Desire to have our own way

You Are Not the One to Build, Part 1: God’s Work, God’s Reputation, and My Acclaim

The first of a series of videos about God giving people things to start which he does not then permit them to finish. God does this for his own glory, and, sometimes to protect his own reputation, as was the case in King David’s preparations to build a Temple–and also in my own life.

Encouragement, good and bad, and the importance of “Today”

When God told the people to go in and he would give them his promise “Today,” they did not trust he was good. So they believed their fears instead. As a result, they could not go in, as he had said, “tomorrow.”

Why have I always resisted the idea that departed believers are really still here “with” Jesus?

For we know that if the earthly house of our tent is dissolved, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens.  For most certainly in this we groan, longing to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven,  if indeed being clothed, we will not be found naked.  For indeed we who are in…
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Commands I Can’t Keep If God Doesn’t Speak to Me

If God never speaks to me, it will be impossible for me to keep his commands to keep a soft heart toward his words, to hear and obey him “TODAY”, while I am still hearing him. Beginning the discussion of entering God’s rest today, while God is speaking to me–and the consequences of Israel’s rejection of his voice.

The Mind of Christ, and Rejecting It

God speaks to us individually, and also collectively as his Body. We must hear him and walk with him individually and also depend on each other for his voice. Believers all have the mind of Christ, but none of us alone has all of the mind of Christ.

The Kingdom of “the Heavens” in Matthew

Throughout his Gospel, Matthew repeatedly quotes first John the Baptizer, then Jesus, taking about the “Kingdom of the heavens”–with “the heavens” in this formula always stated in the plural and preceded by the definite article. In using this language, the intention was clearly to teach that God’s Kingdom is not limited to the far future but is present with us…
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Our Father–The One in the Heavens: God with Us in the Lord’s Prayer

Recognition of the heavens all around us and of the imperatives used in the Lord Prayer, Jesus’ model for our prayers, transforms it into a very radical and dangerous prayer. In it, we are actually commanding the immediate manifestation of God’s increasing rule in our present existence and on Earth.

Idolatry and the Meaning of “Sin” Outline

This is an index of posts defining, discussing or illustrating the concept of sin, its relationship to idolatry and idolizing oneself, and the distinction between sin (singular) and sins (plural).

Repentance Series Index

An index to the series of blog articles on the subject of repentance.

A Few Comments on the Overall Process

Most of the currents of modern Western history can ultimately be traced to the well-meaning decisions of Christian leaders in the early centuries to seek political sponsorship. This led to the inversion of the Gospel message, forced exile of “heretics,” the rise of Islam through the influence of exiled “heretics,” and most of the subsequent upheavals in the Western world.