The LiMP

Each time another act of terror happens to America, you’ll notice that people are becoming less shocked, less heartbroken, and, yes, even less afraid. You’ll also notice the emerging hashtag trend. Recently there was a #VegasStrong hashtag and now just a month later, we have the #NYCStrong hashtag.

It is my prayer, as I am sure that it is yours that we never again have to create another one of these hashtags. However, they do provide some comfort as they inspire our resolve to continue to remind the world that we are the land of the free and the home of the brave, and that we will not give in to the threat of terrorism.

Someone said that weakness is not getting knocked down; that can happen to anybody. Weakness is not getting back up and continuing to fight. The strong keep fighting. This is the sentiment of people across America who are using the strong hashtags.

Terrorism is designed to make us cower in fear and abandon our way of life. And we who are in Christ know that behind all terrorism is the personification of evil himself, Satan. And though America seems to be staying strong in the face of terrorism, I can’t help but wonder how much of our strength is not strength of heart as much as it is hardness of heart.

You see, hardness of heart can be deceptive. It can make people appear to be brave while they secretly live in constant fear. It can even make fearful people actually believe they are brave, when all they really are is angry at themselves for being so afraid, or at others for making them so.

Have you ever gotten really mad at someone who scared the daylights out of you? It may have been a friend or family member. And for a while after that, you didn’t want to have anything to do with them. You perhaps walked around with clenched fists, pouting lips, and an angry scowl; all because they made you so afraid.

That’s sort of what we want to talk about in this episode of the LiMP. With all of the tragic events we’ve recently faced, we must realize that not only is Satan out to steal, kill, and destroy, but with each act of violence carried out in our midst, he is also seeking to harden our hearts. We need to make sure that our hearts are getting stronger and not just becoming hardened to sin.

It is the most familiar phrase of Halloween, known by children everywhere. And while I, for many reasons, don’t celebrate this so-called holiday, I want to take the opportunity to share with you some thoughts about the dangers of being tricked into retreating from our first priorities as children of God.

Jesus warns in multiple passages of Scripture that He will come back quickly to claim those who are His and to judge and condemn those who are not. Today, we will take some time to look at seven “come quickly” statements I found in the book of Revelation and how they relate to each other and to us.

It is far too easy today for many that call themselves Christians to be mistaken for anything but. But know this. When the Lord comes at last, there’ll be no time to unmask… So if you want to be ready when Jesus comes, you might want to pay close attention to this show.

It is the most familiar phrase of Halloween, known by children everywhere. And while I, for many reasons, don’t celebrate this so-called holiday, I want to take the opportunity to share with you some thoughts about the dangers of being tricked into retreating from our first priorities as children of God.

Jesus warns in multiple passages of Scripture that He will come back quickly to claim those who are His and to judge and condemn those who are not. Today, we will take some time to look at seven “come quickly” statements I found in the book of Revelation and how they relate to each other and to us.

It is far too easy today for many that call themselves Christians to be mistaken for anything but. But know this. When the Lord comes at last, there’ll be no time to unmask… So if you want to be ready when Jesus comes, you might want to pay close attention to this show.

EXCERPT: 

We live in a world where success is most often measured by the job you have, the position you hold, the people you know, and the things your money can buy. Its been this way since the earliest days of humanity. Speaking of a Job, have you ever heard of Jōb? I can recall a time when one of my children thought that the Bible character’s name was pronounced with the short vowel sound “ah” instead of the long sound “oh”. But you of course know it is pronounced Jōb.

Jōb is one of the oldest books of the Bible. And ironically enough, he too was a man who was the picture of success, and not only from a physical, but even a spiritual standpoint. Yet even Job serves as a reminder to us that we are all flawed human beings who have the tendency to fall short of God’s standard for our lives. But how? How did Job, the man who God called upright and who feared God, fall short?

We all know about the patience of Job. But do we know and understand the secret preoccupation of Job? Today we will be looking at JŌB’s Secret Occupation and how it offers us a Jōb description that we all fit but need to quit.

What are the most important things to you in life? Is it family and friends? Is it your job or ministry? Is it money or the things it can buy? Maybe it’s good mental and physical health. In their proper proportions, these are all things that are worth striving for. The only problem is that, well, they also come with their own problems.

We don’t always get along with family and friends. Our jobs and ministries aren’t always fulfilling. Money and the things it buys sometimes lets us down or leaves us feeling empty. And whether it be through aging, poor diet, or some circumstance, mental and physical health fails. Its just a natural part of living as fallen creatures in a fallen world.

