Roger

A quick look at Psalm 105:15 seems to defend preachers who ask their followers to blindly follow them.  Anyone who asks questions or who disagrees with those in authority, even when their concerns are expressed in love and respect, is branded as being rebellious.   What is this verse REALLY saying?" I too have wondered about the psalmist’s intention. I think it's time to place it into its proper context, and then to confront any misapplications.  The psalmist writes,  "Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm"  (NIV). While I appreciate those around me who pray for, love and support me, I'm always mindful of the fact that I also need accountability.  No one is right all the time.  Preachers are not infallible; however, the Scriptures require that those who labor in the gospel be treated with respect. Admittedly, God uses imperfect vessels to deliver His perfect message!  To be sure, the Bible tells us in 1 T...

What does it mean to take the Lord’s Name in vain?   Have you given this thought?   Let me suggest several ways: The most obvious way one takes His precious Name in vain is by using it through cursing. When folks use the Name of God and Jesus Christ to express ungodly emotional outbursts, how this must grieve His heart.  God's last name is not "Damn," and Jesus Christ is so holy and precious; so when people use His Name in such an appalling manner, they curse the only Name that can save them! A second way God's Name is used vainly is when people use His Name, but do not direct their thoughts and exclamations to His Person.  Let me explain.  Often we hear people say, "Oh my God!"  It's all too easy to get caught up in this misguided phrase.  Throughout the Psalms David and others continually use this phrase, but only when they address God Himself.  When employed in this manner, God receives praise, reverence and glory.  For example...

Have you ever met a lazy person?   Some years ago, a     woman said to me, “I think my son has a “spirit of laziness.” Personally, I do not subscribe to the "spirit (demon) behind every bush" theology.  Many times we attach the word "spirit" to something, when in reality the problem is an attitude, a fleshly issue or a negative stronghold in our lives. The Bible does indeed identify at least several "spirits."  Let me name a few: Spirit of heaviness (depression)--Isaiah 61:3 Spirit of holiness--Romans 1:4 Spirit of bondage--Romans 8:15 Spirit of slumber (the result of hardened hearts)--Romans 11:8 Spirit of meekness--1 Corinthians 4:21 Spirit of faith--2 Corinthians 4:13 Spirit of wisdom--Ephesians 1:17 Spirit of fear--2 Timothy 1:7 Spirit of truth and the Spirit of error--1 John 4:6 Used in these contexts, the word "spirit" refers to an outside spiritual influence that attaches itself to the soul of a person--his mind, will and emoti...

I remember wondering that very question when I was a teenager.  It seemed to me that finding God's will was such a mysterious, hard-to-understand issue--almost a shot in the dark!    David says in Psalm 48:8,  "I delight to do Your will, O my God..."   Another often-quoted verse pertaining to the will of God is Romans 12:2,  "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." A lot of Christians talk about the  perfect  and  permissible  will of God, using this verse as a support.  However, I don't have time or space to elaborate on this teaching.  Another verse that comes to mind is found in 1 Thessalonians 4:3,  "For this is the will of God, your sanctification..."   Paul specifically mentions sanctification as it relates to possessing our "vessel (body) in sanctification an...