Month: November 2023

Believe In Jesus

Our Scripture for today is Romans 10:9

“If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

I am a fan of Jordan Peterson. His book, “12 Rules for Life” is worth reading. To listen to him, he sounds so rational, that has caused many to ask him whether he believes in God. Sometime back, he was interviewed by Pierce Morgan and asked whether he believed in God. He seemed to be evasive with his answer. Finally, he was asked, “Do you pray?” He answered, “Yes, all the time.” Morgan followed with, “Who do you pray to?” His answer was that he prays to whatever spirit protects him from Hell. He was not pressed on Jesus, so offered no word.

Though I find his answer to be misguided, we live in a world where many people believe there is a God, but do not believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

Judaism believes in the God of the Bible, but not in Jesus.

Islam is the world’s second-largest religion, with over 1.8 billion followers. Muslims believe in one God and believe that Jesus was a prophet of God, but they do not believe that he was the Son of God.

Hinduism is the world’s third-largest religion, with over 1.2 billion followers. Hindus believe in a supreme being and reincarnation here on earth, but not in Jesus.

To all these billions of people we must say with Peter,

“Let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:10,12).

Lonnie Davis

Our Scripture for today is Hebrews 11:6.

“Without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

In any study of faith, this verse must always be considered. It is more than just a call to faith; it’s a roadmap for our spiritual relationship with God. Let’s delve into the four fundamental parts of faith found in this powerful scripture.

Part 1. “Without faith, it is impossible to please Him.”

This principle places faith not as an optional aspect of spirituality but as its very foundation. It’s a reminder that our journey with God begins with the belief in His existence and presence in our lives.

Part 2. “For he who comes to God.”

The verse continues. “Without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God

Do you see that phrase, “comes to God?” Coming to God isn’t passive. It involves an active effort. Like the Prodigal Son of Luke 15, we need to head toward God, to come to God. Seeking Him is an ongoing process. It’s about engaging with God, exploring His teachings, and embracing His presence in our daily lives.

Part 3: “Must believe that He is.”

Our verse then adds part 3. “Without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is.”

At its core, faith starts with the belief that God exists. This is more than just acknowledging His existence; it’s about recognizing the role He plays in our personal lives. This belief forms the bedrock of our faith, shaping how we perceive the world and our place in it.

Part 4. “He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

Finally, the verse gives us part 4. “And that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

Faith believes in the promise of reward. This isn’t merely about tangible or worldly rewards but also about deeper, spiritual fulfillment. It assures us that our efforts in seeking God are not in vain and that there is value in our spiritual pursuit. 

Hebrews 11:6 is a verse that every believer ought to put into their heart. It urges us to not only believe in God’s existence but to actively seek Him, promising that such a pursuit leads to divine rewards. 

Lonnie Davis

Our Verse for today is Genesis 3:8

“When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the LORD God walking about in the garden. “  Genesis 3:8

No one can see God. He is invisible. He is Spirit. Yet right from the beginning of the Bible story, he reaches out to mankind. That’s why the Lord God made himself known, “walking” with Adam in the Garden.

God revealed himself first in a Garden of Eden.  The Old Testament has many other examples of this, and in the New Testament the Son of God became a man and lived among us. So it should not seem strange that he should reach out to Adam and Eve. His appearance show us God’s intense desire to establish fellowship with us.

God came out of his dwelling, entered human time and space, and came to Eden so that he could walk with the first man and woman in the Garden. Maybe Adam and Eve heard the crackling of twigs and the rustling of leaves. But we do know that when the cool evening breezes were blowing, Adam and Eve heard the LORD God walking about in the garden.

God is invisible. He is Spirit. Yet right from the beginning of the Bible story, he reaches out to make himself known. That’s why the Lord God was “walking” in the Garden.

In the New Testament the Son of God became a man, so it should not seem strange that he should reach out to Adam and Eve. These appearances show us God’s intense desire to establish fellowship with us.

Adam and Eve walked with God in Eden as surely as Peter, James, and John walked with Jesus in Galilee.

As Adam and Eve walked with God, they asked questions and enjoyed conversation. Can you imagine what this must have been like? God was interested in what Adam had done during the day, and he listened to whatever was on Eve’s mind. God spoke to them. Yes, God spoke to them. The man and the woman were literally walking in fellowship with God.

When God appeared to Adam and Eve, he did for them what he does for all his people. We cannot see God, but Jesus Christ gives us access to the Father when we come in faith. This is God’s way of creating a relationship with you. His presence today is as real as it was when he appeared ito Adam. 

After all, his name is Immanuel means “God with us.” Matthew 1:23

Lonnie Davis

Our verse for today is Matthew 18:1-3.

At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. 

