Milk to Meat

 2 Corinthians 2:5-8,11, " Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you.  For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough,  so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.  So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him... so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs." I think Biblical forgiveness is not something that is well understood by Christians. I was always taught that the person who offended needed to say sorry and ask what they could do to make amends. This was something I was taught from an early age and it seems like the right thing to do. But the more I understand the Gospel message, in addition to Jesus washing the disciples feet, and now Paul in his letter to the church in Corinth, I am finding that forgiveness is quite different from my previous understanding. I've heard that, when C...

This was written by one of our Brothers in Christ in Africa. He was a missionary pastor who was captured. He was commanded to denounce Christ and would be allowed to live, but if he did not he would be executed. They gave him one night to decide. Overnight he penned this declaration. In the morning they asked him if he would denounce his faith. He said no and was shot immediately. Afterwards his killers found this statement and later came to faith in Christ. I am part of the "Fellowship of the Unashamed." The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of  Jesus Christ.  I won't look back, let up, slow down,  back away, or be still.  My past is redeemed, my present  makes sense, and my future is secure. I am finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals. I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, o...

 Easter is my favorite time of the year. Not just for the ham and pineapple stuffing, but because this is the culminating point in all of creation. From the beginning of time to the end, it is on this point that everything is focused and dependent. There a lot more to say on this, but suffice to say, it's my favorite time of the year! As we head into this powerful and amazing time of the year I wanted to share some thoughts. I hope this will be one of many posts in 2024 leading up to Easter (Pascha, Passover): The march to the place of crucifixion was useful advertising for Rome. It warned potential troublemakers that this was their fate should they challenge Rome. Normally a centurion on horseback led the procession, and a herald shouted the crime of the condemned. “The criminal was led to the scene of crucifixion by as long a route as possible, so that as many as possible might see him and take warning from the grim sight.” (Barclay) As Jesus was led away to be crucified, He was ...

It's been a snowy winter finally! Jed and I have had the wonderful opportunity to go out sledding together and creating memories while developing the crucial Father-Son bond. No broken bones yet and we always bail out before we hit the tree. A lot of bruises, air time, headaches, and numbness. It's been great.  By the time we were able to hit the slopes all the neighborhood kids had packed the snow down into some sweet channels that froze overnight into some slick luge tracks. We were FLYING! We were trying to see how far each of us could go but still stop before we fell into the creek. We got pretty close of couple of times. On one of his runs he went so far past where he normally would stop. It was great and I was cheering, clapping, and pumping my fists in the air. For imagery picture a Tuscan Raider. When he finally stopped he turned and shouted up at me, "You know why I went so far? Because I prayed to Jesus that He would make me go farther this time." I think th...

  “I suppose, brethren, that we may have persons arise, who will doubt whether there was ever such a man as Julius Caesar, or Napoleon Bonaparte; and when they do, - when all reliable history is flung to the winds, - then, but not till then, may they begin to question whether Jesus Christ rose from the dead, for this historical fact is attested by more witnesses than almost any other fact that stands on record in history, whether sacred or profane.” (Spurgeon)

          I was talking with someone recently about their New Year's resolution. They said, "I want to not die, and focus more on myself." I thought that was interesting. As Christians, every year we should resolve to "Die more to self, and focus less on ourselves".

               As I was studying 1 Corinthians in regards to authority and submission I stumbled upon a wonderful little gem of truth.  1 Corinthians 11:10, “That is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.” The symbol of authority was referring to why women in the church of Corinth should wear a head covering when praying or prophesying. This was a cultural out-working of the authority structure God created. If you want to read more about that please read my posting “Authority and Submission”.       The part that I really want to focus on is, “...because of the angels.” Again, I will be taking some excerpts from David Guzik’s commentary. I will put the link at the bottom where you can read a lot more about this.      One reason why God established male headship in the church is because of the presence of angels in corporate worship. Angels are present at a...

               Submission is a distasteful word in our culture, and the correct understanding of authority is long lost. Nowadays everyone believes that their opinion, their desire, and their "truth" is the final authority in their lives and that to submit to anyone or anything else is offensive. Today we don't think we need to submit to authority, "Citizens do not have the same respect for government’s authority, students do not have the same respect for the teacher’s authority, children do not have the same respect for parent’s authority; employees do not have the same respect for their employer’s authority; people do not have the same respect for the police’s authority; and Christians no longer have the same respect for church authority".                      It is in 1 Corinithians where the Spirit was teaching me what authority means, and our response in voluntary subm...