Wicked things hates the light.

 Jesus Heals Two Men with Demons

 Matthew 8:28-34 (ESV)
And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. And behold, they cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” Now a herd of many pigs was feeding at some distance from them. And the demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs.” And he said to them, “Go.” So they came out and went into the pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the waters. The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, especially what had happened to the demon-possessed men. And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.

Something that I had not noticed or paid much attention to before in Matthew 8:31 (ESV) And the demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs. Then in Matthew 8:33 it says “the herdsmen fled”. So apparently these were domesticated pigs.

Matthew 8:34 (ESV)
And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.

The whole city to reject Jesus. Rejected Him over swine, an unclean animal forbidden in their law (Lev. 11:1-8). No man rejects God over clean and lawful things.

John 3:19-21 (ESV)
And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

It's amazing how the world loves its sin and does not want to be confronted about it. But aren't we all like this? None of us like being confronted about something that we are doing that is not right. We just tell ourselves that what we are doing isn't that bad. We need to take a step back and examine our self maybe we have let something into our life that we shouldn't have. If we have we need to repent.

Love Your Enemies

 Why is this so hard for some Christians? Why do so many just give lip service to this scripture?

Matthew 5:43-48 (ESV)
“You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

The Stoning of Stephen
Acts 7:59-60 (ESV)
And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

This is the type of love we should show to our enemies and those who persecute us.
I know how hard this can be, but it is what we are called to do.
But so many just want to shun you over so much less.

The Lord’s Prayer
Matthew 6:5 (ESV)
“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others.

Matthew 6:11-12 (ESV)
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.

I hope you have read my story of The Parable of Joe.

 If you have, let me ask: Are you like Joe?

Have you prayed the sinner’s prayer but haven’t died to self, picked up your cross, and followed Christ? Maybe you haven’t truly counted the cost of being a disciple of Christ. Are you just going to church because you feel it’s something you must do to be a Christian and to show others, you’re one?

Let me assure you, there is no good work we can do that will save us! We must commit our whole lives to Christ and follow Him with everything we are.

Are you ready to become radicalized for Christ? Let me tell you—it’s not too late. All we  have to do is repent, confess our sins, and believe that Christ came, died on the cross, and rose again on the third day. But like I’ve said, it’s more than just a prayer. Repentance is a verb; it’s an  action. We must turn from our sins and follow Christ wholeheartedly and die to self

Find a good Bible believing church and read your Bible daily. This will not save you, but it will help you grow in Christ and get to know the risen savior. 

The Cost of Discipleship 
Luke 14:25-33 (ESV) 
Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, “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. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

The Parable of Joe

 Joe had always considered himself a decent man. He worked a steady job, treated his neighbors with respect, and occasionally helped out at the community food bank. But deep down, Joe always felt a sense of emptiness—a nagging feeling that something essential was missing in his life.

One Sunday, while driving past a small church, Joe noticed a sign that read, "Come as you are: God loves you." Something about the message stirred his heart, and he decided to attend the service that morning. The sermon was fiery and passionate, delivered by a preacher who spoke about the importance of salvation and the love of Jesus. As the preacher concluded, he invited anyone who wanted to receive Christ to raise their hand and repeat the sinner’s prayer.

Joe felt a lump in his throat and a strange pull on his heart. With trembling hands, he raised his arm and repeated the words after the preacher, asking Jesus into his life. The congregation erupted into applause, and the preacher congratulated those who had made the decision, assuring them of their place in heaven.

From that day on, Joe considered himself a Christian. He stopped cussing as much, made it a point to attend church every Sunday, and even joined the men’s breakfast group. On the outside, Joe looked like a man who had it all together. But inwardly, not much had changed. Joe still pursued his own desires above all else. He rarely prayed or read his Bible, and his faith remained a Sunday ritual rather than a daily relationship. He told himself that he was doing enough by going to church and trying to be a good person.

Years passed, and Joe grew older. His life was comfortable but shallow. He avoided the deeper calls to discipleship—the kind that required surrendering his will to God. He didn’t see the need to change much about his lifestyle, reasoning that God was merciful and would overlook the areas he hadn’t surrendered.

One day, Joe’s life came to an end. He stood before the throne of God, awe-struck and trembling. The scene was more glorious and overwhelming than he could have ever imagined. As he stood there, the Lord looked upon him with eyes that pierced his soul.

