If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.

Luke 14:26

The way of discipleship is the way to follow the cross.  The requirement of discipleship is to never look back.

Jesus said that the Kingdom was like a precious pearl, that, when found, a man sold all he had and bought it.  There is something about finding something that is worth it.  If you can see it, if you can recognize what you see, and correctly appraise it, it is not a hard choice to lose everything else to obtain the best. Read more…

If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

John 14:15

If you’re in it, you will live a certain way.

Most Happy are the Poor in Spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

Matthew 5:3

Read more…

Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart.

1 Peter 1:22

But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith (1 Timothy 1:5).  This is what we are aiming for.

We are called to love.  The verse at the beginning indicates our problem.  We cannot love without God (1 John 4:7).  Why?  Because our souls are corrupt without Christ.

We are called to love from a pure heart, because it is only out of pure, sincere motives, that we can truly open up and be open to others, without being hurt.  It is in the place of His perfect love, with no fear, that we are able to truly be brothers.  This is the mark of the authentic gospel.

And, this cannot happen without sincere, gospel faith.  It simply can’t.  When you walk by the Spirit you do not gratify the desires of the sinful nature (Galatians 5:16).  It is by faith that we come to know and believe in God’s great love for us (1 John 4:16).  It is in the secret place of Him that we are able to live.

Read more…

If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple

Luke 14:26

Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  Heaven and Earth will pass away before any one of His words passes away.  Many people would like to interpret this passage into obscurity, equating it with similar, albeit, related scriptures, such as this one.

Read more…

One thing I have asked of the LORD, this one thing I seek:

That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life,

that I may gaze upon His beauty,

and inquire of Him in His temple.

Psalm 27:4

The House of the Lord is my home; I have none other.

Read more…

But seek ye first the Kingdom of Heaven and His Righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.

Matthew 6:33

There are many things we see in church today.

We have programs.  We have buildings.  We have ministries.  We have ministers.  But seek first the Kingdom.

James 3:16 says that where there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there is confusion and every evil thing.  Competition between brothers rises, looking to a particular gifting or position in order to get attention abound.  Attempts to fill unmet needs in the soul by some level of attainment in the spirit are present in our ministers.

Read more…