Minister Moose Tracks

"Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." -1 Corinthians 6:9-11 In our day, such biblical passages such as the one above are condemned as being judgmental; indeed they are, but rightfully so (John 7:24). During a St. Patrick's Day local festival last month, I took God's Word to the street in an area where a saint of God is being celebrated with leprechauns, pots of gold, and drunken debauchery. While my wife and others with us were handing out gospel tracts, a man who walked past me became angry about what I was preaching and thought I was being judgmental ...

When it comes to the powerful parables told by our Lord Jesus Christ, one that sticks to me is found in Luke 18:9-4, known as "The Pharisee and the Tax Collector." Back in Jesus' day, the Pharisees were the religious elite among the Jewish people and we read throughout the gospels how Jesus confronts them for being outwardly religious but spiritually dead on the inside (cf. Matt 15:8; Mark 7:6). In this particular parable from Luke 18, the Pharisee thinks he is doing just fine by God and even thanks God that he is not a wretched sinner like tax collectors. Although there may seem to be a kind of righteousness in the words of the Pharisee, the tone is undergirded with an unhealthy pride and failure to recognize one's own sin nature (cf. Rom. 3:23). The tax collector, on the other hand, is very aware of his sinfulness and spiritual poverty and cries out to God for His mercy to be upon him. In our day, there is a pride that stems from many who profess Christianity an...

You want to be loved? You want to love someone? These desires lay within the core of every human being. An issue, however, is that we often hear about others' desires to love or be loved and they seek it in the wrong way or find it in the wrong places: the young man who thinks he can win a woman's heart by buying her nice things; the woman who quickly gives herself physically to a man who then leaves her shortly thereafter; the person who thinks becoming physically attractive is the key to attracting others into a loving relationship; the list goes on. This desire to love and be loved, however, also extends beyond the intimate relationship between a man and a woman. It also pertains to extended family members, friends, and even in the work place. People naturally try to determine in their own mind what love is and what it looks like. Unfortunately, our ideas are influenced by social media, movies, and what we see others doing. Much like all facets of life, the Bible provides...

"God doesn't call those who are equipped, He equips those whom He calls." It is not the intellect of a Christian that makes him ready to serve God, but rather the power of God working within that person. Although I generally encourage formal education if the opportunity presents itself, it merely supplements the gifts given from God. Sadly enough, there many churches in the world that will not accept a pastor to lead them unless he has a seminary degree. A seminary education doesn't make a minister of the gospel; the calling from God and the church body to confirm this calling is what makes a minister of the gospel. Of course, we read that God uses people from varying educational backgrounds, considering Paul who was a "Hebrew of Hebrews" and a "Pharisee" (Phil. 3:5), while Apollos was "an eloquent man, competent in the scriptures" (Acts 18:24). Yet, we read in Acts 4:13 that no matter the education of those whom God calls for His purpo...

About two weeks after the Lord saved me from my sins, my pastor confronted me one day and said,"You know, now that you're a Christian, you better clean up that mouth of yours." I was immediately convicted by this; by the grace of God, I was finished using foul language a few weeks afterward. This was one of my first tastes of the pure life that God desires for me to live. I see, however, many who profess to be Christians and still strongly sound the bell of worldliness. The Holy Spirit, of course, works at different speeds when it comes to sanctifying people, but there still is evidence...if indeed the Spirit does reside within a person. These people are not new to the faith, but rather proclaim to have a faith in Christ without any transformation. Such people have "cheapened" grace by simply wanting to escape the fires of hell and nothing more. Does God just save people to save them with also allowing them to live their lives as the world leads them?...

Every person will always do what they are bound to do according to their own nature. The Bible tells us that, by nature, we are children of wrath (Eph. 2:3) who do not seek God on our own accord (Rom . 3:11) and attempt to live out our lives independent of an all-powerful and all-knowing God in the comfort of our own material pleasures (Is. 47:8). Towards the end of his first letter to the Corinthian church,  the apostle Paul writes,  "If anyone has no love for the Lord,  let him be accursed. Our Lord, come!" Many of us, particularly of the religious variety, would like to think that such a statement from Scripture gives the green light to treat those who have no love for God in a way that is less than loving. Some might think, "If the Bible calls them accursed then why treat them any different than that?" While it is true that those who are destined to damnation through their own rejection of Christ will receive their due punishment,  Christians ought to rem...