Name brand or Knock off? Most products marketed to the consumer have a name brand imprinted or fashioned on them. The brand stands for the quality of the product and the reputation and reliability of the company who made it. To purchase a name brand is to purchase hopefully the best. There are countless knock-off, cheap imitations. We can all be glad for the store brands at the grocery store; hundreds of dollars are saved every year. With some things, one cannot afford to settle for something that is not the best. Brands cost something and are worth more. A Hoyt bow will cost a lot more than one from Walmart and perhaps Cabelas, but it will live up to the standards of the name brand. This is generally true in all marketing. Spiritually there is an application here. There is no room to settle for anything less than the best in our spiritual lives. We must make sure that our Christian life be [...]

Considerations on Worship John 4:20-24; I Kings 10:4-5 Brethren, we have met to worship And adore the Lord our God…[i] To worship is to literally fall down before God; to humbly bow in heart, mind, soul and body in awe, reverence, and keen awareness of His holy presence. It is to praise and glorify Him for who He is and what He has done. Worship is to perform acts of devotion out of a heart of affection. It is to extol in song and prayer offering to almighty God that of which He is infinitely worthy. I Chronicles 16:29 says, “Give unto the LORD the glory [due] unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.” God seeks true worshippers to come before Him and His eye is upon them (John 4:23; James 4:7-8). Worship must not be Self-focused. In today’s culture, worship is a misunderstood concept. Blazing lights, loud bass-thumping music, adrenaline filled singing, [...]

Are You Made Free or Set Free? And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. John 8:32 This verse is often misquoted by substituting set for make: …the truth shall set you free. The English Standard Version translates it this way. On the surface, this doesn’t sound like a big deal. The underlying Greek could be translated set free. So what is the problem? Most old westerns explain it very well. When one of the local bank robbers was put in jail, his fellow gang members would blaze into town, blow up the jail and set him free. Now, he certainly was free from his prison but was he really “free?” No. In the eyes of the law he was still a guilty man and eventually he was usually recaptured to serve his sentence. Now, if there was a man in jail and the sheriff came in with a judge’s order that said he was innocent and should be [...]

Joshua chapter three records the journey of the children of Israel up to the Jordan River. God speaks to them through His servant Joshua to sanctify themselves because the Lord will do wonders among them. God had commanded them to cross over the river, yet the river overflows its banks during the harvest season. The path is obstructed, the way unsurpassable, the situation impossible. For at least one night the children of Israel are camped with no way to move forward. Many thoughts could have gone through their minds, many doubts, many fears, and questions. God had told them based upon that which He would do, they would know that He was among them. God would surely keep His promise and bring them into the promised land and most assuredly give them victory over their enemies, even when the odds were against them, yet here they are in their tents on this side of the river, with only a promise. What should the children of [...]

What a waste   To waste something is to take something that I have, or that has been given to me and to use it up in a fashion that is inconsistent with Godly Biblical stewardship.  It is a term that is negative in nature.  On the surface we might say that we waste little; in reality we waste much.   The Biblical term wasting refers to the idea of spending, or to be spent up, or to be depleted.  Certainly when we spend up resources or spend up our time for that which does not profit, we are guilty of wasting.   We waste:  food, time, money, life, things, potential, and opportunities. We waste relationships, responsibilities, and resources.   No one on purpose would throw good things in a waste can?  Or would they? On a consistent daily basis, we are making choices that determine what we do with God-given stewardships.   God gives us resources, opportunities, and time, not to squander them [...]

GOD’S KIND OF LEADER EXODUS 32 Moses was “God’s kind of leader.” Leading the Hebrews was arduous, to say the least – and being a pastor in one of God’s churches has many similarities. Exodus 32 recounts a rough time for Moses, the leader of God’s people. After receiving the Law of God, he was sent down to deal with the people, who had “corrupted themselves” (v.7.) On his way down he met Joshua, who, (through no fault of his own,) heard “war,”(v.17.) But Moses heard “sin” (v.18-19.) Moses recognized the great paradox that was occurring: in the very hours God entrusted the Tables – the “work of God” and “the writing of God” to His people, they were violating it! Moses threw down the Tables in disgust – they were of no effect to a people such as this! Oh, how he must have despised them! His own brother gave that wicked excuse “there came out this calf,” (v.24,) but Moses discerned that [...]

Those who have defiled their hands with iniquity have defiled and dirtied their heart. Dirty hands produce dirty lives and weaken the spiritual condition. Dirty hands equal powerless prayers, powerless preaching, and powerless living. Those who keep their hands clean may expect to grow stronger and stronger spiritually. Job 17:9 The righteous also shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger. Psalm 24:3-4 Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart... I Timothy 2:8 I will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands... James 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, he sinners: and purify your hearts, he double minded. Let us get rid of dirty hands and double hearts! Job 11:14 If iniquity be in thine hand, put it far away, and let not wickedness dwell in thy [...]

Amid all the rallies, town halls, debates, campaigning, speeches and spectacles, there is the strange absence of reference to the spiritual and moral condition of our Nation. Believe it or not, agree with it or not, in our current situation, America cannot survive even if it had maximum wealth, a robust economy (we’re far from that), massive military might, and a foreign policy envied by world leaders. God’s Word says, “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people” (Prov. 14:34). This land of the free and home of the brave is becoming a bastion of infidelity, immorality and idolatry. Did you know that this country is one of the largest users and producers of pornography in the world, has one of the highest rates of divorce and dysfunctional homes anywhere, and with stunning rapidity, is being engulfed in apostasy by embracing the gods of materialism (love of things); hedonism (love of pleasure); humanism (worship of man) and paganism (animism & demon [...]

Genesis chapter twenty two records the sacrificing of Isaac upon the altar. The Everlasting God whom Abraham had learned to follow in faith and obedience came down to test Abraham. The Lord God knew Abram and that he would command his children to walk after the Lord and to obey Him. Now God desires to test Abraham. The Lord tests the love of Abraham. It had long been the desire of Abraham to have a son through which he would be a blessing to the nations of the world. In fact, this son, Isaac was the promised son from God. He was the fulfillment of multiple prophecies. Now Abraham had grown to love his son. The Lord was testing the love of Abraham to see if he loved anything or anyone upon this earth more than his relationship with Almighty God. It is God’s desire that His children love Him more supremely than any other earthly relationship. As I examine myself before the Lord, as [...]

There is nothing like a sharp tool to get the job done. Having worked in the arborist field it is necessary that one has a sharp chain saw before they begin to cut a tree. A dull saw will not cut properly, or at all. This will cause the saw to overheat the chain and bar, bind up in the wood, and ultimately leave the tree unable to be felled. A dull saw can cause the tree to actually even fall the wrong direction, leading to dangerous circumstances. Having a dull wood working instrument can be the cause of deadly accidents. Solomon, the wisest man to live, describes this very detail in his reminiscing of life in the book of Ecclesiastes, “…[H]e that cleaveth wood shall be endangered thereby. If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then must he put to more strength: but wisdom is profitable to direct.” (Ecclesiastes 10:9-10) There is a certain sense of danger in any [...]