The Sword of the LORD

“AFTER THESE THINGS Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and in this way He showed Himself: Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together.  Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We are going with you also." They went out and immediately got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing.” (John 21:1-3 NKJV).   After Jesus’ betrayal and subsequent execution, the disciples were despondent and unsure how to proceed.  Jesus had appeared to them two separate times after His death, yet they still didn’t know what they should be doing.  In this context we find Peter and six other disciples at the sea of Tiberias and Peter declaring “I am going fishing.” The others went along with him.     Fishing is what these men knew.  It was their profession before the Lord called them.  They had grown up fishin...

"Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls." (James 1:21).    A neighbor who lives behind me has an amazing apple tree.  It is enormous, and has been there for a very long time.  It provides a lot of shade to them in the summer time, and an ample amount of fruit in the fall.  The amazing thing about this tree, though, is not its size, or age, or even the amount of apples that it bears; no, the amazing thing is that it bears five different varieties of apple!  Someone years ago took the time to graft the branches of other apple trees into the branches of this existing tree.  Now, that which was not possible for this tree to bear on its own has not only become possible, but a reality.   The Bible teaches us that the Word of God can be grafted into the lives of believers.  It is an operation that is, unfortunately, very foreign to man in gene...

For centuries the Israelites were under the oversight of judges who offered guidance to the nation in matters of military engagement.   They also resolved disputes between the people and upheld the civil laws of Israel.   These were men (and women, in the case of Deborah) who were chosen by God and anointed to resist the oppression of their neighbor kingdoms and lead their people in the right ways of the LORD.   Samuel the Prophet was the transition between the time of the judges and the time of the prophets and kings.  He was the last judge of Israel and the first of a string of major prophets of the Lord who gave spiritual guidance to Israel.  It was Samuel, too, who God sent to anoint Israel's first king.  He also was trained in the temple and raised by Eli the priest.  Consider how significant an individual this man Samuel was in light of the following verses of scripture: “And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his wor...