soul

The Lust of the Eyes

“And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.” – Ephesians 1:22-23 Yesterday, we looked at the lust of the flesh and talked about how obsessing over physical desires can make our lives vulnerable to the enemy’s destruction. Today, I want to share with you another way the devil seeks to wreak havoc in our lives — the lust of the eyes. We live in a world that is obsessed with appearance. In fact, many of us learn to obsess about our image, or what we look like to those around us, even before we are old enough to understand why. Our materialistic society teaches that in order to be somebody, we must have certain things. In other words, I am what I have and I

February 25, 2022 1 Comment

You Cannot Be Destroyed

“For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.” – 2 Corinthians 5:1 One of the greatest discoveries of the 20th century is that energy can’t be destroyed. Known as the first law of thermodynamics or “The Law of Conservation of Energy,” it means that energy can neither be created nor destroyed; rather, it can only be transformed or transferred from one form to another. While I am not a scientist and don’t pretend to understand all the ramifications of this law, I do know that it speaks to and verifies the eternal nature of our lives. Since it can’t create itself, energy then, must have been created by a force outside of itself — a Creator! As Christians, we believe that the One who created both matter and energy

February 17, 2022 No Comments

Sheep Clothed as Wolves

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” – 2 Corinthians 4:18 Many of you have heard about wolves in sheep’s clothing, but today, I want to talk to you about sheep in wolves clothing. Some people may be curious as to how a man from a strong Reformed family ended himself at Oral Roberts University…well, let me tell you. I relocated to Oklahoma when I was 15 and attended a Pentecostal Christian school. My sister started going to ORU while I was in high school, and she invited me to these beautiful worship nights that they had on campus — I believe it was initially called Vespers. Anyway, it began at 7:00 or 8:00 p.m., and it was a time of incredible spontaneous worship to God that greatly aided my

January 25, 2022 No Comments

Your Soul is Eternal

“I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” – John 10:28 Last week we discussed how Albert Einstein’s discovery that all matter is energy was one of the most important discoveries of the twentieth century. Today I want to address “The Law of Conservation of Energy,” which states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed; rather, it can only be transformed or transferred from one form to another, another great discovery during this time. While I am not a scientist and do not claim to grasp all of the implications of this law, I do know that it speaks to and affirms the eternal nature of our existence. Because energy

November 11, 2021 No Comments

Heavenly Groanings

“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.” – Romans 8:26,27 There sure is a lot going on these days. When we look at our world, including the recent violence in Afghanistan, some major natural disasters, and the continuing impact of the COVID-19 virus, it’s easy to become overwhelmed. And while our hearts should be heavy for the state of this hurting sphere, my hope is that our grief leads us to a place of prayer. Our Lord has given us the privilege of sharing in the sufferings of others by coming before His throne any time of the day or

August 31, 2021 No Comments

Prepare Your Heart

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” – Proverbs 4:23 In addition to preparing our minds, the second thing we can do to intentionally move from a posture of waiting to one of preparation is to purify our hearts. Just as Jewish worshippers, when partaking in Mikvah, would wash their chest as a way of asking the Lord to make their inner being right before Him, as those who are proactively seeking His perfect will, we should focus on preparing our hearts. It’s important to note that in the context of Scripture, the heart is the center of a person’s being — the place from which everything else flows. Therefore, when we speak of cleansing and readying this sacred part of us, we’re referring to making right that which is deep inside. Naturally, this starts with having a relationship with Jesus Christ, the One

March 5, 2021 No Comments

Image vs. Truth

“Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being…” – Romans 1:22,23 I’m increasingly troubled by the impact of social media on our world and on our mental health. Whether it’s political information, sensationalized headlines, or pictures of our friends and family living the “high life” and looking like they have it all together, the truth is that most of it isn’t true. Image — not reality — has become an idol, and many are addicted to the praise, attention, and reactions of others (even if they’re negative). A story broke last year here in L.A. that certain Instagram influencers who had posted pictures of themselves on a private jet had actually paid to take those photos on a set. When they removed the plane interior backdrop, all that was really there

January 25, 2021 1 Comment

Milk and Honey

“And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.” – Exodus 3:17 What do you imagine when you hear the description, “A land flowing with milk and honey”? My guess is that you envision a large quantity of white liquid and an abundance of a sticky, sweet substance produced by bees. However, this is not what the phrase means in the Biblical context. The Lord promised His people, the Israelites, a land full of these things, but they are actually an analogy for wealth, not a reference to food. Milk symbolizes livestock such as sheep, cattle, and goats, and honey is a reference to farmland. Therefore, the Promised Land was a place rich with both animals and property, and in those days, that’s what influence was made

January 23, 2021 1 Comment

Perfection Isn’t Required

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” – Matthew 6:33 To be more effective for God in the coming year, it’s important to remember that we don’t have to be perfect to make a difference. When I was in high school, I decided I was going to start sharing my faith with anyone and everyone who would listen. That said, I went straight to the campus drug dealer and told Him about Jesus. Much to my surprise, He received the message with great enthusiasm and prayed with me to accept Christ. After that, he began sharing his newfound hope with others, and I was blown away as He embraced the things of God. However, a while later, I saw him standing in the school parking lot dealing crystal meth to another student. This troubled me, and I began

January 4, 2021 No Comments

God’s Construction Project

“For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.” – 1 Corinthians 3:9 Yesterday, we talked about how God’s temple is in us. To further expound on this thought, today, I want to share another analogy. Our experience last year may have made us a bit “trigger shy” when it comes to fully embracing what’s ahead. After all, none of us could have seen what was coming, and if we could have, we might not have set our expectations so high. However, as Christians, I don’t think there’s any compelling reason to pull back our hopes and dreams for 2021. Even if the coming months bring disappointment or loss, we can adopt an attitude of courageous faith which trusts that everything that happens is part of the Lord’s construction project in our lives. I love C.S. Lewis’ analogy in Mere Christianity in which he explains that

January 3, 2021 1 Comment

The Lust of the Eyes

You Cannot Be Destroyed

Sheep Clothed as Wolves

Your Soul is Eternal

Heavenly Groanings

Prepare Your Heart

Milk and Honey

Perfection Isn’t Required

God’s Construction Project

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