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A Trilogy from Paul, October 12, 2020

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Today’s Podcast

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Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.

From the Philippians’ lectionary readings yesterday, three things jumped out at me that I wanted to share with you today. First, let me read the passage from Paul’s letter, then we will discuss each of them in reverse in the message and why I think we must address them as individuals and as the church, the body of Christ, today.

 4 Always be glad for what the Lord has done, I will say it again, be glad.

5 Let everyone know that you think kindly of others before yourselves. The Lord is near.

6 Do not worry about anything. Talk to God about everything. Thank him for what you have. Ask him for what you need.

7 Then God will give you peace, a peace which is too wonderful to understand. That peace will keep your hearts and minds safe as you trust in Christ Jesus.

8 Here, my brothers, are some things I want you to think about. Think about things that are true, honest, right, clean and pure, things that are lovely, and things that are good to talk about. If they are good, and if they bring praise to God, think about these things.

9 I taught you, and you learned things from me. You heard the things I said, and you saw the things I did. Do these same things yourselves. Then God who gives peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:4-9 WE)

The topic that I’ll mention first comes from Paul’s last bold statement. Pattern your life after mine, and God will give you the peace he gives me. How many of us tell those coming behind us those words today? Too often, what we hear is my private life is private. Don’t peek into the closet; it’s none of your business what I do behind closed doors. You only need to know what I do in my business, my public life, that’s why you pay me. 

Not Paul. He says, follow me around, watch me every moment of every day and do what I do. Use me as an example of holy living. Let me show you what it means to follow Jesus and his teachings. If you do the things I do, you will be okay when you stand before Him at the judgment.

We might call that overconfident. We might call Paul conceited. We might think him arrogant. Paul lived none of those characteristics. He just knew that if he followed Christ in all his practices, public and private, others could follow him and find their way to Jesus the same way he did. And when Paul discovered him, Jesus turned his world upside down, or should I say, he finally turned Paul’s world right-side up. That’s what Jesus came to do, after all, to make all things right again. 

So, the first point in Paul’s words yesterday, can I say like Paul, follow in my footsteps, and you will be following Jesus? Am I walking so much in the light of God’s word and by the guidance of his spirit, that I can honestly make that statement to others? If not, why not, and what am I going to do about it? 

Second is Paul’s admonition to watch with what we fill our cranial space. God created magnificent computer storage spaces when he created our brains. They operate in ways science and medicine still haven’t figured out. Somehow, memories get stored in the electrical impulses that happened between the cells in our brain, but how and what mechanism recall the right bit of those chemical and electrical impulses to bring back those memories decades later? We still have no clue. 

What we have learned, though, is that everything that goes into the brain is there. Unless some injury or illness destroys some part of the brain, memories find their way in and remain. I might not be able to call them up at a moments’ notice, but they reside somewhere in that mass of tissue, and the right stimulus can bring them to the surface. So Paul says, if that’s true, just like a compute, our brains work on the principle of garbage in, garbage out. If you fill your mind with smut, violence, evil, things contradictory to God’s goodness, that’s what spills out. When you fill your mind with good things, that’s what comes out. 

What does that mean for us practically? The older I get, the more I understand Paul’s words. Think about things that are true, honest, right, clean and pure, things that are lovely, and things that are good to talk about. If they are good, and if they bring praise to God, think about these things. I must admit, I’ve quit watching the news almost entirely. When is the last time you heard any news outlet talk about anything with these qualities? It’s been a long time. Bad news sells. In our broken state, we want to hear the dirt, the lies, the filth, the ugly. We want to know the worst of society to feel just a little better about ourselves in our minds. 

Filling our mind with the worst of society doesn’t let God shine his light on the things in us he wants to change, though. Thinking on the goodness of creation, the goodness of humanity made in God’s image, the goodness of God’s love and mercy, the beauty of the things around us, pulls us out of the world and, for those moments, lets us get just a little closer to the joining of heaven and earth – God walking in the garden with us. 

