Subscription Lists

It is obvious from a cursory reading of 1 Corinthians 15 that the resurrection is an important, even central, doctrine of the Christian faith. However, is the Gospel comprised only of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus as some believe and teach? Or, to approach our subject another way, we ask the question, "Does the Gospel consist of more than the fundamental facts of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ?"

"For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and…  ( Click for more )

It is obvious from a cursory reading of 1 Corinthians 15 that the resurrection is an important, even central, doctrine of the Christian faith. However, is the Gospel comprised only of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus as some believe and teach? Or, to approach our subject another way, we ask the question, "Does the Gospel consist of more than the fundamental facts of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ?"

"For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and…  ( Click for more )

Some people have emotional and mental hangups that cause them to live in the past. Others constantly worry about the future such that they cannot live in or enjoy the present. Still yet, some folks miss living in the present by wearing “rose colored glasses” constantly and never quite coming to grips with reality. In any case, it should be obvious that a healthy mental outlook considers the past, lives in the moment, and plans prudently for the future. This is a widely accepted mental health recipe for reducing stress in our lives.

It occurs to me that this is what…  ( Click for more )

Some people have emotional and mental hangups that cause them to live in the past. Others constantly worry about the future such that they cannot live in or enjoy the present. Still yet, some folks miss living in the present by wearing “rose colored glasses” constantly and never quite coming to grips with reality. In any case, it should be obvious that a healthy mental outlook considers the past, lives in the moment, and plans prudently for the future. This is a widely accepted mental health recipe for reducing stress in our lives.

It occurs to me that this is what…  ( Click for more )

Some people have emotional and mental hangups that cause them to live in the past. Others constantly worry about the future such that they cannot live in or enjoy the present. Still yet, some folks miss living in the present by wearing “rose colored glasses” constantly and never quite coming to grips with reality. In any case, it should be obvious that a healthy mental outlook considers the past, lives in the moment, and plans prudently for the future. This is a widely accepted mental health recipe for reducing stress in our lives.

It occurs to me that this is what…  ( Click for more )

“See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, 'Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.' Now this, 'Yet once more,' indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may…  ( Click for more )

Because history has a way of repeating itself, it can be a good thing to take a backward look every now and then, or as we have styled it in the title of this series, A Little Then and Now is OK Now and Then. Actually when we are inclined to look back, there are a couple of rules that we ought to check out, before we complete our journey into yesteryear. First, is there a potential for good to come from the trip? If not, stay in the present! Secondly, is it my intent to exact good even from what otherwise may have been a not so good past? If not, stay in the present!

Having given…  ( Click for more )

Every now and then I think about the past. On second thought, maybe I think about it more frequently than every now and then. Maybe I think about it too much! At any rate, it is good to consider how often we indulge ourselves in journeys into the past and what real benefit results from those excursions (or for that matter, what harm might come from them). From this balancing act comes the title and implied questions about looking back – A Little Then and Now is OK Now and Then. Think with me!

Lot's wife looked back against God's instructions and she was turned to a pillar…  ( Click for more )

Generally, persistence is a good thing; we see it as a virtue. However, depending on the cause that is being pursued, we sometimes see persistence as a vice. For instance, the tiny voice that keeps saying, “Daddy, I want a drink of water!” is persistence personified, but after a while, its cuteness vanishes from sight! That must have been how it was in the case with blind Bartimaeus (Mark 10.46-52). Time and time again he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” The more he cried, the more the multitudes tried to silence him. They saw persistence…  ( Click for more )

“O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.” (Romans 7.24-25).

The wretched man is a man in misery. There are but two usages of this graphic word in the entire Book of Scripture. Of course, Paul’s description of himself before He became a believer in this passage is one of them. The other is when Jesus spoke to some self-deceived church members in the book of Revelation. “So then, because you…  ( Click for more )

God is not a sinner; never sinned and never will. However, the “law of sin” had an effect upon Him. It did not begin at the time of Jesus' crucifixion; it did not begin at the time of Jesus' birth; it did not begin at the time of the prophets; it did not begin when Adam and Eve sinned. The law of sin had its effect upon God in eternity past. The gospel plan of salvation is the result of that effect upon God!

Hear Isaiah declare the effect that the law of sin had upon God and the inhabitants of the heavenly realm: “Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our…  ( Click for more )

In the last verse of Romans 7, it is “the law of sin.” In the second verse of Romans 8, it is “the law of sin and death.” Call it what you will, but it is the blight of mankind. It was this law that made the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh an absolute necessity. Had there been any other way to nullify the effects of this law, that way would have been chosen. Simple fact: The law of sin necessitated the suffering and death of Jesus Christ.

