Wise Men and Two Kings

Mat 2:1-3  Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem,  saying, "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him."  When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; (ESV)

Wise men came looking for he who had been born king of the Jews so that they could worship him. Herod the king was troubled when he heard those words. These wise men from the east made quite an impression on him. He didn't take lightly what they said.

The passage of Scripture does not tell us that there were three wise men or that they came on camels riding alone. It is more likely that however many of the wise men there were, they probably were in a much larger contingent of men either on horses or camels to safely travel, especially since they brought costly gifts with them. However many there were, they caused great concern to Herod and all the people of Jerusalem.

Herod took what the wise men said so seriously that when they failed to heed his request that they return and report to him after they found the child, he ordered all the boys under two years of age be killed.

When the wise men found the child they fell down and worshiped him, and offered him their gifts. Perhaps those gifts proved useful to Joseph and Mary when they heeded the command of an angel to flee to Egypt because Herod was determined to seek and destroy the child.

Herod wanted preserve his position of authority and the life it provided him. He would take any action he deemed necessary to prevent the possibility of losing what he had. Even the citizens of Jerusalem were concerned. As it was they were a people in a occupied nation, they didn't want more difficulties that of a new ruler might bring.

During his reign king Herod killed many in an attempt to keep in power. But he failed to kill Jesus, and he was long gone when it was time for Jesus to allow Himself to be slain for our sins. Jesus was only killed at the time and in the manner that God had determined was acceptable, and only after His Son Jesus had accomplished everything that He'd been sent to accomplish. And then, on the third day, Jesus rose victorious from the grave to never die again.

How do we respond to Jesus? He is the one true Savior who alone paid the price for our sins. And He is the eternal King who is worthy to be worshiped and obeyed. Are we thankful to Him for who He is and what He has done and will do?  Or do we want to eliminate Him in whatever way we can, ignoring and neglecting Him as much as possible since we're too "nice" (and limited in our abilities) to seek to get him out of our lives by actually killing Him.

How much are we like the wise men? How much are we like Herod?  Do we need to change? Do we need to turn to the One who can change us?

Are we going to be like the wise men and fall down and worship Jesus as the everlasting King, or be like Herod the king who sought to kill Jesus so we can be king in our own lives?

What Have We Learned?

Eph 4:11-16  And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.  ESV


The ministries that are specifically mentioned in this passage of Scripture all involve proclaiming, preaching and teaching the Word of God.  The purpose for doing so is the building up of the body of Christ. We desperately need godly preaching and teaching because without it we'll remain immature, children who are easily deceived by all manner of teachings that come along.

With good teaching of truth, members of the body of Christ can grow up and become equipped to do what God wants us to do. They are no longer limited to doing what they feel like doing and guess might be OK things to do.

All children need to learn. What they learn can make all the difference in what sort of lives they lead as they grow up. If all they learn is to do is whatever they feel like doing, or what is "acceptable" to the current standards off society, they will remain childishly immature in regards to godly living.

Even Christians can be severely stunted in their ability to be a follower of Christ. Those who fail to learn and apply what is in Scripture can be drawn away by things that sound right but are actually at best only imitations of the truth of God.

There was a time in America that the Bible was a standard textbook in schools. Even before then, the pilgrims who settled in Plymouth taught their children to read so they would be able to read the Bible and learn from it. But now children grow into adulthood without ever reading or being taught what is in the Bible. Therefore there are many adults who are still infants or even babies in regard to their understanding of what God wants us to know in Scripture.

Today there  are countless Bibles available to people, yet all too few people seek to gain a clear knowledge of what is in them. Many who do want to hear more about the Bible include in their learning efforts the teachings of popular TV preachers and book writers who say clever things which sound great but actually twist the meanings of Scripture passages. Those Christians can think they are becoming mature, when in fact they may just be dressing up to look (at  least to themselves) like they have become grown up disciples of Jesus.

Just because preachers, writers, or teachers are popular does not mean that what they say is true to the Word of God even if they quote Scripture repeatedly to "prove" what they teach. We need to be diligent to both examine what they teach ourselves, and also find out what other respected Bible teachers have to say in regards to their teachings.

The quantity of what we learn is not the key to maturity. Both in the first centuries of the Church and now there has been an abundance of false teachings to get Christians going in wrong directions in there lives. We need to be sure that what we learn is what is true to the Word of God as intended by those inspired by the Holy Spirit to write it down for us learn. Only then will be able to fulfill the verse of Scripture that I'll use to conclude this blog post.:

1 Thes 4:1  Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. ESV

Do We Really Need Bible Teaching?

1Jn 2:27  But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him. ESV

Would you look at that Bible verse? Wow. It says right there in the Bible that "you have no need that anyone should teach you."  It goes on to say "But as His anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie -- just as it has taught you, abide in Him."

