The Pastor's Pocket

2 Kings 5:1, “Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man of valour, but he was a leper.”   Naaman had it all. A position of power and prestige as the captain of the Syrian forces, a large military armed with soldiers at his command. A great man by all accounts with favor from his superior. He had the reputation of being a fine soldier himself. Through his leadership many victories in battle went his way which led to an accumulation of great wealth. Here was a man with pretty much everything except for just one thing. He was a leper, and that was raining on his parade, spoiling his life in many ways. Naaman obeyed the instructions from a man of God, Elisha, the prophet in Israel. He experienced a miracle and was healed from that one thing.   Naaman’s physical condition pictures humanity’s spiritual condition. A sin nature, an empty spot ...

When was the last time you made a move toward God? My thoughts today are about the woman with the issue of blood. The narrative is found in Mark 5:24-34. Jesus is on His way to minister to a little girl on her death bed. There was a throng of people around Him. At this point in His ministry, there was a crowd everywhere He went. On this day, a certain woman who had a real problem moves through the crowd to get to Jesus. She believes if she can just touch the hem of his garment, she will be healed of her serious illness. She has suffered twelve long years, had seen many doctors, but was still sick. She is desperate.   When the woman heard that Jesus was passing by, she made her move toward him. Because of her faith, she was healed, and saved. He called her “Daughter”. God always honors our reach in faith. I’ve been preaching the Word of God for over 40 years now. I’ve preached the gospel a lot of places, to a lot of people. Thousands have heard the good news from my mouth and yet so...

I was staying at a hotel recently with the window open. Several crows were up in the trees doing what crows do, “crowing” to each other. It made me wonder, what are they saying? I’m sure they understood each other. Will we someday, in the future, understand the language of the birds and animals? Perhaps.   All creatures have quite a sophisticated language by which they communicate with each other. Whales, elephants, lions, cows, and birds make distinct noises. We humans may not grasp what they are saying, but they are “talking”.   The Bible says that one day God will bring ALL things together in Christ. ALL things will be under His Lordship. He will gather as one universe, heaven and earth, and all of its creatures. In that grand scenario, why would we not understand each other?   You remember that the serpent spoke in such a way that Eve understood (Genesis 3:1). In Numbers 22, we are told that Balaam’s donkey spoke to him when the Lord opened its mouth (verse 28), then ...

God knows every detail of our life. He knows what we’re capable of and He knows what would destroy us. Whatever we encounter, whatever we go through, He knows about it. Remember this principle; if you can’t handle it, God won’t allow it.   In the first chapter of Job, we’re told of all that Job encountered. God knew the character of this man and he knew he could survive the test.  He said to Satan, “have you considered my servant Job?” (Job 1:8).   Life can seem hopeless at times. Many situations can bring on that sense of hopelessness. Satan is the master of robbing people of hope. Hope of -improvement, hope for change, hope for a better day, hope for a solution to the problem. The devil wants to get us down and keep us down. He will if we let him. When we are in despair, we must change our focus and look to God for strength. Change your focus, and you change your feelings.   In Psalm 42, the psalmist said that he would hope in God, praise Him, and he would remember...

Have you ever surrendered your mouth to the Lordship of Jesus Christ? Most believers understand the concept of Lordship – meaning we are to be totally surrendered to Jesus. But few think of Lordship in regards to their mouth. If we examine the scriptures we find many verses that admonish us to use wisdom and discipline with regards to what we say.   Ephesians 4:29, “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth”. Ephesians 5:4, “neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting”. Jesting means coarse, or harsh jabs at someone. Matthew 5:37, “let your communication be, yea, yea; nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.” Colossians 3:9, “Lie not to one another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds.” I Corinthians 10:10, “Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.” I Thessalonians 5:18, “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”   The average ...

In Galatians 6:14, the Apostle Paul wrote, “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,” Let’s pay close attention to what he said next, “ by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” I see two crucifixions here: one in which the world was dead to Paul in his generation. Secondly, Paul was dead to the world.   Crucifixion in the first century meant death. There was no other outcome for those who were crucified. Paul uses crucifixion to indicate a death, a separation, and it was inevitable. As Paul preached the cross of Christ, His death and resurrection, the world wanted nothing to do with Paul. They made that clear many times.   But you know what? Paul was dead to the world. He cared nothing for its attractions, his only focus was to preach Christ to all who would listen. We as believers have divine instruction to not love the world and the things that are in the world (I John 2:15). As Christians, this world holds not...

We could all use some courage in these trying days we live in. Joshua was given the assignment of leading the Israelites across the Jordan River and into the land of promise after Moses had been their leader all those years in the wilderness. In Joshua 1:6, God said to Joshua, “Be strong and of good courage”. Verse 7, “Only be thou strong and very courageous”. Verse 9, “Have I not commanded the? Be strong and of good courage, be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed for the Lord thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest.”   Knowing that Joshua would need some courage after serving under Moses in the wilderness, the Lord commanded him to be strong and full of courage. In chapter three of Joshua, we read of how this bold and fearless leader, full of courage, led the people across the Jordan River, into the land of Canaan, the land full of milk and honey, yet filled with many unknowns and many challenges.   We too have big challenges ahead as we prepare for the coming of the Lo...