The Bible

Judgements, the Bible, and Incomplete Information

1 Comment / June 10, 2025

We all make judgments. We make judgments about what is beautiful and what isn’t. And about what is “normal” and what “isn’t normal”. We make judgments about whether someone is doing something right or something wrong; And about whether someone is doing something wise or something foolish. We all do it. And we all do this quite naturally, whether we speak our judgments aloud or not.

But there are two things that we believers really should consider before we pass judgment. Before I go on I’d like to mention that this is something God has been teaching me, oh so gradually, over the course of my lifetime and I am definitely not the same person I used to be. But I am still growing in this area. It’s so easy to write about something the Bible teaches, but learning to live it out takes a lifetime.

The FIRST thing for our consideration is this: Is my judgment based on God’s Holy Word or is it based on my opinion?

If it’s based on my opinion then does it really matter? What makes one opinion better than another?

Here’s a silly example (albeit a practical one). Let’s consider a woman’s shirt. Let’s say I notice a co-worker’s new shirt and I just don’t like it. It’s bright and loud in a color I do not care for and I find it very unappealing. Why is my opinion about that shirt better than the wearer’s opinion? And does it really matter?

Now, let’s take that same shirt and let’s say that it is cut very low and is very immodest. The Bible tells us to dress modestly (I Timothy 2:9-10). So now I am making a judgment between right and wrong which, in fact, we are supposed to do (Matthew 7, I Thess. 5:21-22, and others).

Judgments that are based on our opinions don’t always need to be said. But sometimes they do need to be shared. For example, in committee meetings or family gatherings, when a plan is being developed or a vacation planned. At that point, we speak up with the understanding that there is really no “right” or “wrong” in the situation but that our opinion is simply based on preference.

But what we do with our biblical judgments? Are we to speak each one? This is probably worth a post all its own but, for the sake of time and space here today, let’s just nutshell it in this way: True love discerns, through prayer, when speaking truth is appropriate and is willing to confront when necessary. A lot of harm has been done by parents, pastors, teachers, and others who were simply unwilling to speak biblical truth into the lives of others because they were worried about offending.

This leads to the SECOND thing which we must consider: Are we are aware that we may have incomplete information as to why someone made a choice?

This is not regarding the actual making of judgments but, rather, about our attitudes that accompany our judgments.

When we make biblical judgments, we make them based on our own life experiences. This leads many of us to give no grace, no mercy, no lee-way for other life experiences.

So, for example, someone growing up in a Christian home will naturally know the Bible better than a baby Christian who just got saved as an adult and is learning. Do we have grace for the baby Christian who is just learning?

Or another example is that perhaps someone made a decision for a very good reason but you, looking from the outside, are not privy to the reason for that decision and are judging them for doing something unwise based on your incomplete information. We don’t always know the facts and perhaps they didn’t do anything unwise at all.

Do we give people the benefit of the doubt? Or do we fall prey to having a “holier than thou” attitude?

We only have our life experience from which to form judgements. But it’s so important to recognize that our life experiences are not the gold standard. Only the Bible can and should inform all of our judgments.

And this should lead us to grace and mercy as we remember our life is not their life. And they may have challenges about which we have no idea at all. This doesn’t mean we don’t talk with them when we see sin or worldliness. It just means we have a humble, loving attitude that acknowledges we may not know everything.

So… what if a judgment is based on scripture and you find yourself concerned about someone you love? What to do?

Our natural response is to gossip or to make sarcastic, passive-aggressive remarks letting others know how we feel. The godly response is to keep quiet and go to that person personally and find out the whole story; find out why they made the choice they did and lovingly and kindly point to the scripture that shows that it is wrong.

Can you see why correct interpretation and honest hermeneutics of God’s Word are so critical to life? There are so many manmade “rules” and “laws”—rules and laws that man has created that are simply not in scripture. And there are also so many principles and commands that go completely ignored and neglected by professing Christians who love the world.

And can you see why it’s so important to be able to recognize an opinion-based judgment from a scripture-based judgement?

I have been judged for many things throughout my life. One that sticks out in my memory is being judged for drinking orange juice with my pop-tart instead of milk. Someone made me feel like a fool because of this decision.

As I reflect on that experience, which is over twenty years ago now, I find it such an unnecessary judgement. It’s a silly example but there are so many just like it that happen every day.

Judgments like this build walls instead of building unity. They create division instead of creating a loving, safe place to grow together.

Oh, that we may recognize the difference between our subjective, opinion-based judgments and objective, scripture-based judgments. May we handle any judgment in a loving, biblical manner that will support and encourage God’s family, rather than tear it down.

The Wheat and the Tares

Leave a Comment / May 31, 2025

Recently, I decided to research some reviews for something we are preparing to buy. Reviews can be tricky because some people are never happy. But you can generally find a trend if you look hard enough.

