Archive for September, 2026
Know, Reckon, Present, Obey
Because of what Jesus accomplished for us and our faith in His work on our behalf, we are no longer under the Law in order to be sanctified. Our sanctification occurs as we willingly present ourselves to God on a daily basis. If we ignore the knowing, reckoning and presenting, we will be jumping right to obeying, putting it before everything else. Obedience stems from right thinking and that comes from understanding what God’s Word tells us.
Continue Reading September 28, 2026 at 11:21 AM Leave a comment
Cart Before the Horse?
Is there anything I can do to possibly make things happen sooner than later? Yes, in Paul telling us to reckon ourselves dead to sin and alive to Christ, he’s providing a big clue. How do reckon yourself anything? One of the best ways is to read, study and memorize the Scriptures that inform us of this truth. So, memorizing Galatians 2:20-21 begins the process of helping us to reckon ourselves dead to sin, but alive to Christ, which ultimately begins to renew our minds (Ephesians 4:23). This process puts the cart in front of the cart, where it belongs.
Continue Reading September 22, 2026 at 9:49 AM Leave a comment
More Than Enough
If we fail to understand the truth of what Jesus has done for us, we will continue living as though we are still slaves to sin and self. The blood of Jesus has not only forgiven us all of our individual sins, but has also legally separated us from our servitude to sin itself. The chains to our previous enslavement are broken.
An Eschatological Bone to Pick
I’ve never been one of these people, but we probably all know folks who like being scared. They watch horror movies and enjoy them for the rise they get out of them. They love the freakiest roller coaster rides for the thrill of it. It scares them enough to get their adrenalin pumping. I’ve never been one of those people. Yet, what seems to be happening is that for some believers, the content, the constant warnings of doom and the dire predictions are something they gravitate toward because they like having their hearts quaking with fear, I guess. So what then? They have their fear-created adrenalin, but what else? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
Life and Godliness, Part 2
The farmer or viticulturalist prunes sucker shoots to purge them away out of the life of the plant, which serves only to strengthen that plant so what when fruit appears, the plant is better able to bear it. Doing so cleanses the plant allowing for better fruit production.
Life and Godliness, Part 1
God will do whatever He needs to do in the life of the believer to unhitch us from the world so that we learn to focus on Him and Him alone. He will “lift” or “take us up” from lying on the dirt so that we do not become thoroughly ensconced in the world’s ways so that we gain motivation from the world around us. God wants us to focus completely on Him, so He will remove us from those things that want to become our gods.
My New and True Identity
John says we are literally called the children of God (1 John 3:1). Peter tells us we are a holy nation, a special possession, a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9). There is so much to being a child of God through salvation, that it requires us to contemplate it a good deal of the time. We need to study His Word to allow the Spirit to illuminate our thinking, which will transform the way we think and free us to live lives that please God without the struggles we often face when doing things in our own strength.
