Scripture: Psalm 91: 1-3

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.^{[a] 2} I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” ³ Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence.

Scripture Commentary: God invites all to dwell in His house.

Before we can dwell in God’s house, we must first accept Him as our Lord and Savior. If we don’t, we can’t know where He lives and we can’t know His house. This is a problem for non-believers. They live outside of God and are lost in their earthly possessions.

There’s a sign at God’s door to welcome all. We are invited to bring the sick, the hungry, the lame, the lost. All are welcome. But in our busy-ness we walk by and never look at the sign.

We run from God while He runs after us.

Think about your life. Consider your disobedience. We have abandoned God but He never abandones us. God is our shelter, our refuge, our entire life. He protects us even when we don’t ask and loves us even when we don’t love Him back.

He keeps us safe. Let us stop wasting the time we have left. Our life on earth is short; we must spend the life we have left spreading God’s Gospel.

Moses reminds us that a thousand years are like a day to God. God is not limited by time. We are. God is eternal; we can depend on Him. Because our days are numbered, we want to use as many of them as we can working for God. One day we will stand before God and He will ask what have we done in His name?

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scripture Referenced:

Psalm 91

Read Other Commentary from the Book of Psalms:

Nothing Can Stand Against God

Praise God for All He Has Done

Scripture: Matthew 26: 61-63

⁶¹ and declared, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’” ⁶² Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” ⁶³ But Jesus remained silent.

Scripture Commentary: But Jesus remained silent.

In these verses the high priests questions Jesus. “Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.” (verse 63) This person is educated in the Old Testament. He knew what Jesus had done up to this point in his life: healing the sick, giving the blind sight and the lame the ability to walk, and raising the dead. But Jesus remained silent. Despite this, they were yet still in denial regarding Jesus Christ as Messiah.

Are you like the high priests? Are you in denial?

Do you go about your life thinking that everything is about you and that you have control over everything? Like Peter, do you deny Jesus?

Jesus finally declares that He is the Son of God. He knew he was placing himself in harm’s way. Also, He knew this had to be done to save us from a life of no hope and total sin with no way out. Jesus was calm, courageous and determined to do what God, His Father, had sent him here to do. He led us to God, the Father.

Jesus knew the beginning and end of his mission here on earth. At this point, you know the beginning of your life but do you know the ending?

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scripture Referenced:

Matthew 26

Read Other Commentary from the Book of Matthew:

What Favor Do You Ask of Jesus?

When We Refuse To Forgive

Scripture: Psalm 3: 1-3

Lord, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me! ² Many are saying of me, “God will not deliver him.”^{[b] 3} But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high.

Scripture Commentary: No weapon formed against you can prosper with God.

David is not on his throne. He is running from his son Absalom who rose up against him with an army of 10,000 soldiers. These enemies were trying to kill him. David’s army of seasoned fighters would probably have defeated Absalom’s forces but David did what we all are to do: Give it to God.

When we have problems, we tend to try to solve them by ourselves.

David didn’t do this. Instead, he depended on God’s mercy to handle the situation. Then, after he gave it to God, David went to sleep. When you give something to God, you are not to handle it anymore. If you pick up the situation again, essentially you are saying to God that it’s too much for him and you will handle things.

David reminds us that God is in control. When you seek God, He will provide for you. When you seek God, he will turn your sleepless nights into peacefully slept nights.

Prayer brings peace and full assurance that God has control of anything and everything.

Talk to God; do not count sheep. God is all powerful; He is the creator of everything and the true answer of all. Seek God first and you will be on your way to peaceful days and nights. When you serve God, then you are free from the vices of the world.

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scripture Referenced:

Psalm 3

Read Other Commentary from the Book of Psalms:

God the Creator

Place Your Confidence in God Who Can Do All Things

Scripture: John 15: 20-21

²⁰ Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’^[b] If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. ²¹ They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. 

Scripture Commentary:

Jesus gave His life out of His love for us. The world rejected Him. He was spit on, beaten, whipped and nailed to the cross. Jesus tells us that if they persecuted Him, they will persecute His people too.

Jesus came into the world with love and forgiveness and was punished by people who only wanted to continue their lifestyle.

Are we any different than our forefathers?

Jesus gave His life for us out of love. In turn, we reject Him when we do not help or love one another. We must choose to follow Jesus or not. Without Jesus, we deny ourselves the life He offers.

We are the vine; Jesus is the trunk.

We either bear fruit for Jesus or we are an unproductive twig to be broken and burned. Be not of this world; live as Jesus teaches. The world will hate Christians because its agenda is different.

Jesus prunes us to produce godly fruit.

As a branch of Jesus’s tree, we are to love and live to spread the gospel. Christ is the vine; God is the gardener who works on us to make us fruitful.

Are you fruitful for Jesus or are you barren?

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scripture Referenced:

John 15

Read Other Commentary from the Book of John

Believe on the Name of Jesus

Wilt Thou Be Made Whole?

