“My joy” as found in John chapter 15 and verse 11 means the joy that is Christ’s. This is what He desires for His disciples to possess, by which He can then, as a consequence, guarantee that we will be truly blessed. And what was the joy of Christ?—absolute self-surrender of Himself to His Father—the…
Author: Pangburn Pulpit
For Jesus to Come and Die Again is Absurd
Many years ago, I heard a verse in a song that said, “If He had to do it all again, He’d do it all again.” The song’s overall message tells how great the love of Jesus is to want to come and die again. It is true that He loved us so much that, even…
God Delights in Us, Despite Our Deplorable State
As a child of God, many of us have a tendency to look at our self in a critical way. As a result, we bring on feelings of discouragement, because we often feel that we don’t match up physically or spiritually with other believers around us. We tend to think of the growth process that…
Jesus Never Lost His Composure
If we analyze the life of Jesus Christ, the one thing which is most evident out of all of His characteristics is that He never lost His composure. No matter what situation or circumstance He encountered, He was always untroubled and composed. Even when the religious leaders threatened His life, He was able to either…
How To Be Great
For most of us on this Earth, to be great, popular, highly esteemed, and regarded as worthy to be above others is our fondest innate desire. Many highly educated and well-respected individuals have taught various ways to accomplish this (for a fee), along with a multitude of other vain conditions. Every year, billions of dollars…
If Jesus Goes First, Make the Next Move, Put Faith to Work
In every board game, such as checkers or chess, the first player makes a move and then another move always has to be made, alternating back and forth until the game ends. Whether you go first or second, your opponent will always have to move one of his pieces to another space after you make…
Embrace the Cross and Connect to a Powerful Outlet
When we attempt to remove the coldness (sin) from our heart we connect to a dead outlet (the world and its hopeless solutions). But when we plug into a live outlet (Jesus Christ and His victory on the cross), we allow power (His Spirit) to flow freely in our life. He is now able to…
Would You Die For Your Enemies?
“…God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 The Lord was pointing here to His reconciling death, which both His friends and enemies alike needed very much. The idea here is that sometimes a need is so compelling that a man might choose to…
Where’s The Center Point of Our Faith ?
If a plumb line was held next to our spiritual position with God, how far off would we be in relation to His straight standard? Our center point must always be Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the cross. If we lean in any direction toward anything other than Him, the faith we are ‘building’…
It’s Absurd to Blame God For Your Problems
Quite often when something doesn’t work in our favor we move into default mode and blame someone or something. If there is a problem at our job we blame a coworker, the boss, or a client/customer. Our tire or tires run low on air and we blame the repair shop. When the price is wrong…