“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.”…  ( Click for more )

Tired of ordinary sermons? For a refreshing change, try the Sermon on the Mount. The contents of this timeless sermon are not ordinary; its speaker was not ordinary; its purpose was not ordinary; its implications were not ordinary. About the only thing ordinary about the Sermon on the Mount were the issues with which the hearers were dealing. These were as old as time itself; they have not changed since then by any appreciable amount. The names are different, the customs are different, but the struggles are the same. It is a timeless message aimed directly at the heart of humanity. …  ( Click for more )

“For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God——through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin..” (Romans 7.22-25; emphasis mine - jb).

“With my mind I serve the Law of God...” With this statement, Paul echoes the intent of all who…  ( Click for more )

Yesterday, I stated, “Let it be known that I don't like laws.” And I'll tell you what I think; I think that every honest person who looked inside of him or herself said, “I kinda' agree with Jim on that one. Sometimes I just don't like laws either.”

Inside all of us is the desire to do what we want to do and just let everybody else “deal with it.” At times we act on those feelings somewhat reluctantly or even secretly. At other times we readily acknowledge the need for laws and view ourselves as being equals with all other people in that respect.…  ( Click for more )

Law! What does the word mean? How is it used in the Scriptures? More particularly, how is it used in the New Testament and in the writings of Paul the apostle? Does the word have applicability to me? As a son of liberty in Christ Jesus, am I under law, or is it an antiquated idea whose time has come and gone?

First, let it be known that I don’t like laws. When I am in a hurry, they get in my way. When I have purchased property in the past, laws were just a formality that had to be referenced and paid lip service during the closing. Laws are good for the other fellow, but…  ( Click for more )

“For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God——through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin..” (Romans 7.22-25; emphasis mine - jb).

Laws frequently are in conflict. In civilized nations, legislative bodies go to great lengths to prevent such…  ( Click for more )

I was late, but what else is new! I overslept - and it felt good! I hurried to try to make up precious seconds. When the $2.15 pill I had intended to swallow rimmed the bathroom sink and disappeared down the drain, I knew things just might get worse before they got any better!

Of all mornings to be low on gas, why did it have to be on Sunday morning? However, there was no option short of walking. And really, I don’t mind sharing the road, but did that immense herd of cyclists have to choose this route, the same one I was traveling, to raise the money they needed for their…  ( Click for more )

I was late, but what else is new! I overslept - and it felt good! I hurried to try to make up precious seconds. When the $2.15 pill I had intended to swallow rimmed the bathroom sink and disappeared down the drain, I knew things just might get worse before they got any better!

Of all mornings to be low on gas, why did it have to be on Sunday morning? However, there was no option short of walking. And really, I don’t mind sharing the road, but did that immense herd of cyclists have to choose this route, the same one I was traveling, to raise the money they needed for their…  ( Click for more )

I was late, but what else is new! I overslept - and it felt good! I hurried to try to make up precious seconds. When the $2.15 pill I had intended to swallow rimmed the bathroom sink and disappeared down the drain, I knew things just might get worse before they got any better!

Of all mornings to be low on gas, why did it have to be on Sunday morning? However, there was no option short of walking. And really, I don’t mind sharing the road, but did that immense herd of cyclists have to choose this route, the same one I was traveling, to raise the money they needed for their…  ( Click for more )

“So I know what Paul didn’t mean. Now what did he mean?” Yesterday’s devotional looked at a couple of verses from Romans 7 and then proceeded to say what they did not mean. Sometimes this is a valid way of studying the Bible so as to arrive at the most likely meanings of a text. We continue in today’s message, but today we examine what Paul did mean in the focus text.

“Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not! But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment…  ( Click for more )

“Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not! But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful. For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin.” (Romans 7.13-15).

Subtlety missed in today’s focus text has written volumes of error and has likely resulted in the loss of countless souls. This just points out the fact that a person who reads the Bible must tune in to what it has to say – ALL it has to say! A verse taken out…  ( Click for more )

“For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me. Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good. Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not! But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful.” (Romans 7.11-13).

Some things are just not nice; sin is one of them. In fact, nothing about sin is nice. Paul speaks of sin in the focus text as though it were a living entity, one with specific intent and personality.…  ( Click for more )

Are babies lost? Or, are they safe? Or, must they await the act of a third party (e.g. priest, intermediary, proxy baptismal candidate, etc)? This entirely relevant and emotional question has been the subject of great controversy for many, many years. Today’s devotional will address this question and will offer an entirely biblical answer to the question.

First of all, why would anyone ever ask to think such a question? It is not a stretch at all to think that this question would never have entered the mind of a “believer” had it not for the doctrine of “inherited”…  ( Click for more )