Matthew 12:1-8 – “At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!”

3 But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:  4 how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?  5 Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless?  6 Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple.  7 But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.  8 For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”  NKJV

As I look back on the years I laugh and cry over the Phariseeism of many in the Church.  This account has always stood out to me and given both comfort and confrontation.  The Holy Spirit has used it to remind me of the danger of becoming legalistic and ritualistic.  Through the years I have been around preachers who would blast people for working on Sunday but would lead the crowd to the restaurant after church for lunch.  I have heard sermons on the sin of hunting or fishing on Sunday but then hear a promotion of the upcoming Cowboys game and even a viewing party in the church fellowship hall.  I guess we tend to kill the sacred cows we don’t want.

Here the Pharisees were incredibly upset with the disciples for “working” on the Sabbath by gathering ears of corn and eating them.  How dare the disciples, for the Law of the Pharisees demanded no work be done and that was considered work.  I find it most interesting that they were not even remotely concerned with the disciples taking someone else’s corn.  Justice was not their strong suite but keeping every jot and tittle of their law was.  Their self-righteousness was enhanced by their strict compliance but justice and mercy were secondary.

Jesus took their exceptions and exposed their hypocrisy pointing to that which is most important – – Messiah!  He forced them to come face to face with Mercy and that is a message that we dare not forget.  Mercy truly rewrote my life and yours!  Without God’s mercy and grace we would be in a world of hurt.  It is not our great sacrifice or strict compliance with some man-made list of rules that justifies it is God’s Grace!  It is possible to become so zealous for the minute that we miss the vital.

God help us to realize that God is the focus not a particular day of the week.  God help us to remember that it is by Grace that we are saved not by our compliance to a list of rules and our comparison to others.  Yes, I know what day it is and I also know that the LORD is Lord of the Sabbath and every other day of the week.  This is the day the Lord has created and I will rejoice and be glad in it.

            God bless you as you go through this day!

Proverbs 18:9 – “He who is slothful in his work is a brother to him who is a great destroyer.” NKJV

The Bible clearly teaches and experience confirms that prodigality is bad.  If we remember the parables of the talents we realize that mishandling or not developing that which God has given is viewed negatively by the LORD.  There are people who spend more than they can afford and always seek to live well above their means.  They are not good stewards and in a sense throw away what they have in wasteful living.  The Prodigal.

The Bible also reveals that idleness is bad.  A person who is lazy and negligent in their work, labors or duties is akin to those who openly and actively destroy.  Laziness is not just a propensity to avoid work it is destructive.  It siphons from that which is productive and squanders it on that which is unproductive.  It is visible in today’s ‘entitlement mentality’ crowd who are perfectly content to sit idle and allow the produce of another to sustain them.  No wonder the apostle Paul declared that if one “would not work” they “should not eat”.  The operative word is WOULD NOT.

This is true in the everyday matters of life but it can and should also be applied to the spiritual.  If we are negligent in our studies, prayers and labors for the Kingdom we adopt a life that is non-productive and even destroys.  If we see evil and danger and sit idly by we are guilty of the blood of those who go into perdition without warning.  If we know to do good and fail to do it the Bible calls that sin.  How can we stand before the LORD expecting to hear commendation and acceptance when we have neglected that which we know?

Laziness or slothfulness is not a genetic or even a product or condition of one’s environment, it is a heart and mind condition.  Children need to be taught industry.  My heritage taught me that you work for what you receive with the exception of salvation.  Grace is a free gift but if after receiving grace we sit idle and become slothful in our Christian responsibilities we are trampling underfoot the Blood of Jesus.  We do not work to earn our salvation but we work because of our salvation.  I believe that Jesus’ statement in Revelation is applicable.  “I would that you were hot or cold but because you are lukewarm I will spew you out of my mouth.” 

God is not asking everyone to be fanatical zealots but He is asking that we bloom where we are planted and stand ready and willing to share our faith and present Him to the world.  The depraved man will be bent toward laziness and slothfulness but when the Holy Spirit resides in the heart He always motivates us to action.

            God bless you as you go through this day!

1 Peter 1:13-16 – “Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 14 as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; 15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”  NKJV

Without question there is a visual allusion to the long robes they wore and when they were performing labor or service they would tuck them in their girdles or waistbands so as to be able to move freely without hindrance.  I fully concur that we must allow our minds to be free of encumbrances so as to bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ there is something more that I would offer.

The loins are always understood as that part of the anatomy from which reproduction comes or is initiated.  Therefore, if we are to gird up the loins of our minds could it not be understood that we are to prepare ourselves so that our minds can give birth to thought and thereby imagination and creativity.  Is it not in the loins of the mind that we encounter our LORD in knowledge and fellowship?  Is it not in the loins of our mind that we embrace His life and have our minds renewed so that we become one with Him in our consciousness thought?

