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THE WORD BECAME FLESH
I go through dry periods in my walk with Christ. The Lord seems remote and I miss Him more than I can say. I don’t know all the reasons for this awful fact. Maybe it is a growing sense of demonic evil in the church and in the world or of a similarly growing awareness of my own depravity. Whatever the reasons, I have been thinking about that walk, which is increasingly more precious and fragile to me.
Look again at the title of this letter from John 1. In four words the infinite divine became a finite man. Having accomplished His redemptive work on earth, Christ sent the Holy Spirit to indwell His followers and to inspire the New Testament canon. The quickening and revealing Spirit within then discloses the Logos to us. We come to know the Bible and Christ.
But the Logos , Divine reason, has become flesh. He is a Person. Knowing a book of conceptual truths like the Bible is different from knowing a person. A book is not a person. Yet we believe that we have a personal, not a conceptual relationship with Christ. How does knowledge of conceptual truth become a personal relationship?
read moreBe Consecrated!
“Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you” (Joshua 3:5).
To be consecrated is to be declared sacred and set apart, dedicated and devoted for sacred use, to be used for the service and worship of God.
God is using Joshua to call His people to a new level of purity and a bold walk of faith.
After coming to this verse, I decided to claim it as my own. The thought occurred to me on the importance of preparing and protecting our hearts when and while we live a life of faith.
While we are in this world we must expect and prepare for unusual events, to be subjected to ways we have not seen before.
read moreNever Give Up!
The following is a summary of the discussion with my 99 ½ year old Mother on November 9, 2025. Present with me was my wife, Diane.
“Hi Mom, Its Jim and Diane.”
“Oh, it is so good to see you. We have a lot of things to catch up on.”
“Yes, but I have one thing I wanted to talk about.”
“My going out?”
“Yes. Last time we talked about you going out, you said you were going to hell.”
“I did? Can I take my words back?! I don’t want to go to hell!”
“The Bible tells us we have a choice. It’s our decision to make. When a person dies, their soul goes to heaven or hell—one of those two places. But the determination can only be made before death. You mentioned that you led an imperfect life.”
“Yes.”
read moreMary’s Good Part
“Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.” But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:38-42)
What do you think?
What is the “one thing?” and what is the “good part?”
read moreGod’s Charge to Joshua– and to Us!
Joshua 1:8-9 have been very encouraging verses to me. Joshua is about to take over leadership of the Israelite nation and lead them into the Promised Land! An overwhelming challenge to be sure!
Up to now, for the past forty years, Joshua had been content to follow Moses’ leadership. Now that Moses was gone, it was now Joshua’s job to lead the people!
As anyone in leadership knows, leading people can be overwhelming. So God Himself encourages Joshua with these words, “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:8-9)
God commands Joshua to follow God’s law. be courageous and then he will have prosperity and success. God also promises that He will be with him every step of the way.
read moreDelighteth In Obedience
“Praise ye the Lord. Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in His commandments” – Psalm 112:1 (King James)
Every other Monday, I have the opportunity to participate in a Bible study with a young guy who is eagerly seeking the Lord. Recently, I returned from vacation to find my inbox flooded with urgent issues waiting for attention. Unfortunately, Bible study happened to fall on the same Monday I was due back at work. I immediately felt the tension: Do I skip this one and get ahead of the chaos, or do I keep my commitment?
I chose to attend—sort of. I went, but my mind was elsewhere. I was distracted, and the cares of the day captured my attention. My obedience was slow, reluctant, and partial. A far cry from the psalmist’s description of the one who “delights greatly in His commandments” (Psalm 112:1).
read moreDesperate Men
“Two things I asked of You: Do not refuse me before I die; Keep deception and lies far from me, Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion, that I not be full and deny You and say, “Who is the Lord?” Or that I be in want and steal and profane the name of my God”
(Proverbs 30:7-9). NASB-95
Desperate men can do radical things.
It seems that in desperation, all things are on the table. Particularly under pressure, men will steal, cheat, lie, deny God, hurt others they love and even murder, in an attempt to bring relief to themselves. Any and all of this, in order to get from under a trial, to relieve pain and move to higher ground. We are all capable of despicable acts to get relief from the pressures of life.
read morePursuing Humility
“Thus says the Lord, ‘Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool. Where then is a house you could build for Me? And where is a place that I may rest? For my hand made all these things, thus all these things came into being? Declares the Lord’, “But to this one I will look, to him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My Word” (Isaiah 66:1-2).
Time and time again in His Word, God turns our attention toward our need to be humble. In fact, it is discussed over 80 different times in the Bible. In our Isaiah passage the Hebrew word has a definition that includes to be “afflicted, humble, lowly, needy, poor.”
In the New Testament Greek it carries a similar meaning of “to be cast down, of low degree, lowly.” The opposite of humility is pride, arrogance, conceit, boastful, or proud.
How does a man achieve this posture of humility? It is certainly something that God has called the man of God to investigate and pursue.
read moreKeep on Keepin’ On
This life is full of the difficult. Pain, stress, pressures, trials, tribulations, temptations, even persecutions, oppositions and rejection.
A few things are true in such times of trouble:
God delivers the circumstance. He does so with purpose and for our good.
Man’s required response is endurance or perseverance.
God provides promises to the man who perseveres, giving him hope in the midst of the circumstance.
The Scripture is full of examples, responses, instruction and related promises.
read moreValue
“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it”
(Matthew 13:44-46).
What do you think?
How do these comparisons apply to us personally, as we live out our lives with an eternal hope in this day and age?
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