Amazing. I guess I could take that to mean I don't need preachers and teachers to help me understand Scripture. Or even about anything else, since it says that His anointing teaches about everything. I could take that to mean I can let the "anointing" teach me everything I need to know.

Well, I could take that verse to mean what I just suggested, or I could take a closer look at the context of that verse to see whether I'm jumping to conclusions just to satisfy my self-centered ambitions. To start with I guess I could read the verse immediately preceding the one I quoted above.

1Jn 2:26  I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. ESV

Ah! Apparently there is "teaching" that we don't need. Teaching from those who are trying to deceive us. We don't need deceivers to come along and teach us things that are contrary to the truth that is found in Scripture. This portion of Scripture known as 1 John, and all the rest of Scripture, is sound teaching that is vital to grow in our understanding of God and His will. But when somebody comes along and tries to add something new to it an alarm should go off inside us to warn us "Wait a Minute -- That's not in accordance with the God breathed Word of God!"

But do we need others to teach us about what is in  the Bible? Can we or should we go it alone in learning Scripture? Do we need the help of anybody other than ourselves to grow in our understanding of the Word of God?

Well, what does the Word of say about that? In Paul's first letter to Timothy we can read:

  1 Tim 4:13  Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. ESV

 1 Tim 5:17  Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.  ESV

 These verses along with other Scripture passages make it clear that God wants us to have good preaching and teaching. God has a lot to say to us in His written Word, and God provides teachers to help us learn.those truths. The body of Christ has many different members, some of whom are gifted helpers or leaders, and some of whom are gifted teachers.

What we don't need are teachers who either distort Scripture or add to it. They are deceivers and we all need to take care to be on the watch for them. What they say can sound wonderful which is why so many people get deceived by such false teachings.

How can we be protected from deceptive teachers? Well, spending time reading and studying the Bible is important. When we have Biblical Spirit inspired truth in us we become more sensitive to recognizing when the Holy Spirit is alerting us to false teaching.

We also should avail ourselves of the preachers and teachers who are true to the sound doctrines of the Bible. God says they are worthy of double honor, and one way we honor them is by taking the time to listen and learn from them.

Do we really need Bible Teaching? Yes, indeed, we really do.

Taken a Serious Look at Scripture Lately?

Act 17:10-12  The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue.  Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.  Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men. ESV

Not everybody appreciates hearing about who Jesus is, what He has done, and what He expects us to believe and do. Both in Paul's day and ours there are those who want to put a stop to anyone telling others that Jesus is the one and only Savior and Lord. But there are others who have a quite different attitude regarding the teaching of the gospel.

A mob in Thessalonica had sought to find Paul and Silas so they could do harm to them for teaching about Jesus, which is why the Christian brothers sent them out of town by night. But once the two of them arrived in Berea they continued to tell others about Jesus in that local synagogue.

How the Jews in Berea responded to Paul's teaching was commendable. They eagerly received the word, and they also examined the Scriptures to see if these things were so. They didn't accept it just because it sounded good. They took the time to seriously examine Scripture to see if what was being taught lined up with the written divinely inspired Word of God.

We should emulate their response. We should be eager to hear sound teaching about Jesus and what He wants us to know and do. But we also need to examine the Scriptures to make sure that what we're hearing does indeed line up with the whole of God's Word.

Any preacher or teacher can say things that sound good, and even use verses of Scripture to justify what they are proclaiming. But people can intentionally and unintentionally teach things that twist the meaning and context of the verses being quoted. To really know what is true we need to carefully examine Scripture to make sure that any teaching is actually what God is saying to us in the Bible.

Let us take whatever time is necessary to seriously examine Scripture to know what to believe and do. And, like the Bereans, let us let us do so daily.

Do We Neglect the Gifts God Gives Us?

1Ti 4:12-16  Let no one despise you for your youth,  but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.  Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers. ESV

The above passage of Scripture was the starting point for a presentation that was given at our church today. As a church and as individuals we can become very busy doing a variety of good things, yet still be neglecting the use of the gifts God has given us to accomplish His purposes.

Paul exhorted Timothy to not let anyone despise him for his youth. He wasn't to let others to keep him from doing all that God had called him to do. Hopefully we can all determine to be an example is how we talk and behave regardless of what others expect or don't expect of us.

In particular perhaps I ought to relate to some of the specifics Paul wrote here. Public reading of Scripture. Exhortation. Teaching.

I truly believe that Scripture is the Word of God. That is why when I have taught in adult Sunday school, I have most often taught from a particular book of the Bible and extensively used context and other Scripture passages to explain words, phrases, and verses while going through each chapter.

Next Sunday I'll be giving the monthly "Missions Moment" for about 7 minutes of the service. When I do that I intend to use a couple of Scripture passages to remind members of our church of the importance of keeping our commitments to the missionaries we support.

Due to health problems last year I wasn't able to teach Sunday school classes. Lord willing, if my health continues to improve, I'll be able to once again serve the Lord and our church in that way again.