Yesterday’s scripture reminds us to keep our minds on things that focus on the best of this world. Paul tells us:

Think about things that are true, honest, right, clean and pure, things that are lovely, and things that are good to talk about. If they are good, and if they bring praise to God, think about these things.

Finally, the last thing I wanted to share with you from yesterday’s reading is just a four-word sentence from verse 5. “The Lord is near.” What makes that so important, and why did I want to share it with you today.

Allowing me to read more resulted in a pandemic’s positive effect as it seems the second wave begins to hit many areas of the world. As I’ve read much larger chunks of the Old and New Testaments at one sitting, often several books at a time, I’ve begun to notice things I never saw before. 

I knew Jesus is the Messiah prophesied throughout the Old Testament. Still, I never saw how Jesus became the embodiment of the Israelites exile once again so he could go through it and overcome it. Abraham was exiled in a sense from Ur but failed to bless the nations. God rescued the fledgling tribe through Joseph, but they failed to show God to the Egyptians how they saw Yahweh as the only God of the heavens. God rescued the Israelites through Moses, but they turned back to their idolatry in the land he gave them. Now, after returning from Babylon, still scattered around the world, the Temple rebuilt, Jesus comes to rescue the Israelites and show them what God wants of his chosen people as lights of the world to bring the nations to him. The Pharisees and Sadducees work together to plot to kill him. Use trumped-up charges, break their laws to entice Pilate to execute Jesus for doing good on the Sabbath, and rid Jerusalem of another revolutionary leader – they thought. 

Jesus’ resurrection brought heaven and earth together. Throughout his ministry, his message was clear. Repent, heaven is near. Some will think me crazy, I’m sure. Some will not want to hear the Lord is near. But as we discover the probability of multiple dimensions, I believe that’s where heaven might be. I think heaven is here, just out of sight. Jesus’ resurrected body could pass from one side to the other. Perhaps he could multiply the bread and fish by reaching from one side to the other. Maybe angels can do God’s bidding by passing from one side to the other. 

We don’t understand what physical properties other dimensions might hold because we’ve never seen them or been there. Scientists only assume their probability through mathematical formulas. But suppose it is true and the Lord is just beside you and in this other dimension can be just beside any of us in the blink of an eye where time and space don’t operate the way it does in our dimension. What if Jesus, the son of God, who conquered death and showed his disciples his new resurrected body that comes and goes behind locked doors is right here, now, just waiting for God to say, “Open the curtain.” 

It means in the blink of an eye; all could change. The new heaven and new earth could appear without notice, and suddenly we would be face to face with our Lord as a new dimension, a new earth, a new heaven, a new creation unfolds around us. “Heaven is near,” Jesus said. “The kingdom is at hand,” he proclaimed. Paul tells us, “The Lord is near.” Perhaps he’s even here. How does that change what you do and how you act today.

 There they are: The Lord is near. Think about good things. Follow in my footsteps to follow in his. Three messages that will shake us and awaken us as we contemplate the days in which we live. 

You can find me at richardagee.com. I also invite you to join us at San Antonio First Church of the Nazarene on West Avenue in San Antonio to hear more Bible-based teaching. You can find out more about my church at SAF.church. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed it, tell a friend. If you didn’t, send me an email and let me know how better to reach out to those around you. Until next week, may God richly bless you as you venture into His story each day. 

Scriptures marked WE are taken from THE JESUS BOOK – The Bible in Worldwide English (WE). Scriptures are taken from THE JESUS BOOK – The Bible in Worldwide English, Copyright © 1969, 1971, 1996, 1998 by SOON Educational Publications, Derby, DE65 6BN, UK. Used by permission.

Change is happening, who’s managing it?, September 10, 2018

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Today’s Podcast


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Today we start a new topic that will take us through  the next few weeks. In one of my businesses, I serve as a professional change manager. In fact, as part of the marketing of that business, I secured a copyright for a slogan that explains a little of what the company does. The slogan says this, “When change happens, management matters.” You see, we all change. In fact, we change all the time. If we didn’t we would be dead. Did you know that the only cells in the body that are not replaced with some frequency are brain cells? Every other cell is replaced on a regular basis. Skin and hair cells being two of the most frequently replaced. You might be surprised to know your whole body of skin is replaced about once a month.

