Minister Moose Tracks

Ever wonder why tv shows, movies, music, video games, etc. are often rated for audiences labeled "Adult" or "Mature"? It is because they contain content such as nudity, foul language, sexual lust, and/or violence. Why would these things be appropriate for even an adult to watch? Of course, there is the kind of "adult" content which IS appropriate only for adults, for example, certain educational discussion and learning pertaining to the wonderful gift of sex for married couples (although children CAN and SHOULD learn some introductory details about this from parents and NOT from other kids at school). For adult Christians, it is usually safe to say that if what you're watching or listening to is not appropriate for the family as a whole, than it is not safe for you either. The psalmist says, "I will set no wicked thing before my eyes" (Ps. 101:3). Throughout the Bible, God warns His people many times about protecting their hearts through pr...

"Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?" - Romans 2:4 For many years, my walk with God lacked knowledge of the above truth; I knew God was kind, forbearing and patient towards me, but was ignorant of how I should respond to it. Various passages of Scripture confused me such as Exodus 34:6-7,  “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.” For some years I felt self-condemned over patterns of sin in my life. I would think to myself, "Am I among the forgiven or am I among the guilty?" Was I one of God's enemies or one of His children? After all, my pattern of sin ...

*Adopted from a sermon on 1 John 1:5-10 preached at Riverside Christian Fellowship in Hernando, FL* Forgiveness of sins is a work accomplished by Christ alone. God has been more than generous to us by sending His Son to shed His blood on the cross, where we find forgiveness and new life (Eph. 1:7). Because of that, Christians ought never to think, "I need to forgive myself." There is no power in that notion; there is no real forgiveness in "forgiving self." Self-forgiveness, as humble as it may look on the surface, is a form of self-idolatry. Let me explain. A Christian sees his forgiveness in Christ as all-saving and all-sufficient, but does he see it as all-satisfying? When you commit a sin, you feel bad about it, you confess it, and repent...but there is something that lingers in your mind. You've believed what God has declared in His Word, you ARE forgiven of your sins, but there remains an empty space in your heart that hasn't been satisfied; there i...

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...

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?...

Everyone, at least those who are very familiar with Western culture, are aware of the various beliefs and ideas that flow around "Friday the 13th." For most, it is seen to be the unluckiest day of the year. For those who are born-again in Christ, however, what is there to be unlucky about? Perhaps a better question is, "What does 'luck' have to do with anything at all?" It is perhaps merely out of ignorance that many Christians still hold on to a notion of "luck," but what it really comes down to is an issue of idolatry. Along with other forms of idolatry such as astrology (Deut. 4:19), sorcery and divination (2 Kings 21:6; Is. 2:6), those who practice that which is detestable in the sight of the Lord will not enter the kingdom of God (Rev. 21:27). When you attribute a positive or negative occurrence to "luck," God is immediately robbed of the glory due to Him. Stop. Nowhere in the Bible can it be found that something happened becau...

"A word fitly spoken      is like apples of gold in a setting of silver." -Proverbs 25:11 You've heard it before; the right thing spoken just at the right time. As gold and silver are both precious metals, Solomon makes a comparison by painting a comely picture that points to the might and magnificence of fitly spoken words. Scripture repeatedly admonishes us to pay attention to how we speak to others. It is a true statement to say that everyone has lied during the course of their life, although Christians are referred to as "new creations" with the indicative that the "old has passed away" and "the new has come" (2 Cor. 5:17). Speaking lies and deception represents what you did in the past and you are now called to put that away in order for you speak truth to others (Eph. 4:25) and become more like Christ (Eph. 4:15). Ever since the Lord saved me from my sins, I've frequently come across others who claim to love Jesus Christ but y...

 The writer of Ecclesiastes makes it very well known that this is simply not true when he states, "...the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead" (Ecc. 9:3). This is certainly not the same thing as saying that humans are not able to do "good" things; they most certainly are capable since every person is made in the image of God and are able to judge between right and wrong. Nonetheless, people naturally put themselves on the throne and view God as only an accessory to be used when things aren't going well in their lives (that is, if they acknowledge God at all). If every person was only "wounded" by sin instead of being totally depraved with sin, then that would suggest that there is an "island of righteousness" inside the heart of every human being which is the part that every person can use to reach out to God and be saved. Where does this idea come...

Ruth 1:19-21 19  So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, “Is this Naomi?” 20  She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21  I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?” Distraught, sorrowful, and likely confused due to the death of her husband and two sons, Naomi understood these events to be signs that God was against her and therefore treated her harshly. Her reaction is somewhat reminiscent of Job's wife who said, "Curse God and die" (Job 2:9). While having a finite understanding of their own circumstances, both Naomi and Job's wife witnessed the events that surrounded them and subsequently developed a bitterness toward their Creator. While a backstory ...

Ruth 1:15-18 15  And she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” 16  But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. 17  Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.” 18  And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more. When the Spirit stirs within a person to fervently pursue the ways of God, the person's will is conformed to His own and diligently seeks ways to please Him. In this brief wonderful story found in the Old Testament,  we read of a woman named Ruth who dwelled in the pagan city of Moab. Ten years after two Israelite men took Ruth and Orpah, another Moabite woman, to be their wives, they both died, leaving Naomi, th...

Genesis 3:8-13 8  And they heard the sound of the  Lord  God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the  Lord  God among the trees of the garden.  9  But the  Lord  God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” 10  And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.”  11  He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”  12  The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.”  13  Then the  Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” In the verse before our passage (v. 7), we read that the eyes of Adam and Eve were opened and so they sewed fig leaves together to co...