And you see, God knows this all too well. Which is why He reminds us of the importance of holding loosely to the things of this world and tightly to Him­—loving not the world, and loving Him above all. But we’re afraid to let go aren’t we? We are afraid to place implicit trust in a God who works in so many mysterious ways. Our default then is an unconscious reliance on the tangible, the touchable, the spendable, the investible, the personable, the relational.

We secretly long for a perfect situation where we have all we need and more in the way of people in our lives and things to possesses and enjoy. And when we find ourselves in those sweet moments when everything seems to be so right, we just want it to stay that way forever. And though we know deep in our hearts that good times don’t last always, we so wished they would that we continually try to keep them going, sometimes at all cost.

Now I’m aware that not everyone feels this way. But if we’re honest, most of us would agree that we do. I understand that some people have given up on life and just exist in misery, waiting for their date with death. I also know that there are some who, for whatever reason, delude themselves with the euphoric lies they produce through things like sex, drugs, and alcohol, and other forms of reckless living. They party all night, and sleep all day, and usually end up destitute or dead. And when death happens for those who have only lived for themselves or for this life, the only one who wins (for now) is Satan. He is the enemy who comes to steal, to kill, to destroy the things and most importantly the people created in the image and likeness of God.

The Bible reminds us to fear not the one who can kill the body, but the One who can destroy both body and soul in hell. God is constantly trying to teach us the extremely important lesson of “fear not”. And believe it or not, Job, a man who had it all,

EXCERPT: 

We live in a world where success is most often measured by the job you have, the position you hold, the people you know, and the things your money can buy. Its been this way since the earliest days of humanity. Speaking of a Job, have you ever heard of Jōb? I can recall a time when one of my children thought that the Bible character’s name was pronounced with the short vowel sound “ah” instead of the long sound “oh”. But you of course know it is pronounced Jōb.

Jōb is one of the oldest books of the Bible. And ironically enough, he too was a man who was the picture of success, and not only from a physical, but even a spiritual standpoint. Yet even Job serves as a reminder to us that we are all flawed human beings who have the tendency to fall short of God’s standard for our lives. But how? How did Job, the man who God called upright and who feared God, fall short?

We all know about the patience of Job. But do we know and understand the secret preoccupation of Job? Today we will be looking at JŌB’s Secret Occupation and how it offers us a Jōb description that we all fit but need to quit.

What are the most important things to you in life? Is it family and friends? Is it your job or ministry? Is it money or the things it can buy? Maybe it’s good mental and physical health. In their proper proportions, these are all things that are worth striving for. The only problem is that, well, they also come with their own problems.

We don’t always get along with family and friends. Our jobs and ministries aren’t always fulfilling. Money and the things it buys sometimes lets us down or leaves us feeling empty. And whether it be through aging, poor diet, or some circumstance, mental and physical health fails. Its just a natural part of living as fallen creatures in a fallen world.

And you see, God knows this all too well. Which is why He reminds us of the importance of holding loosely to the things of this world and tightly to Him­—loving not the world, and loving Him above all. But we’re afraid to let go aren’t we? We are afraid to place implicit trust in a God who works in so many mysterious ways. Our default then is an unconscious reliance on the tangible, the touchable, the spendable, the investible, the personable, the relational.

We secretly long for a perfect situation where we have all we need and more in the way of people in our lives and things to possesses and enjoy. And when we find ourselves in those sweet moments when everything seems to be so right, we just want it to stay that way forever. And though we know deep in our hearts that good times don’t last always, we so wished they would that we continually try to keep them going, sometimes at all cost.

Now I’m aware that not everyone feels this way. But if we’re honest, most of us would agree that we do. I understand that some people have given up on life and just exist in misery, waiting for their date with death. I also know that there are some who, for whatever reason, delude themselves with the euphoric lies they produce through things like sex, drugs, and alcohol, and other forms of reckless living. They party all night, and sleep all day, and usually end up destitute or dead. And when death happens for those who have only lived for themselves or for this life, the only one who wins (for now) is Satan. He is the enemy who comes to steal, to kill, to destroy the things and most importantly the people created in the image and likeness of God.

The Bible reminds us to fear not the one who can kill the body, but the One who can destroy both body and soul in hell. God is constantly trying to teach us the extremely important lesson of “fear not”. And believe it or not, Job, a man who had it all,

EXCERPT: 

In Matthew 6:22-23, Jesus said that, “The light of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness.” In 2 Corinthians 4:4, the apostle Paul lends some clarity to what Jesus said when he writes that unbelievers are those, “whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.”