But we will talk about some different kinds of change over the next few weeks. Suffice it to say that we must change. So if change is necessary to our very survival, we need to know a little about change. We need to think about what needs to change in our life and how to go about managing that change in a way that benefits us. Taking a knife and slicing off strips of skin is not the best way to change your skin cells monthly. Yet cutting your hair every once in a while is not necessarily a bad thing. You probably don’t want to remove an eye and expect it to regrow itself, but a cancerous tumor needs to be taken care of quickly and decisively before it spreads throughout the body.

So change is necessary for all of us and management of change is also important. We, however, will talk about changing some important things and how we must manage those changes so God can use us most effectively in the days, months, and years ahead.

What do we talk about first? Let’s look at that organ in which the cells don’t change. The brain is the center of all your thoughts. Hundreds of thousands of studies have been done trying to explain that three pound mass of goo that sits in that space between your ears. We have learned a lot, but we still know so little about it. We know it operates with tiny electric currents that run between the neurons, those little nerve cells that comprise the brain. Yet how do those cells hold every memory and analyze problems and create imaginative and artistic things? We have no idea. When those connections are broken through concussions or surgery or trauma or drugs or some other means, those memories and analysis processes and creativity can be destroyed or changed. Why? We don’t know except all that information is stored in those tiny electric currents in the cells, just like in computer chips. Fascinating studies with no good answers except that God made us in incredibly complex ways that we cannot duplicate.

So what about that brain? Why do I mention it first in this series of change? Jesus kind of points us in that direction. He tells us that murder starts with a single emotional thought of calling a brother or sister a fool. He said that rape begins with a single thought of lusting after a person. See, every behavior we name as a sinful behavior begins inside that three pound brain as a thought and then is transmitted to our hands and feet to carry out that thought in action. So to carry Jesus’ warning just a bit further, our thoughts control us. He said what comes out of our mouth tells others what we really are. Those thoughts that result in words we can’t take back. Those are the things people hear and see that determine our true character.  

Your thoughts control you. You might say, “Wait a minute. That’s not who I am. My thoughts are private. I can day dream and think what I want without affecting anyone else. I can daydream or think about actions I’d like to take against someone or something, but that doesn’t mean I’d ever carry them out.”

Really? Think about it for a minute. We are controlled by a lot of things sometimes. Your boss controls what time you show up for work. If you get there too early, the doors are locked. If you habitually get there too late, you find you no longer work there. Your bank account controls what you can buy. You thoughts control your attitude. And attitude creeps into all that other stuff. Do you think you can work effectively for a boss you despise with your thoughts? You will barely get by at best, doing only the minimum he requires and getting away from him as fast as you can every day. Do you think those lustful thoughts about that co-worker doesn’t affect the way you see your spouse when you get home?

We need to get honest with ourselves if we are going to be the men and women God wants us to be. Before we can do anything about those attitudes, those thoughts, those things that control us, we have to recognize them and begin to turn them over to God so he can help you change them. Maybe the things controlling you are physical appearance or popularity or greed or power or what others think of you. Whatever the thing that controls your thoughts and keeps you from being the man or woman God wants you to be, sit down today and make a list of those things. Jot them down in a private place or share them with a prayer partner if you can. Begin to let God change those thoughts and hindrances to your relationship with him.

Your thoughts will control you. That three pound miracle that sits between your ears controls your whole body. It is the place where every function in your body finds its origin. Nothing happens within you that does not start from a command in that mass of cells call the brain. So what is controlling you? What needs to change? Are you ready to give those things to God and let him help you change?

Let’s go back to that slogan I mentioned in the first place. When change happens…management matters. You are changing. The question is who is managing the change? Do you think your managing it? How’s that going for you? Do you think our culture is shaping and managing your change? That works great, doesn’t it? Maybe it’s time to turn the management over to God and let him direct the changes that need to take place. He’s really good at change. After all, he changed nothing into something. Darkness into light. Chaos into order. He can help you change the thoughts that control you, too. Take a chance. Let him manage your life from the inside out.

