Biblical prophecy, end times, and the supernatural
Each year around Christmas, I reread the Book of Ruth. To me, it is part of the Christmas story, even though it predates the birth of the Messiah by about 1000 years. It takes place in the time of the Judges, before there was a king in Israel. How does a short, obscure story tucked …
Read the full post →“The Book of Ruth and the Birth of Christ – Part 1”
There is a secret hidden in God’s Word, a secret that is the key to fruitfulness in the life of a believer. I believe it is also the secret to understanding God’s word – all of it. The parable of the sower also speaks of the type of soil required for fruitfulness as well as …
Every farmer knows that harvest is reduced by weeds which compete with the crop for sunlight, nutrition, and water. If there is no intervention, weeds can reduce yield by about 28% according to a brief internet search. Soil is well prepared by farmers for planting: its well tilled, fertilized, and has the right amount of …
Read the full post →“The Parable of the Soils Part 4 – Thorny Soil”
One of the most popular models for Christian prayer is the ACTS model (A – adoration, C – confession, T – thanksgiving, and S – supplication). I’ve used it many times myself as it was how I was instructed to pray when I first came to saving faith in Christ. An internet search on “ACTS …
Read the full post →“Biblical Prayer – A Critique of the ACTS Model”
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil Matthew 6:13 My last post was about the parable of the soils, specifically, the rocky soil. The “rocky soil” as explained by Jesus is the believer who has a shallow, superficial faith that cannot hold up under challenges of life. The parable lists three …
Read the full post →“The Lord’s Prayer and the Kingdom of God Part 4 – Deliverance from Evil”
Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away. Luke 8:13 The rocks adjacent to my driveway will often have grass and chick weed growing in various places because over …
Read the full post →“The Parable of the Soils Part 3 – Rocky Soil”
Who Do You Seek? As I said in the last post, not many people came to Jesus to seek the meaning of the parable of the soils. To the crowds, Jesus probably sounded like a farmer, not understanding there was profound spiritual meaning behind an agricultural parable. But apparently, 15 people – disciples – came …
Read the full post →“The Parable of the Soils Part 2 – The Seed on the Path”
This is the final post about the Gadarene incident. My purpose here is to summarize some key points that I would recommend all believers internalize. Why? Because there is a resurgence of paganism throughout the world along with a suppression of the Word of God – just as prophesied thousands of years ago. The first …
Read the full post →“Kingdom against kingdom Part 4 – Final Observations”
This is the third part of a series on what I call the Gadarene incident – the well known account in the gospels of the deliverance of a man from many demons by Jesus Christ. In this post, I focus on the deliverance itself, but there are some bigger picture things happening in this encounter. …
Read the full post →“Kingdom against kingdom Part 3 – The Confrontation”
Note: this is a re-post of part of the story of Jesus and the disciples as they encountered the demonically possessed man on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. The encounter of Jesus with the Gadarene demoniac is one of the most amazing supernatural events in the Bible. What’s interesting about this incident …
Read the full post →“Kingdom against kingdom Part 2 – The Crossing”