But this got me thinking. Have you considered that religion is the one thing you are not allowed to honestly review? It’s the one thing that is considered off-limits to critique, evaluate, or examine.

Why is this?

It’s because religion, in all its forms, has become completely and utterly subjective. The individual gets to decide what is right for them (they are the judge), rather than God deciding what is good and right (He is the judge and has given us His Word to show us what is good and right).

While lots of people calling themselves Christians would never admit that they believe in universalism (everyone is going to heaven), they do believe in a form of it (everyone who “believes in Jesus” is going to heaven—no matter if their Jesus is in direct opposition to the Jesus of the Bible; no matter if they utterly ignore God’s Word; no matter that they live in sin and worldliness without conviction.)

I am not sure I realized until just now how we have been so deeply affected by relativism. Of course, I knew at some level. But it has so exponentially exploded so that you aren’t “allowed” to criticize anything. And if you do, you are the worst of the worst. You are the unloving, unkind one. YOU are the wicked, evil one.

It doesn’t matter if you have Bible verses in context as an argument. How dare you argue against someone’s opinion or feelings?

But opinions or feelings never inform true religion. My opinions and feelings are irrelevant to how Christianity is defined and lived out. And so are yours. I am no judge. None of us are. Our desire should be to proclaim the Word of God in its entirety. The Bible contains the most beautiful promises for God’s redeemed child. It also contains difficult commands that are not pleasant to my flesh. It has painful truths and delightful encouragement. Every single word of it is true and we don’t get to pick and choose what we want.

The Bible is what makes Christianity an objective religion. We don’t get to just go by our feelings, wherever they lead us. And, honestly, would we even want to? Oh, thank the Lord, we are not dependent upon our feelings for they will always end up leading us astray and away from God.

Many truths of scripture do not feel good. Many lies of the devil feel great. We can’t go by what we feel.

I was talking to one of my daughters last night and we were talking about how this subjectivity has infiltrated the churches—almost all churches— now. To the point that there are few Christians who don’t subscribe at some level to this feelings-oriented “Christianity”.

Who is saved? Who isn’t? The wheat and the tares are basically indistinguishable now (Matthew 13:24-30) and I certainly don’t know. But what I do know is that scripture is the basis for true, genuine Christianity and it will continue to be my guide, my litmus test, and my anchor.

If what someone is saying doesn’t line up with the Bible, I will be skeptical. If some famous celebrity is claiming to know Christ while boasting about still living in sin, I will assume he is lying. If some new trend comes on the scene to help me experience “God’s presence”, I will run.

Just because someone names the name of Jesus does not make them a genuine Christian. Remember—even the demons believe and tremble (James 2:17). Anyone can say words. It is our actions that prove our words.

So where does grace come in? Grace is an important word here because many people are blind to certain things. In fact, I would venture to say we are all blind at some level, no matter how much we love the Lord. It is the nature of humanity.

The other thing to remember is that true believers can resist certain truths because of what following the truth would cost them. I resisted a certain truth for 15 years. My conviction of it would come and go through those years, while I continued in a pattern of something that was not pleasing to my Savior. I praise the Lord for His patience with me over those years.

And so, we must have grace. True believers can be blind and can resist certain truths. We are not the judge and we are not God. We can’t know what is going on in any heart.

But the one thing we can do—and we can do with fervency—is pray. Ask God to save them or to grow their faith—He knows which is needed. Pray for those you see who are blind or are resisting the truth. Pray that God would open their eyes and soften their hearts.

And then, while we are at it, let’s pray the same thing for ourselves. Oh, that our eyes would be open and our hearts be teachable to the things God tells us in His Word.

We must just continue to do the next right thing as we endeavor to avoid the works of the flesh, walk in the Spirit, and crucify our flesh (Galatians 5). And this lifestyle is not burdensome to us because we have a new heart. It is the genuine Christian’s heart’s desire to live in this way and to please our Heavenly Father. Oh, our flesh may argue with us sometimes but, deep down inside, we want to be righteous.

May we not allow anyone to hoodwink us into thinking that we can worship or act any old way we want to and still follow Jesus. That is just not true, according to scripture. God has given us very specific guidance on what our lives should look like after salvation and those who are genuinely saved desire to follow this guidance.

May we hold onto the Bible with all our might as we live in the midst of this relative, subjective, groundless religion called “Christianity” (which clearly isn’t Christianity at all).

The Representative

1 Comment / April 8, 2025

In the past week, I ended up at the same restaurant two different times. Interestingly enough, I had two very different experiences.

During the first visit, my group was served by a waitress that was fantastic. She was there before you knew you had a need. With a smile and a pleasant word, she checked in with us often. She boxed our leftovers and gave us extra bread to take home with us. She just made the whole experience very pleasant.