Meanwhile, at the very least, I ought to maintain a regular posting to this blog, regardless of whether many people read it or not.

I know in the past I've intended to write posts more often, and then got discouraged or distracted, and slacked off.

Today I (and hopefully our church) have been reminded to not neglect the gifts God has given us. May we keep a close watch on ourselves and our teaching, and will persist in all that God has called us to do.

How To Be Great

This past week there were gruesome murders and maiming inflicted on many in Boston as the annual marathon was winding down and crowds were cheering on their friends and family members as they neared the finish line. First one and then a second bomb brought an abrupt end to the rejoicing. As the smoke cleared and the wounded were rushed to hospitals, everyone wanted to know who could have plotted and carried out such a vicious crime?

Within a few days, after examining multitudes of videos and photos, two suspects in the bombing were identified and their names and pictures were broadcast throughout the area and around the world.

The ones identified as suspects were still in the area, and in their efforts to allude capture they killed one police officer, and in a gunfight they severely wounded another. In that exchange of gunfire with police one of the suspects was killed. The other managed to escape the scene on foot.

The city and surrounding towns were shut down and police began going door to door in hopes the suspects were still in the vicinity. Within 24 hours a local resident discovered the wounded man hiding under the tarp of a boat in his back yard. At first the suspect refused to surrender and fired at police, but soon gave up and was arrested and brought to a hospital for treatment of wounds received during the earlier firefight with police.

I don't know what the reasons were that the bombers decided to kill as many people as they could at the end of the Boston Marathon. But they must have thought is was a very important thing to do. They must have spent time learning how to construct the bombs, and then making them. They even made other bombs, including smaller ones that that were used when being pursued by the police. They were prepared to kill and maim men, women, and children as well as any police officers who tried to apprehend them.

It seems to me that in their own minds they thought they were doing something important. Something great.

People have many ideas, including very perverted ideas, as to what is a great thing to do, and how to be great.

Some ideas of what it takes to be great are fairly harmless. Getting a golf ball into a series of small halls with fewer swings of their golf clubs than the other players is one way people seek to achieve greatness. Others climb mountains, the higher the better. And other people run races, either short sprints or lengthy marathons.

Then there are those who seek greatness by attaining positions of authority in business or government. They dream and work at becoming head of a company, town, state, or nation. If they get what they seek they think it will be a great accomplishment.

Jesus had another idea regarding greatness. And since He is the One who made everything that was ever created, then what He has to say about anything is true. He doesn't just give an opinion. He says what He knows to be absolutely true.

Mat 20:25-28  But Jesus called them to him and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.  It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."  ESV

Not many people agree with what Jesus said about being great. But whoever disagrees with Jesus regarding this or anything that that He said will sooner or later learn that Jesus Christ is always right. Everyone who rejects His having given His life on the cross as a ransom for many will have all eternity to regret that sin. Everyone who accepts His atoning sacrifice will have all eternity to enjoy being with Him in the new heaven and new earth.





If you accept Jesus as your Savior, He must also be your Lord. So when He tells us how to be great then we need to heed what He says. What does He say? He says that whoever would be great must serve. Whoever would be first among us must be a slave.

What does Christ mean, to be a servant or slave? There is much said in the Bible about how God wants us to serve each other. One such passage we should ponder was written by Peter.

1 Peter 4:10-11  As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. ESV

Want to be great? If you do, then let's seek to be great in the way the one true God want us to be great. Let us seek His help to humble ourselves and serve one another in the ways He shows us in His Word.

Nailed to a Cross. Why?

Execution by crucifixion was a horrible way to be put to death. Being nailed to wooden timbers placed upright to increase the pain and make breathing to be agonizing. So why did Jesus allow Himself to go through such torture?

In my previous blog post I wrote about the time that Jesus calmed a raging storm simply by speaking a few words. Surely He could have stopped the crucifixion before a single hammer blow had struck the first nail into His flesh. But He did nothing to prevent the soldiers from doing their cruel work. He even prayed "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" as they cast lots for His garments as He hung there. (Luke 23:34)

I have experienced some pain in my life, such as when I broke my leg or was recovering from surgery. But that was nothing compared to crucifixion. Why did Jesus let Himself be nailed to a cross and stay there for those hours until He finally yielded up His spirit, declared "It is fisnished" and died?

God is holy and just and so there are consequences to sinning against Him. We have sinned against God, all of us.

Religions and even most non-religious concepts of what we're all about acknowledge that we're not what we ought to be. So they prescribe ways of making ourselves better in some way or another. Perhaps to reach a higher spiritual level of some sort. Perhaps to be a better person, or more successful, or more acceptable to others or ourselves.

But Biblical Christianity it about something quite different. It is about Jesus and why He was nailed to a cross.

