The world isn’t always a beautiful or hopeful place.  But, if our souls are shaped around God’s Good News in Jesus Christ, our minds should no longer be dominated by anxiety, fear and disappointment but should be built on confidence, hope, safety, trust and strength.

When the angel announced the birth of Jesus to the shepherds in Bethlehem, he did so by saying, “Do not be afraid.  I bring you good news of GREAT JOY that will be for all people.”  (Luke 2:10)  Joy is a gift of God through His Son Jesus Christ.  This joy is a gift to all who are willing to believe and receive Jesus as Savior.  This joy can be a lifestyle in the midst of trouble and anxiety.  REJOICE IN THE LORD ALWAYS!

“Everyone has some gift; therefore, all should be encouraged.  No one has all the gifts; therefore, all should be humble.  All gifts are for the one Body; therefore, all should be harmonious.  All gifts are from the Lord; therefore, all should be contented.  All gifts are mutually helpful and needful; therefore, all should be studiously faithful.  All gifts promote the health and strength of the whole Body; therefore, none can be safely dispensed with.  All gifts depend on His fullness for power; therefore, all should be kept in close touch with Him.”  ~ A. T. Pierson

A sportswriter once asked Joe Louis, the great boxer, “Who hit the hardest during your ring career?”  Louis’ reply was, “Uncle Sam.”

One cynical person said, “Death and taxes may always be with us, but at least death doesn’t get any worse.”

The Pharisees approached Jesus with the question of paying taxes to Caesar, the head of the Roman government which was occupying their land.  Their real purpose was to trap Jesus - Matthew 22:20, “and he asked them, ‘Whose portrait is this?  And whose inscription?’”  (As someone has said, “The person patting you on the back may be just trying to determine where to put the knife.”)  Jesus’ response to the Pharisees was, “Show me a denarius.  (The denarius was worth one day’s wages.)  Whose portrait and inscription are on it?”

The sign of AUTHORITY, of who was in charge, was the issue of currency.  For instance, the Maccabees had immediately issued their own currency whenever Jerusalem was freed from the Syrians.

In reading a history of Sugar Land, I discovered that at one time Sugar Land had its own currency.  W.T. Eldridge, who had been born in Washington County, near Independence, Texas, in 1862, became one of the early fathers of Sugar Land, the refinery and Sugar Land Industries.  Eldridge was a colorful entrepreneur, who killed at least three men, was shot through the back with a high powered rifle, married three times, with his second wife dying after only six months of marriage, and had his oldest son commit suicide at age 40, one year before Eldridge suddenly died at age 69.  The last Eldridge home, a large white stuccoed Spanish style house with red tile roof, built in 1928, is located today just south of Lakeview Drive near the old Imperial Sugar Mill.

Eldridge co-owned a company town named “Bonus” near Eagle Lake in 1900, with a man named Captain W.E. Dunovant, who would later be killed by Eldridge in a shoot-out.  But after Eldridge and Dunovant established the company town, which had a rice mill, corn mill, cotton gin, and general mercantile store, Eldridge minted brass coins with “D&E” on them good only for purchasing at Bonus.  After the Eldridge/Dunovant partnership had been dissolved, new coins made of pewter were struck with the initials “W.T.E.” and good only at Bonus.

The Christian has a higher loyalty: “Then give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”  We live in the world but are not of the world.  Our citizenship is in heaven - Philippians 3:20, “But our citizenship is in heaven.  And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.”

WHEN WE GIVE FREELY AND GENEROUSLY WE ARE DEMONSTRATING OUR TRUST IN A GOD WITH UNLIMITED RESOURCES.  THE DEGREE OF OUR GIVING IS AN INDICATION OF OUR FREEDOM FROM FEAR.

ONE REASON JESUS SAID THAT IT IS MORE BLESSED TO GIVE THAN TO RECEIVE IS THAT BY OUR GIVING WE DO RECEIVE.

Evil can never be overcome by evil.  When hatred is met with hatred there is an escalation of hatred.  Evil can only be overcome by good and hatred by love.  As believers in Jesus Christ we are commanded to maintain Christian principles in the midst of all kinds of opposition in order to demonstrate the power of the gospel.