So yes! I want to be childlike? Usually when we say someone is childish it is an insult. Not according to Jesus. According to Jesus, childlike is a desired state.

Obviously, Jesus is not saying that we need to be afraid at night or unable to provide for ourselves, but there are many things about being a child which we ought to immulate.

We ought to live a joyful life. One of the things we all enjoy about children is their laugher. According to several studies, children laugh much more often than adults. The average number of laughs per day for children is around 300, while for adults it is only 17. This doesn’t mean they laugh at jokes more, it means that they laugh at the things in life.

In joy, make me childish.

We ought to be forgiving. 

Children who get upset with one another over whose turn it is, or whose toy to use, in the space of a few minutes make a new bond of friendship and forgive one another.

In forgiveness, make me childish.

This list could go on and on, but maybe you ought to do your own list. What is it about a child that you admire? Today we would all be served by going back to our spirit of youth. The poet said, “Age is not a state of mind…” Maybe not, but sometimes it is. 

Today, let’s go back to being a child, at least part of the day.

Lonnie Davis

Our Scripture for today is 2 Corinthians 5:7

“We walk by faith, not by sight.”

Sometimes life changes in a minute. One minute you are happy, then news comes –  a car wreck, a doctor’s report, a report of slander. For whatever reason, one minute you were joyful and the next you are devastated and life is changed.

Most of the time, things change more slowly. This was the case for Jacob. The famine in the land happened slowly,  but eventually there was nothing to eat. He struggled with how to feed eight sons and their families. In times like that, just when he may have thought that things couldn’t get worse, his life truly crashed.

He believed his favorite son, Joseph was dead.

Another son, Simeon, was was a prisoner in Egypt.

His family had wealth, but there was no food to buy. What good is money if there is no food to buy? The only place he might buy food required that his favorite son, Benjamin, be brought to Egypt before his family would be allowed to buy food. Egypt had swallowed up Simeon and now it wanted Benjamin.

Facing death by starvation, Jacob finally gave permission to take Benjamin to Egypt. He had to have food for his family. In a spirit of deep despair he wailed, “As for me, if I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.” (Genesis 43:13)

We would have all felt just as he did. There are times when our world crashes around us and we don’t know where to turn.

For the times when you feel that way, God has given you the story of Jacob, Benjamin, Simeon, and Joseph.

Jacob loved God and all things worked together for good. It is too bad Jacob did not have enough faith to believe that truth. If he had, he would not have come to such a low point and said, “If I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.”

Looking back, God was working in Jacob’s life.

Looking back, God was planning to feed him and his family.

Looking back, everything was working things out wonderfully well. All of this can be understood looking back.

Looking back, life is more easily understood.

Looking back is easy. Looking forward is hard. 

Looking back is sight. Looking forward is faith. 

In our own struggles we must look forward in faith and trust that God is working things out for us. Remember, “We live by faith, not by sight.” (2 Cor 5:7)

~Lonnie Davis

Don’t Bury Your Spaghetti

Our scripture for today is 1 Corinthians 1:25

“The foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”

We don’t usually think about the foolishness of God. This really is a phrase of comparison. Paul is saying that the wisest thing a man may ever say is not even comparable to God’s wisdom. In fact, man’s wisdom is silly compared to God’s wisdom. 

Let’s illustrate with a true story.

When I was a kid I had a dog that I named Pancho. I thought he was very smart. Well, he was… for a dog. 

In those days dogs were different. They lived outside, chased cars, and barked at night. Dog food was whatever we had left over from our meal. He ate anything, even spaghetti. Once I gave him a plate of it and he ate it. At least until he was full. When he got full, he did what dogs do: he saved it for later by burying it. I laughed at how dumb that was. You can’t bury spaghetti by covering it with dirt. He didn’t know it. Dumb dog!

Now, when I think back, I wonder if that is how we sometimes appear to God. We too bury our spaghetti. We do things that must look just as silly to God.

We spend time having fun until we don’t have time for important things. 
We chase comfort and ignore health.
We spend money on things and stuff and junk and then get our electricity turned off for nonpayment.
We honor worldly people but ignore spiritual people.
We give time for friends, but not for family.
We search the internet for information to help us make decisions but do not consult God’s Word.
We fail to plan and just live life as it comes.

Well, you get the idea. We sometimes bury our spaghetti.

Lonnie Davis

Our scripture for today is John 14:2

“In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” – Jesus

For fifty years, I doubt if I have ever preached a funeral when I did not read this beautiful verse. Recently, I have seen it in a new light. 

When my fourth grandchild, a baby girl named Emma, was born, I went to the house. She had so many clothes that I was amazed. Knowing her mother had not had time to go shopping, I said to her, “How did you find time to buy all these clothes?” She answered, “I already had a room full of new clothes waiting for her.”