In the Bible God declares that sin is so serious that the consequence of it is death. In the Old Testament it is written that "The soul who sins shall die" (Ezek 18:20) and in the New Testament it is written:  "For the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23)

When God made known His Law to Moses it included a system of demonstrating what needed to be done in response to our sins. It commanded that when a person sinned, a blemish free animal would be slain in his place, because, as it is written in Hebrews 9:22 "without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins." ESV

But as important as the Law was in letting men know God's perspective on our sinning against Him, the slaying of those animals did not take away the sins of the people. "For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins." (Heb 10:4) ESV

It would take something far greater than the slaying of an animal or change of our behavior to take away sins.

 That something took place when Jesus was nailed to the cross for our sins. Jesus was a real man, conceived in the womb of Mary by the Holy Spirit. He was both the Son of God and Son of Man. He lived a real life as a babe, child, and man. He never once sinned. That made Him the one and only one whose shedding of blood, being put to death, on our behalf could be the perfectly acceptable sacrifice to grant forgiveness for our sins.

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, (Ephesians 1:7) ESV

 That is why Jesus let Himself be nailed to a cross, to suffer, bleed, and then die when He yielded up His spirit. There is no other way for us to have our sins forgiven and for us to become righteous in the sight of God.  There is no keeping of rules or spiritual teachings, even the Law of God, that can make us righteous before God. Indeed, "if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose. (Gal 2:21) ESV

Jesus Christ was nailed to a cross, and did die for a glorious purpose. This was the only way for our sins to be forgiven.

Do you want your sins to be forgiven? There is only one way for that to happen. Believe in Jesus as your Savior whose death on the cross was the only thing to pay for your sins. Then get to know Jesus as both your Savior and Lord as you read about Him in Scripture. If you do that you will be eternally thankful that He let Himself be nailed to that cross.

Jesus said, Peace, Be Still.

 In my previous blog post I pointed out that the verse of Scripture that says "Be still and know that I am God" was not about enhancing our prayer life but instead was an admonition to nations making war with one another.

Well, there was a day in the life of Jesus when He said "peace, be still." The disciples heard Him say it. But they didn't get the impression that He was instructing them in a more spiritual way of quiet prayer. As it happens, Jesus wasn't even talking to them when He said those words.

Mar 4:37-39  And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling.  But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?"  And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. ESV

The first chapter of the gospel written by John calls Jesus the Word and says "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. (John 1:1-3) ESV

Since Jesus made everything that was made, then He had the ability to do anything at all with it. You and I can fashion things that already exist, modifying their shape, color, rearranging things to some extent. But Jesus can do anything with anything. So when He said "Peace. Be still." to the storm, that storm stopped and there was a great calm.

Notice that the description of the event doesn't merely say the stormy wind eased up or quieted down. It says the wind ceased and there was not just a calm but a great calm.

The effect on the weather was profound, and so was the affect of this miracle on the disciples, Did they, too, become really calm now that the storm was gone and there was no longer any danger of their boat sinking? Well, not exactly. Jesus spoke to them.

"He said to them, 'Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?'  And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"  (Mark 4:40-41) ESV

The disciples had seen Jesus heal the sick and disabled. They'd seen Him exercise authority over demons. But the disciples still did not know how incredible His power was. But now they'd seen Him go from taking a nap in the midst of a raging storm, to completely calming that storm with just a few words.

It is right and proper to fear such power and authority. This same Jesus did die on the Cross as the one acceptable sacrifice to pay for our sins, but He did so not because He was powerless to prevent it. He could have slain all the soldiers in the Roman army with a single word. But had He done that, no one could be cleansed of their sins and be acceptable to God. But He did die on the Cross, and it was the acceptable sacrifice, so on the third day He rose from the grave with an incorruptible body.

He rose from the grave, and after demonstrating to many He was indeed alive, He returned to Heaven. But He's coming back. He's coming back to judge the living and the dead. For those who have believed in Him and what He did on the Cross, and have accepted Him as their Lord and Savior, it will be a time of great rejoicing. For those who have rejected Him, there will be no joy, because whether they want it or not, believe it or not, they will learn that Jesus has power and authority even over them.

When Jesus was here in the flesh He said "But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!" Luke 12:5 ESV

The disciples who saw Jesus calm the storm were right to be fearfully awed by that demonstration of the power and authority of Jesus. But eleven of them had no need to fear what He might do with them one day. Jesus not only has the authority to cast into hell, He also is the One who gives eternal life.

When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.  And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.  (John 17:1-3)  ESV

Do you want to not quake with dreadful fear due to storms or the One who has authority over everything including our eternal destinies? Then come to know God and Jesus Christ, the Son of God who became a man to die on the Cross for our sins.

How Dare We Disort the Word of God?

Are you guilty of distorting the Word of God?  Have you ever taken a verse of Scripture and put your meaning into it rather than honestly seek to know what God is actually saying?