Faith, love and hope have been called the “three work horses” of Christianity.  Paul connects them to work, labor and endurance.  The Christian faith is not confined to intellectual or spiritual belief.  It has these visible expressions without which it cannot really be Christian.  I am grateful for the people who are Sugar Land Baptist Church and for their witness to faith, love and hope.

The greatest freedom in life is the freedom one finds in the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ — 2 Corinthians 3:17, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”  We don’t have to try to bind the Spirit, compete for the Spirit or control the Spirit.  We are free to live in the Spirit as He gifts us and fills us with His fruit — Galatians 5:22-23,  “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Against such things there is no law.”

Corinthian habits, Corinthian words, and all the restlessness of the city created an open door for the good news of Jesus Christ.  Paul walked through that door.  A great open door for the gospel is present in our world today.  The restlessness and disgust of the people give us the same opportunity Paul had to share our faith in Jesus Christ.  With Jesus at our side we do not need to fear

Finding ourselves stuck in a cave of fear is not abnormal.  It is not even sinful.  But staying stuck in that cave of fear is not what God would want for me or you.  He sent His Son Jesus so that we might LIVE and LIVE ABUNDANTLY.  Don’t let some personal defeat rob you of the ABUNDANT LIFE IN CHRIST.

Suffering is not good in itself.  The two benefits of suffering are submission by the sufferer to the will of God and compassion from those who witness the suffering to the one who is suffering.  The crucifixion is the best and worst of all historical events.

We may enjoy this world for a period of time but suffering keeps us from mistaking this world for our eternal home.

Good memories will live and produce good in our lives as we recall them.  Bad memories can be beneficial if we learn to recast them.  We can’t change the past.  The things which happened to us for good or bad are past.  They are done.  But we can recast those things in light of what we can learn from them which will be beneficial to us today.  For instance, Abel’s death was not a good memory for Adam and Eve or for the Israelites.  But the writer of Hebrews recasts Abel’s death in light of what we can learn from his life and sacrifice.

Thomas is a good example of one who didn’t want to live on a second-hand faith.  He didn’t want to live his life on someone else’s experience.  He wanted to know and experience the great events of life for himself.  He did not believe in a risen Jesus until he had experienced a personal encounter with the risen Jesus.  What Thomas experienced through his visual perception we are invited to experience through our spiritual perception.  We are blessed by the gift of faith through the grace of God.

We look at Gethsemane to find our way as we wrestle with God’s will for our lives, our purpose, and the way to live.  Jesus was wrestling with God’s call upon His Life.

This was a decisive moment for Jesus on the way to the cross - doing the will of God.  What comes with doing the will of God?  It is the cup.  That cup is different for each one of us with every decision we make to follow the will of God.

Spiritual leadership in the home is both essential and difficult.  If we do it effectively it adds a sense of joy and meaning in being a family.  Spiritual leadership provides a freedom of spirit and a richness of relationships that is found in no other way.  How do we provide that leadership?
In the family it takes teamwork to provide spiritual leadership.  The husband and wife, both saved by the grace of God in Jesus Christ and spiritually gifted by the risen Lord, are essential to leading their family to a living faith.

Everything in creation is designed by God.  Everything in creation has a divine purpose.  Having a better understanding of the human brain created by a loving God gives us better possibilities for relating to each other.  Better understanding of the differences in the male and female brain also provides better possibilities for more fulfilling marriages.  Thanks be to God for His wonderful creation.

It’s all right to be an average man or woman.  But if you want something more than average for your life there are four things you need to know about spiritual gifts:

1. Being ignorant of one’s spiritual gifts deprives the Church of a much needed ministry. 
2. Being ignorant of one’s spiritual gifts deprives the believer of a sense of fulfillment and joy. 
3. Being ignorant of one’s spiritual gifts creates unnecessary envy and strife among believers. 
4. Being ignorant of one’s spiritual gifts disappoints God and denies others the opportunity of enjoying God’s blessings with us.

