NCarolinian

Who is Jesus Christ of Nazareth to you? "I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: 'I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept his claim to be God.' That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a good moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic-on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg-or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great moral teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to." (C.S. Lewis) Jesus Christ left everybody no doubt who He is. He fulfilled every prophecy of ...

  "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me." (Revelation 3:20) There are some people who Jesus is knocking on the door of their hearts and lives for the first time and they have a decision to make. There are those who know Jesus and accept Him as a visitor when they answer their door on Christmas and Easter every year. There are the soldout, radical believers in Christ. Then there are those who have Jesus inside their house, temple, body or life and seem to display Him proudly, but we only see one dimesion of Christ. What are outsiders really observing or viewing with these Christians? Have you ever had a room in your house or home called The Good Room ? This space is usually filled with fine furniture, always kept clean and everything is in its proper place like it's almost staged. Sometimes this room is not the most comfortable room in the house, but it is usually th...

This world wants to recruit you as its own and sink you deep into its systems or help you attempt to do life as you see fit. With this kind of set-up or mentality, the world has no room for Christ. Therefore, persecution is inevitable and suffering a certainty for the Christian. John records Jesus recalling to the listeners memory, " Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also." (John 15:20) However, Jesus encouraged His disciples about the coming persecution by stating, " Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." (Matthew 5:11-12) This is because He knew that after establishing His church, persecution and suffering would follow. 1 P...

In fishing you must load up a hook at the end of a fishing-line that is connected to a fishing pole with bait. Then with a fluid straight back motion with the arm you have your pole-in-hand with, you now come forward with a flick of the wrist, aiming to cast the baited hook at your targeted landing spot. Why? To receive a return of a caught or hooked fish. When we go through stressful situations in our lives, God calls us to perform the same kind of action spiritually. This time when we cast off our problems or stress, our target is God and our return could be any number of different named fish - peace, direction, hope, love, assurance and so forth. Of course if you are using a net to fish, you could catch all of these at once. David encourages us -  "Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken." (Psalm 55:22) Jesus echoes these sentiments and elaborates on just what you will receive -  “Come to me, all you who are weary a...

I have some bad news and good news for Christians. The bad news is that the condition of the church as a whole in these present, last days, is lukewarm and falling asleep, if not completely in dreamland. The good news is that Christ will be returning, mid-air, for His bride, The Church, anyway. Some people believe there will be a last pouring out of God's Holy Spirit on everyone (Joel 2:28-32) , before the Rapture. I hope and pray the world experiences that. However, if you read that full prophecy, I believe it has not been fulfilled in its entirety. In addition, Peter thought that prophecy was being fulfilled in his day as he gave a speech. He explained to the crowd in Jerusalem that the Holy Spirit's ministry of the disciple's speaking the Gospel in all the different languages represented in the city at the festival that year was the fulfillment of the Joel prophecy  (Acts 2:14-41) .  Perhaps this Last Outpouring of the Holy Spirit has many occurances and one of them is f...

When Jesus spoke about Himself saying, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6) - He did not use the article a for a way of life among many or a truth among many or a life among many. Jesus used the article "the" which is definitve in meaning only - only way , only truth and only life . However, God still gives the choice to accept and believe this exclusivity to us. Should we believe in Christ as our personal Lord and Savior, then we can receive His example, His  emphasis not to be wishy-washy or indecisive with our faith. He shot straight from the hip about who He was and what He was about. When we are aligned with Christ by faith, we should be the same. David and Jeremiah encourage all believers when choosing The Way, The Truth, and The Life to send down and out our roots and be grounded as a tree to The Stream of Living Water - Christ Jesus.  In  Psalm 1:1-3 , David says,  " Blessed is the...

"Do you think trees are beautiful? You’re in good company. God loves trees, too. By highlighting every sentence containing a tree in the first three chapters of Genesis, you can get a pretty good sense of what God thinks about trees. Nearly a third of the sentences contain a tree. Genesis 2:9 declares that trees are “pleasing to the eye.” This aesthetic standard does not waver throughout the Bible. Whether God is instructing his people on how to make candlesticks (Exodus 25:31–40), decorate the corbels of the temple (1 Kings 6), or hem the high priest’s robe (Exodus 28:34), the standard of beauty is a tree (and its fruits). If we were to examine the most comfortable seat in a home today, odds are that it faces a television. In heaven, God’s throne faces a tree (Revelation 22:2–3). In Genesis 2, God makes two things with his own hands. First, he forms Adam and blows the breath of life into his nostrils (verse 7). Then, before Adam can exhale, God pivots and plants a garden (verse 8...

Alone? Who is truly alone? Nobody. A person might experience loneliness - the cause of isolation by another through something like rejection, but nobody is ever alone. First, God is omnipresent - everywhere. Second, God blessed us with a relationship with Him and each other. Thirdly, concerning any kind of circumstance,  too much history has transpired to think that any one person is going through a situation that nobody else has experienced in some form or fashion. Paul states it like this in 1 Corinthians 10:12-13 -  "So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it." This is not to belittle the challenge or experience you are going through, but to inform you and encourage you that while old problems surface in new ways, God wi...

I have always believed in integrity. I have certainly not been the best example of it at different points in my life, but only One has lived the perfect life - Christ Jesus. However, this does not mean I do not keep integrity as an integral part of my life - on the contrary, integrity or being "pure of heart" as Scripture refers to it is a major daily goal of mine that I pray is shown. One of the definitions of integrity is soundness, like the soundness of an object or dependability of a person. This aspect of integrity is a result of an excellent foundation - Jesus Christ. The Lord's life was and is the perfect example of integrity-living. When using myself or anybody else as a foundation or measure for integrity, my purity of heart and benefits thereof will not be there. There are rewards or major benefits for seeking the pure lifestyle. Matthew speaks about being able to see God as a reward for having a pure heart (Matt. 5:8) . David says the right to ascend the mount...

