In the Parable of the Sower Jesus is encouraging caution in our dealings with crowds and new people. When there is excitement & large numbers accompanying our ministries our excitement can hamper our discernment. There is a temptation to assume than every attendee, and professing convert is genuine but Jesus informs the disciples of four […]
Matthew 12:43-45 Reforming for the Worse
The Bible is clear; spiritual warfare is real, and demons are real. We are not just in a battle against the flesh, but against spiritual powers and spiritual entities. These unclean spirits delight in bringing disorder, chaos, & cursedness. Jesus tells of a demon who became discouraged and left a man, and the man cleaned […]
Matthew 7:28-8:1 The Response to the Sermon on the Mount
Matthew 7:13-27 The Paths, the Trees, and the Foundations of Life and Destruction
Absolutes are unpopular today. To claim that one’s own path is narrow & leads to life, and another is broad and leads to destruction is labeled closed minded. To call a person a ‘false prophet’ or, worse still, a ‘bad tree’ while claiming that you preach the truth or that your faith produces ‘good fruit’ […]
Philippians 2:14- Grumbling and Disputing; How Much Am I Allowed And What Are They?
Last week we saw the dangers of grumbling and disputing. Israel was brought out of Egypt only to fall in the wilderness because of their lack of faith; ‘they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel’ (Rom. 9:6)! Likewise, many are in the church masquerading as Christians when they lack saving faith. Grumbling […]
Grumbling, Disputing, and Running in Vain_ Philippians 2:14-16
What is the connection between God working in us both to will and to do according to His own good pleasure and the elimination of grumbling and disputing from our lives? Why does Paul see this as so important that he sees the logical implication of habitual grumbling and disputing as evidence that all his […]