“Lord,” Joe began, his voice shaky but hopeful, “I’m so glad to be here. I’ve been waiting for this day. I went to church; I said the prayer… I’m ready to enter heaven.”

The Lord’s gaze did not waver. His voice was firm yet sorrowful as He said, “Joe, you said the words, but your heart was far from Me. You never truly died to yourself. You never surrendered your life or followed Me. You called Me Lord, but you didn’t do the will of My Father.”

Joe’s heart sank. He tried to protest. “But, Lord, I quit cussing! I go to church every Sunday! I even joined the men’s group! Doesn’t that count for something?”

The Lord shook His head. “You performed outward actions, but you never truly knew Me. You never sought My presence or allowed Me to transform your heart. Your faith was empty, a checklist of rituals rather than a living relationship. Depart from Me, for I never knew you.”

Tears streamed down Joe’s face as the weight of those words sank in. He had spent his life believing he was saved, yet he had missed the essence of what it meant to follow Christ: dying to self, serving God with all his heart, and living a life transformed by grace.

As the gates of heaven faded from view, Joe realized the tragic truth. He had been so close, yet so far. He had heard the call but had not answered it with his whole heart. And now, it was too late.

This story serves as a solemn reminder that faith is not just about words or rituals. True faith requires a surrendered heart, a transformed life, and an abiding relationship with the Savior. Let those who have ears to hear take heed and seek the Lord while He may be found.

Becoming Radicalized for Christ Disturbing Our City

Acts 16:19-20 (ESV)

But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city.

Can this be said about us? What have we done to disturbing our city for God?

Luke 14:27 (ESV)
Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.

Luke 21:17 (ESV) You will be hated by all for my name’s sake.

But even then, if we are put away. Give praise to God. You never know who will be watching or listening to you and what effect it can have. Even from the darkest most inner part of prison.

The Philippian Jailer Converted
Acts 16:23-26 (ESV)
And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened.

What have we done or what will we allow God to do through us to disturb our city for Him?

Just a funny note: After having inflicted many blows upon them and throwing them into prison.
jailer to keep them safely.

Habakkuk’s Complaint

Habakkuk 1:2 (ESV)
O LORD, how long shall I cry for help,
and you will not hear?

We sometimes feel like this ourselves.
Habakkuk cries out to the Lord about the evil
he sees in Judah and ask why God lets it persist.

The LORD’S Answer
Habakkuk 1:5-6 (ESV)
“Look among the nations, and see;
wonder and be astounded.
For I am doing a work in your days
that you would not believe if told.
For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans,
that bitter and hasty nation,
who march through the breadth of the earth,
to seize dwellings not their own.

Habakkuk’s Second Complaint
Habakkuk 1:13 (ESV)
You who are of purer eyes than to see evil
and cannot look at wrong,
why do you idly look at traitors
and remain silent when the wicked swallows up
the man more righteous than he?

Habakkuk did not like God's answer.
He did not understand why God would let Chaldeans
who were even more wicked than Judah to be the
ones to pour out his punishment on Judah.

Habakkuk 2:1 (ESV)
I will take my stand at my watchpost
and station myself on the tower,
and look out to see what he will say to me,
and what I will answer concerning my complaint.

Habakkuk said that he would wait on the Lord take his
place at the watch post and he took his stationed on the
tower and wait on the Lord to answer him.

The Righteous Shall Live by His Faith  
Habakkuk 2:2-3 (ESV)
And the LORD answered me:
“Write the vision;
make it plain on tablets,
so he may run who reads it.
For still the vision awaits its appointed time;
it hastens to the end—it will not lie.

If it seems slow, wait for it;
it will surely come; it will not delay.

God tells Habakkuk what God says will happen and to
write it down on a stone. it will happen in God's timing.

Habakkuk’s Prayer
Habakkuk 3:2 (ESV)
O LORD, I have heard the report of you,
and your work, O LORD, do I fear.
In the midst of the years revive it;
in the midst of the years make it known;
in wrath remember mercy.

Habakkuk hears how bad and ruthless the Chaldeans are
and ask God to show some mercy on Judah.

Habakkuk Rejoices in the LORD
Habakkuk 3:17-19 (ESV)
Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
GOD, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the deer’s;
he makes me tread on my high places.
To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.

We need to rejoice in the Lord no matter what the
situation is or how bad it looks for the Lord is our salvation.