Clever Free Methodist

  The world seems to be in panic, anxiety and chaos due to the Coronavirus “pandemic” and efforts to control it…or us. It could be both. But that is not the reason for this article. Yes, the world could be labeled as a “disorganized circus” right now, but there is more going on than a presidential election and a bunch of conspiracy theories, riots, protests, viruses and control-freaks trying to rule the world. The bottom line for me to ponder is this: “why is God allowing all this to happen? What is His Divine Purpose for letting so many wild and vicious cycles of human sinfulness play out across the globe?” It is outside the realm of human logic and mortal reasoning. However, we can still ponder the “why” of it all. First, we start with Isaiah 55:8-9 , “‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.’” We must realize...

It is inevitable….that “life happens.” We all have experienced many different challenges, trials, and hardships in life due to lost opportunities, decisions we made, bad advice received, no formal training or education in the matter, or just simply, we had nobody to mentor and guide us towards safety. Sometimes, life is messy. That includes marriage. Many struggle and end in divorce. For some, the divorce is traumatic enough that it leads one spouse (possibly both) to turn towards faith and eventually salvation in Jesus Christ. Now, they are not only a “new believer,” but a divorced believer. Well, like I said before, “life happens.” These new believers find another love and marry again. But, as they continue to grow in their faith it seems inevitable that they eventually discover the Bible’s stance on marriage after divorce. What do I do now? I wasn’t a Christian when I divorced but became a Christian after my second marriage! Now what do I do? I’m stuck! Help!! The confusion us...

This year, according to the lunar (moon) calendar, there is a full moon on October 1, 2020. So, what’s the big deal? Well, God operates on a lunar calendar! The Jewish people follow this same moon cycle. Here’s my point : following this full moon, the Jewish people will be celebrating Sukkot or “The Festival of Booths” or the "Festival of Tabernacles." Sukkot is a weeklong Jewish holiday that begins this Friday after sundown. Sukkot celebrates the gathering of the harvest and commemorates the miraculous protection God provided for the children of Israel when they left Egypt. Sukkot is the only festival associated with an explicit commandment to rejoice. God commanded them to celebrate this festival and gave the instructions to Moses on how it is to be observed. In Leviticus 23:33-34 and 42-43 , it says, “The Lord said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month the Lord’s Festival of Tabernacles begins, and it lasts for seven days…Live i...

It has been several months and many of us may still not be any closer to getting comfortable with wearing face masks. They are mandated and become a fixture of our culture in fighting against COVID-19. However, there seems to be another “mask” that we could be wearing in addition to the physical ones over our nose and mouth. I am talking about a face covering that many put on in an attempt to cover their true spiritual condition. Whether motivated by fear, embarrassment or a general feeling of inadequacy, the temptation to put on a spiritual “face mask” can be very enticing. The reason is because hiding the ugly truth of our spiritual state makes us instantly feel better. Perhaps, if we have it on long enough, go through the motions convincing enough, and say all the right things, others “won’t notice” and think “all is well.” Hiding behind theses “masks,” we feel better now that others cannot see the truth we are trying to keep locked up inside. We begin to believe that we are m...

  The world has drastically changed as we knew it. Our way of life has been altered due to the many guidelines, emergency orders and precautions of COVID-19. These rulings and recommendations have been challenging to us, as a church, and will continue for some time to come. We all have an opinion on the matter. Not all are happy about it. I have even come across a few ministries and churches during the COVID-19 “shutdowns” that have made declarations using the Scripture passage of Acts 5:29 , as their defense in resisting State and Federal guidelines. They made their stance and moved forward with “business as usual.” However, for most situations, many took the precautions and tailored their ministries in a safe and effective manner. I am not saying that any one particular decision or situation is “right” or “wrong.” The point of this presentation is to simply examine this passage, Acts 5:29, that says “Peter and the other apostles replied: ‘We must obey God rather than human be...

In times of national distress and uncertainty such as pandemics, riots, racial tensions, weather phenomenon and other events that grab our attention, there has been one verse in Scripture that has “rallied the troops” to get our nation back towards God. That verse is 2 Chronicles 7:14 , “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” What some may not know, is that this is actually a response from God to one particular part of a prayer that Solomon prayed to God in 2 Chronicles 6:12-42. The response comes in verses 26-31:   “If the skies are shut up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, and if they pray toward this Temple and acknowledge your name and turn from their sins because you have punished them, then hear from heaven and forgive the sins of your servants, your people Israel. Teach ...

There are some problems with John 3:16 that have misguided people for ages. The good news is that the problem is not with the verse itself. So…take a deep breath….breathe. I am not here to condemn it or argue against its powerful message. What I am saying is that there are problems with how some have used it to “lead people to Jesus.” The problem is all in the presentation . We should not be lulled into thinking that the only reason we “accept Jesus” to just so that we can go to Heaven. Heaven is not a commodity. Heaven is not a time-share program. Heaven is not this “vacation get-away” resort for the after-life. Yes, I want to spend eternity in Heaven, but that is not my sole motivation for accepting Jesus into my life. I accepted Jesus because I finally understood who He was and all that He did for me. I accepted Jesus because I wanted Jesus. I accepted Jesus because I wanted to live for Him and fulfill His purpose for my life. The way John 3:16 has been used almost seems li...