“And when it was day, he departed and went into a desolate place. And the people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them, but he said to them, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.” And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea. On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, ” (Luke 4:42–5:1, ESV)

Why did the Creator of the universe reduce Himself to take on the likeness of sinful flesh in the person of Jesus Christ? Some say it was so that God could show His love for us. There is a large element of truth in that statement. But it is not sufficient. We’ll see that in more detail later. Some say it was because God could not communicate to us any other way. And while communication again is a part of the answer – thinking that God could not communicate to us so as to be understood any other way ignores the whole of the Bible prior to Christ’s incarnation, the experiences of the many recorded in its pages with whom God did communicate quite effectively, and more importantly, seems to slight God’s ability on the very face of it. There has to be more. Indeed there is. And it is captured magnificently in the reasons Jesus Himself told us were behind His coming. Consider then our text today as the second place where Jesus explicitly explains His arrival – “I must preach the news of the kingdom of God…for I was sent for this purpose.”

(more…)

“The righteousness of the upright delivers them, but the treacherous are taken captive by their lust. ” (Proverbs 11:6, ESV)

This statement opens to us one of the greatest deceptions which the Christian has to overcome. The World thinks of righteousness as restricting freedom. But in God’s economy, freedom is from FROM sin, not freedom TO sin.

James terms this freedom the “perfect law of liberty” (James 2:12). It is on this basis the Christian will be judged. The question will not be “did you refrain from X, Y & Z?” as much as it will be “did you walk in A, B & C?” – did we walk in the freedom Christ procured for us at Calvary? Are we taking advantage of the freedoms He has granted to us at the cost of His blood…(read more by clicking below)

(more…)

“The woman Folly is loud; she is seductive and knows nothing. ” (Proverbs 9:13, ESV)

Folly, personified in Proverbs as a woman, is the muse of the Fool. This is what makes one a fool. The Fool chooses the reasoning of Folly instead of the Wisdom of God. And it is tragic indeed.

Three things are brought to our attention in this verse, and they are vitally important…

(more…)

“By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.” (Hebrews 11:4, ESV)

This text contains one of the most important truths about worship one can ever learn: It is not the sacrifice that makes the one who offers it acceptable, it is the acceptance of the one who offers it, which makes his sacrifice acceptable…

(more…)

“My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. ” (Proverbs 2:1–5, ESV)

Spiritual wisdom is not a natural faculty. Even those wisest in the ways of the world can be without it. It must be valued as treasure, paid attention to, inclined toward (fondly desired), asked for, and sought for like mining for silver or other hidden treasure. And in our day of instant gratification, that frankly sounds like too much work. No wonder then, we have little success against our sins. For as our text will show – unless we are desperately seeking God’s wisdom, our own hearts and minds will only lead us with the wisdom they already have. And – how’s that been doin’ for ya?

(more…)