I've been guilty of that. I've ignored the verses that came before and after a verse and used that single verse to justify what was in fact merely my own opinion. But I say now to myself and every other Christian, how dare we distort the Word of God!

I'm upset and deeply grieved that distorting Scripture is becoming commonplace and acceptable to all too many who profess to be Christians.

There are some who use select verses of the Bible to condone their own sin. There are others who misuse Scripture verses to embrace spiritual practices that are rooted in religions that deny that Jesus is the only way to God.

One example of this kind of distortion is what many have done with their teaching about prayer. Rather than see that prayers throughout Scripture are both understandable and about specific needs and expressions of praise and worship, people are introducing non-Biblical forms of prayer based on Eastern religions or new age teachings. They want prayer to be not just us talking to God but also God talking to us. They want to teach us yoga or other non-Biblical methods to enhance our ability to "hear" God when we pray.

There are those who cite the experience Elijah had in the cave when he heard the "still small voice" (KJV) or "gentle whisper" (NIV) (1 Kings 19:12). They say we should seek that sort of thing when we pray.

But wait a minute. Was hearing that "still small voice" something that God wants all Christians to learn how to experience? Let's take a closer look at the actual context of that verse:

1Ki 19:9  There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
1Ki 19:10  He said, "I have been very jealous for the LORD, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away."
1Ki 19:11  And he said, "Go out and stand on the mount before the LORD." And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake.
1Ki 19:12  And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.
1Ki 19:13  And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
1Ki 19:14  He said, "I have been very jealous for the LORD, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away."
1Ki 19:15  And the LORD said to him, "Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria.
1Ki 19:16  And Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel, and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place.
1Ki 19:17  And the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha put to death.
1Ki 19:18  Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him."

Did you notice how God spoke quite clearly and plainly to Elijah again and again in that passage? Of course when God speaks He expects us to pay attention and obey what He says. In verse 18 God told Elijah to "Go out on the mount and stand before the Lord."  Then, in verse 19, which is after the "gentle whisper,"  When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.
And behold, there came a voice to him and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"

When Elijah was in the cave, God spoke to him clearly, and told him to go out. Apparently Elijah did not go out to directly witness the demonstration of wind, earthquake and fire that God caused but was not in. So the next thing Elijah heard was only a gentle whisper. No clear, understandable voice. So Elijah then complied with the Lord's command, and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.

What was said in that whisper? There's no we can know that. But is it all likely that it was words of spiritual closesness involving a deepening relationship? Both before and after the whisper God essentially had clearly asked Elijah why he was hiding out in that cave. Both times Elijah gave the same  excuse. After the second time of giving that excuse, God filled in what was really going on and what was about to happen.

Perhaps that whisper was simply God giving the same command to come out and stand on the mountain in a softer voice. Both parents and employers will sometimes use a softer, not louder, voice to convey they are quite serious in what they are saying and the child or employee had better listen. Or maybe the softness of the whisper made Elijah think that if he didn't respond to God's command to come out of the cave that if God spoke again it would be so soft that he wouldn't be able to hear it at all. Whatever it was, the Holy Spirit knew it was not meant to be included in Scripture for us to read.

In any case, Elijah then decided to obey the command to come out, and did so after wrapping his face in his cloak. He must have known that actually seeing God could very well be blinding or even fatal.

When Elijah did what God had commanded him, God once again spoke plainly to him rather than in a low whisper. Got repeated what He’d already said, and then went on to speak more things that He wanted him to hear and for us to read in Scripture for many generations.

Another popular verse that is applied in a distorted out of context fashion is from Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God.” But is that from a section of Scripture teaching about how we should pray? Look for yourself at the entire verse along with comes before and after it.

Psa 46:6  Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
Psa 46:7  The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Psa 46:8  Come and see what the LORD has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth.
Psa 46:9  He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire.
Psa 46:10  He says, "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."
Psa 46:11  The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Look at the “Be still, and know that I am God” as part of this section of the Word of God as it talks about nations in an uproar and then God intervening. He lifts His voice, the earth melts. Desolations He has brought on the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear. He burns the shields with fire. Having done all that, “He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth’”

Psalm 46 is not a teaching about prayer! Psalm 46 is a description of God judging and putting an end to nations doing what they want to do in fighting with one another. God is going to have the final say, and put an end to petty warfare with a blazing judgment that will leave nations with no choice but to be still and know that He is God, and He will be exalted no matter what any nation or any person might want to do otherwise.

All who distort the word of God either through intentional twisting of Scripture, or wanton disregard of proper study of the Bible, should be ashamed of themselves. I regret ever having unintentionally misrepresented God by misusing a verse or passage of Scripture. Let us all take great care in what we say or write when we teach what God has put in His Bible.

