Blog Posts containing "Lent"

The parable of the talents. Literally, the moral of the story is short and sweet! Do not bury the talents God has given you. Now wait a minute! Let us look, at the evidence again.  Read more

Matthew 26:14-27:66: “Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, Lema sabachthani?", that is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”. There are Christians who are confused with the death of Jesus and some angry and fearful that God would do such a thing to His Son. How can anyone understand this? This scripture is one of the most difficult to understand in a worldly way. It must be understood spiritually, in a godly way. We are rationally looking at the same thing in the same way. To understand it, we must look spiritually at the same thing in a spiritual way. We need to spiritually wonder what difference the death of Jesus on the cross makes when we are out of the Love of His Spirit and when we are in the Love of His Spirit.  Read more

OLD TESTAMENT: Isaiah 50:4-9a Literal Religion: God helps us not to be disgraced by others. Read this scripture literally for its religious meaning. “The Lord GOD helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced.” Spiritual grace: Not being disgraced is feeling God’s grace no matter what others have done to us. Now quietly move into God's Presence and read this scripture again. “The Lord GOD helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced.” Did you feel the Grace? Legalism may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort!  Read more

John 9:1-41 “Open wide the eyes of my soul.” John got grace. Now, all of us got grace in the eyes of the Lord. Our issue is to let grace get us. John got grace spiritually. He also “got” grace rationally; that is, he understood the difference being in or out of grace makes in our life by moving from the rational physical to the conscious spiritual. This chapter is one of the best of his exercises. It is tricky in that for the first thirty nine verses we are talking about physical blindness, then in the last three verses he jumps into writing about spiritual blindness. The purpose is to find out if the reader can make the shift. It is good practice to see if you can get the Grace.  Read more

OLD TESTAMENT: Ezekiel 37:1-14 Literal Religion: “The Word of the Lord” is following the Law. Read this scripture literally for its religious meaning. “O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.” Spiritual grace: “The Word of the Lord” means loving others in the Love of Jesus. Now quietly move into God's Presence and read this scripture again. “O dry bones, hear the Word of the LORD.” Did you feel the Grace? Grace is being able to raise your eyebrow instead of your voice! PSALM: 130:1-8 Literal Religion: “Hope” is depending on God to do for us what we want. Read this scripture literally for its religious meaning. “in His word I hope” Spiritual grace: “Hope” is how we feel in His Presence. No matter what happens we never know what God will do next. Now quietly move into God's Presence and read this scripture again. “in His Word I hope” Did you feel the Grace? Legalists have the right to remain silent, but they do not have the ability!  Read more

John 9:1-41 “Open wide the eyes of my soul.” John got grace. Now, all of us got grace in the eyes of the Lord. Our issue is to let grace get us. John got grace spiritually. He also “got” grace rationally; that is, he understood the difference being in or out of grace makes in our life by moving from the rational physical to the conscious spiritual. This chapter is one of the best of his exercises. It is tricky in that for the first thirty nine verses we are talking about physical blindness, then in the last three verses he jumps into writing about spiritual blindness. The purpose is to find out if the reader can make the shift. It is good practice to see if you can get the Grace.  Read more

OLD TESTAMENT: Samuel 16:1-13 Literal Religion: “See” and “Look” are physical. Read this scripture literally for its religious meaning. “The LORD does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” Spiritual grace: “See” and “Look” are spiritual. Now quietly move into God's Presence and read this scripture again. “The LORD does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” Did you feel the Grace? Legalists are like slinkies, not really good for anything, but you can't help smiling when you see fall down the stairs!  Read more

John 4:5-42 The Samaritan woman said to Him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” Here is a woman who is rejected by her peers. She has had four husbands and the man she is living with is not her husband. We must realize what it meant to be a divorced woman in those days. Women did not divorce their husbands. Only husbands could divorce. Women were considered “property”. The tenth Commandment was not to covet a man’s donkey, property, or wife. The woman was among those included as donkeys and other property. All that was needed was a signed piece of scrap paper and saying three times, “I divorce you.” That was it. In other words, she had been rejected by four husbands. They might have married her for the physical reason. When they got through with her they dumped her back to the market.  Read more

OLD TESTAMENT: Exodus 17:1-7 Literal Religion: Quarreling is the reason they were put out of the Presence of the Lord. Read this scripture literally for its religious meaning. “because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the LORD” Spiritual grace: Being out of the Lord’s Presence is why they were quarreling. Now quietly move into God's Presence and read this scripture. “because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the LORD” Did you feel the Grace? If grace agreed with legalism both would be wrong!  Read more

NOW HEAR THIS! This is Jesus speaking AND YOU BETTER LISTEN. Who can argue with that? Yes, but what if it is not Jesus speaking? What if it is just some other person telling us it is Jesus speaking? They say, “We know what we are speaking about. It is in the Bible. We have seen it, yet you do not receive our testimony. What kind of jerk are you? Do you know who you are talking to?” Yet another “that does it” moment! The fight over who is right about the Bible and who is wrong is just beginning.  Read more