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“For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.” (Galatians 6.3).

Thinking is a human capability that is both marvelous and fearsome at the same time. While the ability to think is a wonderful gift it is also implies awesome responsibilities. For that reason, civilized societies establish laws and guidelines of human behavior and then hold their citizens accountable to those laws. When these laws are broken, almost all court systems and judicial venues take into account the intent of the one guilty of breaking the law as well…  ( Click for more )

“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6.2).

More time and space could be used than we have in discussing the erroneous position that some take in saying, “The Christian is free from law; all law!” However I will not take your time nor mine defending the obvious import of this verse. This one inspired (and inspiring) verse disproves that doctrine without any comment from uninspired persons like me. Rather than approach this verse in a negative vein, we will look at it from the tremendously positive aspects which…  ( Click for more )

Biblical passages sometimes “jump out at you” due to their relevance or a particular need that is pressing. Today’s text is just such a passage for me; perhaps it will also be something you need. Due to the nature and style of these devotionals, the passage today will progress one verse at a time throughout this entire week. As we begin, we will quote the five verses to be addressed.

“Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Bear one…  ( Click for more )

“And when they [the temple guards or officials] had brought them [the apostles], they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them, saying, 'Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man’s blood on us!' But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: 'We ought to obey God rather than men.'” (Acts 5.27-29; all emphasis mine, above & below, jeb)

The council was, to put things in perspective, an august body of men similar to our supreme court.…  ( Click for more )

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5.27-28; all emphasis mine, above & below, jeb). This saying is one of five times that Jesus used the “But I say...” expression during the Sermon on the Mount. However, these are not the only times that he used it. According to the other inspired records of His ministry, there were at least six other times when He uttered these words.…  ( Click for more )

“Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. For she said, 'If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.' Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction.” (Mark 5.25-29; all emphasis mine, above & below, jeb). This same event is recorded in Matthew 9 and Luke 8; we will…  ( Click for more )

There are twelve (12) “lettuce” [let us] passages in the book of Hebrews. These make great sermon material and can easily be divided into three sermons of four points each. However, Paul also raised some “lettuce not” [let us not] patches that are worth looking into. Our devotional today, will take a very brief look at these passages.

“Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.” (Galatians 5.26; all emphasis mine above and below). This text is especially ripe for study because it contains three prohibitions and…  ( Click for more )

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” (Galatians 5.22-23; all emphasis mine above and below). If one notices closely, he will see that the first word of today's focus verse is the little word but. It is a word of contrast. Today's message will look at this contrast and some of its implications.

The contrasting verses appear just prior to today's verses. “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,…  ( Click for more )

The last few verses of 1 Thessalonians 5 contain some pithy yet wise counsel. Among the sage advice offered is this: “Test all things; hold fast what is good.” (1 Thessalonians 5.21). While the statement is easily understood, Albert Barnes’ comments on the verse are well worth repeating; the following paragraph is from his commentary on the book of First Thessalonians.

“Subject everything submitted to you to be believed to the proper test. The word here used [for test] is one that is properly applicable to metals, referring to the art of the…  ( Click for more )

Do you know who was the oldest man whose age is recorded in the Bible? Of course you do – Methuselah at 969 years. Everybody knows that! Well how about the second oldest? Do you know him? Have you ever heard of Jared? He was the second oldest man and he lived 962 years. Yet, how many times do you hear his name mentioned? What did he ever do? Is he well known because he came in second or for any other reason for that matter? We'll explore that a bit in today's devotional.

“Jared lived one hundred and sixty-two years, and begot Enoch. After he begot Enoch, Jared lived…  ( Click for more )

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.” (2 Corinthians…  ( Click for more )

Jesus said, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.” (Matthew 5.17-18; all emphasis mine above and below, jb).

