Go away Jesus.

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John 16:7
But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.
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While it is great to have the Holy Spirit in my life my natural inclination is to disagree with Jesus’ statement here, that it is better for Him to go so the Holy Spirit can come. After all, if Jesus was walking with me, I could see him, touch Him, talk with Him and clearly hear His response (even though his disciples often had no idea what His answers meant, at least they knew they were hearing Him clearly). So why is it better for us that Jesus is now with the Father and the Holy Spirit is with us? Continue reading →

Are you an innie or an outie?

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1 Peter 3:1
Wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to
the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives.
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Not being a woman I want to tread lightly here but it seems Peter laid a pretty heavy charge on women in 1 Peter 3:1-6. He says if you have an unbelieving husband you are to win him by your actions – the purity and reverence in your lives – not by your words. He says your beauty should come from within – a gentle and quiet spirit – not from decorating the outside.

Maybe women find this easier than I do but my initial response would be, “Are you kidding? That is too hard and takes too long. Surely I could win my husband quicker by letting him regularly know how disappointed I am in him that he is not a Christian. Even with my regular prods and encouragement he hasn’t changed so how do you expect him to change if I just shut my mouth and … and … you are saying I should submit to him, too? But He isn’t even a Christian, at least not a mature one like me. Continue reading →

I have a new hero.

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2 Samuel 15:21
“As surely as the Lord  lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king may be, whether it means life or death, there will your servant be.”
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I have a new hero – Ittai.  I am not even 100% sure how to pronounce his name but I certainly want to imitate his character.  When David was fleeing Jerusalem and his rebellious son, Absalom, Ittai and his 600 men accompanied him. But Ittai was a foreigner from Gath.  He had no reason to be loyal to David.

When I lived in Guatemala there was a coup.  The deposed president, who was a committed Christian and actually attended our church, had to flee the country (Yes, the US was involved and its actions were disappointing when viewed from a Guatemalan perspective.) Continue reading →

I Am Hopelessly Holy

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1 Peter 1:15, 16
But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
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There can be no question that God wants believers to live our lives differently than we did before we became His children. If a profession of faith does not lead to a changed life there is reason to wonder if there has truly been a “born again”, “new creature” experience at the level of the spirit.

However, in my life, this has also led to discouragement, frustration and a near hopelessness because I am so aware of the fact that, though “The Spirit itself beareth witness with (my) spirit, that” I am a child of God (Romans 8:16) I still am no where near “holy in all I do”. Continue reading →

We’ll Outperform Jesus?

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John 14:12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.
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Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. What could Jesus be talking about when He says we will do greater works than He did? What could be greater than raising a man from the dead?

Continue reading →

Vengeance Cloaked as Justice?

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Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.
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We had a pretty good idea of what the word meant but as we were reading together my wife  asked me to define “malice”.  I found it hard to give a specific definition and decided to look it up. I was reading 1 Peter 2 and was glad she asked and glad I took time to look it up.

Continue reading →

Do Sinners Experience God’s Love?

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Someone wrote and asked:
In reading I came across this.   What do you think about these statements?
“Because of our rebellion and disobedience we are separated from God and we do not experience His love. As long as we are going our own way and doing our own thing we do not experience God’s love.  In order to experience God’s love we must be ‘born again.'”

ANSWER:
I disagree.  I appreciate what he is trying to say but thankfully you do not have to be born again to experience God’s love.  Continue reading →

Only a Momma could love that.

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Titus 2:4 makes a strange statement about older women teaching younger women to love their husbands and their children. Admittedly, sometimes men can make loving a husband quite a challenge but don’t mothers automatically love their children? Why would they need to be taught to love their children? We speak of a mother’s love being the closest thing on earth to God’s love. (I’m sure I read that on a Mother’s day card somewhere.) So what is it talking about when it says young women need to learn to love their children?

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Why Vote If God Picks ’em?

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Romans 13:1
Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.
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Christians talk about how important it is to vote but then they also say whoever gets elected – good, bad or really bad – was put there by God.  So, what is the point in voting if God determines who gets elected anyway?  That used to confuse me.

Continue reading →