Crosslines

Does Jesus treat critics and spectators differently than participants? To a novice casting out demons, Jesus says, "For whoever is not against us is for us." - Mark 9:40. But to the Pharisees being critical of Him delivering a man who was blind and mute, He says, "Whoever is not with me is against me" - Matthew 12:30. Don't run or pick sides between Biblical truth that seems to contradict each other. Contradicting truths are two rails on a train track that keep the train from derailing at speed. 

We live in deceptive times, but the LOVE of TRUTH keeps us out of deception. So, the truth of God's Word sets us free, but what do you do when there are two conflicting truths in the Word? Jesus said, "For whoever is not against us is for us." - Mark 9:40 and "Whoever is not with me is against me" - Matthew 12:30. Which statement is true? Or if they are both true, how do you follow both principles? 

Should you evaluate your prayer life by the answers you receive? In almost every other area of life, we measure our effectiveness by the results. Why don't we do the same in our prayer life? Is God just the god of no? Or are we missing something on our end? When our prayers aren't answered, something is wrong. We must go to God until we receive a clear answer. We must come to believe that God hears every prayer, and that He answers every time. 

Even the scientific community has evidence of the differing results between people who pray and people who don't. Have you ever thought about what you choose to cover in prayer and the things you don't? Our fixes to the situation never work as well as praying through the situation. The Almighty is more mighty than us in our own strength. For 2025, do a prayer experiment. See what changes when you make God number 1, when you bring him into every area of your life. 

Group discussion on the ability to turn something in prayer. 
Prayer is not wishful thinking, and neither should it be random. There are not times it works, and times it doesn't. Prayer is meant to take a situation that would have gone down bad and with God's warning ahead of time, turn it for good. In short, prayer is meant to change things. We have the authority to bring God's Will into situations.  

This year, a human craft traveled closer to the sun than ever before in history. Certain precautions were taken to ensure the craft's survival, much like Moses and the children of Israel experienced God’s glory at Mount Sinai. There is a certain awesomeness to God's presence and voice that we should not take lightly. Just as many engineers and scientists dedicated their lives to a closer glimpse of the sun, we should give our lives to the pursuit of God's glory.

What is peace? The cross is the place where Jesus brought peace to the earth. Believers should have a foundational internal peace. Not having peace is a warning sign there are areas you need to work out with God. Jesus blessed the peacemakers. We should have enough internal peace that it brings external peace to other people. The devil markets a false peace,  a peace among people without God's Lordship. God's peace is not peace at all cost. It does not come from compromise; it comes from Godly conflict. Peace is a prince, the person of Jesus. When you speak His Name, it brings Peace. 

Blessings are meant to overtake you. When from the Lord, they come from behind and overtake you.  If you chase the blessings instead of God, they will forever be like a carrot on a stick. God truly wants to satisfy in a way things and people cannot. True satisfaction is in the world we can't see. What we can see—the temporal world—can never satisfy the way God can. True contentment moves you from stage to stage with promotion and satisfaction. Contentment is a learned trait.

Do you have satisfaction and security in life? If not, don't worry; contentment is learned. Life is not meant to always be striving but never arriving. God wants us to find contentment in every season of life. He has joy for us in every area if we don't allow frustration. A truly satisfied Christian is free to be who God called them to be.

Cloy, the test of indulgence. The one test that has yet to be passed. The Solomon test. God lives in the land of indulgence...but He can't let us go there because of what we would do with it. Surprisingly, more people pass the Job test than pass the Solomon test. But God wants to be able to trust us with goodness, not control us with punishment. His heart is to give us the desires of our heart, but there is one step before that can become a reality. Lordship.