1 Peter 5:8 - Are You Watching For Snakes?

1 Peter 5:8
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

When I was 14 years old, my cousin, my uncle and I were fishing along the bank of a remote river in California. I was walking a bit up ahead of the others, and was having a great time hopping from rock to rock.

To the side of the trail, I saw a bundle of twigs on top of some rocks. It seemed out of place somehow, so I stopped to look. And – I almost didn’t see what it was! I had almost stepped on a baby snake sunning itself on a rock. It wasn’t moving, just laying there all twisted up.

Mark 8:34 - Are You a Disciple?

Mark 8:34 (Also Matthew 16:24-27 and Luke 9:23)

34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? 37 Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

Give it some thought, then answer these two questions: 

1 Corinthians 15:33 - The Law of Entropy

1 Corinthians 15:33

Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”

Have you ever thrown a rock into a pond? There are ripples for quite a while after the rock splashes. But - eventually the pond’s surface will become still again.

The second Law of Thermal Dynamics is at work here. It states that things will move toward equilibrium. This is something called entropy — an equal state of balance.

Place a cube of ice in a pot of boiling water and see what happens . . . the ice cube and the pot of water  will both change until they finally reach the temperature of the environment they are in. In fact, everything is moving toward the same temperature of the surrounding environment.

John 3:16-17 - A Loophole or Lifeline?

John 3:16-17
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

If you have ever been out on the ocean, maybe you have thought about how vulnerable you are out there. All that water — and no land in sight!

“Man overboard!” is not a cry to be taken lightly. A man left on his own, swimming in the middle of the ocean has absolutely no chance to survive. If he doesn’t exhaust himself from treading water, there are a host of other reasons he will not survive — from hypothermia to becoming dinner for a large sea creature.

John 2:16 - Do You Worship in a Market Place?

John 2:16
To those who sold doves, he said, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!”

Can you imagine the sounds and smells that were in the temple that day? When you gather a bunch of people in a tight space and bring in livestock and other commodity trading, you have the makings of a bazaar or farmer’s market.

The temple was a glorious place — a place where the very surroundings gave evidence of God’s majesty. In fact, even though they shouldn't have, many Jews of that day swore by the gold of the temple!

But, as it was, a visitor to the temple was met with a cacophony of noise, smells and — mixed messages! Was the house of God a place of worship, or a place of business?

Jesus’ actions showed the right answer!

Today, we have no temple, but we do need to be cautious about how we conduct ourselves. One of the most frequent complaints I hear about “organized religion” is that “they always want my money!”

If you tune into the “television evangelists,” it is truly only minutes into the programs before there is some kind of appeal for funds. Some appeals seem reasonable, and some border on the ridiculous — but all muddy up any message being delivered. It is difficult to refute the charge against “organized religion!”

The spreading of the gospel has some financial costs. Who should bear those costs?

Some have turned to raising the funds from those they reach out to — leading to the practice of “creative marketing” — the more people reached out to, the more potential income. In the short term this is great for the fund raisers, but in the long term this is devastating to those who fall victim to the charlatans — causing many to doubt God and distrust any who claim to follow Him.

Paul understood the problem. Causing those “taught” to bear the burdens of the “teacher” can become a distraction, or a blockade in the spreading of the Gospel. Even though Paul had the right to “earn a living” from teaching the Gospel, he had strong feelings about exercising that right.

1 Corinthians 9:18:  What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make use of my rights in preaching it.

2 Corinthians 2:17:  Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God.

2 Corinthians 6:3:  We put no stumbling block in anyone’s path, so that our ministry will not be discredited.

In gathering funds for the spreading of the gospel, let us not turn the church into a market place — selling trinkets, books and “religious” items to a “captured” audience, making the church look like a “money hungry” machine. We have no biblical support for holding such raffles, car washes or bake sales — or even asking those outside the church for support.

The burden of spreading the gospel should and does lie squarely on the shoulders of the church. The early church — the church we read of in the New Testament — the church Jesus died for — gathered its support from among itself. Here is what the apostle Paul told the churches in Galatia to do . . .

1 Corinthians 16:2:  On the first day of every week, each of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come, no collections will have to be made.

To gather funds any other way is to do so beyond Scriptural example, precedent, directive or command — and that is always a dangerous way to conduct ourselves.

John 3:16 - What's In God's "Jelly Bean Jar?"

John 3:16
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

I love jelly beans. To me, they are the perfect candy — hard shell “self-wrapping” with a gooey center. They can be eaten quickly by chewing, or savored for a while as they dissolve to their flavorful jelly centers.

When I buy jelly beans, they are usually packaged in bags containing several flavors. My purchase gives me everything in the bag—I get all of them—not just the flavors I like.

John 2:16 - Business Among Brothers

John 2:16
To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!”

There is a concept in the business world called “networking.” It is a great way to increase your market coverage, increase sales, and — ultimately — increase your profits. It works well because it is a way of making friends, and converting them into customers — and vice versa.

Rotary, Shiners, Kiwanis, Optimist, Sertoma and other organizations have a reputation of making the world better through their humanitarian efforts. But, if you polled their members, you would find a strong motivation for joining was the potential for networking. If you are a member of such an organization, or have been involved with them, it is not uncommon to see business deals conducted in social situations. — How many napkins have been used as note pads for large projects?

James 1:2-4: "Olympic" Faith

James 1:2-4
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sister, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

The Olympic athletes can give us great insight on how faith works — faith that is active and vital.

As children, many of us have visions of ourselves as great Olympic superstars. Maybe we will be the next Bruce Jenner, Mark Spitz, or Michael Phelps. We have a belief in our own ability to be as great as one of the athletes the world watches in amazement.

But — not many of us work at it beyond our shallow belief in ourselves. Not many spend time practicing and struggling to improve our athletic skills and abilities. As a result, we stay the same as everyone else — far from our idea of being the next Olympic Gold Medalist.

Luke 5:31-32 - Are You Healthy or Sick?

Luke 5:31-32 (NLT)
Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.”

When Jesus began choosing His disciples, among the first was Matthew, also known as Levi. His choice was a bit controversial because Matthew was a tax collector — not someone the public looked upon as worthy of great respect. In fact, they looked upon tax collectors as sort of “legal” bandits.

Matthew responded to Jesus’ call instantly and left everything behind and followed Him. And, like any of us who discover something of great worth, Matthew wanted to share it. So, he gathered his friends for a banquet in honor of Jesus to give them a chance to meet Him too. It was a great gathering of tax collectors and others sinners — and Jesus was right there in the middle of them, seeming to have a good time.

John 15:3 - Have You Been Pruned?

John 15:3
“You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you.”

Grapevines, especially when professionally tended, are amazing. Sometime after the harvest, and before new growth begins, vine growers will take time to trim off all the branches from the previous year, leaving just a few stronger branches, which they tie to a taut wire to hold them firm while they grow for the next harvest.

When the growing season gets under way, it is amazing how little time passes before the bare, clean branches explode with fresh, new green leaves. It seems like they pop out almost over night!