A Christ Follower: The Journey

  For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. Jesus: Matthew 6:14 God's Eternal Principle of Reciprocal Forgiveness Tucked away in the middle of Jesus's secret-service foundational principles is a potent step on a Christ-Follower's journey. A lot of secret stuff goes on inside us when we choose to forgive.  And the opposite is true regarding unforgiveness. And Jesus, in this passage, and elsewhere in the Bible, emphasizes the importance of forgiving other people when they sin against us. One place He highlights this is the Lord's prayer: "Forgive us our trespasses as we for give those who trespass against us."  Or you can say it like this: Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. You can see this. Can't you? He really does make His point as He emphasizes this reciprocal factor of mercy. Praying like this is like asking, "Lord, I want you to forgive me, but I really want to b...

  The Global Methodist Symbol Jesus And The Importance of Fasting The Right Way In our day and age, many have forgotten this spiritual practice which the Lord blesses. I am talking about the spiritual practice of fasting. Mighty things happen when God's people fast in the way our Lord Jesus blesses. And, as we look at The Word of God, Jesus provides us with some seriously marvelous information, and He K eeps I t S imple S aint. The Eternal Principle of Secret Fasting When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do: For they disfigure their faces to demonstrate to others they are  fasting. Truly, I tell you they have their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face so that it will not be obvious to others you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. Matthew 6:16-18 God's Secret Service Previously, we talked about how God blesses us when we behave as His "Sec...

  In my life, I have observed people praying publicly, and many have done so with long flowing poetic words that sounded beautiful, but it sort of felt like these folks were trying to impress all the folks around them; however, based on Jesus teachings, this is not the kind of praying God expects. In Luke 18:9-14, Jesus compares two folks who were praying. One was a religious leader who exemplified just what I mentioned. The other was a man who simply bowed his head, beat upon his chest, and cried out to God in a 7 word prayer: "God be merciful unto me a sinner"   Of the two prayers, Jesus said God heard only the short prayer.  Even the Lord's Prayer, which is shown above, is a very short prayer, but it is one about which Jesus said, "This is how you should pray."   In this Stepping Stones blog, I want to describe 5 S's upon which Jesus bases His praying: 1. S for Secret:   He tells us to go into our closets to pray: Matthew 6:6-7 And what is done in secret...

To Be Praise or Not To Be Praised? Some people, who propose to be seen as Christ Followers, unadvisedly, and all too often,  find themselves looking to receive the praise of other people.  Awards, decorations, trophies, accolades, being on stage to receive applause, becomes a huge part of their daily walk. The outcome of such behavior will leave them drowning at side of the Cross rather than abiding on it. And this is against the will of God for such spiritual going under to occur. Jesus has a better way. It is the way of the God Honoring Secret Servant of The Lord. Christ Stepping Stone: Secret Giving If you read Matthew 6:1-4, You will find how important it is to Jesus, and by extension to following Christ, to give secretly. He tells us not to practice our righteousness for the purpose of being seen by others. And then He says something that should really get  our attention:  He says, " If you do, you will have NO reward from your Father in Heaven."  Say what?...

  Finishing Well The Love Hate Relationship No one can serve two Masters: Either you will hate the one and live the other, or you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.  Matthew 6:24 When we think about how Jesus teaches us about processions, this one verse declaration is His bottom lin e regarding stuff. He is saying you may think you can straddle the fence regarding having things, but this is not at all true. Serving God is a beautiful, life changing eternal thing that impacts you for all eternity, and that includes this side of Heaven. Serving Mammon, which is serving money like it is god, is a huge trap. It will weigh you down. Jesus Words Jesus words are forceful, and you may not even believe Him, but that doesn't change the truth. You Can NOT serve money and serve God at the same time.  Now, I am not saying having nice things is sinful, and I don't think Jesus is saying this either. Having stuff is fine but when it has you, the...

  The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your body will be full of light. Or if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be filled with darkness. If then, the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness.  Matthew 6:22-23 Adam and Eve Adam and Eve, our ultimate ancestors, had the perfect relationship with God.  They could see all things clearly. They could see the Kingdom of God, and they even walked with God, "in the cool of the morning." Their vision was healthy. Or as the Hebrew could be translated another way, their vision was holy. Their spirit's were alive, and their spirit -- the part of them that truly enabled them to experience, or see God with the light of God, was 20/20. Their vision was perfect.  Their lives, because of what they truly saw, was full of life and light; however, when they decided to be "gods" themselves, and they ignored God's teaching, darkness took them over.  They began to see God with darken...

  Sending Treasures Ahead or Not In Matthew 25:34-40 and in Matthew 25:41- 46 Jesus is crystal clear on how we store up heavenly treasures for a life well lived,  and how we miss out on getting positive rewards. In these two passages Jesus gives us six ways to receive Heavenly blessing from activities here on earth, which demonstrated we are actually Christ Followers and six ways leading to regret.  People on The Right As the Judge of Heaven addressed these who were standing before Him, He judged them favorably, and they received their inheritance: He said to them, 1. "I was hungry, and you gave me food." 2. "I was thirsty, and you gave me drink." 3. "I was a stranger, and you invited me in."   4."I needed clothes, and you gave me clothes." 5. "I was sick, and you visited me."           6. "I was in prison, and you visited me."  Now, what is interesting about this is that these folks were surprised to hear this, and so they as...