Taking Next Steps with Jesus

Think That’s a thoughtful idea, isn’t it?! Lots of people have talked about thinking.  Some have posited, “I think… ‘I think, therefore I am’…they wondered."  Others have caused us to imagine a whole new future…, “I have a dream…”  Still others, seeing with their mind’s-eye, have been used (and are being used) by God to change the world and the way we see and interact with it—consider germ theory, quantum mechanics, gravity—profound!  The minds that God has given us are amazing.  They are able to comprehend great calculations, imagine beautiful art, and solve complicated problems.  It doesn’t surprise me that God would spend a lot of time helping us to think, and helping us to think about thinking in the Bible. I have shared a few of God’s thoughts on thinking from the Bible below, to give us something to think about today.  May God bless your thinking…meditation…pondering…perusing…pontificating…considerations…reckonings…imaginations…recollecti...

Hello this is Eric again.  A friend asked me, “How can I know that the Bible is true?”  So, I am taking some time to answer my friends question and to do this I am looking at one of the evidences the Bible gives to answer this question, Prophecy.  (Read the previous blogs here ) Malachi 3:1 says, “‘Look! I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. Then the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his Temple. The messenger of the covenant, whom you look for so eagerly, is surely coming,’ says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.” Someone is coming.  When that person comes, you will know that the time is near.  God said so. Do you like playing ‘Hide-and-Seek?’  What is it that you like about the game?  Do you like counting with your eyes closed and listening to people run and whisper, or do you like to hide, and try not to giggle when you look at your friends hiding spot?  Do you like to search, and see if you can find some...

Hello this is Eric again.  A friend asked me, “How can I know that the Bible is true?”  So, I am taking some time to answer my friends question and to do this I am looking at one of the evidences the Bible gives to answer this question, Prophecy.  (Read the previous blogs here ) Sometimes we need to just stop.  To stop and think.  To stop and take a deep breath.  To stop and allow God to re-align our hearts with His—to make sure we are going where He wants us to go.  And, sometimes, God needs to stop us and do this for us—this is called discipline. Zechariah was in a 9 month stop.  Last time we talked about him, he had doubted whether or not God was really big enough to do what He said He would do.  Zechariah hasn’t been able to talk for these past 9 months, and his son has been born.  In Jewish culture, on the 8th day, their son would be circumcised and named, and everyone had their opinion on what the boy should be called—they wanted t...

Hello this is Eric again.  A friend asked me, “How can I know that the Bible is true?”  So, I am taking some time to answer my friends question and to do this I am looking at one of the evidences the Bible gives to answer this question, Prophecy.  (Read the previous blogs here ) How do we respond when God invites us on this Gospel Driven Disciplemaking Adventure with Him?  What should we expect when we begin to follow God on this journey?  The Bible has much to say about this topic, but since we are talking about Mary, let’s look at the first leg of her journey in Luke 1:39-45, “A few days later Mary hurried to the hill country of Judea, to the town where Zechariah lived. She entered the house and greeted Elizabeth.  At the sound of Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.  Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, ‘God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed.  W...

Hello this is Eric again.  A friend asked me, “How can I know that the Bible is true?”  So, I am taking some time to answer my friends question and to do this I am looking at one of the evidences the Bible gives to answer this question, Prophecy.  (Read the previous blogs here ) When God comes and invites us to walk with Him and join Him on His amazing adventure of faith, we can respond with a yes or a no.  There isn’t an in-between.  We like to tell ourselves that there is, but in reality the middle ground is a no.  This is what the Pharisees were known for.  They set up rigid and detailed rules, and high and lofty goals that they had to attain; But, they were still making God into their own image, and treating Him like an idol by doing this.  If I do thus and such, I am good.  Some call this “being religious.”  Others might call this “hypocrisy.”  Both titles fit.  There are good intentions, but the ultimate end is to s...

Hello this is Eric again.  A friend asked me, “How can I know that the Bible is true?”  So, I am taking some time to answer my friends question and to do this I am looking at one of the evidences the Bible gives to answer this question, Prophecy.  (Read the previous blogs here ) The Christmas story, which seems so familiar, has a richer plot line than the 15 minute nativity skit can address on a Christmas Eve evening service.  The heartbeat of this plot line is a God who gives His word, and then keeps it, and we can trust Him to do so.  This is what we celebrate at Christmas.  Yet, people are…weird.  I know, I resemble that statement too—but we are, and we respond differently to Christmas.  Think about it… Who is the “Year-Round-Christmas-Planner” in your life?  You know them.  They are the ones who have to go shopping the day after Christmas to begin planning for next year.  They are the ones with a specific line-item in their budg...

Hello this is Eric again.  A friend asked me, “How can I know that the Bible is true?”  So, I am taking some time to answer my friends question and to do this I am looking at one of the evidences the Bible gives to answer this question, Prophecy.  (Read the previous blog here ) Matthew 2:19-23 says, “When Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt.  ‘Get up!’ the angel said. ‘Take the child and his mother back to the land of Israel, because those who were trying to kill the child are dead.’  So Joseph got up and returned to the land of Israel with Jesus and his mother.  But when he learned that the new ruler of Judea was Herod’s son Archelaus, he was afraid to go there. Then, after being warned in a dream, he left for the region of Galilee.  So the family went and lived in a town called Nazareth. This fulfilled what the prophets had said: ‘He will be called a Nazarene.’” OK, this one was a new one for me and I’m exc...