Month: November 2025

Rom 12:2  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Exo 23:2  You shall not fall in with the many to do evil, nor shall you bear witness in a lawsuit, siding with the many, so as to pervert justice,

 

Jas 4:4  You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

 

2Co 6:14-18  Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?  What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.”

 

1Jn 2:15-17  Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.  And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

 

Eph 2:1-3  And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

 

Eph 4:20-24  But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

What fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? § Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him … The world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

You once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience. § You have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him … as the truth is in Jesus. (Bagster)

 

When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food.” But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” (Matthew 14:15-16)

The multitudes followed Jesus to a deserted place (Matthew 14:13) outside the larger towns of Galilee. This crowd was a mixture of sincere seekers and the casually curious.

As the day wore on, Jesus saw the crowd was getting hungry, and He said to the disciples: You give them something to eat. This challenged both the compassion and the faith of the disciples. Having already seen Jesus perform a miracle of provision at the wedding in Cana (John 2:1-11), the disciples had a reason to believe that Jesus could meet the need of thousands of hungry stomachs.

Both Jesus and the disciples were aware of the great multitude and their needs. Yet it was the compassion of Jesus (mentioned in Matthew 14:14) and His awareness of the power of God that led Him to go about feeding the multitude.

The world is hungry, and whether they know it or not, they are hungry for Jesus.

– The people are hungry, and the empty religionist offers them some ceremony or empty words that can never satisfy.
– The people are hungry, and the atheists and skeptics try to convince them that they aren’t hungry at all.
– The people are hungry, and the religious showman gives them video and drama and light effects and cutting-edge music.
– The people are hungry, and the entertainer gives them loud, fast action, so loud and fast that they don’t have a moment to think.
– The people are hungry – who will give them the bread of life?

With Jesus among them, the people did not need to go away to have their hunger, their need, satisfied. If these were mostly casual, not-very-committed followers of Jesus and there was no reason for them to go away to receive what they needed, then there is even less reason for committed disciples of Jesus to go away for true life satisfaction.

Nevertheless, there are several reasons – or maybe excuses – why people look outside of Jesus for the satisfaction of the deepest needs of in their life. When we feel the pull to set Jesus to the side and meet such needs in other ways, we need to challenge ourselves and think about it.

– Circumstances don’t need to make you go away. You won’t have things so hard or so easy that you don’t need Jesus.
– There is nothing in Jesus that would make you want to go away.
– There is nothing in the future that will make you need to go away.

Our needs are satisfied in Jesus, through Jesus, and by Jesus. He may use many instruments, but we thank Him for it all. Don’t go away – go to Jesus. (Guzik)

 

Colossians 2:8  See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.

Early on in their development, caring parents teach their children the phrase “stranger danger.” It’s not that Mom and Dad are paranoid or afraid of everybody, just cautious and safe. Spiritually speaking, adults should adopt that same level of caution.

When new people come into our lives, getting to know their doctrine is wise before we form spiritual bonds. It is essential to be on guard because false teachers don’t say, “Hey, I’m here to lead you astray.” Heresy never presents itself like that. It’s more like a virus—small, easily shared, and sometimes deadly.

Viruses need a living organism to survive, making every human just another opportunity to covertly infiltrate, duplicate, and dominate. Once inside, a virus hijacks the host’s cells and spreads its infection—a tactic that resembles that of false teachers. It’s an ugly word picture, but an effective one.

Doctors say washing your hands is the easiest way to ward off a virus. Water won’t dilute the pathogen, but it doesn’t allow it to stick. Likewise, if you saturate yourself in the whole counsel of God, deception will not take hold. You can fight off false doctrine by cleansing your mind and heart with the pure water of God’s Word. Read it, study it, memorize it, pray it into your life, and keep yourself spiritually strong by discussing what you’ve learned with like-minded believers.

Be cautious and wise, and you’ll recognize false teaching for what it is—an attack upon the health of your soul. (Hibbs)

 

Colossians 3:2–6  “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience …”

One of the things that I found remarkable about the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 was how it took away many of our idols. Those cultural, political, and athletic icons that we emulated and revered suddenly came to a screeching halt.

There were no concerts, no football games, and no new theatrical releases. Work and school were canceled. 401(k)’s quickly plummeted. Politicians seemed as confused as the rest of us. The things that people clung to as anchors in life were suddenly gone.

In their absence, many realized their need for God instead.

Almost all of us have idols in our lives, which have taken a place of honor that should be reserved for our Lord and Savior. These things are mortal and temporary, yet we give them priority in our lives and follow them almost religiously.

The Bible—from the beginning of the Old Testament to the end of the New Testament—repeatedly issues warnings to avoid idolatry and focus on the One True God. The admonitions are not quaint suggestions, but forceful proclamations regarding the eternal risks of turning from God to the things of this world.

The contrast is clear. If your mind is set on Heaven and your eternity is surrendered to Christ, glory awaits. Conversely, if you make the pleasures and desires of this world your idol—if you turn your back on God and worship temporary “things”—you are traveling down a path that leads to eternal separation from God.

The blessing, my friends, is that it is not too late for you! If you recognize areas of your life where you’ve elevated worldly elements into a place of power in your life, I beg you to reorder your priorities today and return Christ to the throne of your heart. Jesus died to take away the idols which once controlled you.

As you surrender those things to Him as Savior, He will give you a new life and the promise of eternity with Him in Heaven. (Graham)

 

 

John 13:1   Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

1 John 3:14    We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death.

Colossians 3:1-25    If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you

John 14:23    Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

Matthew 5:22     But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.

 

Matthew 22:39  “And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” – 

Luke 6:31.  “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” – 

Romans 13:10.  “Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” – 

Philippians 1:9.  “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight.” – 

Romans 5:5     And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

 

 

1 Peter 4:8  “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” – 

John 13:34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” – 

Colossians 3:14  “And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” 

Matthew 5:16  “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” – 

1 John 4:12. “No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.” – 

 

Romans 8:38-39. “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – 

John 10:11. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” – 

 2 Timothy 1:7. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” –

1 John 3:1.   “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” – 

Exodus 20:6  But showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

 

John 3:16. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” – 

Ephesians 5:2. “And walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” – 

Isaiah 53:5. “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds, we are healed.” – 

1 Peter 3:18  “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.” – 

Galatians 2:20. “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”