notes from lisa...

" But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign ; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:" [Matthew 12:39] Believers today have become a generation of sign-seekers. We are following faith healers, financial miracles, prophetic "words from the Lord", our own supernatural healings and manifestations of all sorts. According to Jesus, it is a wicked--or "evil and adulterous generation" who seeks these things. Why shouldn't God's people have these things--or seek them?  God has reserved something greater and more magnificent for His people--something the "evil and adulterous" cannot grasp. When we understand the purpose of "signs" then we would know we are not to seek after them, but to seek after the spiritual and deep things of the Kingdom of God. "Signs" as Jesus used it here refers to (ceremonially or supernaturally) miracles, sign...

"And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed , ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you." Luke 17:6 That's a whole lot of faith...or is it? In fact, it's less about quantity than about quality. Mustard seed faith is pure faith; it is faith that isn't moved by feelings and circumstances. It's the kind of faith Jesus said we would need to forgive, and to ask for forgiveness. We tend to use this scripture for everything but it's godly intent. Faith has a purpose--an eternal one. Faith is about making us ready for eternity; it's the gift God plants in us for the treacherous journey. We don't drum it up, but He gives to "every man the measure of faith" [Romans 12:3] and then "faith worketh by love" [Galatians 5:6]. We have the faith that we need, because He gave it to us; we don't have to get it on our own--or drum it up. T...

When I forgive you, I don't really do anything for you . It is for myself, actually. It satisfies God's requirement and removes resentment, bitterness and vengeance from my heart. Jesus said, "But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." [Matthew 6:15, KJV] Trespasses are not light easy things, the Amplified Bible puts it this way: "reckless and willful sins". So, not only are they reckless, but they are done with willful intent in many cases--and we are still required to forgive even these, "seven times seventy". Forgiving others of their sins against us, large or small, is the only way we will enter eternity with Jesus. Not one of us will see Jesus, in peace who has failed to fully forgive and release even one of our offenders. If we have people in our lives that we have "forgiven, but not forgotten (what they have done to us, or others)", we have not actually forgiven them. Forgiv...

" Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:" Matthew 28:19 " Go ", not " Bring " or " Take ". That was the commission Jesus gave to the first Christian disciples and it is the same commission that is extended to all of us that have come after them (and will). Somehow, that message has gotten lost--or misinterpreted. Today, we seem to interpret that commission as "bring as many people to church as you can", but there is a big problem with that message. It's good for us , but not for those who need the Gospel. It's downright inconvenient for those who need to hear what we already have and know. They don't want to get up early on Sunday; they stayed up too late on Saturday. They think we stay in service too long. They don't understand. They believe it's all about the money. They think all preachers are crooks. They had a bad experience in...

I came across the title of an article, today: Why do Radical Muslims Hate Us? I didn't bother to read it, because I recognized immediately that it is the wrong question to ask. The question to ask would be why are we, as Americans the target of hatred and terror. I mean, our neighbors directly to the North (Canada) and the South (Mexico) aren't. Some of our European allies are, though. Some of the largest "powers" in the world, monetarily and otherwise--like China, Japan, and Switzerland aren't targets, but America is a bullseye. Why do you think that is? The issue isn't the Muslim (even the radicalism); the issue is "US". If we figure out what's wrong with us, we can figure out why there are such radicals and extremists--and by the way, they just happen to be Muslim, and come from the Middle East. If Native Americans or Africans of the 17th-19th century lived today, they might be the extremists and radicals that we would be talking about, inst...

   How men determine and label faith today is vastly different from the biblical model. We deem faithless those that Jesus esteems and values dearly; those that He declares are unfit for the Kingdom of God, we call faith giants.    Today, we view poor people, in the world of Christendom, as weak in the faith; assuming that if poor people would only exercise their faith and raise it to our desired level, they would become prosperous, naturally-speaking. Of course, immediately that logic raises a lot of problems. First, for that to be true, righteousness would have to be equated with prosperity and unrighteousness with poverty. What then do we do with all of the wicked who hold great wealth, yet despise God and His people; and conversely, what do we do with all of the saints willing to be martyred for the cause of Christ, who give up everything rather than denounce Him (there are many around the globe)? Secondly, how do we reconcile such scripture passages as: ...

We have to value and highly esteem the same people that God does. His way is unnatural to our human nature and tendency. Since we seek to be elevated and attain status, the last thing we need to do is associate ourselves with the lowly. Actually, to impress God, that's exactly the way--be abased, "look on the things of others", decrease, and humble ourselves under the mighty Hand of God. It's the only way. It would seem, by the natural order of things that if you want to go higher you should surround yourself with with successful, driven, achievers right? Well, if you are a carnal man, you should; but a spiritual man lives by a different law and the carnal mind is enmity with God--it puts us in direct opposition to Him. Having a carnal mind really boils down to pride, at the root. A mind that chooses the laws of nature, and comfort opposes the supreme law of the Omnipotent God and is a mind consumed with pride. I admit, God's way makes no sense--it would seem to...