The second visit was not as pleasant. The waitress wasn’t terrible but she wasn’t great either. I found myself searching the room for her several times, wondering if she had forgotten about us. She completely forgot one request and we didn’t ask again. She was pleasant enough but she seemed a bit scatterbrained and generally uninterested in the people at her assigned tables. I wondered if she is perhaps just not really cut out for waitressing.

Waitresses are the representatives of their restaurants. Like it or not, restaurant owners are putting their reputation in the hands of these people. We do the same with our landscape company. Employees represent their companies.

Sometimes, as in our first waitress, that is a wonderful thing. They represent well with stellar service and a smile. Sometimes, as in our second waitress, they are just okay. They don’t necessarily damage the business owner’s reputation, but they also don’t do anything to help it. And, sometimes, employees do irreparable damage to the reputation of a business. Lacking wisdom and only caring about self, they bring a carelessness of deed and tongue to their job that gives the company a bad name.

In all three cases it’s the same business. The same owners desire to have employees that treat their customers well. Unfortunately, they cannot always control how their employees treat customers and sometimes do not even know until it’s too late that there was a problem.

It’s just the way it is. It’s the way it has always been. It just is.

Do you see a similarity here to Christianity? Believers are representatives (lights) and we should represent our King well. What people think about God is often based on what they think about us.

Some represent Him very well—they speak the truth in love; they love and obey His Word; they love others well; and they strive to live holy, pure lives unspotted from the world.

And then there are others who don’t necessarily hurt Christ’s reputation but they certainly don’t help it, either. They struggle with worldliness and sin; lacking courage, they know they should speak the truth of God’s Word but they are are afraid ; they aren’t necessarily selfish but they aren’t really unselfish either, as they tend to things in their own little world.

And then there are those who profess Christ (only God knows the truth if they are saved or not) who claim to love Him and yet continue in sin and worldliness with not even one niggling conviction; they are self-focused instead of God-focused; they aren’t even thinking about speaking truth because they are too worried about what others will think. This last group does irreparable damage to the name of Christ.

(Parenthetically, I’d rather guess that many genuine believers vacillate between the first two types of representatives. Sometimes we do so well and we have courage and love well and then other times we get so distracted and fearful or caught up in some besetting sin that we need to battle. Probably none of us are 100% in one of the first two categories all the time. I know I am not. Praise God for His marvelous grace…!)

But, in the end, Jesus is Jesus. His weak (or even false) representatives do not change who He is.

I’ve heard of so many people who walk away from the faith because of the “hypocrites in the church”. Or use it as an excuse not to go to church or “get involved with religion.”

And I just want to say: Of course, there are going to be hypocrites in the church! Just as there will always be lousy employees.

People are people are people. Some things never change.

We should not judge a business based on one bad experience. And we certainly should never judge God based on His human representatives, genuine or otherwise.

We have to keep our eyes on Jesus. We can’t get mired in the broken, sinful world around us, wondering if what we read in the Bible is true and basing that belief on those who claim to represent Him here on earth.

The Bible IS true and if someone isn’t representing Jesus and what is written in the Bible with integrity and righteousness, we must turn from them, rather than turning from the One they claim to be representing.

𝘠𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥. (Matthew 5:14a)

Which Eagles?

2 Comments / February 18, 2025

If I were to write you a letter and include the sentence “I went to town with Jack to watch the Eagles,” you’d have to have the context to understand that sentence. What town? Which Jack?Which Eagles?

There’s a lot that could be construed to be something totally different than what I mean. I could call Philadelphia “town” and have gone with my friend, Jack, to watch an Eagles football game. I could have gone to a town across the way to see local Golden Eagles with my grandson, Jack.

But knowledge about me along with sentences above and below the original sentence—as well as the entire letter and even previous letters from me—will give you the knowledge and the context you need so that you will rightly comprehend that I went to my hometown with my bird-watcher nephew, Jack, to see the Bald Eagles that have been hanging around in the park.

This is what I meant when I wrote the sentence and this is what you will be able to understand if you take to the time to know me and to read all the letters that I send to you.

I know it’s a silly example, but we wouldn’t ever dream of interpreting anyone’s letter without considering the intent of what they mean. We would never just come up with something we “think it means” and call it a day.

I, as the author of the letter, intended a specific thing with the sentence that I wrote. No reader has the right to make an assumption about what they believe I meant. Instead, the right and very natural thing to do is to keep reading to understand my intent.

This is called authorial intent and it’s a really big deal when it comes to interpreting scripture.

You see, so many these days want to tell you that scripture can mean anything you want it to. Verses can be ripped out of context and turned into false doctrines (and we’ve talked about this before) but I think there is something far more dangerous to those of us who want to sincerely follow Christ.

