Grains of Sand

stpatselkhorn.org (Google Images) It used to be that one of the signs of old age was loss of hearing. I say, “used to be” because many people have suffered loss of hearing early in life due to the excessive level of noise they have been exposed to, levels that were not the experience of earlier generations. In any case, the question that arising from today’s reading is “How’s your hearing?” Jesus has just told the parable of the sower to His audience (Matthew 13:10-23; Mark 4:10-25; Luke 8:9-18). On the heels of that teaching He reveals to His circle of disciples what the parable means. The parable itself is all about the Word of God and how well, or how poorly, people hear, understand, and respond to it. Changing metaphors, Jesus then said that, like a lamp on a table, the light than comes from the Word of God is to shine brightly. Everyone should be exposed to it, but not everyone will understand the meaning of its brilliance, even when they have been exposed to it. He ends with ...

Google Images “Follow us on TWITTER.” “Follow us on FACEBOOK.” Follow the trends. Follow the news. Follow the crowd. Follow the leader. Follow... Everywhere we look something, or someone, wants us to follow. In Jesus’ discussion with the crowd in Jerusalem, He spoke these key words: “ I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life ” (John 8:12). Men are “blessed” with great ideas, usually built around their own agendas and their own ambitions. A following helps them achieve at least the appearance of success. They may even be so bold (and deluded) to promise light and life to those who follow them. But only Jesus can make the promise of light and life and actually keep that promise. Later in the discussion, the Lord speaks more key words: “ If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free ” (John 8:31, 32). Light. Life. Truth. Freedom. ...

Google Images If there ever was a portion of the Gospels that testifies to the deity of Jesus Christ, John 1 is that portion. The writer begins with those famous lines, “ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. ” One of the reoccurring questions that bubbles to the surface here and there on the otherwise stagnant pond of today’s church is, “How can I know God better?” The deepest desire of a believer ought to be a more intimate connection with his Creator, John, reported to be the disciple who had that connection with Jesus more than any of the others, tells us the secret to knowing God. “ The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth...No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known ” (John 1:14, 18). To know Jesus is to know God. Those who say t...

Google Images It’s not hard to resist the wolves on the outside the church, but it sometimes is a challenge to recognize the wolves, disguised in sheep’s clothing, inside the Body of Christ. It didn’t take the believers of the Galatian church long to be deceived. Paul begins his letter with this cryptic statement: “ I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—which is no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ ” (Galatians 1:6, 7). It’s subtle—that’s the nature of a wolf disguised as a sheep. What he says sounds good, but if we examine what is said in the light of the Scriptures we will be able to discern the truth from the half-truth or the outright lie. The key for us is to be students of the Word of God, to chew for ourselves what the Bible says. Every believer has the Spirit of God as his Teacher (John 14:26), and...

Reading: 3 John “ I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth ” (3 John 4, NIV). We used to struggle with what to get mom and dad for Christmas. It’s not that they had everything. There was always one more gadget that we could have purchased, destined to gather dust on some shelf. After my mother’s death I got more use out of the blender my brother had bought her one Christmas than she ever did (it’s still going more than 25 years later). The truth is, my parents needed very little. And they wanted even less. My parents weren’t demonstrative types. In some ways that characteristic made it easier to identify those things that they really valued. I know they valued who I became much more than they valued any of the gifts I ever gave them. When I graduated from seminary my mother was recovering from a broken leg. There was no way she was going to be able to make the 500 mile trip to see me graduate. I was also the class valedictorian—a rare privile...

Reading: Isaiah 28-31 “ Be stunned and amazed, blind yourselves and be sightless; be drunk, but not with wine, stagger, but not from beer. The Lord has brought over you a deep sleep: He has sealed your eyes (the prophets); he has covered your heads (the seers). For you the whole vision is nothing but words sealed in a scroll. And if you give the scroll to someone who can read, and say to him, ‘Read this, please,’ he will answer, ‘I can’t; it is sealed.’ Or if you give the scroll to someone who cannot read, and say, ‘Read this, please,’ he will answer, ‘I don’t know how to read. ’” (Isaiah 29:9-12, NIV). Paul paraphrases these words in Romans 11:7-10, NIV, when he writes: “ What then? What Israel sought so earnestly it did not obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened, as it is written: ‘God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes so that they could not see and ears so that they could not hear to this very day.’ As David says: ‘May their table become a snare and a trap, a s...

Reading: Isaiah 13-17, 2 Timothy 4 Paul has come to the end of his earthly journey. From his prison he writes to Timothy, his son in the faith, this letter of encouragement—and warning. Three times the old man tells the younger to beware of those who would corrupt the truth. These are enemies of the Gospel who come as much from the inside, from within the church, as they do from the pagan world. Oddly enough the apostle who was so conscious of the grace of God in his life, now mentions God the Judge, as he comes to the close of that mortal life (4:1, 8). Paul knows that though there is no question of condemnation, there is a question of God sifting through the thoughts and actions of those who profess His name and judging their quality (2:20, 21). He warns Timothy to stand firm. Paul writes: “ Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with s...

Numbers 28-30 “ Moses told the Israelites all that the Lord commanded him ” —Numbers 29:40 Simple, isn’t it? “ all ” – Moses didn’t “fudge” but faithfully delivered the whole message like it or not. “ that the Lord commanded him ” — he made nothing up, didn’t put words in the Lord’s mouth or apply his interpretation to what the Lord said. This latter might be the biggest issue we (I) have—shifting the Word of God to head it in a direction that it might not be meant to go. I realize more than ever how important this truth is. Since my book, Divine Design for Daily Living has been published, I've received all kinds of comments and questions. The response has been very gratifying but, at the same time, it has been sobering. What I write is believed, so what I write had better be what God said and not what Lynda wants him to say. It had better be all the truth and not just the part Lynda wants people to hear. The responsibility is nothing to consider lightly. The same is true as I tak...