Scripture: Job 21: 13-14, 32

They spend their years in prosperity and go down to the grave in peace.^{[a] 14} Yet they say to God, ‘Leave us alone! We have no desire to know your ways. ³² They are carried to the grave, and watch is kept over their tombs.

Scripture Commentary:

Each of Job’s friends spends time giving their opinion of why God is punishing Job. Eliphaz tells Job that his view of God is not of the greatness that it should be. Eliphaz asks Job why he has a small, narrow view of God.

We know from reading Job that it is not God who is hurting Job. God gave Satan permission to do this. When we see someone going through hard times, we should not assume that they are being punished. We are not to be judge and jury, only God has that title.

Eliphaz gives a summary of repentance but he did not know what God was doing in Job’s life. He is correct when he says we must ask for God’s forgiveness when we sin, but this did not apply to Job. Sometimes things happen and we do not know why but our faith in God will bring us through, if not on this side of life, then on the other side if we believe.

Don’t question God. Thank and praise His name.

Who are you without God to guide you in the way to go? Without God, life is nothing but an empty shell with no purpose.

Don’t ask God to depart from you. If He does, then Satan becomes your companion. Because God gave His Son Jesus Christ for your sin, you can be forgiven if you repent and go to God.

Praise God!

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scripture Referenced:

Job 21

Read Other Commentary from the Book of Job:

Would You Curse God?

Don’t Despise God’s Discipline

Scripture: Jeremiah 44: 11, 16, 29

¹¹ “Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I am determined to bring disaster on you and to destroy all Judah.  ¹⁶ “We will not listen to the message you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord! ²⁹ “‘This will be the sign to you that I will punish you in this place,’ declares the Lord, ‘so that you will know that my threats of harm against you will surely stand.’ 

Scripture Commentary:

In this chapter we see how the people turned on God to worship other gods. They refused to listen to the message spoken in the name of the Lord. They refused to learn any lessons from the destructiveness of their disobedience and sinfulness.

Is our lifestyle today similar to that of the Israelites of yesteryear?

When we look at the Israelites we can see ourselves in them. What have we learned? We repeat sin because we don’t want to walk with God. The further we move away from God, the more confused we become. We refuse to recognize the true source of our sinfulness, disobedience and rejection of God. When you place worldly goods before God, that becomes what you worship.

God had Jeremiah tell the people not to go to Egypt. They disobeyed God and forced Jeremiah to go with them. This is the last we hear of Jeremiah. The Bible does not tell us what happened to him. Only God knows.

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scripture Referenced:

Jeremiah 44

Read Other Commentary from the Book of Jeremiah:

The Symbolism of the Linen Girdle

Return to Me, Declares the Lord

Scripture: Jeremiah 39: 17-18

¹⁷ But I will rescue you on that day, declares the Lord; you will not be given into the hands of those you fear. ¹⁸ I will save you; you will not fall by the sword but will escape with your life, because you trust in me, declares the Lord.’”

Scripture Commentary: Rescue comes from the Lord.

In Jeremiah 39, there is no rescue for King Zedekiah, who rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar. He was captured and Jerusalem taken. Jeremiah, on the other hand, was beaten and jailed for proclaiming God’s message.

Zedekiah couldn’t decide between public opinion and God’s will. Doesn’t that sound familiar as we hear public opinion and God’s message? Has the human race learned anything yet? We seem to be acting like the people did 2000 plus years ago.

Follow God’s truth, not public opinion.

Like the people of the past we say we want accurate information, but not God’s truth. Jeremiah, both then and even now, tells us God’s message. Satan’s message spreads evil and destruction. Jeremiah never wavered from God’s Word; he stood firm.

God protects His own.

Jerusalem fell and the people were taken into captivity (except for the poor), but Jeremiah and Ebed-Melek were set free. God protects His true servants. God has special rewards for His servants, if not in this life in His eternal kingdom, our final resting place.

To know God is to serve Him and to serve God is to love Him. To obey God is to hear Him and to hear God is to worship Him.

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scripture Referenced:

Jeremiah 39

Read Other Commentary from the Book of Jeremiah:

Woe to Leaders Who Scatter God’s Flock

We Must Acknowledge Our Wickedness and Change Our Ways

Scripture: Matthew 10: 38-40

Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹ Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it. ⁴⁰ “Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. 

Scripture Commentary: What is life?

Life is a gift from God. What do you do with a gift? You may play with it, wear it, throw it away, cherish it, or use it. There are so may ways you can use a gift.

In Matthew 10: 38-40, Jesus offers ways to use the gift God has given us. He says that with this gift there may be pain, heartache and discomfort, but in the end there is eternal joy.

Jesus did not come to bring the kind of peace that eases differences just for the sake of superficial comfort.

Conflict comes to people who follow Jesus. In following Christ you are leaving the things of the world behind, and in doing this you may be leaving loved ones. Jesus says you have a choice. Take up your cross and follow Him or go the way of Satan.

The way of the world is temporary. The money, glamour and glitter are only for a moment. Jesus’ way may have hardships and difficulties but did the world give Jesus a life of roses? No! So why would you get better?