While we wouldn’t think of falling for some errant doctrine that is clearly not biblical, many are starting to wonder if there is just one interpretation for any given Bible passage.

I remember a conversation I had with someone a while back and it surrounded a small group of friends who were talking about whether or not the Bible has just one interpretation. Most of the group believed that it does not; instead, they believed that there are various interpretations and that we can choose to interpret it as we would want. The group was made up of conservative, Bible-believing Christians. This wrong thinking is weaving its way into the church like a cancer.

Just as any letter or sentence that you write will have specific intent, so does the letter written to us by God.

Our job is not to just interpret it willy-nilly but to take time to understand the context; to grasp the meaning of the Author in its historical-grammatical-literal sense.

There are many attacks on scripture these days. Authority, inerrancy, and inspiration have been denied and ignored by many. But, for those of us who would still wholly claim to believe in these things, I believe the most dangerous attack is this idea that there is more than one interpretation and we can choose which one we want to believe.

I have been giving a great deal of thought to why this is happening and, more specifically, why this way to approach scripture appeals to people. I’ll probably write about that next week.

But, in the meantime, I hope this will help us all to remember that we have no right to decide what the Divine Author meant when He wrote the Bible through His Holy Spirit moving in men (2 Peter 1:21). I hope this will remind us of our life-long duty to go about reading the entire letter (Book of the Bible) and the rest of the letters (the Bible) to discern what the Author intended about any passage we may come across.

God gave us His Word as a gift. And that gift is inerrant and inspired and serves as our authority. But so much of understanding the Truth and having our lives changed by that Truth hinges on interpreting God’s letter correctly. May we be dedicated to understanding and dividing it rightly (2 Timothy 2:15).

The Light

2 Comments / February 5, 2025

The other day, as I was walking through my house, a burst of sunlight revealed what would not ordinarily be revealed on the hallway floor, which was mostly dog hair. In normal light, unless I choose not to vacuum for several days, you cannot see the bits of dog hair along the wall. But when a burst of sunlight hits it, every bit of hair and every speck of dust reveals itself to anyone who has eyes to see.

It’s kind of disturbing because I want my house to be clean. I am not a neat freak (I wish I was more of one) but I don’t want to have a dirty house. But the sunlight reveals dirt I don’t even know is there.

Light is an interesting thing because it has several different functions.

Light reveals. It reveals the truth about any situation. It exposes the darkness and shows the reality of things as they are.

Light awakes. When the sun comes up, we naturally awake. When it’s dark we sleep. It is how God designed our bodies to work.

Light guides. If we are on a dark path in the woods at night, a flashlight or lantern guides our steps.

It is interesting to me how many references there are to light in scripture. As we keep these functions above in mind, let’s take a look at some of them.

For thou wilt light my candle:
the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness. (Psalm 18:28)

I form the light, and create darkness:
I make peace, and create evil:
I the LORD do all these things. (Isaiah 45:7)

He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him. (Daniel 2:22)

—The Lord is the source of ALL light; He is the source of ANY light. He is what fills the darkness of our world with light. He is the only source of true light.

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet,
and a light unto my path. (Psalm 119:105)

The entrance of thy words giveth light;
it giveth understanding unto the simple. (Psalm 119:130)

But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. (Proverbs 4:18)

—God’s Word gives us the light we need in order to take our next step and to discern truth from lies.

The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light:
they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. (Isaiah 9:2)

Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. (John 8:12)

–JESUS is the light of the world.

And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. (John 3:16-20)

–In our flesh, we hate the light. It exposes our sin and our love for the world. It shows the depravity of our hearts and it shows our pride. The TRUE JESUS of the Bible reveals who we really are (as opposed to the fake “nice guy” Jesus who doesn’t care a wit about sin and worldliness in your life and is there to just help you along and fix your problems.)

Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil;
that put darkness for light, and light for darkness;
that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! (Isaiah 5:20)

And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. (2 Corinthians 11:14)

–We can be deceived in regards to the light. Satan masquerades as light, when he is really darkness. And great groups of people can call something light that is NOT light. I am not sure there is any more important point in this post than this. We can be deceived. Satan will use the name of Jesus and he will use biblical terms to give the appearance of “light”. Popular opinion may call something “light” that is NOT light. We must refer back to the verses that remind us that our only litmus test for determining what is actually light is the Word of God.

Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. (Matthew 5:13-15)

The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. (Romans 13:12)

–We are the light of the world through our relationship with Jesus Christ. We put a bushel over our light by living sinful, worldly lives that look just like everyone else around us. Our light will shine so brightly when we cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. We can find out more about our armor of light in Ephesians 6:10-20.

Okay, so that’s just a bit about LIGHT in scripture. I feel like this is a bit disconnected because there’s so much more that could be written about the light from scripture. But, for the sake of length, I will stop here.