That is similar to what Jesus is telling us in today’s verse. The little girl was not here yet and yet her mother was already preparing blessings for her.”

Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you…I will come again and take you unto myself that where I am there you may be also.”

When you and I were born into his kingdom, we were born into blessings that were already waiting for us.

To assure us of this, Paul told the Corinthians,

“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9)

Blink your eyes; time will pass, and the blessings will be yours.

Just that thought ought to make you have a good day.

Lonnie Davis.

Our Scripture for today is 1 Corinthians 15:33.

“Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character.’ Come back to your senses as you ought…”

I admit that the phrase “Come back to your senses” actually goes with the next verse but seems appropriate here also. The meaning of this verse for us is that we need to use good judgment about who we choose as friends because they will shape our character.

Many years ago, I discussed this with a teenage boy. I talked to him through a thick piece of glass. He was the son of a former member of the congregation where I ministered. We had glass between us because he was in jail awaiting a trial. He and three of his friends broke into a house in order to steal. They got away, and he got caught. He was penitent and vowed that his life would be different after this was over. His friends had a history of this kind of activity, and so I gave him this advice. “After you get out,” I said, “you need to choose different friends.”

Immediately, he responded, “No. I need to stay with them so that I can be a good influence on them.” Does anyone want to know how this worked out? He kept his friends, and he kept on getting into trouble.

Did his friends influence him for bad, or did he influence them for bad? Certainly, it was a little of both. 

All I really know is that “Bad company corrupts good character.”

I like the way one modern translation puts it: “Associating with bad people will ruin decent people.” If you don’t believe that, then you need to pay attention to the first four words of this verse: “Do not be misled.” Then read that final exhortation, “Come back to your senses.”

Lonnie Davis 

Here are three interesting points about the Holy Spirit, the third in the Godhead.

#1. Jesus performed miracles by the power of the Holy Spirit.

In Matthew 12, the Pharisees accused Jesus of doing miracles by the power of Satan. Jesus assured them this was not so and then said, “But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” (Verse 28). Jesus thus said he did miracles by the power of the Holy Spirit.

#2. Jesus preached by the Holy Spirit

In Luke 4:18 Jesus said, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,

because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.

Jesus preached with the authority of the Holy Spirit.

Finally, #3. The thoughts in this third section are my opinion, but I thing well reasoned. 

#3. We do not talk about the Holy Spirit as much as we do the Father and the Son. 

Of course the question is why. Recently I heard a man tell a Bible class that the church is afraid to talk about the Holy Spirit. I think this accusation is wrong.  We are not afraid to study or talk about the Spirit. 

I think it is because people love stories and the Holy Spirit is not as story active as Jehovah and Jesus. We love to talk of what someone did or someplace they went or said. Jehovah made the universe, he created man, he talked to Abraham, he blessed David. He has stories we can tell, talk about, and love. Jesus came to earth, he healed the sick, he preached sermons, died on the cross, and got up from the dead. These are wonderful action stories.

In contrast, The Holy Spirit usually worked behind the scenes. Jesus did miracles by the power of the Holy Spirit. Jehovah sent the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus. He guided the apostles into wisdom. Jesus and the apostles in these stories got their power from the Holy Spirit. Stories usually revolve about what the main actors did. 

When people go to a nice restaurant, they leave and talk about the great server, or wonderful restaurant. They talk about how great the food is, but not very often will they talk about the cooks who work behind the scene. Likewise, in the Bible stories, the Holy Spirit usually works behind the scenes. 

We are not afraid to talk about the Holy Spirit, we simply talk more about those whom the Holy Spirit directed.

The study of the Holy Spirit is a broad subject and is much more than can be learned in such a short message. 

Lonnie Davis

Our Scripture for today is Matthew 7:7-8

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”

When you read today’s scripture it seems wrong to say that there are times when you ought not to pray. Let’s consider.

In Mark 10:21, Jesus told the rich, young ruler “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor…Then come, follow me.” Should the young ruler have said to Jesus, “Well, let me pray about it?’ Of course not! He already had a word from Jesus about what he should do. 

Consider Abraham in Hebrews 11:8. the Bible says, “Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.” When God called him to go, should Abraham have answered, “First let me pray about it?” No.

When Jesus told the lame man, “Arise, take up your bed and walk,” then prayer for a decision was not needed.

When God told Joshua to march around the walls of Jericho, then there was only one thing to do. March! One might pray for strength, but not for a decision.

Why should we not pray under those circumstances? Here is the rule. When God has already made it clear what we should do, then we already have our answer.

Do not pray for guidance about Getting drunk, stealing,  committing adultery, lying…Well, you get the idea. Just obey. When you know what God wants you to do, just obey.

Lonnie Davis