If out of the physical loins, reproduction is possible then out of the mind’s loins we give birth to thought.  Peter’s instruction is, in my view, a directive and encouragement to bring our minds into obedience to Christ and thereby resting our hope squarely on the grace that comes to us through the revelation of Christ.  It is through this that we are better prepared and capable of obedience in all things.

I find it disturbing that too many in Christendom give so little importance to the mind.  I am not suggesting mind over matter or any other metaphysical activity but I am saying that our minds are incredibly important in our spiritual development and walk.  If we are as we think in our hearts then how could we not understand the value of the mind?  The mind, like the muscles in our physical body, must be exercised to have strength, discipline and grow.  In the things of God if we are to bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ we must learn to gird up the loins of our minds.

I encourage you to allow God to expand your mind, stretch your thinking and infuse into you an ever expanding imagination guided and led by the Holy Spirit.  How far can you think in Christ?   God bless you as you go through this day!

James 1:19-20 – “So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; 20 for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” 

In our microwave world of instant everything where we demand things immediately if not sooner and we wanted it yesterday this passage can be problematic.  There are principles in every facet of our world that if we begin wrong we will normally reach the wrong destination or reach the right one marred and scarred.  This passage illustrates that perfectly.

• SWIFT TO HEAR…

Many people I know find that a most difficult task for hearing is frequently one of our shortcoming.  Not that we cannot hear but that we do not listen and therefore do not hear.  I have known people who are so focused on their response and what they will say next they fail to hear what the other is saying.  There can be little agreement, comradery, fellowship and certainly no “koinonia” if this is the case.  To develop interpersonal relationships and build unity we must HEAR and James instructs us to be SWIFT in that pursuit.  It should a prime objective to both hear our brothers and sisters and to hear the Spirit of God.

• SLOW TO SPEAK…

Sadly, many fail at this point even if they have heard.  We have a tendency to engage mouth before we engage the mind and too frequently before we have discerned the heart of the Father on the matter.  Many proudly proclaim, “Well, I just tell it like it is and let the chips fall where they may.”  That can be good but it can also be incredibly destructive, insensitive, unfeeling and without grace.  If we carefully weigh our words, evaluate the consequences and impact of those words we will find the guidance of the Spirit of God empowers us to dynamically impact others.

• SLOW TO WRATH…

One of the reasons we tend to speak quickly is because we fail on this front.  If we are quick tempered and allow our anger to quickly boil over into rage and wrath we will find it impossible on the second part speaking.  If we allow the Spirit of God to maintain control over our tempers we will find that we are able to speak soft answers that turn away wrath without being perceived as a doormat or pushover.

Obedience on these points is valuable, if for no other reason than failure does not produce righteousness.  If we are to be God’s witnesses and are to manifest Him to the world then we need to walk in God’s righteousness.

Therefore, I encourage everyone to seriously seek the help of the Holy Spirit to empower, enable and strengthen our discipline so that we are Swift Hearers, Slow to Voice our Opinion and Controlled in our Anger.

            May the Lord be with you as you go through this day!

Judges 3:31 – “After him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who killed six hundred men of the Philistines with an ox goad; and he also delivered Israel.”  NKJV

            This has always been a fascinating sentence inserted in the history of Israel and their recorded struggles for freedom in the Old Testament.  Ehud had led the nation to victory over the Moabites and eighty (80) years of rest or peace ensued.  As he grew older portions of the land began to fall into the hands of plunderers and thieves, especially those of the Philistines.  There was no one to lead Israel to victory and most people, the historical record indicates, simply stayed off the highways and were isolated and living in fear.

We know little of the man named here (Shamgar) and it appears that there was nothing particularly unusual about him with the exception of his obedience to the Spirit of God.  I cannot unfold the account with historical accuracy but simply draw from this verse to say, “Little is much when God is in it.”  Here, it appears that one man, alone, without proper weapons or battle armor withstood an army of Philistines with what the Bible calls an “ox goad” or as many identify a plough-share.  This was nothing short of a miracle and in this act of a solitary man the nation of Israel was once again delivered.

That screams to me that the false claim, “I am only one what can I do” should be forever eliminated from a Christian’s vocabulary and philosophy.  If God could use Moses, Joshua, Caleb, David, Samson and Shamgar to perform exploits outside the norm then why can He not find one among us today to deliver?

It is not the armor or weaponry that one has at his/her disposal but the Arm of the Lord that matters.  If God could use Gideon and his small band of men to completely route an entire army can He not raise up deliverers in this generation?   He can, but He first has to find willing hearts who will dare to believe Him.  He has to find those so completely trusting they can see no option but success and value His word over their lives.  He has to find someone who will dare to believe in the impossible and attempt the improbable.

In something like the exploits of Shamgar one has to acknowledge the intervention of the supernatural for in the natural it would be impossible for one man with a plough-share to defeat 600 armed men.  Yet, the Bible declares it happened and I believe it.  Therefore, I draw from it hope and faith to believe that if God directs it He will enable and provide.  Rather than focus on the problem focus on the God of the solution and hope will begin to rise, faith will strengthen and courage will ooze forth from deep within.