Let’s be like Paul in what he wrote to the Corinthians in 2 Cor. 4:2 “Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God.”  NIV

Let us heed Paul’s instructions to Timothy in 2 Tim 2:15: “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” NIV

I don’t want to distort the word of God. I don’t want to be a worker who is ashamed. I desperately and diligently want to correctly handle the word of truth.

Let’s pray for one another. Let us pray for all who seek to teach what the Bible says. May what we teach only be what God has truly proclaimed in His written Word.

Rocks and People

I like rocks and I like people. They're both very interesting to me. I like how they come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors.

Some rocks look good enough to function as decorations in the yard. Those rocks look especially good if washed and polished before being put on display. People also look better when washed and properly groomed before putting themselves on display for others to see. However, unlike rocks, people have a tendency wander off rather than stay put where you place them, so they generally don't serve well as yard ornaments.

Rocks and people can increase their usefulness when gathered into groups. Here in New England where we have a great many rocks lying around, many of them have been assembled into walls around homes, or even entire farms. Some of those walls have outlasted the home or farms they once surrounded.

People also sometimes form into lines to protect something or somebody. They can even form lines to promote or protest common interests.

One of most practical and useful things that can be done with large numbers of hewn rocks is to construct a building. There are small houses, castles and even churches that are made extensively with rocks cut into specific shapes to fit together and be sturdy for many years, even centuries.

 In 1 Corinthians 10:4, Christ is called the Rock. And in Peter's first letter he wrote, "As you come to Him, the living Stone--rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to Him-- you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." 1 Peter 2:4-5 NIV

  Just think, those of us who are Christians, know the Rock who is the living Stone, and we are living stones with Him being built into a spiritual house where God is worshiped. Indeed, that's something to think about and enjoy forever.

Wind, Snow, and Rain, Oh My!

Another storm came our way, but in our area only a few inches of snow were expected. No problem. We'd already had a blizzard and other storms come through in the past month or so.

Well, those few inches of snow fell, and the winds blew, but the storm didn't lighten up. The wind kept blowing and the snow kept falling, and soon more than a foot of the cold white stuff piled up. But even with that the storm did not subside. All day yesterday, and last night and into this afternoon.

When I went down to check the mail I looked out to the front of our apartment building. Where there had been bare pavement a couple of days ago there was now two feet a snow!

Thankfully my wife and I live in a town that is no where near the ocean. Towns along the shore had snow and rain and winds of over 50 miles per hour in this storm Waves crashed over sea walls, flooding roads and damaging homes.

My grandfather liked to have a summer home that would be near enough to the ocean for his family to cool off in the hot weather. But when he bought a house on Cape Cod he made sure it was over a mile from the beach. He had seen too many houses near the beaches that had great views of the ocean during the good weather, but often were damaged or destroyed during winter storms.

Once again, with this storm, houses were lost to the effects of the wind swept snow, rain, and crashing waves.

Sandy beaches are nice to walk on, or lie on. Kids like to play in the sand with their little shovels and pails, even building sand castles.

But sand is a very poor foundation for a home. Storms with snow or rain and high winds can destroy a house in a matter of hours.

Losing a house to a storm can be devastating, so it's best to take care how it is built, where it is built, and what kind of foundation it has.

Even more important than the right foundation for our homes is the foundation we have for our lives.

  Jesus said: "And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.  And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it." Matthew 7:2i6-27 ESV

Is Christ Resurrected?

And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. (1 Cor 15:17)  ESV

When Jesus was crucified and died, a soldier thrust a spear into His side to make absolutely sure He was dead. His body was placed in a sealed tomb and guards were stationed by it to make sure His disciples couldn't steal it and make up a story that He rose from the dead.

Of course the disciples were in no shape to attempt to steal the body. They were in hiding, wondering who'd be next to be arrested, tried, convicted and put to death.

But on the third day the body was gone. The soldiers couldn't explain how a dead body could have been taken from a sealed tomb that they were guarding, so they were paid to spread a preposterous lie that the disciples of Jesus had stolen the body. Of course if that had been the case the guards would have been executed for failing to do their duty.

Jesus died for a purpose. He was the Son of God who chose to be born as a human, so that He could live a sinless life and then be sacrificed not for His sins, of which there were none, but for our sins. He even saw to it that His death would take place at Passover, when spotless lambs were slain to commemorate the time when the angel of death had passed over the households of those Israelites who put blood from spotless lambs on their doorposts in obedience to God's command.

The resurrection of Jesus on the third day demonstrated that His Father accepted the sacrifice on the cross that Jesus had made for our sins. If He had not risen from the dead then it would have meant the sacrifice was unacceptable, and there was no atonement for our sins. We would all still be under the sentence of death and rejection by God and there would be nothing that we could do about it. Calling ourselves Christians would be a waste of breath, because believing in Jesus Christ and what He did would be worthless.

Jesus did rise from the dead. He did show Himself to His disciples and many others who were so sure of having seen Him after He rose from the dead that they couldn't deny it even when jailed, tortured, or executed.