One way or another, in some form or fasion - all of us influence the people in our lives. The impact could be a second or it could be forever or anywhere in between. But our development and the development of those around us is no accident. Chance has no place in purpose. In a plan, an experience can be odd or different but not random. Also, claiming nature or nuture as the winner of character creation is difficult. Both nature and nuture have a direct intent on shaping our soul. Our surroundings work hand-in-hand with relationships to mold us. While balance of respect between one's environment and one's relationships is the ultimate human condition, relationships with others seems to favor our attention and care. Author, Brian A. "Drew" Chalker stated in his poem Reason, Season and a Lifetime - "People always come into your life for a reason, season and a lifetime. When you figure out which it is, you know exactly what to do." Life is all about relationshi...

Luke 18:1-8 is a parable or story with a lesson from Christ that speaks about being persistent before an earthly judge and the heavenly judge to acquire justice. The vehicle or medium to petition God about the injustice is prayer and Luke leads off in the first verse with the encouragement of persistence in prayer - " Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up." Jesus says that a persistent prayer requesting justice will receive a quick reply - " Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly." (v. 7-8) There have been other supplications I have made to God that the answer has not been "quickly" . Healing of my body or the body of a loved one is a prime example. However, persistence in prayer is the lesson and God does not reveal how much persistence is needed. Even though other persistent prayer requests may not be answered "quickly" , I am learni...

Does the past exist? Those claiming time travel would say, "yes". I have yet to see proof of that capability. Meanwhile, memories are the record of the past that are usually captivated by an instance of that memory via a picture, sound, smell, song or touch. Some past memories are worth recalling. Others need to be forgotten for the improvement of one's mental, physical and spiritual well being. The past is finished, we should not live there but learn and progress. What matters in the now is what we do with the information and experiences of the past combined with the outlook and forcast for the future. In the movie The Lord of the Rings, the character Gandalf states, "All you have to decide is what to do with the time given to you." Observing how others have handled and been victorious through the situation you are currently experiencing is a great way to appreciate and make use of The Past. Believers before the New Testament was written had and will always hav...

  Proverbs 1:8-9 says, "Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. They are a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck." Some people do not have a father or mother at all. Then there are those individuals who have or had parents that never had proper instruction to give or wise teaching to deliver.  However, to those people, like me, who were blessed to have a father and mother who knew how to administer instruction and teaching - we should honor them and what they bestowed upon us every day according to this Proverbs passage. In this Proverb "garland" is pictured as being not only worn on the head, but the son mentioned is graced or favored to have it there to begin with - " They are a garland to grace your head" . As the garland is on the head it is visible to all who look directly at the son or individual wearing it. The garland refers back to both your father's instruction and mother...

One of my all-time favorite descriptive names of God is not just counselor, but Wonderful Counselor cited in Isaiah 9:6. There are at least three other verses that depict God in this way - John 14:15-17; John 14:25-26; and Psalm 119:24 . The verses in John are the words of Jesus. John 14:15-17 says, " If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth." And John 14:25-26 states, " All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." He is describing the nature and role of the third part of the Holy Trinity - The Holy Spirit - who will come and live within believers after His final departure. In these verses, Jesus specifies the Holy Spirit as "Advocate" . In the original language that word is parakletos (p...

Have you ever been driving and gotten distracted enough, drowsy enough or forced by another vehicle coming over from another lane to the beginning of the shoulder of the road? Now-a-days there is usually a rough strip there that catches your attention and makes a loud noise as you run over it to alert you, you are going off the road. This is what I call - The Rub. The Rub is an attempt to warn you in that moment that your set boundaries are being violated. The rule for staying in your lane at the cost of safety to you and others is in jeapordy when one hears and feels this Rub on the road. Currently I am in a Rub of Life. The Rub that God has placed in my life that I continually keep bumping into or rolling over is Understanding God's Healing Process. As I or friends or family members get sick and need prayer - I pray. Many times the cases are serious, like at this writing my Dad is in the hospital and been there for days and I have prayed earnestly quoting Scripture and the promis...

John 14:1-4 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” View a video of the most lavish and expensive house on this planet with all the amenities you could fathom and that structure would probably equate to the outhouse of what Christ is preparing for His kids in Heaven. In this passage, the word "place" is used three times by Christ. The word that is used does not convey a floating, harp-in-hand, on a cloud, wings on your back, in an ethereal setting for eternity perspective of Heaven or a place in it. Verse 2 begins by speaking about an oikia (oy kee ah), the original Greek word for a proper residence, an abode, a home - the "Father's house...

When living a Christ-like life and trying to serve the Lord, brokenness is the posture that triggers your elevated usefulness by God  (Psalm 51:17) . The ultimate example of humility, brokenness and vulnerability is Christ. Philippians 2:6-11 speaks of the awesome incarnation of the Word of God that I believe humanity will never grasp the full sacrifice of - The Creator becoming His creation for its redemption.  Remaining humble before the Lord displays one's ultimate respect for His sovereignty and pays the believer with "riches and honor and life" (Proverbs 22:4) . In addition, wearing humility as a daily garment or mindset and attitude before others will acquire "favor" from God (1 Peter 5:5) . And we all need riches, honor, life and favor from God who is a generous giver. Another wonderful benefit of practicing humility in Christ is something Jesus said to Paul and all Christians through the ages - "'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is...