Change is happening. Who will manage it for you?

You can find me at richardagee.com. I also invite you to join us at San Antonio First Church of the Nazarene on West Avenue in San Antonio to hear more Bible based teaching. You can find out more about my church at SAF.church. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed it, tell a friend. If you didn’t, send me an email and let me know how better to reach out to those around you. Until next week, may God richly bless you as you venture into His story each day.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved. In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Let others see that you forgive (Luke 5:22-24) September 26, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Numbers 25-28

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Luke 5:22-24
Jesus (responding with His own question): Why are your hearts full of questions? Which is easier to say, “Your sins are forgiven” or “Get up and walk”? Just so you’ll know that the Son of Man is fully authorized to forgive sins on earth (He turned to the paralyzed fellow lying on the pallet), I say, get up, take your mat, and go home.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Have you discovered yet that it’s easier to say something than it is to live it? If you haven’t learned that truth, you just haven’t lived very long or you don’t talk to anyone or something. Everyone knows it’s easier to talk about something than it is to do it. It just is.

I learned that lesson again recently when I undertook the task of building a pergola on our back porch. I did a lot of research, read a lot of different how-to web sites, looked at a lot of different designs. I drew out a simple blue print and figured out how much material it would take and made sure I had the right tools to do the job. Simple, right?

Then the lumber company delivered the 1,800 pounds of cedar it would take to put that monstrosity in the air. First, there was the fourteen gallons of stain it took to prepare the wood before I made the first cut. I figured it would be a lot easier to stain the wood at waist level before construction than after it was in the air (and a lot easier to clean up any mess I was sure to make in the process, too). By the end of the staining, I thought I had done some work, but that was only the beginning.

Yep, talking about something is significantly easier than doing it. And talking about doing something you can’t see is easier than talking about something you can see. It was much easier to promise to research the building of the pergola than to build it. The research was mostly in my head with just a few notes and drawings on a few pieces of paper. But the physical pergola that you can actually see and touch, that was a lot more difficult to put in the air.

So everyone understands when Jesus asked His question of the Pharisees, “Is it easier to say to this man, ‘Your sins are forgiven or take up your mat and walk?’” Things you can’t see are so much easier to promise than things you can see. Still, Jesus knew what He could do and made His most important promise to the paralytic first. “Your sins are forgiven.”

Those words are easy to say. In fact, it’s easy for us to say the words to someone else. “I forgive you.” It’s easy to put those three words together and project them toward someone who has wronged you. But can you make that promise in a way that is visible to the one to whom you project them? Can you say the words and mean them when the pain for the wrongs done still lingers? Jesus did. He forgave the paralytic his sins knowing he would carry the man’s sins to the cross and die for them.

We can say the words pretty easily, just like I could say I would build a pergola on my porch. But the proof is in the seeing. The paralytic knew what happened right away because he felt the guilt of his sins melt away with the words Jesus spoke. No one else knew the proof right away because they couldn’t see the evidence. It was only as he lived his life and they could see the joy in his face that they could see the evidence of what Jesus had done for him. But just because others couldn’t see the results right away, didn’t mean the work hadn’t been done.

It’s like my pergola. If I hadn’t done the research and planning, I wouldn’t have bought the right amount of wood and hardware and stain. As it turns out, I over estimated by two and a half gallons of stain and four pieces of lumber. That’s enough to touch up all the ends I cut, that I haven’t stained yet, and maybe enough to build a bench attached to the rail at the edge of the porch. You couldn’t see the planning except by way of the end result. Neither could you see Jesus’ forgiveness expect by way of the end result of the paralytic’s joy in his freedom from the guilt of his former sins.

Jesus wanted others to know He never lied and had the power to do what He said He could do, though. So He did something others could see, not just hear about. Like my building the pergola, so others could see it when they sit on the porch instead of me just talking about it, Jesus healed the paralytic so the Pharisees knew He could do what He said He could do. He did what seemed impossible. He healed a man who could not help himself, physically or spiritually.