Jesus calls you to a higher mission than to find comfort and tranquility here on earth.

To take your cross and follow Jesus is to be willing to identify with Him and to experience opposition from the world that is on another path that is not following the things of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scripture Referenced:

Matthew 10

Read Other Commentary from the Book of Matthew:

Not Everyone Has a Relationship with God. What About You?

Jesus Came to Save the Lost

Scripture: John 3: 16

 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Scripture Commentary: For God so loved us …

John 3:16 is one of the most important verses in The Bible. For God so loved the world that He gave us the sacrifice of His only begotten Son!

What a gift, what a promise! And what a choice we have! We can choose to accept Jesus Christ or not accept Him. We each get to choose. The entire gospel comes down to the choice in this verse.

God so loved us that He sent His Son to prepare a way for us for redemption.

When you love dearly, you are willing to give freely to the point of self-sacrifice. God paid the highest price with the life of His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus accepted taking the punishment for our sins on Himself. By this, He offers us a new life with His Father in heaven.

The eternal life Jesus has for us is not the life we are living here on earth. It is a life free from sin, sickness, death and chaos. This heavenly life is not an extension of what we are enduring here.

In the Old Testament the priest sacrificed unblemished animals daily to atone for the sins of the people. When God sent His Son as a sacrifice for our sins, He was perfect without blemish for He had no sin. As such, Jesus is the only one who could be sacrificed for the sins of all people.

For God so loved us that He lets us choose our path.

We are to serve and put our love and trust in Jesus Christ; His promise of everlasting life in His Father’s Kingdom is ours for eternity. To reject Jesus is to spend eternity in Hell. If you think you are living in hell now, this is nothing to what is waiting for those who reject Jesus.

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scripture Referenced:

John 3

Read Other Commentary from the Book of John:

Believe … Even Thomas The Doubter Believed

Jesus Is the One and Only

Sermon, Who I Am Not  – Part Three: Who Is the Messiah?

Scripture: John 1: 19-27

¹⁹ Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders^[c] in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. ²⁰ He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”  ²¹ They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”  He said, “I am not.”  “Are you the Prophet?”  He answered, “No.”  ²² Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”  ²³ John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”^{[d]  24} Now the Pharisees who had been sent ²⁵ questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”  ²⁶ “I baptize with^[e] water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. ²⁷ He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.” 

Jesus is the only perfect sacrifice.

John the Baptist said he was not worthy to be Jesus Christ’s slave or to take off His shoes.  John emphasized why he came; to prepare the way for the Messiah.  The Messiah, the Son of God, is the only one who has the power to forgive you of your sins.

A life had to be given to pay the penalty for sin and God sacrificed Himself.   Jesus Christ is the only perfect sacrifice; His death removed all obstacles between God and us. 

Jesus gives us direct access to the Father.

We now have direct access to God the Father through Jesus Christ, our advocate.  John the Baptist took his place as the humble servant.  In Luke 7:28, Jesus says, “For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

Think about this: the day you stand before God and He looks at you, He will ask if you did the tasks He gave you.  Will He welcome you to His heavenly kingdom or will it be as Jesus says in Matthew 25: 12, “But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.”

If John the Baptist felt so inadequate to even unlace Jesus’s sandals, how then are we not to serve Jesus with all of our mind, body and soul?  Whatever sense of pride and self-importance we may feel has to melt away.

In Judiasm, religion, a lamb was sacrificed in the temple every morning and evening for the sins of the people (Exodus 29: 38-42).  Isaiah 53:7 prophesied that the Messiah would be led to the slaughter like a lamb.  The price for the people’s sins was the price of a life. 

Jesus Christ was the price for all humankind.

The sacrifice had to be perfect, without spot or blemish.  The sacrifice had to be sinless.  No one except Jesus Christ fits this description.  This is the way that our sins are forgiven.

This is why John the Baptist, even though he was a well-known preacher with a large following, he knew the role he was placed here on earth for: to be the kerusso, the announcer for the coming of the Messiah.

In conclusion, John the Baptist told the Pharisees who he was not.  He was not the Messiah, not God’s only Begotten Son and not the light for the world.  Also, he was not the Lamb of God, not the one to take away the sins of the world.  Additionally, he was not the alpha or omega, and not the I AM.  And he wasn’t able to raise the dead and heal the sick.  He wasn’t the Messiah.

John the Baptist was the one who baptized with water; the voice of the one calling to prepare the way of the Lord.  He was the servant of God.

Who are you and what are you doing for God? 

What are you doing for your neighbor?  Are you reflecting the light of Jesus Christ?  Do you spread the Gospel of Jesus, help your neighbor, and show love?  Are you trying to be the servant that God placed you on earth to be?  We are not perfect but we are to be the best servant for God that God created us to be.

Read the Entire Chapter of the Scriptures Referenced:

John 1

Luke 7

Matthew 25

Exodus 29

Read Part One and Part Two of the Sermon, Who I Am Not

Sermon – Part One: Who I Am Not

Sermon – Part Two: Do You Know Who Jesus Is?