Now, let me tell you why this particular subject has been on my heart…

I am noticing a disinterest in the LIGHT. It’s as if the light only matters if it goes with what is wanted or desired. So if a current narrative or popular philosophy suits a professing Christian’s fancy, they will turn from the light of the Word without nary a blink. If the psychological gobbledygook or the therapist’s worldly explanation makes them feel less guilty and more validated, the true Light is rejected. If a certain political candidate or a certain lifestyle or a favorite preacher or author shows itself to be filthy (false, wrong) when looked at through the Light of the Word, the Light is conveniently and simply IGNORED.

The Jesus of the Bible (our Savior!) is the LIGHT and God’s Word is the LIGHT. And our attitude about this wonderful LIGHT, given to us as a precious gift, is very telling. While we can grow defensive or be naive or waiver for a while, we cannot stay there and still call ourselves a Christian. The Word is what God has given us as a light to navigate this world of darkness. If we don’t care a bit about the Word of God, we must ask ourselves if we are really saved?

At this point in time, I know I am “preaching to the choir”. If you are here, you most likely know all this. And if you don’t agree, you will simply unsubscribe and that will be the end of that.

But, at the end of the day, it is so unimportant what I write or say or what my opinion is. It just doesn’t matter. The ONLY thing that matters is our opinion regarding the LIGHT of this world, as revealed in scripture.

May we wear the armor of light, so that we can be lights in this world for Christ. May we recognize that there is false light and that just because someone says it is “light” does not mean it IS light. And may we recognize that the only way to live in the light is through God’s Word, which has been given to us specifically for this purpose.

May we long to live in the LIGHT, no matter the cost.

The Crunchy Grass (with a personal note at the end)

2 Comments / September 23, 2024

I walked across my yard the other day and heard the grass crunch beneath my feet. At the time, there was no rain in sight and we had missed what they were calling for the week before. The grass was brown and dry and, yes, crunchy. It desperately needed water.

Unlike thick green grass, which is plush and inviting, this grass looked ugly and felt very unpleasant to walk on or sit on.

As I took another step and heard another crunch, I had the thought that our spiritual walk is just like this when we are not consuming the water of the Word.

You see, the grass just needs some water. And, in fact, on Saturday night we had 3/4” of rain and it is amazing how quickly it is turning green and soft again.

We believers are no different. Have you noticed how quickly you are to be selfish, indulgent, angry, proud, or give in to the flesh in any other way when you aren’t in the Bible and meditating upon it?

I certainly have. It feels like fighting the flesh is so hard. And, in fact, if I am not in scripture, I may even forget to care! I become dry and dull and unpleasant. Oh, we may give the appearance of being lush and green, for that’s what hypocrites do. But, inside, we feel spiritually barren.

Grass needs the rain to thrive and Christians need the Word.

There is no other way. Going to church may be helpful, as may listening to sermons or reading a good book that points you to the truth. Spiritual discussions with friends can help as you practice “iron sharpening iron” as the book of Psalms says. But there is no replacement for reading and studying the Word on your own, in context.

I know I have mentioned this so often, but I learned this way too late in my life. The first forty plus years of my life were spent listening to “Christian” radio shows, reading devotionals (one verse and commentary about the verse), and trying to stay away from the “worst” in the world, while indulging in the things that weren’t “so bad”. This method of Christian living left me dry and dusty and I didn’t even realize it.

But when I began to very intentionally study the Bible and then, later on, began to memorize verses and passages, it all changed. God has provided a very simple way for us to be vibrant and growing believers and it took me far too long to find it.

And while I’d like to say I have achieved perfection in this area it’s obvious to those who know me that I certainly have not. Even green grass has its issues, doesn’t it? There can be insects or disease in even the most beautiful grass. Just as this green grass can struggle, so, too, can a vibrant growing Christian. Our problems and temptations do not disappear when we start reading the Word.

But I will testify that our ability to wage war against sin and to recognize lies changes. The length of time it takes to surrender to the Lord and His will shortens. Studying God’s Word and filling our mind with His promises and desires for us as believers sanctifies and grows us.

But we have to actually pick up the Word and read and study it. If you can read this, you can do this. I am nothing special. God, in His awesome grace and lovingkindness, led me to study His Word and to understand its importance. This has become my main focus here at Growing4Life…to encourage other believers to do the same. God has given me this platform and I believe this is why.

Of course, it is probably good to remind you here that I still have my “crunchy” days (and even weeks). Recognizing this truth doesn’t automatically mean you are eternally green, unfortunately. But recognizing this truth does help you know where to intentionally turn when you find yourself in that state again. Just as the water so quickly revives the grass, so, we, too, are quickly revived when we start watering our soul with the Word once again.