Truly, little is much when God is in it but much is little if God is not there!   Remember He said, where two or three are gathered in My name I am in the midst of them.  God bless you as you face this new day!

 Genesis 25:21-22 – “Now Isaac pleaded with the LORD for his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22 But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If all is well, why am I like this?” So she went to inquire of the LORD.”  NKJV

I am a Christian who is unashamedly Pro-Life and I base that on my understanding of the Bible.  I hear many, including Christians, refer to that thing in the mother’s womb as a ‘fetus’ rather than a ‘baby’.  I understand the medical terminology and that the politically correct approach is to use the term ‘fetus’ but I cannot for I believe that God views that developing and growing life inside the womb as a child, a living human being.

If you notice in the passage I used as a text the unborn twins in Rebekah’s womb are referred to as “children”.  The Hebrew word (banim) is a common word used to refer to children “after” birth and normally means sons.  In the New Testament the Greek (brephos) was used to refer to John the Baptist, who “leaped in Elizabeth’s womb” because of the presence of the unborn Christ.   [Luke 1:41-44].

Since, I find no evidence that God considers the unborn babies simply lumps of tissue that can be disposed of at will I find it impossible to support abortion.  Since Psalm 139 declares that God knew our parts even before we were formed in the womb I find it difficult to believe that life does not begin at conception.  Our parts were written in God’s book in the days He fashioned us and He knew them before they existed in the flesh.  When does life begin?  It begins in the heart of God and if the Bible is to be trusted most assuredly begins at conception.

I realize that many Christians will find difficulty with my assertion but I can find no valid evidence that a human baby living in the womb goes through reptile or fish stages.  They do not develop fins, tails or gills.  Murder, in the Bible, is the intentional killing of innocent human beings and is regarded as a heinous crime and sin.  I know that many believers make exceptions to such events as rape, deformity, incest, etc. but can we really make those exceptions?  Did those conditions somehow transform that living being into a non-living or unimportant mass of tissue? 

Ezekiel 18 informs us that a child is not to be executed for the crimes or sins of his/her father but each person dies for their own sins. The father does not bear the guilt of the son nor the son the guilt of the father.  The answer to whether abortion is a valid option or not is answered in determining if that living growing thing in the womb is a baby, child, human being or simply a mass of tissue that can be disposed of as we would a bag of trash.  Once you answer that question the abortion question has an easy answer.  I know what I believe and what I believe the Bible teaches but I cannot answer the question for you.

May God help us to value human life and value that which He has and is creating.  God bless you as you go forward from this day!  Blessings!

Psalm 42:1-3 – “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God.  2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?  3 My tears have been my food day and night, while they continually say to me, “Where is your God?”  NKJV

When I read passages like this and compare the heart cry of the Psalmist to the deep cries of my soul I am moved deeply.  As I read these few verses I cannot help but sense the incredible longing of the writer for God’s revealed and realized presence.  He was comparing his hunger and thirst for God to that of a deer in the heat longing for water to be refreshed.  He then adds that he has been so moved with longing that the well of tears from within his being were like a never ceasing fountain.  His tears have consumed him rendering him unable to consume natural food due to his quest for God.  He cries that his inner man continually asks, “Where is your God?” 

I have experienced times of intense longing and am currently so hungry and thirsty for God that I find myself weeping on my bed in the night crying out for His presence in a more pronounced way.  The intensity of His presence is not always consuming in our lives and I’m not sure we could survive physically if it were to that degree.  However, the consciousness of His presence is needed for us to overcome the assaults hurled at us by the enemy of our souls.  It is by the strength of His presence that we are able to withstand the many twists and turns life hurls at us.

David was identified by God as a man after His own heart and when I read passages like this, I understand how God could so describe him.  He was clearly a man, a leader, a king, a warrior who had a passion for God.  David instituted worship in the Tabernacle like never before experienced for he understood the importance of the presence of God.  He understood that through worship and praise we enter God’s gate and courts.  It is through our worship and praise that we invite His presence in a most powerful way.  Additionally, we know through Scripture and the life of our Lord Jesus Christ the importance of prayer as a means of communication and communion with God.

I believe that appetites are cultivated in the natural and in the spiritual.  It is as we ingest His word, pray, praise and worship we cultivate the appetite for Him and in so doing we develop a hunger and thirst that motivates us to press into His presence.  It is in His presence that we receive strength, renewal and restoration enabling us to fulfill the purposes He has for our lives on planet earth.

If you are not hungry and thirsty for God then I suggest that you begin to develop a habit of prayer, reading the Bible, praise and worship and I believe that the hunger and thirst will be a natural byproduct of those activities.  As we engage in those activities our hearts become conditioned to receive His presence and our souls begin to long for His presence.

            God bless you as you allow the Holy Spirit to make you hungry and thirsty for God.  Blessings as you move to the next steps and phases of your life on planet earth.