Tag: Bible reading

  • Wolves

    With two and four legs

    wolf pack in snow

    I have been blessed to see a few packs of wolves in the wild. I’ve  seen far more lone wolves than packs. Whether a lone wolf or a pack, I’ve always felt blessed to see them.

    I’ve heard the songs of wolves in the wild far more often than I have seen them. Their songs never fail to give me goosebumps. Their songs, particularly if they are coming from different directions around your campfire, are both beautiful and unnerving.

    Coyotes will also serenade at night. Their call is very different, and you would be highly unlikely to confuse the two, unless, perhaps, you had never heard a wolf pack.

    Both wolves and coyotes can be problematic for farmers, as they are not adverse to preying on livestock.  That creates a sort of love-hate relationship between the animals and the farmers.

    Wolves had been known to attack humans, but such attacks are extremely rare. There are fewer than 100 recorded attacks in North America since 1750.  Still, if you are interacting with them, caution is always advised.

    Wolves are mentioned in the Bible, both the four-legged and two-legged varieties. We are warned against the two-legged variety.

    “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. Matthew 7:15-20 ESV

    Unfortunately, attacks by these wolves are not rare. Sometimes they can be found in your home church, striving to cut our little flocks for themselves. At other times, they can be the pastors or leaders of congregations.

    They preach other gospels than the one Jesus taught. They twist the teachings of the Bible to benefit themselves. Sometimes they teach just enough truth that the flock doesn’t notice the poisonous errors.

    Be on the lookout for them. Compare what you are being taught to the Bible and to the orthodox teachings the church has always held.

    We are blessed to have easy access to the Word and to the great theologians of both yesterday and today. We have the Spirit to teach us how to discern truth from error.

    Know what the truth is for yourself.

    Hallelu Yah (Praise God)

    Be blessed, 

    Kevin

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  • A Fish Tail – Lessons in Humility

    I stared off to the west at an unusually shaped cloud. It looked  just like a giant fish tail. It was as if a big fish was chasing the sun over the horizon.

    I had read Jonah recently, and that story came immediately to mind. When we think of biblical characters we want to be like, Jonah never comes to mind. He does not fare well in the biblical account. He ran from God at the beginning of the story, finally obeys, and ends up pouting because God didn’t do what he wanted.

    I thought about the places where our hearts were more like Jonah than like Christ—far more places than we like to admit. When I say our and we here, I include myself. Sometimes my heart is far more like Jonah than Jesus.

    One of the wonderful things about being a Christian, though, is that we are works in process. We are not yet perfect. Nor do we have to be.

    For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10

    And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. Philippians 1:9-11

    Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 2 Corinthians 5:17

    That means we can lighten up on ourselves a bit. I am not advocating that we keep our worldly ways, far from it. I am simply suggesting that we lighten up a bit on unneeded guilt. We do need to repent of our sins. We do need to let the Holy Spirit transform us from the inside out. Many changes need to be made in all of us.

    We simply need to accept that it is a process and we are not going to get there all at once. When we are confronted with sin in our lives, we need to take it to God. We need to work with Him to remove it. We do not need to carry the weight of it around our neck.

    True humility is not walking around with the chains of bondage around our neck, clanking like Jacob Marley and moaning about what worms we are. It is about accepting that we are flawed and truly giving those things to Jesus to change. 

    True humility is recognizing that while we are less than perfect, the one who dwells in us is perfect. It is not about being proud of how good we think we are. It is about recognizing that the goodness in us is a gift from Him.

    Take note of your faults. Give them to Christ and move forward. You cannot change the past, but Christ can change your present and your future.

    Until next time, give Him the room to work and change you.

    Kevin

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