I don’t know where you are today. I don’t know if you are dry and crunchy both inside and out. I don’t know if you are pretending to be lush and green, all the while knowing, deep down inside, that you are faking it. What I do know, however, is how to fix the barren, discouraging state of your heart.

And that is to get in the Word and really spend time there. God has graciously provided His Word to exhort and encourage us. It is only through His Word that we can grow and thrive in our Christian walk. Oh, may we believers recognize the wonderful and never-ending treasure within the pages of scripture!

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

A Personal Note: Over the course of studying Revelation and through various other means, I have been vividly reminded of the truth of what lies ahead, both temporally and eternally, for those who do not trust in Christ for their salvation. One day, perhaps very soon, we will not be here to tell our unsaved family and friends about the Gospel or help them understand what is coming on this world. They will be bewildered at our disappearance and will be susceptible to many lies at that point.

It is with this in mind, that I have created a “To Those Who Are Left Behind” page here at the blog. You can find it here and I have also included it in the menu above. I have no idea if it will be of use to anyone now or in the future, but, for some reason, I felt compelled to do this. The world waxes worse and worse in every way and I just don’t know how long we are going to be here. Jesus could come tomorrow or perhaps not for ten years but, whenever it is, I wanted to have something up on the blog for those who are left behind when it happens.

Light Unto My Path

1 Comment / August 6, 2024

I groaned. My Roku had stopped working again and so I was standing by my tv trying to reset it by unplugging it and then plugging it in again. Seems so simple, doesn’t it? I figured I could do such a small thing without light, right?

Wrong.

I couldn’t see a thing. The tv was in a dark-ish room and set in a cavity painted black that sits above our fireplace. And so I thought I’d let my fingers “do the walking” and tried to just “feel” where to put the plug in. Have you been there? Trying to put any plug in without being able to see often leads to frustration.

After a few frustrating moments I decided life is just too short for this and went to get my phone and turned on the flashlight. That little bit of light made short work of putting that roku back where it belonged.

What a wonderful picture of what the Bible does for us. Whether we are growing frustrated and anxious in the dark path we are traveling personally or the overall darkness of this world that is descending like a thick blanket on all our paths. No matter where we live there is no shortage of darkness. Illness and death, financial woes with the growing inflation, compromised churches and Christian organizations, corrupt governments, the growing wickedness and occultism in the culture; sometimes these things make it too dark to see.

Unless…

We have the Bible. God has told us that this is the light He has given us for the dark path we must travel through life—

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet,
and a light unto my path. (Psalm 119:105)

The Bible fills us with confidence in our Great God as we get to know Him through His Word. It tells us of His love for us and gives the way for eternal salvation through His Son, Jesus.

We find within its pages many wonderful promises of the grace, mercy, and lovingkindness that will be shed on us, as a believer, as we travel any path in this life. Some paths we choose but many we do not. God’s mercy will follow us wherever we go.

The Bible gives us the light of truth. Only by knowing what it says, can we protect ourselves from the deception and lies that are snowballing out of control.

It gives us His plan for the future, which, if we take it literally, sheds so much light on both historical events, as well as the events happening right now in our world.

And the Bible gives us eternal perspective. It reminds us that we are but pilgrims and strangers passing through a foreign land. This world is not our home.

It’s important to note that the verse above does not declare that God’s Word is a giant spotlight on the whole world, filling it with light. It is just a small lamp, shedding light one step at a time on the path of the believer.

While the Bible could conceivably light up anyone’s path, most of those in this world will never repent of their sins and turn to Christ alone for salvation. Unless we do this, we can read the Bible all we want but it will be like holding a flashlight but never turning it on. We cannot understand God’s Holy Word without the Holy Spirit. And we cannot have the help of the Holy Spirit without salvation.

If a small flashlight can make such a huge difference when trying to plug something in in the dark, how much more of a difference will the Bible make in our lives? If we’d but just treasure and use this lamp that God has given us specifically to light our paths.

If we have trusted Christ alone for our salvation, may we keep the light God has given us ever near as the darkness descends around us. For it is the only light we have as we travel in this dreary land.

Red is just not my color

July 16, 2024

The other morning as I sat on my back porch, I was filled with thankfulness at the view around me. But, in my opinion, the view was marred by one small thing. Not really, but sort of.

This spring, when we got our hundreds of flats of flowers that we plant for customers, there was one mistake. They sent red dragonwing begonias instead of white. My husband told me to keep them…that we would use them somewhere. In my head, I quickly reviewed my plans for each customer, as I wasn’t sure where we would use them, but we did keep them.

Since I had these red begonias that were just sitting there, I decided to use some red on my back patio. I haven’t used red…well, in perhaps forever. I am more of a “pink” person. But I thought this one year, it wouldn’t be a big deal, right?

Wrong.

