Category: Gospel

  • The Standoff

    We live in a suite in the home of one of our sons and his  family. Their cats, our “grandcats,” Leeloo and Vader, often come down to visit.

    The grandcats love sitting in our living room to watch the birds come and go at the feeder. Periodically, they get to see an exciting bonus, one of the pair of squirrels will visit the feeder. I recently snapped a shot of Leeloo and the gray Squirrel. Leeloo was almost beside herself in active hunt mode, hunkered down, tail twitching and making excited sounds.

    The squirrel, on the other hand, was curious. She moved to watch from different spots, some closer, others further away, and checked the cat out from all angles.

    The closed windows ensured a standoff. The Cat couldn’t get out, and the squirrel didn’t have to run away. It was fun to watch.

    There is a view out there that is prevalent even in many Christian circles in which the battle between good and evil, God and the devil, is some sort of a cosmic standoff. It’s misguided thinking.

    Satan has power, but no more than God permits. Satan is a created being; God is the omnipotent creator. The battle belongs to the Lord and always has.

    It can be hard to remember that at times because the world seems increasingly dark, and evil seems to be on the rise.

    Do not be deceived, dear friends.

    Satan and his minions will face final judgment.  Sinners will be judged and separated into those destined for glory with the Lord and those set apart for eternal torment. It’s only by the Lord’s mercy and grace that any of us will make it through the great judgement.

    Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:11-15

    Satan is no more able to defeat the Lord than Leeloo was able to break through the widows and get at the squirrel.

    Hold fast against the rising tide of darkness, the last days are coming, and our ultimate victory is assured, guaranteed by God Himself.

    Be blessed

    Hallelu Yah / Praise God 

    Kevin

    Muskrats and the state of the church

    The gospel – the best news ever

    Your local church needs you

    Time is passing – make the most of it

  • Childlike, not childish, faith.

    a stack of wooden cigar boxes

    Some years ago, my friend John gave me some old  wooden cigar boxes. Neither of us is a smoker, but he had managed to collect quite a few of the little boxes over the years. Like me, he enjoys storing his treasures in small wooden boxes or tins of various types. The treasures can be anything from pencils and pens to nuts and bolts. I have always enjoyed boxes and containers of “stuff.” 

    I have one tin filled with such treasures as pocket knives, a bear claw, some arrowheads, a penknife that belonged to my grandfather, and a couple of inexpensive pocket watches. Still another holds USB memory sticks. I like to think of them as childlike treasures not childish.

    I even have a few of those hollowed-out books that are really boxes sitting on my various bookshelves. They, too, hold “irreplaceable treasures.” Things like fossil shark’s teeth, shiny rocks, a compass that belonged to my grandfather, a letter opener made from a deer antler, and some of his World War II memorabilia. Nothing that would be of any value to anyone else but irreplaceable to me.

    If you have been reading for any length of time, you will know that I also enjoy thrift stores, garage sales, and old-style small-town hardware shops.

    I’ve panned for gold, scoured abandoned farmsteads for collectible “stuff,” and picked more than my share of interesting rocks and minerals in my travels. 

    I have never found anything that could be considered a great treasure or have substantial monetary value. It is the hunt for the unusual that I enjoy. I suppose that’s my childlike sense of wonder coming out. Some might say childish, but I prefer childlike. 

    Believers are called to be childlike. 

    “…calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:2-4

    Like children, only in the sense that we learn to trust our Father, as a young child trusts their parents. We are not called to set aside our intellect or reason, but we are called to be humble and trust.  Childlike not childish.

    There is another reason Jesus called us to be little children. Children have little to bring to the table.

    In the days of Jesus, children were amongst the lowest class of citizens. They had no rights, no power, and no wealth. That is hard for us to believe when today, children seem to be a privileged class. We place great value on them. The pendulum has swung to the opposite extreme, from highly marginalized to being worshipped.

    Amongst other things, Jesus was making the point that the gospel was for marginalized people, not just the wealthy or middle class. It is for the sick, the poor, the addicted, the lonely, the undesirables, the unlovable, and in general, those we might feel uncomfortable sitting next to in a church service. 

    Christ had remarkable compassion for the misfits of the day. They had nothing to bring but faith.

    In reality, you and I are misfits as well. We bring nothing but faith, and that is a gift from God. We are broken sinners who offer nothing special to God. It is by His grace that we are saved, not by our merit.

    We have no right to have churches filled with one ethnic group or one social class. That distorts the gospel and sends the message that you don’t belong if you are not like us.

    Churches are not meant to be filled with smug, self-righteous, perfect, homogeneous people. They are designed to be filled with people who know that they are broken and bring nothing. We are to be like the children of Jesus’ day.

    We are saved by the mercy of Christ. I pray He gives us eyes to see others as He sees them and that we make time for the marginalized, the children, the misfits.

    Be blessed

    Hallelu Yah / Praise God 

    Kevin

    Gleanings From The Word – Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life. 

    Childlike faith – not childish

    Subscribe today 

    Find us on Facebook

    Find us on Instagram

    Visit our Homepage

    Find us on Pinterest 

    All contents, “Gleanings From The Word” and “Experience an Extraordinary God in Ordinary Life,” are © 2001, 2025 K.F. “Kevin” Corbin, Gleanings From The Word.

    Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is from the English Standard Version (ESV).

    From Gleanings From The Word (Kevin Corbin, 2001– ), a Scripture-based devotional work.

    # Right Belief Must Become Right Living