So, like Jesus, when you forgive, do so in a way that others can experience and know you’ve forgiven. Let them see the truth of what you say and not just hear the words.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Inside out (Mark 7:18-23) August 1, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Leviticus 22-24

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Mark 7:18-23
Jesus: Do you mean you don’t understand this one either? Whatever goes into people from outside can’t defile them because it doesn’t go into their hearts. Outside things go through their guts and back out, thus making all foods pure. No, it’s what comes from within that corrupts. It’s what grows out of the hearts of people that leads to corruption: evil thoughts, immoral sex, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wicked acts, treachery, sensuality, jealousy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All of these come from within, and these are the sins that truly corrupt a person.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Did you notice the list of things Jesus points out that makes us corrupt? What a list! But not one of them has to do with the things we seem to point out most of the time when we want to point out the bad in society. Did you notice? That person doesn’t attend the right social events. This one doesn’t wear the right clothes. That one doesn’t belong to the right clubs. He doesn’t support right to choose. She doesn’t agree with the LGBT movement.

And then we really start getting picky in the church. He doesn’t sing the right kind of songs. She wears her skirts too short. He wears shorts to church. His sermons are too long. She spends too much time with that guy. He’s too friendly with gay people. She has friends that have had abortions. He’s divorced. She’s in her forties and not married. He doesn’t like the color of the carpet we picked. She picked the paint and I don’t like it. She wears too much makeup.

We think the stupidest things make us righteous or unrighteous. The Pharisees thought it was their rules and rituals that made them righteous. If they could just do all the right things, they would be all right with God. If they washed properly, ate the right food, prayed the right prayers, gave the right offerings, did the right things, everything would be alright.

But Jesus saw through their hypocracy. He saw their hearts. He saw their devotion was not to God but to themselves. They were more interested in obeying their rules than in obeying God. And He called them on it. So when His disciples asked about His comments, He explained Himself. It’s not the rules that make someone good or evil, it starts with a wicked thought.

If you’ll recall Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount from Matthew, He talks about the fact that murder starts with the thought of hating your brother. Adultery starts with a lustful thought. Those evil thoughts are the spart of evil actions and those evil actions are sin. James tells us the same thing in his letter to the churches. Corruption starts from the seed of a thought that we hang on to and let germinate in our mind until we let it become not just a thought but an action with our body.

Jesus then talks about some things all of us agree with right away. Everyone would give a resounding amen to those evil things – murder, theft, wicked acts, treachery. But you know, our society starts chipping away at what’s right and what’s wrong with some of those others. Some have even become common place today. Find a television program that doesn’t promote sensuality today. Not too many are there? Pride? Is that a sin? We say it is, but we often hide it as ambition rather than pride, don’t we?

But Jesus didn’t mince words when He laid out His list of evils as He shared with His disciples – evil thoughts, immoral sex, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wicked acts, treachery, sensuality, jealousy, slander, pride, and foolishness. Did He really say foolishness? Yep. That’s evil? It can be. Proverbs warns against foolishness a lot. Foolishness wastes effort, resources, hurts people carelessly. It’s not the same as having fun and enjoying life. Foolishness is the opposite of wisdom and harms God’s creation. So, yes, foolishness is evil.

We like to skip over those things that society says is okay, but they’re not. Sex outside of marriage is not okay despite what the world may say. Adultery is not okay regardless of who else might engage in it. Greed is not healthy for society or for the individuals that engage in it. Jealousy hurts not only the one who is jealous but it taints every relationship that person has. Slander creates distrust across society and is worse that theft because things can be replaced, but reputations can be destroyed forever. Pride sets us up for a mighty fall because it always puff us up falsely. Foolishness causes us to do things that just lead us into trouble unnecessarily. Yet all these things the world often thinks are okay. None of these are condemned the way Jesus condemns them .

So who will we listen to, the world or Jesus? If we want to live eternally, the answer better be Jesus. After all, He’s the one who will stand as our judge at the end of time. It’s probably best to do what He says. 