I wish I would have planted my normal pink. I just don’t love red. Now, some of you feel the other way. You love red and don’t love pink. Or you love something different altogether…perhaps purple or yellow. We all have the colors we love and it’s so wonderful that we aren’t all the same. What a boring world this would be if we all liked the same things.

The freedom of opinion is a wonderful thing to have. But it’s not something we have when it comes to the scripture. Over the past few years, there has been a general trend towards making the Bible mean whatever it means to you. To believe that it doesn’t have just one interpretation.

So when Bible studies get together, they will ask questions like, “What does this verse mean to you?” Or the teacher will say “in my opinion, this verse means…”

But this isn’t how we should approach scripture. One of us doesn’t get to choose a certain interpretation because we like it, while someone else believes something different altogether.

As I once heard it said: You can be right and I can be wrong, I can be right and you can be wrong. We both can be wrong. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵.

As soon as we believe that we can interpret scripture any old way we choose, we have undermined the authority of scripture. And I think that’s probably the whole point.

There has been a slow but steady effort to move Christians from the authority and trust of scripture. This has been replaced by personal authority (the individual gets to decide what a verse means) and trust in reasoning and feelings.

This change has happened so slowly that it is almost imperceptible. I think that is why so many have missed it. It’s only when we take a walk back through history that we can see this troubling change. It’s only as we study the future, according to scripture, that we see why this change had to take place.

We can’t change the world. And, most likely, we won’t change our churches or any large group of people in our circle. But we can recognize this and respond accordingly in our own lives, as well as to speak up about this as God gives us opportunity.

The Tangled Mess

Leave a Comment / May 7, 2024

I was crocheting a blanket and the time had come to use a new color. I grabbed the end from the center of the bright yellow ball of yarn. Things went fine…for awhile. But soon I found that every time I’d try to pull the yarn it would inevitably get tangled with the other end. Somehow the two ends were both coming from inside the skein (usually one is wrapped around the outside) and it was taking a lot of the joy out of my relaxing hobby.

I finally cut the yarn end from the project and decided to roll the skein into a ball. That should make it much easier to work with. But rolling it into a ball was no easy task. It was the strangest thing. While I would occasionally be able to roll up a long piece of the yellow yarn, I would soon find myself foiled by that aggravating end over and over again. The two ends were so entwined with one another that even rolling it into a ball was a difficult task that took much time. I did contemplate just buying another skein but here was this perfectly fine yarn in front of me. How silly to purchase more! At this point, it was the principle! I worked on it for several hours but finally, late last night, I groaned with frustration.

“What’s wrong?” asked my husband. I held up my yarn and told him how frustrating this task was. Never one to back down from a challenge, he told me to let him try. I most gladly handed the whole tangled mess over to him.

In a few minutes, he, too, agreed that it was an impossible task. The yarn was so snarled that it hardly seemed worth it. He did work on it for a while, making the ball of yarn a bit bigger. But, finally, he gave it to me and asked if I thought this was good enough. You can see from the photo above that there is quite a bit of yarn left but…well, life is just too short for some things!

As I sat there rolling that yarn, I did a lot of thinking. The whole situation reminded me an awful lot of life and our attempts at creating something useful and beautiful from an unorganized, sinful mess. The end that kept getting in my way and causing all of the problem was like my sin. Just always there, tripping me up, making life harder. Once in awhile, I would grab one of my needles to help me with an especially difficult knot. This reminded me of the living Word of God that pierces between joint and marrow and is a discerner of the heart (Hebrews 4:12). What my own fingers found as an impossible task, the needle not only made possible but even rather easy.

After I had given up, I realized that the tangled skein of yarn is like my life without Christ. I can work and work and work at it on my own and, perhaps, even have a time of smooth sailing and even be able to make some positive life changes. But without Christ, it is all in naught and I will eventually be beaten by my sin. If not in life, then in death. Sin will win, if Christ isn’t called upon.

The yarn also reminded me of how lost I would be without the Bible, which was given as a gift by God to us, His people. For where else do we learn of Who Christ is? Of what sin is? Where do we find true comfort? Just as my fingers couldn’t undo many of those knots in the yarn, so, too, our human vain philosophies and theories can’t provide any help in the midst of the temptations and trials we face. I needed that needle and we need the Word of God.

Lastly, I was reminded of how much sin gets in my way. Oh, how those sins we wrongly call “minor” knot up our lives. Sins like complaining; self-pity; being offended; loving the world and the things of this world; striving for popularity or wealth or health more than we are striving to grow in Christ; and so many others. They all keep us from being who we have been called to be by God. Denying self and its lusts, we must take up our cross and follow Jesus (Luke 9:23) All too often, we want to indulge self rather than deny it and this has its consequences in our lives.

