Clever Free Methodist

Difficult as it may be to imagine, there are recorded accounts where people chose to openly mock and laugh at Jesus. One story in the New Testament is about a young girl who had died. Jesus shows up to visit the family. The Jews who had also assembled to weep and wail at the death of a young girl had now turned their attention to ridicule the only One with the power to bring her back from the dead. Upon his arrival and examination of the girl, Jesus simply told them that she was not dead, but merely sleeping. The reaction? It is recorded in Mark 5:39-40 , “He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” And they laughed him to scorn ….” What? “They laughed Him to scorn.” That is a pretty intense reaction. It is nothing new. Jesus was often the subject of ridicule because of the things He said, and He made many enemies because He told the truth. The Greek word for “scorn” implies derision, jeering, disdain, mocking, or disrespect. Thi...

  If you are familiar with the Old Testament story of Joseph (coat of many colors), you recall the seething disdain his brothers had of their younger sibling. Whether Joseph brought that on himself, or it was simply unprovoked, it was apparent there was tension and ill feelings against Joseph. I f you read the story, you’ll soon find that the brothers conspired to do some very mean things to Joseph which included wanting to kill him. There came a time that they were able to rid themselves of Joseph (at least they thought) by selling him into slavery. Finally, he’s gone! They “faked his death” and reported his demise to their father. Their father believes Joseph is dead for many years. They have managed to “get away” with “getting rid” of Joseph….at least that is what they thought. We learn even later in the story that they eventually discover Joseph is not only still alive, but serving in a very powerful position of authority that could possibly result in a major act of retr...

Jesus was very clear on what one must do to not only follow Him, but to also be His Disciple. Luke 9:23 , “Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” The first critical step in discipleship is to get “self” out of the way. We must die to self. Galatians 5:24 , “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” This dying process is both a decision and life-long process (journey). This does not mean that when we “die to self” we become unproductive, inactive or unresponsive, nor do we feel ourselves to be dead to the world. Dying to self means that the things of the old life (before becoming a Christian) are put to death, most especially the sinful ways and lifestyles we once engaged in. We become transformed by replacing our past lifestyle with godly things. We find a good example of how to gain victory over “self” in the Old Testament. Here we find King Jo...

  When my family lived in Kansas, our home came with a “safe room.” This room was designed and built to withstand a tornado. This room was just big enough for our family to fit into along with food supplies. The door, nearly three-inches thick, had three “dead-bolt” locks in which to secure the door tightly. It was reassuring to know we had a convenient place in which to go for shelter and safety from horrific storms. The same is true for our spiritual lives. In this fallen world, we are always in need of shelter from the tempest of “spiritual storms” that are raging around us in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 6:12 , “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” The “shelter” is, none other than, God our Heavenly Father. Proverbs 18:10 , “The name of the Lord is a strong fortress; the godly run to him and are safe.”...

  Jesus, I Belong to You It is becoming more obvious that Satan is being less subtle, more open and aggressive with his plans of trying to destroy us, our faith, the church and the message of the Gospel. May we never forget the sobering reminder of 1 Peter 3:18 , to “stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. We must never let our guard down. We must never get so accustomed to our life-routines that we become complacent and begin “easing off” on our commitments to grow in our faith, deepen our relationship with God our Father, and represent Jesus to the world (2 Corinthians 5:20). It is my hope, by sharing this prayer of commitment with you, that you will consider the statements being made. The goal is to strive and commit to being able to pray each segment with all sincerity and to covenant with God to align your life to its truths. Will you at least read it now ….pray, and consider how to in...

We are still in the season of Easter as we await its culmination in what is known as Pentecost . There is another event in the Church which we commemorate at the forty-day mark of the Easter season where many denominations recall the “ Ascension ” of Jesus Christ. Mark 16:19-20 , “After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.” This event marked by the Church is also stated in the Apostles’ Creed: “…He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father.” When Jesus ascended to Heaven after rising from the dead, He promised us that we would never be left all alone here on earth to “fend for ourselves.” We have the Holy Spirit of God always with us. John 14:16 , “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever….” We w...

  One of the devotionals that I was reading this week expressed the meaning of the word “ joy ” in a way that I had never heard before. The writing was so powerful that it made me wish I had known to “say it this way” long ago when I preached this very subject. Philippians 3:1 says, “Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord!” What most readers don’t understand about this statement is that the Writer (Paul) was currently in prison! Probably not the most pleasant of circumstances to think about rejoicing. Paul transposes between “rejoice” and “joy” about sixteen times throughout this letter. He is stressing a very important concept for believers which is to live purposely in the joy of the Lord. Paul knew, first hand, that it was clearly possible regardless of any circumstance he found himself experiencing. The “Seedbed Daily Text” devotional, written by J.D. Walt had this to say about joy :   “We learn something very important about joy here. Joy is not ...