Category Archives: Bible

Mind Blown by Psalms

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No matter how many times you read the Bible, no matter how much you think you know, there will always be new discoveries to make.  It’s an old story that never gets old.  And so it’s been with me here lately in the Book of Psalms.

Many people love the Psalms and Proverbs, even if they rarely enjoy other Old Testament books.  Our church has been studying through Psalms on Sunday nights.  For the first time in my life I have a pastor that is a few years younger than I am.  He often defers to me as an authority on the scriptures.  But I have to tell you this: Psalm 139 the other night – blew… my… mind. Continue reading →

God’s Will

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Psalm 115:3 says “Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.”  I actually read an argument from an unbeliever last week who quoted that verse and 2 Peter 3:9 about “God’s will that no one should perish.”  His argument was that one or the other must be true, or else this is a case of the Bible contradicting itself.

This is a perfect example of what happens when a verse is snagged from its context.  Read all of Psalm 115.  Verse 3 says that God is in heaven and does all that he pleases.  Verse 16 says “The heavens are the LORD’s heavens, but the earth he has given to the children of man.”  God has given us the liberty to do his will or choose our own.  Most reject God.  Look at the example Jesus gave his followers when he taught them to pray: “your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”  He later himself prayed “Nevertheless, not my will but yours be done.”  Jesus prayed for God’s will and taught his followers to do the same.  We seek God’s will, and ask for his will to be done.  But on this world, affected by sin and the curse, his will is most often not done.

Why pray for God’s will to be done on earth it it’s not going to be anyway?  God has given the earth to the children of men for now.  Jesus also prayed “your kingdom come.”  When the Kingdom of God has fully come, and death and hell are cast into the lake of fire, God’s will will be done.

Look at Who God Uses

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I like to build to a point, but I’m going to come right to it.  Through the Bible God calls people into his service that are, for lack of a better term, screwed up.  No one used by God in some great way has their act together.  Consider a few examples; there are many others.

In Genesis 15:6 Abraham becomes the first person of faith.  He believed God, and God counted it to him as righteousness.  He is lauded in Hebrews 11 for having the faith to offer his son Isaac.  But before Isaac was born he father Ishmael by the Egyptian servant Hagar.  He lied twice about his wife Sarah was his sister.  A role model of faithfulness, perhaps not so much for other things. Continue reading →

Thanksgiving

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Christians do not agree about the celebration of Halloween.  There is some dispute over Christmas.  Let’s embrace Thanksgiving for all its worth.

There is an argument to be made for the Christian roots of Halloween.  The very name is created from the words Hallows Eve, the day before All Saints Day.  But let’s be honest, unless you’re Roman Catholic most American do not celebrate All Saints (or even know what it is).  Would you celebrate Christmas Eve if you didn’t believe in Christmas?  Halloween may also have roots in paganism, and is certainly associated today with the occult and many “non-Christian” activities as well. Continue reading →

Worship Numbers

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Jesus had many followers.  He often spoke to multitudes of people, and we have identified some members of those crowds previously.  Many came out to hear Jesus because they were curious.  His fame spread quickly in the early days of his ministry.  Some followed Jesus from town to town eager to hear and learn more.  Some of those “following” Jesus were not interesting in learning from him, but were seeking incriminating evidence with which to accuse him.  Among the throng of those listening were people that loved Jesus, hated Jesus, and various levels in between.

Jesus had many disciples (students) but from a large group he choose 12.  After the crowds went away – or Jesus escaped from them – he would offer explanation or answer questions in a more intimate setting.  Think of it as the difference between the church sanctuary and a small group.   Continue reading →

Believing and Doing

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Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  -Matthew 7:24

Jesus says that everyone who hears his words and does them is like that wise man.  Verse 26 describes the man that hears those same words but does not do them.  (Read the full story here.)  There is a obviously a difference between hearing and doing.  There is even a difference between believing and doing.  Faith is belief in action, and it is the action of the believer that makes all the difference. Continue reading →

Men’s Morning with God

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I met Michael Spencer in 2003 when my wife and I visited the ministry he was a part of.  After joining that ministry, I was introduced to an early morning small group, Men’s Morning with God.  The poster said “bring your Bible and coffee.”  I’m a big fan of both of those things.  We met twice a week at 7 a.m. studying the scripture and praying before work.  I have been involved with other small groups before and since, but I stayed with that particular group for the duration of our ministry in Kentucky.

I thought that particular situation was unique.  There were about 150 people all living within a few miles of each other, ministering together, and all beginning the work day at basically the same time.  Still, our men’s group was never more than 10 or 12 (and sometimes just Michael and I).  I have been blessed to find an early morning men’s group once again.  This morning there were 5 of us.  From different churches, different vocations and with different schedules, this is a group of men that meet at 6 a.m. to read, discuss and pray.  One of those men was a friend of my dad, and one of my teachers back in the day.  Another member of the group went to high school with my brother.  You gotta love small towns.

And I love finding a group of men willing to be up and dressed before they have to be, in order to pray with and for each other.

Three Scriptures on the Incarnation

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Four verses from Philippians, two from Hebrews.  Each describe the voluntary act of Jesus humbling himself to the Father’s will.  Each describe him as smaller, weaker or lower than his original state, and each ends in death.  But as far as we are concerned, his death was his greatest moment.  He tasted death so that none of us have to.  Death that is separation from the body maybe, but not the death that is total separation from God.  And he defeated the one with the power of death, that is the devil.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
(Philippians 2:5-8 ESV)

But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
(Hebrews 2:9 ESV)

Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,
(Hebrews 2:14 ESV)

Continue reading →

The Sinner’s Prayer Debate

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One side of the debate says that the sinner’s prayer is not found in scripture.  Okay, I’ll give you that.  But you loose me on the premise that nowhere is such a prayer commanded nor implied anywhere in the New Testament.  The Apostle’s Creed is not found in scripture, but that is the statement of faith regularly made by many believers.  Each claim is based on scriptural truth.  Below is the sinner’s prayer text, followed by several statements quoted directly from scripture. Continue reading →

The Illusion

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I grew up in the 80’s.  Before David Blaine and Chris Angel there was David Copperfield.  Over the course of several prime time specials he made the Statue of Liberty disappear, walked through the Great Wall of China and escaped from Alcatraz.  Part of his appeal came from his sense of humor and showmanship on stage, but people tuned in to see the “magic.”  The magic of course was really illusion; he wasn’t really sawed in half on stage.  But you know what they say – Seeing is believing.

It is so easy to believe what we see.  Illusion, special effects and camouflage all depend on it.  That very fact can also get us into trouble at times.  We had to see bacteria with a microscope before germ theory really caught on, and there’s an ever-present warning in your side mirror not to believe exactly what you see (objects are closer than they appear).  We all know there is more going on than can be seen. Wind, gravity, magnetism, microbes, radiation, DNA and so on cannot be seen, but we either perceive their effects through other senses or else detect them with scientific devices.  The earth appears flat, and the sun seems to move across the sky from east to west.  Our understanding is no longer limited to what we can see with our eyes; but the tendency to do so will always be there. Continue reading →