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“Be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18). God wants every aspect of the believer’s being to be under the complete control of the Holy Spirit. Pleroo, the basic Greek word for “be filled,” offers three shades of meaning that illustrate what Paul’s command to be Spirit-filled means. First, the word describes the pressure of wind filling a ship’s sails and moving the vessel across the water. That parallels the Holy Spirit’s leading us down the pathway of spiritual obedience. We aren’t primarily motivated by our own plans and desires, but we allow the Spirit’s gracious pressure to move us in...

The devil is a mimic. When God goes high, the evil one always goes low. For instance, SoCal Harvest was held last month in Anaheim, California. Hosted for the 28th year by Pastor Greg Laurie, more than 90,000 worshippers attended the three-day, spirit-filled event at Angels Stadium, during which more than 10,000 souls gave their lives to Christ. One month later, the wicked will gather in Los Angeles for “Adultcon,” which bills itself as a “weekend of sin and fun,” during which the unGodly can give themselves over to sexual depravity “without shame.” Marking its 16th year this upcoming weekend,...

September 17, 2017 Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Sir 27:30—28:7Wrath and anger are hateful things,yet the sinner hugs them tight.The vengeful will suffer the LORD's vengeance,for he remembers their sins in detail.Forgive your neighbor's injustice;then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven.Could anyone nourish anger against anotherand expect healing from the LORD?Could anyone refuse mercy to another like himself,can he seek pardon for his own sins?If one who is but flesh cherishes wrath,who will forgive his sins?Remember your last days, set enmity aside;remember death and decay, and cease from sin!Think of the commandments, hate not...

September 16, 2017 Memorial of Saints Cornelius, Pope, and Cyprian, Bishop, Martyrs Reading 1 1 Tm 1:15-17Beloved:This saying is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance:Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.Of these I am the foremost.But for that reason I was mercifully treated,so that in me, as the foremost,Christ Jesus might display all his patience as an examplefor those who would come to believe in him for everlasting life. To the king of ages, incorruptible, invisible, the only God,honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. Responsorial Psalm Ps 113:1b-2, 3-4, 5 and 6-7R. (2) Blessed be the name...

CLAY, WV (WOWK) - The American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia (ACLU-WV) has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the Clay County Schools Superintendent, Joe Paxton, and the Clay County Sherriff’s Office regarding an alleged incident involving a school bus driver’s use of a gay slur. According to a release from the ACLU, the alleged event took place September 5, 2017 on a school bus in the presence of an openly gay student. The driver is accused of saying over the bus intercom system:

Local pro-life advocates in Chicago will protest tonight at an event featuring an abortion practitioner who calls himself a Christian abortionist. Pro-life advocates will gather at 5 p.m. today west of the Chicago Loop to oppose the claims of abortionist Willie Parker. The Pro-Life Action League will be advocating for the sanctity of life and sharing the grim reality of abortion with the public, outside of a fundraising party for a group that trains doctors and medical students to do abortions. While Parker declares, “I believe that as an abortion provider, I am doing God’s work.” But Eric Scheidler, executive...

The Young Women’s Christian Association has a long history of partnering with the abortion chain Planned Parenthood. This week in Nebraska, the two groups worked together to present a workshop about systemic racism and women who have been incarcerated, the Daily Nebraskan reports. College student Amanda Lofland said she plans to attend the workshop because she wants to create positive change for future generations. “This stuff is all around us, and people cannot sit around and be ignorant about it, especially because it affects people’s everyday lives and the lives of future generations,” she told the newspaper. She is right....

"Stand firm therefore . . . having put on the breastplate of righteousness" (Eph. 6:14). Practical righteousness is moment-by-moment obedience to God. We've seen the importance of putting on the breastplate of righteousness as protection against Satan's attempts to pervert your thinking and emotions. But Scripture speaks of three kinds of righteousness: self-righteousness, imputed righteousness, and practical righteousness. Which did Paul have in mind in Ephesians 6:14? Paul wasn't speaking of self-righteousness because that is what the breastplate of righteousness is designed to protect you from. Self-righteousness deceives a person into thinking, I can please God and reach heaven on...

“Bear one another’s burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2). Those who walk by the Spirit will lovingly bear one another’s burdens. The Lord Jesus presents love for God and love for our neighbor as the great summary of the entire Law (Matt. 22:37-40). It only makes sense, then, that love will characterize the life of any Christian who is walking by the Spirit. Love will also be an integral part of any Spirit-assisted ministry to others. Paul tells us in today’s verse that when we help other believers hold up their particular burdens, we are obeying...

