Category Archives: Bible

New Video Devotional

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I began reading Our Daily Bread in print many years ago. Maybe not before the internet but before blogging caught on and social media became a thing. We’ve been linking the Our Daily Bread daily devotional (in the left-hand sidebar) for a few years now and occasionally share images and recommend special products and promotions.

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ODB recently rolled out a daily video devotional. Click here to watch today’s video and enroll via email. It’s just another way to add a little dose of God’s Word into one’s daily routine.

Lessons from Noah and Lot

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This will be our second discussion on 2nd Peter 2. And no, I didn’t make a mistake. Noah and Lot are used to represent times that God was able to save even during a time of judgement. God knows those that are his and he is able to save the just and punish the wicked. Continue reading →

God is Willing and Able

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There is a lot to learn from reading the Bible but a few predominant themes run through the whole book. One lesson we learn that is reinforced many times is that God knows what he’s doing. 

…the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment… 2 Peter 2:9

Continue reading →

Keep Your Eyes on the Prize

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I sometimes puzzle over statements people make such as looking for God. It’s our nature to make things more complicated than they are or should be. God is not hiding. He has not put up boundaries and obstacles so that only a few are able to succeed. The Hunger Games, the Labyrinth, Survivor, American Ninja Warrior; the Kingdom of God is not like any of those things. The Apostle Paul, speaking to a Greco-Roman audience, often made analogies to the sporting world and athletic competition. He talks about competing according to the rules in order to not be disqualified (2 Timothy 2:5) and to the Philippians he says that he presses forward toward the prize (Philippians 3:13-14). The prize is Jesus and he wants you to win!  Continue reading →

Heaven, Hell and the Gospel

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preach the BibleA short Facebook exchange this morning led me to search The Master’s Table for references to hell. The only post with hell in the title was a link to a sermon on the Unity website. Here is the full text of that sermon, preached at Unity Baptist Church on October 4, 2015. The scripture text is Isaiah 11:1-10.  Continue reading →

Bible Gateway Blogger Grid, a Refresher

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Bible Gateway iconRegulars at The Master’s Table have probably noticed a couple of things. In the left-hand sidebar, for several years now, Our Daily Bread links and the Verse-of-the-Day from Bible Gateway are updated daily. If you click “Read Now” under the ODB header you will be directed to the current day’s devotional. It only takes a couple of minutes to read or you can click to hear it instead. If you click the Bible Gateway header image you will be directed to the Bible Gateway website. If you click the highlighted scripture reference you will taken directly to those verses on Bible Gateway. I always post ESV but you can change the translation or do side-by-side comparisons at the touch of a button. Continue reading →

With or Without Warning

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I saw this image on Facebook last evening. This comparison is often made to encourage listeners to heed the warning of God’s coming judgement. Let’s ignore this awkward translation of 2 Timothy 4:3-4 which actually uses the word Bible and focus on the caption at the top of the picture. “They were warned…” Were they though?

As I was making mental notes and forming an outline, I decided to check the archives to see if I had written on this topic before. Not only did I find a post I read through and realized it’s pretty good. Below is the full text of a post originally titled Did Noah Preach? posted March 30, 2014. Continue reading →

Is the Bible Just a Book?

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Is the Bible a book that can be studied like any other or is it something more than that? Is the Bible the Word of God or just the words of God? Let me suggest that a simple answer is not always possible and sometimes “both/and” is the best option.

The Bible is a collection of ancient texts. While the Bible is primarily a religious text much of it’s bulk, particularly the Old Testament, is made up of history, poetry and wisdom sayings. It presents chronicles of the kings of Israel and long lists of genealogy. The sacred texts of the Old Testament form the basis of Judaism, the monotheistic religion of ethnic Jews. Continue reading →

It’s What’s Inside that Counts

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I may not be a great man of God but I am a man of a great God.

Paul says in 2nd Corinthians that we possess a great treasure in jars of clay. I’ve seen a lot of proposal videos where the guy gets down on one knee or choreographs a big event to pop the question. The woman is always interested in the ring. I have never seen one check out the box it came in. That is not what matters. We as believers are the temple of God. That is where his Spirit chooses to dwell. So you may not think that I’m much to look at. That doesn’t matter because 1) my wife thinks I’m adorable, and more importantly 2) every believer is the dwelling place of God. We that are baptized in Christ have put on Christ. John the Baptist said “He must increase, but I must decrease.” When we are conformed to the image of Jesus, when we let our light shine, it really should be Jesus that the world sees. We must make more of him and less of ourselves.

 

References:
2 Corinthians 4:7
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Galatians 3:27
John 3:30
Romans 8:29

Today is Sunday

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Screenshot 2019-07-28 at 7.34.09 AMIt’s Sunday morning. I don’t normally post on Sundays because there are so many other things going on. But just a short reminder. Today’s devotion from Our Daily Bread is titled Plodding for God. There is a link in the left-hand side bar. The scripture is taken from Hebrews 6 and it shares the story of William Carey, British missionary to India. Continue reading →