We are living in a time when the realities of the book of Revelation and its corresponding biblical texts are more likely to be fulfilled than ever before. More importantly than all of the distracting issues being stirred up across the globe by sin and Satan, we need to make sure that we as believers have the spiritual insight that only Christ can give.

This week, we look behind the physical eye into the eye of the mind to determine whether or not our spiritual sight is bad, and what that might mean…

Someone said that the eyes can only see what the mind is able to comprehend. There are volumes of truth in that statement. Ask a child who’s never seen a zebra to point one out at a zoo, and don’t be surprised if they choose a chimpanzee. Only after a child is taught what a Zebra looks like can they reliably identify one… Yes, either the eyes have it or they don’t.

So often in my interactions with people about the problems of the world I hear it said that, “I can’t see how a loving God would…” Well, you know the rest. But the first response that comes to mind is, “You know what? You’re right… You can’t see how God would allow this or do that, unless you are willing to submit your mind to the word of God.”

Of course, in most cases I don’t immediately say that unless the Spirit leads me to. But I do find points in the conversation to make sure its understood. The carnal mind is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be. The Holy Spirit must unlock one’s understanding of God’s word and will. And that is what we will be talking about for the duration of this episode with the thought that “Either the EYES have it or they don’t.”

 

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EXCERPT: 

In Matthew 6:22-23, Jesus said that, “The light of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness.” In 2 Corinthians 4:4, the apostle Paul lends some clarity to what Jesus said when he writes that unbelievers are those, “whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.”

We are living in a time when the realities of the book of Revelation and its corresponding biblical texts are more likely to be fulfilled than ever before. More importantly than all of the distracting issues being stirred up across the globe by sin and Satan, we need to make sure that we as believers have the spiritual insight that only Christ can give.

This week, we look behind the physical eye into the eye of the mind to determine whether or not our spiritual sight is bad, and what that might mean…

Someone said that the eyes can only see what the mind is able to comprehend. There are volumes of truth in that statement. Ask a child who’s never seen a zebra to point one out at a zoo, and don’t be surprised if they choose a chimpanzee. Only after a child is taught what a Zebra looks like can they reliably identify one… Yes, either the eyes have it or they don’t.

So often in my interactions with people about the problems of the world I hear it said that, “I can’t see how a loving God would…” Well, you know the rest. But the first response that comes to mind is, “You know what? You’re right… You can’t see how God would allow this or do that, unless you are willing to submit your mind to the word of God.”

Of course, in most cases I don’t immediately say that unless the Spirit leads me to. But I do find points in the conversation to make sure its understood. The carnal mind is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be. The Holy Spirit must unlock one’s understanding of God’s word and will. And that is what we will be talking about for the duration of this episode with the thought that “Either the EYES have it or they don’t.”

 

Subscribe To The LiMP In iTunes

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EXCERPT: 

This week on The LiMP I will be telling you exactly what happened in Vegas and why it should be extremely important to us all. And this is not a conspiracy theory. Its been happening since the beginning of time… If what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, then that means it starts in Vegas. But we know better… What happens in Vegas starts in the heart.

My heart goes out to the family, friends, and loved ones that survive those injured and those lost in the vicious attack that occurred on Sunday October first. Having lost loved ones at the hands of merciless gun violence myself, I know that people’s hearts are aching everywhere. And my prayers go out to God on their behalf. And it is because of the rampant violence and destruction of this world that I am even more compelled to address these issues from the perspective of a God who doesn’t want anyone to perish, but wants everyone to come to repentance.

 

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EXCERPT: 

This week on The LiMP I will be telling you exactly what happened in Vegas and why it should be extremely important to us all. And this is not a conspiracy theory. Its been happening since the beginning of time… If what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, then that means it starts in Vegas. But we know better… What happens in Vegas starts in the heart.

My heart goes out to the family, friends, and loved ones that survive those injured and those lost in the vicious attack that occurred on Sunday October first. Having lost loved ones at the hands of merciless gun violence myself, I know that people’s hearts are aching everywhere. And my prayers go out to God on their behalf. And it is because of the rampant violence and destruction of this world that I am even more compelled to address these issues from the perspective of a God who doesn’t want anyone to perish, but wants everyone to come to repentance.

 

Subscribe To The LiMP In iTunes

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title='Follow on Facebook'

target="_blank">FollowFollow

href='http://instagram.com/keithlbell'

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title='Follow on Instagram'

target="_blank">FollowFollow

href='http://twitter.com/kbellwether'

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title='Follow on Twitter'

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