I can walk away from that bright yellow ball of yarn. But I can’t walk away from my life. Because I am human, I will always struggle with sin, with wanting to love the world, and with a life that is messy and tangled, at some level. But intentionally confessing my sin, turning from the world, and working, through the help of the Holy Spirit, to be more Christlike and holy each and every day will yield much fruit in my spiritual life.

The other day I was talking with someone about how hard it is to follow the truth of God’s Word–all of it, not just the easy, comforting parts. The Bible tells us things our flesh doesn’t like–such as asking us to not be a friend of the world, denying self, and calling us to be holy and separated as a people. It reminds us to expect suffering for our choice to live for Christ. And while submitting and obeying God’s Word may lead to a more difficult outward life (the ridicule and persecution is real)–our ball of yarn (our inward life) unwinds so much more smoothly and easily. God really does keep His promises and those who follow His truth–all of it and no matter the cost–will find that the blessings that come from that are worth the ridicule, the suffering, and the persecution. God truly does bless those who seek Him.

Who knew unraveling a ball of yarn could be so thought-provoking?

Who Is Jesus According to…? A Study of Religions (Before We Begin)

2 Comments / April 19, 2024

I’ve spent the last few weeks really studying who Jesus is in God’s Word and comparing this to a specific false religion that uses His name. As I’ve been studying, I realized that there are two key points that need to be shared before we can really get started on this series. The first one will be extremely helpful in ascertaining whether or not a religion using the name of “Jesus” is true or false. And the second point is beyond important as we continue on. Please don’t miss it.

FIRST KEY POINT:

It is critical to remember that, to God, there are only two religions: True Religion and False Religion. God has given us all we need to know to worship Him as He desires in His Holy Word. It is there we find true religion. Any religion that doesn’t submit to or abide by His Word is a false religion.

Now, I recognize that some may ask how is the Bible different from any other “Holy Book” and why is Christianity so special? Why is THIS the only (and exclusive) religion? While it is not the point of this post to delve too deeply into this question (which can be clearly answered, by the way), I would like to share the one thing that was rather an “Ah-Ha” moment for me personally regarding this specific question.

Did you know that Christianity is the ONLY religion where you don’t have to DO anything? There is nothing YOU can do to merit salvation. Heaven is a free gift, given by God because He loves us (John 3:16). It has nothing to do with works in any way (Ephesians 2:8-9).

All false religions, whether they use the name of Jesus or not, rely on good works at some level to merit eternal life. THIS is HOW Christianity is different. And THIS is why it’s the only true way.

God, in His amazing grace, reached down to sinful man and offered the free gift of salvation to those who seek Him. It’s an awe-inspiring and critical difference.

So this is how you know if a religion is true or false.

NOW, I would like to add here that there is a false religion that relies on a “decision to accept Christ” that has a heretical view of God’s Grace and true biblical faith. This, too, is a FALSE religion. To declare that one is saved simply because of a sentence that was said when moved emotionally and then yet to go on living the same sinful, worldly life is NOT true Christianity. We know this because the Bible tells us that such a change is wrought in the true child of God that they can’t help but be transformed in some way! We become a “new creature” as Paul puts it (2 Corinthians 5:17) As we are changed into the image of Christ, we all change at different rates and we must have grace for one another. But the Bible clearly shows us that if we aren’t changed at some level, then we aren’t saved. The difference is this: Our holy lives and good works aren’t the means of our salvation, they are the evidence of it.

I may actually feature this false religion that people view as “Christianity” later on in this series, as it seems that so many people have been deceived by this false teaching which has eternal consequences.

SECOND KEY POINT:

As I have been praying and thinking more about this upcoming series, I was struck by something rather profound. As we take some time to take a look at these religions that are using the name of our precious Savior in erroneous ways, it may be tempting for us to grow angry at those who are deceiving others or to be frustrated with family members or friends who just can’t see the truth.

It is critical to realize that it is the system that is false and, yes, even satanic. The people—no matter their role, whether leader or follower—well, they are, to put it simply, deceived.

They are our mission field. They are not our enemy.

According to scripture, our enemy is not flesh and blood. Our enemy is the devil. (Ephesians 6:11-12) He may use, manipulate, and deceive people. But the people are not our real enemy. They are simply deceived tools in the hands of our enemy.

How essential to keep this in mind as we continue on in this study. Our hearts should rightly be filled with righteous anger as we contemplate the deception that has robbed these lost souls of joy and peace and hope and we should weep for them.

It is my prayer that this series will be of great help to you in your conversations with those caught up in these false systems but find themselves seeking the Truth. And that, through the Holy Scriptures, you will be better equipped to reveal the errors that they have believed and point them to the light and life and freedom that can only be found in the true Jesus, the Jesus of the Bible.

Next week, we will lay the foundation for the rest of the series and answer the question: Who is Jesus, according to the Bible?

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