A person’s attitude toward Scripture speaks volumes about a person; though we can’t be perfect, attitude still is a great predictor of actions and intentions. Jesus, on the other hand was perfect; His attitude toward Scripture was one reason…  ( Click for more )

Unless Alexander Graham Bell could prove that Thomas A Watson had heard him say, “Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you,” the telephone would have been just another inventor's flop. However, he did hear the words and he reported them back to Bell, proof positive that the telephone was a means by which a message could be transmitted in an otherwise unbelievable means from point A to point B.

John wrote, “ Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask,…  ( Click for more )

Attacks are never pleasant! Paul was under attack and today's message takes a look at some of the dynamics of that attack and how he responded to it as well as how he counseled those who might be collaterally damaged by it. Consider carefully the following quote.

“For we do not commend ourselves again to you, but give you opportunity to boast on our behalf, that you may have an answer for those who boast in appearance and not in heart. For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; or if we are of sound mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge…  ( Click for more )

Leprosy! Even today with our modern medical techniques and knowledge it strikes terror in our hearts. It is a disease which isolates and devastates its victims. Naaman, a Syrian Army commander during the reign of Benhadad II, was stricken with the disease. But for a set of circumstances in which God had a hand, Naaman would have gone to his grave a leper, but mercifully he was cured of his illness. Today's message will take a look at some of the events surrounding his miraculous healing.

Sometimes men of might such as Naaman come to expect treatment by others in proportion to…  ( Click for more )

John writes: “I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, 'Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals' And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it. So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it.” (Revelation 5.1-4).

The book of Revelation is a book of symbols. It is not impossible to understand, but it is difficult. Certainly…  ( Click for more )

Sad realities are nonetheless true and must be faced. One sad reality is the fact that false teachers, some of them, will stop at nothing to achieve their objectives. There is no clearer proof of this than the fact that Jesus, the sinless Son of God was unmercifully ushered to the Cross at the insistence of false teachers.

Paul, a devoted disciple of Jesus Christ , faced the sad reality of false teachers everyday of his Christian life (2 Corinthians 11.26). Peter warned about false teachers in the Christian era just as surely as there had been false prophets in the Old Testament…  ( Click for more )

“For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5.6-8; all emphasis mine above and below, jb).

Love spoken is a token at best; Love shown is a deed greatly blest! God loves us, but He does far more than just speak the words; He demonstrates His love. It is interesting that the tense of the verb “demonstrates”…  ( Click for more )

Today at 1:00 PM, I will witness the interment of my oldest sister, Inez Norwood in an otherwise insignificant little town in south-middle Tennessee. I reflected on matters after a memorial service yesterday and I chose to write about my feelings and two faces of death.

I am not saying that death has only two faces, but it certainly has two. The two about which I speak are the same two about which Paul wrote to fellow Christians in Philippi when he said, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor;…  ( Click for more )

The Larger Context: “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision…  ( Click for more )

“He [Jesus] said to Simon, ‘Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.’ But Simon answered and said to Him, ‘Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.’ And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Depart from…  ( Click for more )

Background: God had graciously rescued Abraham's descendants from Egyptian bondage and miraculously guided and protected them so that they came into possession of the promised land of Canaan. He gave them laws to protect them from themselves and from others. He sent prophets to remind them of their responsibilities to Him and to give them timely direction when they lost their way. Although it was not to His liking, God also gave them kings to rule over them much like the nations round about. His beneficent hand cared for them at every turn, even when His counsel was rejected and when…  ( Click for more )

“For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life.” (2 Corinthians 5.1-4; emphasis mine above and below, jb).

The Background: Persecutions followed Paul wherever…  ( Click for more )

Background: A new nation was about to be birthed. This nation was the nation which God had promised to Abraham, the nation through which the Promised Seed would come. Before the nation could be birthed, the multitude of the people who were to be her citizens had to be freed from the oppressive hand of the Egyptians where they had been enslaved for centuries. But, for freedom to become a reality Moses had to recognized as their God-appointed leader. Certainly this multitude could not believe that Moses was speaking merely of his own authority, else they would not follow. This was Moses’…  ( Click for more )