NCarolinian

One look can say a lot! Ever seen a child, no matter how old - when in the company of one of his/her parents - receive a look that says, "Don't even think about doing that, you know it is against my rules and your best interest."?  I experienced that a few times growing up and it was enough to straighten my behavior. Why? Because I knew the consequence(s) of continuing in the course of my actions and it would not be pleasant (understatement). So, what does any kid do when faced with this situation? They try to dodge or avoid The Look. This means they will be testing the waters or misbehaving out of the sight of The Parents. There is nothing hidden from God. " Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account." (Hebrews 4:13)  I could stop right there, but I want to crystallize the image of No Privacy. We might have thought we grew up thinking we got away with stuff f...

I maybe can count on one hand the amount of people I have known in my life (46 years so far) that have had A Commanding Presence. I long for this kind of pervasion in any location. Somebody that can control a room simply by entering it. Not that the "air" about me is conceited or pompous, but the way I carry myself would exude a more positive demand of attention. I want more people to experience Christ in me by just being with me. I believe, as 2 Corinthians 2:16 says, that believers in Christ Jesus should have a "Heavenly Scent" about them that is so pleasing that it draws all people to them. " To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task?" I also believe, as Matthew 5:15 says, that believers should be a light to the world and especially within their own household.  " Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives l...

Back in the days of King Solomon, the culture viewed the act of winking as someone with bad intent. "A troublemaker and a villain, who goes about with a corrupt mouth, who winks maliciously with his eye, - he always stirs up conflict." (Proverbs 6:12-14)  "Whoever winks maliciously causes grief,..." (Proverbs 10:10)  "Whoever winks with their eye is plotting perversity; whoever purses their lips is bent on evil." (Proverbs 16:30) The last verse ( Prov. 16:30 ) states if you wink, you are involved in something perverse and if you scrunch up (purse) your lips something evil is your passion. The other verses indicate that one could wink "maliciously" . These physical observations remind me of the Tell or give-away in a card-game of Poker. In King Solomon's culture these Tells were observations that identified one with the individuals who were "troublemakers", "villains", "corrupt", "causers of grief...

Everything in moderation, right? For the most part. However, Galatians 5:23 says, "Against such things there is no law." What thing(s) is there no law against? The previous verse answers this - "love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control" .  There are two major observations with this list of the Fruits of the Spirit. First, these outcomes are Godly results, notice in Galatians 5:22 identification of The Fruit is with The Spirit. The things against which there is no law are of and from The Holy Spirit. So, to have these Fruits in your life means to have The Holy Spirit's love, The Spirit's joy, The Spirit's peace, The Spirit's forbearance, The Spirit's kindness, The Spirit's goodness, The Spirit's faithfulness, The Spirit's gentleness and The Spirit's self-control for your own benefit as well as the benefit of others. The second observation is that having no law against ...

You have heard it said, "The battle belongs to the Lord." (2 Chronicles 20:15) You have also heard it said,  "our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." (Ephesians 6:12) So, which is it - should we stay or should we go? Is the battle God's or ours? I believe the answer is both or situational with Holy Discernment. You have King David and King Jehoshaphat being examples of trusting in the power of their saving God by obeying His Word to hold back Israel's army at a certain point ( 2 Samuel 5:23-24; 2 Chronicles 20:15 ) - the battle was the Lord's in these situations. Fast forward to the time of Paul and his letters to the believers in the churches of the world at that time and a new picture emerges. With a New Covenant, comes a new, additional way of battling. God may still choose to battle for ...

Why put armor on if you are not going to fight or at least defend yourself? You might say, "Well, I'm a lover not a fighter." (a la Michael Jackson) Or you might comment, "I am a cook." Or "I am the stable-boy." Or "I am the seamstress of the kingdom." An enemy gives no mind to these things as he slaughters you. It is the same with the The Enemy of our soul. The enemy cares not about your rank or occupation, he will kill you, steal all from you and corrupt you unto destruction just the same. This is why, for those Christians who think they fill a less important militaristic role in God's Kingdom - they are dead before they even begin their ministry with Christ - they need to suit-up with The Armor of God also. Some might say, "Well, why did you take The Armor off to begin with?" To that I say, who says they did?  What if the prayer for The Armor of God once again is a renewing of that part and what it means to our spiritual...

Have you ever heard someone confess - "All my eggs are in one basket.....I've tied my rope to that horse....I have hitched my wagon to a star" ?  These are all - Sellout statements. In this time of diversification, this mentality of the one-stop-shop for everything is rare. In today's world if you desire to be everything to everybody in one location, you better have the money and/or the infrastructure to build and support it.  Spiritually speaking - true Christianity confesses -  "All my eggs are in one basket.....I've tied my rope to that horse....I have hitched my wagon to a star" . A true believer in Christ is one who would go anywhere, anytime, to any person, unashamed and declare - "As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." (Joshua 24:15)  To me the declaration is not that hard to make. Jesus Christ of Nazareth stated who He was - "I am the way, and the truth and the life" (John 14:6) . He proved who He was - ...