Having faith in Jesus Christ, and His death in our place, and His glorious resurrection, is what gives us hope. It is the only hope that has a firm foundation that can and will hold up for all eternity.

Take the time to read the Bible, especially the New Testament. In those pages you can find truth and hope. Take the time to see what God wants you do know from His written Word.

Oh, want to know where the body of Jesus is today? In heaven. He rose with a resurrection body that cannot ever die. One day those who believe in Him will also have resurrected bodies that can no longer get sick or die and they will be with Jesus forever as well.

How Should We do Whatever We Do?

Col 3:17 & 23-24 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him...Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. ESV

Every other Saturday a small group gets together in our home to look at and discuss a portion of Scripture. A few of the verses we looked at this past Saturday were the ones quoted above. In between verse 17 and verses 23 and 24 Paul made it clear that he wasn't just referring to what we do in church. Doing things in the name of the Lord Jesus should be reflected how we live, whether we're husbands, wives, children, parents, or even bondservants.

Nowhere in Colossians 3:17-24 does it limit how we are to treat others based on whether we think they deserve it or not. It doesn't tell us husbands to love our wives and not be harsh with them if they behave to our liking or unless they aggravate us. It doesn't tell bondservants to obey their masters if and when they happen to like how they're being treated.

In this passage of Scripture, each of the instructions given to particular groups of people is based on doing things in the name of the Lord. If Jesus is our Lord and Savior that we are His, and we represent Him in whatever we do and wherever we go.

How does Jesus want us husbands to relate to our wives? How does Jesus want wives to relate to their husbands? How does He want parents to relate to their children, and the children to their parents? How does He want servants or employees to relate to those for whom they serve in the workplace?

We can know how we are go go about doing things from what we learn from Scripture. We can learn what Jesus said and did, and what His followers explained in their writings in Scripture. It is so good to check back with what's written because we can get caught up in present circumstances and act on our feelings rather than according to how Jesus wants us to live.

Hopefully this little blog post can help remind you (and me) of how we should do whatever we do as we live out each day. Jesus is worthy of our paying attention to doing things His way. Not to earn salvation, for He's given that as a free gift. But simply because doing things His way expresses our love and appreciation for who He is and what He's done.

Who is Seeking Whom?

Rom 3:10-12  as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.  All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one."  ESV

Have you heard the term "seeker-sensitve" referring to how Christians should be sensitive to people who don't believe in Jesus as their Savior and Lord? Whenever I hear words or phrases that are being used by a growing number of Christians I can't help but want to understand what God has to say about it in Scripture.

If becoming "seeker-sensitve" means to become more like the world so worldly people will find us more attractive then I would reject the concept since we are told to "not be conformed to this world." Romans 12:2 ESV.

Indeed, the verse I opened this blog post with says "no one seeks for God" (Roman 3:10-12). Does that mean there are no seekers out there? To get the answer to that I did some Scripture searching, which I believe is the best way to find answers from God's perspective.

I found a place in the book of Acts which does use the phrase "seek God." The passage tells of when Paul was in Athens and spoke to them about how religious they were with all their idols, including one to to the unknown God. He told those people that the God who was unknown to them was indeed the God who had made the world and everything in it, and that from the one man He had made all mankind that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Paul also told them that He is actually not far from each one of us, for "'In him we live and move and have our being' (Acts 17:27-28)

Those in Athens and elsewhere in the world often wanted to be religious so they invented their own gods, and imagined what those gods were like. But none of their imaginary gods was like the one true God who made everything that was made including mankind.

For those in Athens it wasn't until Paul spoke to them that they heard about the one true God. Regarding the true God, he told them:  "The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,  because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead."   Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, "We will hear you again about this." Acts 17:30-32 ESV

God had revealed some things about Himself in the things He made.(Romans 1:18-32) But men chose to reject that and worship what they wanted to worship and do the foolish and ungodly things they wanted to do.

So it seems from Scripture that people on their own are not apt to seek to know the one true God, even with seeing all that He has made in Creation.. But that does not stop God from having people come to Him. He sent His only begotten Son to come in the flesh, as Son of God and Son of Man.

And what was His Son, Jesus, sent to do? Jesus answered that when He said: "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." (Luke 19:10) ESV

Jesus also declared, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him." (John 6:44) ESV amd "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.(John 14:6) ESV

Jesus came to seek and save the lost. The ones who came to Him and were saved were those whom the Father drew to Jesus. That was true then and it is true today. No one comes to the Father except through His Son, Jesus.

But Jesus in the flesh is in Heaven now, not here walking on the earth. So how does the Father draw them to Jesus to be saved today? When Jesus was here on earth He knew whom the Father was drawing and Jesus called them to follow Him.

Reading through the New Testament I found that again and again Christians are referred to as the "you who are called," "those who are called," and "you have been called."

