus) and acted based on their understanding rather than God’s. A wonderful exam...

  There are times during the day when the news about this corrupt election gets almost overwhelming. We are treated to taunts from leftists and bitter Republicans dancing on the grave of MAGA folks. Lists are being made of Trump supporters so we can be hunted and oppressed for our views. It can seem very dark sometimes. In these dark times it is good to remember that God is always, and has always been, in control. No matter what mankind does, we will never be able to stop God’s perfect plan. His plan has always been for everyone to have the opportunity to open their hearts to His spirit and love Him. Jesus said: “Love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength” (Luke 10:27). Not everyone will. Most will take the wide path that leads to destruction rather than the narrow path that leads to life. The point is, God ensures we get a choice. But what about the part of the Lord’s prayer where Jesus said to say: “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be don...

Why did Jesus compare us to plain old salt ("You are the salt of the earth" Matthew 5:13)? Well, not that long ago in history people used to be paid in salt because it was so valuable. It purifies, preserves, adds flavor and people crave it. The same thing is true of the Christian who brings the word of God to others. But Christians are not to gather in one spot and stay only with each other. We are to go out and let our light shine and our salt mingle among everyone. But Jesus also said that if you lose your saltiness you are no longer useful. The rest of His quote from Matthew 5:13 is "But if the salt should lose its taste, how can it be made salty? It’s no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled on by men." We all can be less salty at times and some of us can run out of salt - so what are we supposed to do? As the Ugandan preacher I heard in Iraq said - you go back to the Word and get re-salted. We must always renew our reliance on Je...

Think of all the really bad people who got away with things during their lifetime and never had to "pay" for them. Is there never any justice? We all know that there are plenty of people who have done really, really bad things but have never been convicted of their crimes in a court of law. Is there any justice for them? Or do they "get away with it"? If you think about this question for long in relation to how God looks at things, you'll realize that He doesn't worry about what we do here on Earth towards each other. What? He knows that we do some nice things and some bad things to other people all the time. It doesn't matter what we do to each other as we are all condemned living here in the world. Each and every one of us. "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." (John 3:17) Jesus wouldn't have come if we weren't condemned already. And Jesus came for EVERYONE. "For Go...