Matthew 7:13-14 (NIV) 13“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.   Contrary to popular humanist opinion, the Master teacher taught that few people have found the path to life. The world is telling us that all paths lead to life. It is teaching that your path is just as good as any other. Jesus flat out contradicts that idea. There is no way around His statement of fact. Either this man, whom the world respects as a great teacher, was totally off base, or postmodern thinking is dead wrong. Consider the fact that Jesus’ teaching has stood strong for 2000 years, and postmodern teaching […]

Matthew 7:7-8, 12 (NIV) 7“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. 12So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.   Man has a tendency to act as if heaven was stingy. We go to God and ask as if His resources were limited. Our poverty in asking, seeking and knocking reflects our poverty of understanding the gracious heart of our Father. He speaks, and resources come into existence. Perhaps we have this mistaken attitude because we so often see people who will not go to Him for their needs. We refuse

**                                                        “Circus Church.”** Over at Pulpit & Pen, Justin Pierce tackles the train wreck known as the Passion Conference hosted by Louis Giglio, pastor of Passion City Church in Atlanta.  Pierce considers Passion “an ecumenical affiliation of some of the worst heretics and false teachers who have ever been associated with the body of Christ.” His accusation will no doubt strike some people as rather harsh.  So this is where the Christian’s discernment skills should come in to play.  The Apostle John admonishes us to “test the Spirits to see whether they are from God.” Why?  Because “many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1) This includes testing the teaching of our Christian leaders to see if what they teach is biblical. With this in mind, those who wish to “test” Louis Giglio can visit discernment

Matthew 7:1-2, 5 (NIV) 1“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. 5You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.  This has become one of the favorite verses of the Bible, but for all the wrong reasons. The world culture of today would like us to believe that there is no clear cut good or evil. It teaches that what is good for you may be evil to me. Postmodern philosophy teaches that everything is subjective. In other words, it depends on how you personally experience something in your particular environment. You can see how this verse would

Matthew 6:25, 33-34 (NIV) 25“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.   In the verse just prior to this, Jesus told His disciples they had to choose between serving God and serving money. Loving one causes a detesting of the other. If you are going to rely on your own ability and what you can earn, your trust in God will fade. If you rely on God and His provision,

Matthew 6:19-21 (NIV) 19“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  It’s not about now! The Man from heaven must have been amazed to see how earthly minded we are. The Sermon on the Mount addresses those things people conclude life is about. It reminds me of the old board game, Life. You amass fame, love, and wealth. The person with the highest total of these three wins the game. If you are low on love, just get more wealth. Jesus is trying to tell them that the real experience of life

Matthew 6:12-14 (NIV) 12Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’ 14For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  In the last half of the prayer that the Lord taught His disciples, Jesus teaches us the need to forgive others. We are to ask God to forgive our indebtedness to Him in the same way that we have forgiven other’s indebtedness to us. It is human nature to become bitter toward those who have been unjust toward us, yet, we are daily unjust toward God. He pours out so much goodness upon us, but we rarely return the gratitude that is due Him. We rarely respond to His love with the love that is due

Give GOD” Thanks for Pres. TRUMP Dear Father in heaven, forgive me for my pedestrian dreams, my selfish prayers, and my short-sighted goals. Awaken my heart to your will and open my eyes to your plans by the power of your Holy Spirit. As you do this, dear Father, please do it to your glory and praise. In Jesus’ name I ask this. Amen.   Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. — Ephesians 3:20-21   Thoughts on Today’s Verse…. We have far greater power than we often realize. That incredible power is at work within us (see Ephesians 1:18-19). This promise of

                                       Verse of the Day Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. — 1 John 4:11 We are loved by the Creator of the Universe. He knows us personally. Our Heavenly Father cares about us tremendously. Although God knew about our weaknesses and sinfulness, he was willing to pay a terrible price to redeem us. Even though we are sometimes weak or rebellious, he loves us, forgives us, and welcomes us back when we are willing to confess our sins and come home to him. So if God has consistently, faithfully, and graciously loved us, how can we not share that love with each other? My Prayer… Thank you, Abba Father, for your awesome and gracious love. Please continue to pour that love into my heart through your Holy Spirit. Please help me