In the third chapter of First John God decides to knock our socks off with the greatest verse in the Bible (besides all the other ones). He gives us a word so deep that it cuts to the depths of our soul.
1 John 319 This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence 20 whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
We KNOW that we belong to the truth. And we know it because we can set our hearts at rest in His presence. And we do it even when we condemn ourselves because He is greater. So even though it is our choice to condemn ourselves and even know we think we know everything, God is greater. And He fixes all that is broken.
I don’t know how to even fathom this.
But I will simply say this: If Jesus can be fully man and go to sleep in a boat during the storm of the century, then you can too.
If He can be the Truth, then we can have the truth in us.
And if He can choose not to condemn us, then we can receive it and no longer be condemned.
This word is better than any gift that you can receive from the world … And it lasts forever.
So as you run the race today, choose Jesus.
And as you choose Him, give His mighty power away to someone else.
And if they reject that mighty power, love the stuffing out of them. Because His love can cut through whatever they might want to put in front of Him.
Be blessed today.
And go forward in love.
In The Name of the Father and the
Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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Somewhere between killing a giant and allowing his men to go to war without him, David lost his desire to bow down and worship God.
It was a slow fade.
It didn’t happen overnight.
And it probably happened with a subtlety that couldn’t be noticed by anyone in human flesh.
And so it happened.
2 Samuel 112 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, 3 and David sent someone to find out about her.
“And David sent someone to find out about her” …
Finding out about a person in the wrong context is a recipe for disaster. What we need to do is find out about God. And David knew this. In his quiet times watching over sheep he was slowly trained by God to take down a Philistine giant. And he did. In front of everyone, he stood with the head of a great warrior and sent evil packing. The Hebrew army absolutely decimated the Philistines in reaction to the actions of one man.
But it slowly decayed to David shifting his worship to something else.
Himself.
And, as all of us find out when we truly look in the mirror, we are short of the ten trillion dollar payment that is necessary to even pay the lawyer’s retainer to defend us before the accuser of the brethren.
2 Samuel 121 The Lord sent Nathan to David……” 5 David burned with anger…”As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die!
David decayed to a place where EVEN DAVID wanted to bring justice to himself.
But isn’t that just it?
Romans 3 verse 23 reminds us that we are ALL GUILTY, that God could not find even one worthy of righteousness. A colossal failure of all man that requires a Savior.
And so He came.
And He came to destroy all that we had built.
And He did.
So today … remind yourself of this.
Because without Jesus—we have NOTHING.
NOTHING.
And we would do well to remind ourselves of this—every day.
Because without it, we are a victorious king standing on a porch in the wrong place looking at something that we have no business putting our eyes on….
So RELIGHT YOUR FIRE. Remember who you are in your BC days.
It’s an ugly picture.
RELIGHT YOUR FIRE
As I sat in reflection and worship today, I was reminded of this song. To cry out to God, and to truly mean it, is our only connection to Him. To be able to cry out to Jesus and to say “I can’t do this” is not only okay … it is necessary. He is the only one that can help us.
RELIGHT YOUR FIRE
In The Name of the Father and the
Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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As I drove home from a meeting with an incredible man today, I was convicted in my car and I believe God put this thought on my heart:
“The Bible IS NOT a boot.”
Amen.
The Bible should never be used to kick someone, to hurt someone, to drive a point home.
It is NOT OUR PLACE.
I am saved by the grace of a God who loves me too much to let me die in the midst of my sin … and my sin is great.
Thankfully I say to you … “My God is not done with me yet!”
Wow, that feels so good to say:
“My God is NOT DONE with me yet!”
In a world of darkness and evil and falling short, I am the greatest of these … the pride, and unforgiveness, and impurity, and vengeance, and hard-heartedness that can well up in me is beyond description. And it is destructive. And yet, I can find it, and identify it, in me. In God’s love letter written to all of us, for this day, on January 28, 2025, Paul said it best:
1 Timothy 1 15Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. 16But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. 17Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
The Bible Is NOT A Boot.
Because if it were, I would be getting kicked in the face right now by a God who could kick me a good distance. But that is not His way. And as I meditate on that verse above today, I am so grateful. For I am “the Chief of sinners” and I would be happy to argue with Paul about it.
And chances are … you are “the Chief of sinners” too.
And so what does God tell us to do?
How are we to introduce others to Jesus?
How can we properly communicate this gospel?
Here are a few thoughts:
The Bible is a Message Of Reconciliation:
2 Corinthians 518 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
The Bible is a message of love:
John 3 16For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
The Bible is a message of our need to have a Savior:
Romans 8 1Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.
The Bible is a lot of things.
It is a book of instruction.
It is a book of wisdom.
It is a book of history.
It is a book of LOVE and GRACE and FORGIVENESS …
It is a book about Jesus.
There are a lot of ways to describe it.
But one thing that it is not: The Bible Is NOT A Boot
In The Name of the Father and the
Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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I am shocked at the new movement that calls out the “hatred” in Christians.
It attacks purity
It mocks obedience
It calls love hate and hate love
It is anti family and anti marriage
It is a shocking display of claiming to be the victim while acting as a perpetrator.
But it will never work.
Surrendering to Jesus is not a prison. It is the release from that prison.
Surrendering to Jesus is not slavery. It is the release into freedom.
Surrendering to Jesus is not without rules and convictions and structure. But those are the very things that protect us.
We are God’s children.
Created in His image.
Living out a call that is so genuinely freeing that it is like winning the lottery.
Matthew 81 When he came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. 2 A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”
3 Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cured of his leprosy.
Love … IS Jesus.
And this love will make us desire to make no demands of Him because we will want to follow.
He loves us in a way that no one can and releases us into a freedom that can never be substituted for a false narrative or a half truth.
It is the greatest love in the universe and the only hope for our survival.
This love is not to be taken for granted or perverted.
It is not to be changed or manipulated.
It is not to be distorted or compromised.
On the cross, on Calvary, 2000 years ago, He took the nails so that He could defeat the accuser of all mankind. His accusations, his lies, and his hideous agenda will all be turned back upon him. And there will be a day when he shames you no more. The lion of the tribe of Judah guards his brethren … and He never forsakes them.
Don’t undersell or undervalue this love.
It is your only hope.
In The Name of the Father and the
Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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2 MINUTE WARNING 