Temple Duties

present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship  Romans 12:1 Spiritual Service – Most of us have never witnessed an animal sacrifice, but we can imagine one.  The blade slices across the throat of the animal, producing a geyser of blood.  The animal attempts to…

Volunteer Joy

“Not everyone saying to me, Lord, Lord, will enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father”   Matthew 7:21 Will – Do you want to enter into God’s kingdom?  Then there is one question you must ask before all others.  What is the will of the Father?  If you…

Shell Shocked

Many will say to me in that day, “Lord, Lord, didn’t we . . “  Matthew 7:22 Many – How does the saying go?  “The highway to hell is paved with good intentions.”  Well, set that one aside.  Jesus is not talking about intentions.  He’s talking about real actions.  These people stand before Him and…

Terrifying Truth

“Not everyone saying to me, Lord, Lord, will enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father”   Matthew 7:21 Does – In case you thought you knew Jesus’ words, I would like to challenge you to read His statements again – exactly for what they say.  Set aside the…

Last Place

And looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him, and said to him, “One thing you lack; go and sell”  Mark 10:21 Lack – If you get a blue ribbon for being first in the race, what do you get for being last?  You get Jesus’ love!  That’s the situation we find in this…

The First of Ninety-Five

From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”    Matthew 4:17 Repent – When Martin Luther nailed his document to the door of the cathedral, he started a movement that led to the Reformation – a protest against the religious thinking and practice of that time,…

The Cure

Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?   Romans 6:3 Death – Life on earth is a terminal illness for which there is only one cure: death!  No matter what you do to prolong your residence here, you will ultimately fail. …

Intimacy Among Us

that they may be one, as You are in Me, Father, and I in You, that they maybe one in us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.  John 17:21 In – The tiny Greek preposition en can’t quite be captured in English.  Yes, en is translated “in”, but it also has nuances…

Moved By God’s Grace

Shout for joy, O daughter of Zion!  Shout in triumph, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem!  The LORD has taken away His judgments against you,  Zephaniah 3:14-15 Rejoice – When God’s amazing grace overwhelms you, it is nearly impossible to hold back your emotions.  That’s perfectly OK.  God…

Joyful, Joyful

Let the godly ones exult in glory; Let them sing for joy on their beds.   Psalm 149:5   Exult – Perhaps the greatest missing element in the life of Christians today is joy.  Christians are quite familiar with trudging the road of the saints.  We know perseverance, discipleship and assembly.  We have plenty of Bible studies,…