The Parable of the Soils Part 4 – Thorny Soil

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 …

Biblical Prayer – A Critique of the ACTS Model

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 …

The Parable of the Soils Part 3 – Rocky Soil

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 …

The Parable of the Soils Part 2 – The Seed on the Path

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 …

Kingdom against kingdom Part 4 – Final Observations

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 …

Kingdom against kingdom Part 3 – The Confrontation

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. …

The Parable of the Soils – The Key to Understanding God’s Kingdom – Part 1

The central theme of the scriptures is, arguably, the Kingdom of God. Some would say salvation, the redemption of mankind, is the central theme and I would not disagree, but from a big picture standpoint the whole purpose of God’s plan of redemption gets us back to the way things were supposed to be all …

Kingdom against kingdom Part 1- Our Ongoing Supernatural War

The scriptures are full of the supernatural. The bible is an historical account of supernatural activity of the unseen realm interacting with the natural, physical realm, manifesting in ways people can perceive. But are these biblical accounts just for our edification in Sunday school? Or is there something more we need to understand, something more …

The Lord’s Prayer and the Kingdom of God – Part 3

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. Matthew 6:12 (KJV) Forgiveness is a powerful tool for restoring and maintaining relationships between individuals, ethnic groups, or even nations. It even restores a broken relationship with God and leads to immortality. God’s forgiveness of us restores relationship with Him; our forgiveness of each other …

Sodom, Gomorrah and the Rapture

There is debate among Christians about an end times event called the rapture, which is the instant removal from the earth of all true believers in Christ when the mission of the church on earth is complete. So what in the world does an account of Sodom and Gomorrah have to do with the rapture …