Voice of Vision

In Matthew 13, vs.19-22, Jesus is talking about His word being tested in your life. We have some sort of experience with God, and now we think that everything just sort of works on automatic after that. But the truth must work its way deeper and deeper into our hearts to be able to face the realities of life with faith. And often we don’t realize what’s going on, so we fail, and we think this proves the word isn’t true. But rather, it proves the word IS true. Because it’s just like Jesus says. The devil tries to steal it. The world tries to stop it. Our hearts try to squash it. And you should expect it. But even when you’ve failed, you now have the opportunity to turn this into real repentance, growth, and stability. And you can give God praise for allowing you to see the truth of his word.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Grace before Faith

noreply@blogger.com (Even So...) — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 04:56:00 +0000

It’s not what a person does with God’s word that saves them. It’s what God’s word does with a person that saves them.

Yes, we are saved by grace through faith. And we are also sanctified by God’s grace through faith. But it’s God’s grace that produces that faith.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

You Believe the Virgin Birth

noreply@blogger.com (Even So...) — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 13:13:00 +0000

Some people believe in the virgin birth of the universe, but they don’t believe in the virgin birth of Jesus. Or you could say it this way…People believe in the virgin birth of the cosmos, and not in the virgin birth of the Christ.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Idols in the Church

noreply@blogger.com (Even So...) — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 02:33:00 +0000

Part of proclaiming the gospel is pressing it’s demands. Yes, the offer of forgiveness is free. But the gospel demands that you let go of your idols and cling to a new identity. 1 Thessalonians 1:9 says that Christians are those who turn away from serving idols in order to serve God.

Of course, you don’t lose all your idols at once. But as you come under true gospel preaching, idols are exposed and confronted. And Christ is presented as greater than what you’ve been holding onto, and you let the idol go and cling to Christ more fully, and deeply. But too many people are still clinging to their idols. I’m not talking about some statue. I’m talking about the idols in your heart. And true gospel preaching doesn’t feed your idol; it finds it and roots it out.

So, some people leave the church because they’re not getting what they want. But they’re not getting what they want because their idol got smashed.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Faith as an Idol

noreply@blogger.com (Even So...) — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 06:19:00 +0000

What do you think will give you security and joy, and that without it you won’t have security and joy, even if you have God? That’s an idol.

The irony is that idolizing something ultimately keeps you from being able to enjoy it. You fret so much you can’t rest. For instance, many wealthy people are paranoid about their money. And many healthy people have an unhealthy obsession with their health. And many Christians, who are active in the things of God, never enjoy God’s grace, because they idolize their faith, and worry about losing it.

Gaining more of an idol actually increases your fear, because nothing other than God can sustain the weight of your soul. You can make an idol of your imagination about yourself, because you fear the truth about yourself. You fear the loss of your feeling of control. Don’t make an idol of your faith.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Get Your Heart Right

noreply@blogger.com (Even So...) — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 06:14:00 +0000

You don’t have to get your heart right to come to the Lord. You have to come to the Lord to get your heart right.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Maturity in Christ

noreply@blogger.com (Even So...) — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 08:22:00 +0000

You see, it seems to me that even when people aren't afraid of dying, sometimes they're afraid of living. But when you mature in Christ, you can be in awful situations and very trying circumstances. And yet you can still have courageous confidence and find comfort in Christ preaching to you. Then you can say, I don't know why, I don't know how, but I know God.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Eternal Choir Privilege

noreply@blogger.com (Even So...) — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 19:49:00 +0000

Those who have been redeemed by Christ are part of the eternal choir. And there can be no greater worship privilege. There can be no greater worship privilege. Stop looking at Sinai. Go to Zion. So, worship God with all you've got. Because God is right there singing with you.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

The Cost of Truth

noreply@blogger.com (Even So...) — Fri, 06 Feb 2026 13:09:00 +0000

Some people are lying when they say they want the truth. Because you can tell someone the truth. And you can show someone that the truth you tell them is believable. But that doesn’t mean they will believe that truth. Because if they believe that truth, it means they’ll have to change something in their life. And they don’t want to pay that price. The cost of believing the truth is too high for them to believe it. So, they don’t believe it’s true. Or they don’t believe the consequences of not believing that truth is real. And they will defend their disobedience to the truth through cognitive dissonance. And try and rationalize it with any number of questions they use as a shield in their continued war against the truth. And that’s the truth.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Sin and Self-Hatred

noreply@blogger.com (Even So...) — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 06:33:00 +0000

Do you feel a distance between you and God? King David felt it. And he asked God to lead him back to worship. Psalm 43:3 says – Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling! Amen.