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Don’t murder…and more (Matthew 5:21-22) January 11, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Genesis 4-7

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 5:21-22
Jesus: As you know, long ago God instructed Moses to tell His people, “Do not murder; those who murder will be judged and punished.” But here is the even harder truth: anyone who is angry with his brother will be judged for his anger. Anyone who taunts his friend, speaks contemptuously toward him, or calls him “Loser” or “Fool” or “Scum,” will have to answer to the high court. And anyone who calls his brother a fool may find himself in the fires of hell.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

It’s easy for us to condemn the murderer. After all, do not murder is something every society says is wrong. Everyone knows killing someone is bad. If we let people go around killing each other, we could never live with any peace or security within our community. So we know it’s wrong to murder. Anyone who commits murder should be punished, right?

We could argue about the justice of capital punishment or the equity between sentencing between rich and poor, the lines between first, second, and third degree murder, or a host of other aspects involved in the judicious meeting out of punishments for murder. But all of us would probably agree that murder is wrong. Every society across our globe holds murder as a most offensive action against society.

However, Jesus points out that murder never starts out as murder. It always starts with the thought, “You’re different than me. Either I’m better than you or you’re better than me, but we’re not equals.” So we call our brother, that person next to us scum, or fool, or loser, or pick another slang that makes you feel superior in that moment. In World War II, they were Krauts, in Viet Nam, Gooks, in the Middle-east, they’re Rag-heads. Are they different from me? No. God made us all and we all want the same thing, a better life for our children, peace and security from day-to-day. We have different ideas about how we obtain those ideals, but basically we want our daily bread, security, and a better life for our kids in this life.

So that first thought that gives rise to “I’m better than you,” makes it possible to move on to I hate you because you have something I don’t have. Maybe it’s money. Maybe it’s education. Maybe it’s more land or better land. Maybe it’s power or fame. Maybe it’s a relationship you think will bring you happiness. But whatever that something is, the thought that the object of your desire centers on what that person has that you don’t have drives you to hate that person.

Once you reach the emotional level of hate, murder is just the physical expression of that mental state. It’s only a behavior away from what you’re already thinking. Jesus got it absolutely right. He explained our situation so well and yet we still harbor ill-will against our brothers and sisters that God created. Can I condone sinful action on the part of others? No. Neither did Jesus. He never condoned sin, but He always loved the person and worked hard to bring them back into a relationship with God.

Remember the woman caught in adultery? First, I always wonder why they didn’t bring the man out with her. He was also guilty and deserving of stoning. Jesus didn’t let her off the hook. He didn’t throw a stone. He didn’t have to condemn her. Her actions did that for her. All He wanted to do was forgive her and lead her to a life in which she no longer sinned. Remember Jesus is never identified as our accuser, only as our judge when the day of judgment comes. Satan will do his best to accuse. Jesus stands both as our advocate and as judge.

It’s not always easy to love all of God’s creation when you look around the world at the corruption, the war, the evil resident everywhere it seems. But in all those places, God has a remnant of followers that remain true to Him and His word. He has a few that stay on His path of righteousness and will not stray from it despite the persecution they face or the enticements the world offers. And in those places, we must remember that God created us all. Many follow the broad way that will lead them to their own destruction because they refuse to listen to the truth of God’s word, but that few continue to share God’s truth anyway. They continue to pray and hope that one more will give their life to Him and so add another to His kingdom.

If I am to follow in the footsteps of Jesus and the Apostles and the great figures of the church, I must remember God created us all. I must remember these words of Jesus and let Him help me stop my thoughts of self importance and disregard of my brother or sister. I must let Him into my life so I avoid those initial thoughts that can lead to hatred which is just a single behavior away from murder, an act we all agree is wrong and worthy of the severest punishment.

Jesus’ words take us back to Cain’s question in the Garden of Eden and what seems a rhetorical answer viewed throughout the rest of God’s word. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Yes, at a minimum, I must extend the grace and mercy and love God shows me to him. So, how do your thoughts measure up?

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.