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  The Parable of the Bags of Gold 14  “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them.   15  To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, [ a ]  each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey.   16  The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more.   17  So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more.   18  But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19  “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.   20  The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’ 21  “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been...

  The Parable of the Ten Virgins 25  “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.   2  Five of them were foolish and five were wise.   3  The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them.   4  The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps.   5  The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. 6  “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ 7  “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps.   8  The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’ 9  “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ 10  “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were rea...

  1/17/2023 Matthew 25 (the dangers of dabbling in Jesus) Dabbling in Jesus can send one to hell. Jesus tells three stories in Matthew chapter 25 that should give us pause: how serious are we about our relationship with Him? Five Virgins awaiting a wedding feast were prepared for his return; five weren’t and became strangers shut outside in the cold. Two servants were diligent about the resources Jesus gifted to them; one shrugged it off and got cast aside to suffer in the darkness. Believers who truly cared about the world’s dispossessed souls got to heaven; indifferent followers discovered they were phonies destined for Hell because they were unable to recognize Jesus among them. Identifying with Jesus is serious business and those who just dabble in a Jesus or church culture are warned to take another look at themselves and at the King of Kings. We all have one life to live here on earth. As much as we may want to hang on to it as long as possible, it will be brief in light ...

  1/14/2023 Judges 11:35 [NIV] "When he [Jephthah] saw her, he tore his clothes and cried, 'Oh no, my daughter! You have brought me down and I am devastated. I have made a vow to the Lord that I cannot break.' ” This disturbing passage in Judges is not about God demanding a human sacrifice, but about Jephthah’s ignorance of God. Nowhere in the story does it describe God’s interaction with him other than empowering him to defeat the Ammonites. Jephthah is the one who made a rash vow to God, then insisted it be kept. The moral of the story is about how our foolish pride compounded by our ignorance of God can lead to twisted morality. The world is filled with toxic religions that lead followers and repulsed observers away from God. When we interject our own thoughts and biases into the issue of God, rather than open ourselves to let the Holy Spirit of God show us Himself, we come away confused or hostile to Him. The Bible ultimately describes God’s very essence as Love ...

  1/11/2023 John 10:31-34 [NIV] "Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?” “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.” Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods”’[Psalm 82:6]? So, according to Jesus we are gods. I have skirted around this verse in the Bible because I didn’t know how to process it. But I realized this morning that Jesus had a reason for quoting this scripture to his enemies who ended up having him crucified. It reveals two critical truths: Jesus is God and we are not, in this age where people are being led to believe their morality does not come from God, but from ‘us’ or even ‘me’. “I am” is in direct opposition to God, whose Name is “I AM that I AM”. God said: “there is no other god beside me”. “I” am a god whose will ...

  1/3/2003 John 1:4-5 [NIV] "In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome [did not comprehend] it." “Does not compute”. This familiar term describes a computer’s inability to make sense of input given it and leads to a breakdown in its ability to process information. This verse in the Gospel of John describes how light shines in darkness and there is nothing darkness can do about it. Neither darkness nor Evil has the ability to overcome the light of God. Evil can only overcome good when our good confronts it on evil’s terms. “Good” people cannot fight evil apart from God, because only God is Good and Light. This explains why all the best human intentions that exclude God will go sideways and end up doing more harm than good. Political revolutions intended to correct evil almost always end up producing more evil. Social justice interventions based on compassion like ‘harm reduction’ incre...