1 John 1:9 says – If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. God has forgiven Christians because of Jesus. But they still confess the sins they commit as a matter of cleansing.

But maybe you hate yourself because you keep doing the same sins. So, you stop coming to God with it. And what’s keeping God from you is you’re keeping yourself from God. Your desire to cleanse yourself won’t work. Because sins you refuse to bring to Jesus are sins that continue to control you. Let Jesus do his job. When Jesus told Peter seventy times seven, he wasn’t just talking about you forgiving others. But Jesus forgiving you.

Focus Your Hope

noreply@blogger.com (Even So...) — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 06:38:00 +0000

When you feel bad, when it looks bad, when it IS bad, what can you do? Here is what the Bible says. This is King David preaching to King David. Psalm 42:5 says – Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation. David was in a bad place. So, he focused his hope. And your hope is not in your situations. Your real, true, greatest and ultimate hope is in God, who is orchestrating your situations for your good and his glory. So, you lift up your soul, by proclaiming your hope, and praising God. Don’t let your situations preach to you about God. Preach to your situations about God. He will save you.

The Totalitarian Trail

noreply@blogger.com (Even So...) — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 06:20:00 +0000

Recently, we’ve had clashes in the streets of Minnesota and Oregon. We attacked Venezuela and captured their dictator. We attacked terrorist sights in Syria and Somalia. We’re talking about attacking Iran and toppling the government. And taking Greenland by force. We’re threatening Cuba as well. All sorts of social, political, and economic action taking place, some apart from the normal checks and balances built into our system. Where are we headed with all this?

Theodore Roosevelt said walk softly and carry a big stick. I don’t think he meant we should be surprising and smashing. And I don’t think this is what when Ronald Reagan meant when he talked about peace through strength.

Yes, the Pax Romana of 27 B.C. to 180 A.D., with its relative peace, prosperity, new roads, and a common language, helped Christianity to spread. But I don’t think that’s what’s happening in today’s world. Some believe that we are called to implement a sort of Christian hegemony. But are we following Jesus down the narrow road? Or travelling down the totalitarian trail?

Hot Coals on their Head

noreply@blogger.com (Even So...) — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 15:00:00 +0000

Can God Be Wrong?

noreply@blogger.com (Even So...) — Fri, 02 Jan 2026 07:44:00 +0000

Can God be wrong about the future? If the answer is no, then even considering our free will, and our responsibility for what we do, people won’t do anything other than what God already knows they’re going to do. So, that means the future is already fixed. But how is the future fixed?

If God does it, then you can be confident that there is a good purpose behind all you see, even if you can’t see it now. But if God doesn’t do it, then God wouldn’t have a planned-out purpose for all the evil that happens. God just learns what happens, and then reacts, causing good to come from evil.

But that would make the universe bigger than God, because God would be dependent on other things. And that God may be the biggest thing in the universe. But that God can’t be God, because you can imagine something greater. And that God is smaller than the God of the Bible.

Telling Yourself the Truth

noreply@blogger.com (Even So...) — Sun, 28 Dec 2025 13:19:00 +0000

Everyone knows the truth is important. And most people want to know the truth. But you can spend your life looking for the truth and still ignore it or deny it when you find it. And people know it’s important to tell the truth. But that includes telling yourself the truth. Because you can make a practice of telling others the truth. And still not practice telling yourself the truth.

The Point of Grace

noreply@blogger.com (Even So...) — Fri, 19 Dec 2025 05:55:00 +0000

People who receive grace should become gracious people. But sometimes people receiving grace aren’t humble about it. And think they’re doing well with what they’ve been given, and that other others just aren’t pulling their weight. But the point of grace is that you can’t pull your weight, that’s why you need grace.