Time is the great leveler. It is the one resource that is allocated in absolute egalitarian terms. Every living person has the same number of hours to use in every day. Busy people are not given a special bonus added on to the hours of the day. The clock plays no favorites. We all have an equal measure of time in every day. Where we differ from one another is in how we redeem the time allotted. When something is redeemed, it is rescued or purchased from some negative condition. The basic negative condition we are concerned with is the...

September 15, 2017 Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows Reading 1 1 Tm 1:1-2, 12-14Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our saviorand of Christ Jesus our hope,to Timothy, my true child in faith:grace, mercy, and peace from God the Fatherand Christ Jesus our Lord. I am grateful to him who has strengthened me, Christ Jesus our Lord,because he considered me trustworthyin appointing me to the ministry.I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and an arrogant man,but I have been mercifully treatedbecause I acted out of ignorance in my unbelief.Indeed, the grace of our Lord...

"Stand firm therefore . . . having put on the breastplate of righteousness" (Eph. 6:14). True righteousness begins with a right relationship with God. A Roman soldier would often engage his enemy in hand- to-hand combat. At such times, the weapon of choice was the short sword, with which he sought to penetrate his opponent's vital organs. For his own protection he wore a molded metal breastplate that extended from the base of his neck to the top of his thighs. It helped deflect any attacks aimed at his heart and abdomen. The Roman breastplate has great symbolism in Paul's...

“Brethren, even if a man is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness” (Galatians 6:1). Those walking by the Spirit are to restore sinning fellow believers. God never intended that the spiritual walk be an end in itself. Instead, He wants believers to have a positive influence on fellow believers so that the church will be purified and built up. Galatians 6:1 reveals how those who walk by the Spirit ought to minister to others within the Body of Christ. Paul says they are to restore other brothers and sisters...

When I was a child in elementary school, people often asked me, “What is your favorite subject?” Invariably my response was one of two things. I either said, “recess” or “gym.” My answer revealed my deepest predilections. I preferred play to work. Indeed, my nascent philosophical musing regarding the cosmic “Why?” questions took place as I made a game of walking to school via tiptoeing along a long path, pretending I was a high-wire walker in a circus. I asked myself the meaning of life wherein I had to spend five days a week doing what I didn’t want to...

September 14, 2017 Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross Reading 1 Nm 21:4b-9With their patience worn out by the journey,the people complained against God and Moses,"Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert,where there is no food or water?We are disgusted with this wretched food!" In punishment the LORD sent among the people saraph serpents,which bit the people so that many of them died.Then the people came to Moses and said,"We have sinned in complaining against the LORD and you.Pray the LORD to take the serpents from us."So Moses prayed for the...

"Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth" (Eph. 6:14). Truthfulness is the best defense against Satan’s lies. The first piece of armor Paul mentions in Ephesians 6:14 is the belt of truth. Roman soldiers of his day wore a tunic, which was a large square piece of material with holes for the head and arms. A belt kept the tunic from flying loosely and getting in the way in the midst of battle. The phrase "having girded your loins" was commonly used for gathering up the loose material of one's tunic or robe when preparing for battle or...

“Be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer” (1 Peter 4:7). Spending time with God in prayer is another crucial element in walking by the Spirit. During my regular times in the Word, I often don’t know where Bible study ends and meditation begins, or where meditation turns into prayer. My devotions are definitely a seamless process in which I read Scripture, meditate on it, and pray that God would help me understand it. I’m sure that many of you have had the same experience. It ought to be like that for any believer who is...

September 13, 2017 Memorial of Saint John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church Reading 1 Col 3:1-11Brothers and sisters:If you were raised with Christ, seek what is above,where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.When Christ your life appears,then you too will appear with him in glory. Put to death, then, the parts of you that are earthly:immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire,and the greed that is idolatry.Because of these the wrath of God is...

The Bible has much to say about the heart. In Scripture, the heart refers not so much to an organ that pumps blood throughout the body as it does to the core of the soul, the deepest seat of human affections. It is out of the heart that the issues of life flow. Jesus saw a close connection between the location of our treasures and the drive of our hearts. Find a man’s treasure map and you have found the highway of his heart. In this fallen condition, the heart is seen as the root of our problem. We are...

September 12, 2017 Tuesday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Col 2:6-15Brothers and sisters:As you received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in him,rooted in him and built upon himand established in the faith as you were taught,abounding in thanksgiving.See to it that no one captivate you with an empty, seductive philosophyaccording to the tradition of men,according to the elemental powers of the worldand not according to Christ. For in him dwells the whole fullness of the deity bodily,and you share in this fullness in him,who is the head of every principality and power.In him you were...