“Everyone has some gift; therefore, all should be encouraged.  No one has all the gifts; therefore, all should be humble.  All gifts are for the one Body; therefore, all should be harmonious.  All gifts are from the Lord; therefore, all should be contented.  All gifts are mutually helpful and needful; therefore, all should be studiously faithful.  All gifts promote the health and strength of the whole Body; therefore, none can be safely dispensed with.  All gifts depend on His fullness for power; therefore, all should be kept in close touch with Him.” ~ A.T. Pierson

WHEN TALKING ABOUT MONEY FROM A SCRIPTURAL PERSPECTIVE, there are several good and important questions which need to be asked:  WHOSE MONEY IS IT?  HOW DO WE GET IT?  HOW ARE WE TO MANAGE IT?

WHOSE MONEY IS IT?  It is God’s money, which we work to get and use as God’s managers by giving, saving, and spending.

Today as we look at our Scripture we need to regard our body and our mind as gifts from God to be managed with dignity. The most important relationship we will ever have is with ourselves. We have to be our own best friend first. We have to love ourselves from the inside out.

Since God has blessed Americans with all these wonderful technologies in health care does He care about what we eat or whether we exercise? Is taking care of ourselves physically a spiritual discipline? What does the Bible teach us about our bodies?

It is clear from Scripture that our bodies are a good gift from God. We should treat them with the respect and dignity due this kind of gift. It is a sin against God to mistreat this wonderful gift. It is a sin that has terrible personal consequences for me and for those around me.

I am the one who is most responsible for taking care of the body God has given me. If my body is going to receive the attention and care it deserves, IT IS UP TO ME! GOOD HABITS AND DISCIPLINE BEGIN WITHIN!

This New Year should begin with a personal prayer for God to exercise His great power in my mind and spirit to help me begin with a personal effort at taking better care of my body by eating correctly, exercising, resting and reading positive spiritual works.

Jesus is called the one who “will guide our feet into the paths of peace.”  Jesus was God among the people of the First Century.  When he ascended back to heaven, He provided His presence through His Holy Spirit.  He would continue to be the one who would guide His follower’s “feet into the paths of peace.”

One of the most elusive paths in every believer’s life is the PATH OF PEACE!  Look at our world today and throughout her history.  It has been a world history littered with violence, conflict and war.  Even those who claim to be regenerated in Jesus Christ have difficulty staying on the path of peace.  It is only through God with us that we can get on this path of peace and stay on it.

Jesus came into the world to reveal how God feels about us - HE LOVES US.  Jesus came into the world to reveal how God wants to relate to us - HE WANTS US TO BE HIS CHILDREN;  children not born of natural birth but of supernatural birth.  Jesus came into the world to guide our feet into paths of peace.  He is still among us as our guide through the Holy Spirit, the One who comes alongside us every moment.  EMMANUEL: GOD WITH US TO GUIDE US!

The present monent, this present time, is the high time for us to wake out of sleep.  But what is this moment but a time save a past of a future- that has been qualified by  the now that is set in the midst of them.  (Karl Barth)

It's here but it's not yet fully here

The "not yet"

The Future
by Wendell Berry
For God's sake, be done
with the jabber of a "better world."
What blasphemy! No "futuristic"
twit or child thereof ever
 in embodied light will see
a better world than this, though they
foretell inevitably a worse.
Do something! Go cut the weeks
Beside the oblivious road.  Pick up
the cans and bottles, old tires,
and dead predictions.  No future
can be stuffed into this presence
except by being dead.  The day is
clear and bright and overhead
the sun not yet half finished
with his daily praise.

The Mormon Church claims to be the only true church because it contends that it is the only church since the time of Christ which has received the divine revelation (through Joseph Smith and others), and which may still continue to receive divine revelation through its presidents.  Joseph Smith himself was once asked, “Will everybody be damned, but Mormons?”  His answer was, “Yes, and a great portion of them, unless they repent, and work righteousness.”  (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 119).  Brigham Young said, “Every spirit that does not confess that God has sent Joseph Smith, and revealed the everlasting gospel to and through him, is of Antichrist . . .”  (Discourses of Brigham Young, p. 435).