 And in Paul's letter to the Thessalonians he wrote: "To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ." (2 Thes 2:14)


When the people in Athens heard Paul tell them about the one true God and the need to repent because of the coming judgement by the Man who was raised from the dead, there were some who mocked, but others who were interested in hearing more. The same is true today. There are some who mock Jesus, and there are others who are willing to hear more about Him.

What is the difference between those who mock and those who are open to hear more? I believe Jesus answered that question when He said that no one comes to Him unless the Father draws Him. I believe that among the people in Athens who wanted to hear more were those who were being drawn to Jesus.

When Jesus was here in the flesh He called people to come and follow Him. Those who followed Him heard Him tell about who He was, and that He would suffer, die, and be raised again.

On the day of Pentecost when Peter spoke about who Jesus really was, including how He been crucified, died, raised from the dead, and was now exalted at the right hand of God. The people heard the truth about Jesus, whom they had crucified, and they were shaken to the core.

Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"  And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.   For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself."  (Acts 2:37-39) ESV

Notice the forgiveness of sins and gift of the Holy Spirit was for everyone whom the Lord our God calls to Himself.


On the day of Pentacost Peter told the crowd about Jesus and the need to repent and be baptized for forgiveness of their sins. Those who believed were the ones God had called. They heard the truth about Jesus, they believed what they heard, and they therefore repented of their sins and turned to Jesus as their Savior and Lord.

Sharing of the gospel, the news of who Jesus is and what He has done, is our part in how God brings people to salvation. God does the drawing. But He uses the gospel to bring people to turn from their sin and to Jesus and His death on the Cross as their only means of forgiveness and redemption.

Paul. knew how essential it was to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. In 1 Cor 1:17-18 he wrote:  "For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.  For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." ESV

Do you know the gospel? Do you know how different it is from everything else that calls itself a religion? The gospel is not about what you can do to win the favor of some supernatural entity. That is not the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The gospel is that Jesus Christ is and always was God. He chose to become a man, being born as a baby with a real flesh and bone body like you and me. He grew up and told us who He was. People rejected that, condemned Him to die even though He was perfectly sinless. He was crucified, suffering and dying for our sins. Then He rose from the dead with a resurrection body that can never die again. He is in Heaven now and He will return, and He will judge all who reject Him.

The gospel is who Jesus the only begotten Son of God is and what He has done. Believe in Jesus as the only Savior and Lord, and your own Savior and Lord, and you have forgiveness of your sins and everlasting life with Him. Those who are called will know and believe that the gospel is true, and they will accept the free gift of salvation.

Who is seeking whom? God is seeking those whom He has called. How is He calling people?: He is using the gospel. That's what Jesus did. That's what Peter did. That's what Paul did. That is what we should be prepared to do. We can't save anybody, but we can share the gospel and God can use that as He calls people to Himself.

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog post. If you are already a Christian I hope this post will encourage you to be prepared to share the good news of Jesus Christ with others. If you are not a Christian I hope you will pray to God that He shows you that the gospel is true and that He wants you to believe in His Son Jesus as your Savior and Lord. You will be eternally thankful if you do that, and you will eternally regret it if you reject it. I hope and pray you will come to know that God is calling you to Himself through the gospel of Jesus Christ.

May I Only Teach Sound Doctrine

Titus 2:1  But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. ESV

 I love the Word of God. Reading it changed my life, for I came to believe in Jesus as Savior and Lord when I finally read a New Testament that had been lying around my house for I don't know how many years.

I also love hearing good sound Bible teaching and preaching that helps me understand the Word of God better, or be reminded of things in it that I ought to ponder.

 I also like teaching from Scripture. For several years it was my privilege to teach an adult Sunday School school class during the months of June and September. Almost always I would teach on a book of the Bible, such as the epistle to the Ephesians or the gospel of John.

Then last year health problems kept me from teaching Sunday School. So I took to writing blog posts based on Scripture. I wasn't always steadfast in keeping up with the writing of posts. There weren't very many people who were reading the posts. My health had its ups and downs, including more stays in the hospital.

But lately I've been feeling better, and I've been trying to write worthwhile blog posts from Scripture on a more regular basis.

After I wrote the recent blog post about how the name of our church was changed to include the word "Bible", I offered the link to that post to be shared with those on the email prayer chain that our church sends out.

More people read that blog post than had generally been in one of the adult Sunday School classes that I taught. People also commented on it on Facebook, which I appreciated because I do like to learn from others as well as to share what I learn.

If God wants me to continue to teach, perhaps this blog is the way He would have me do it at the present time. I've shared this thought with others, and one of the elders and our pastor agree that this may well be how God would have me use the gift of teaching while I'm not able to lead a class.

I ask that you pray for me. If I'm to teach either in Sunday School or via this blog, I want what I teach to be sound Biblical doctrine. I want to take great care to heed the words Paul wrote to Timothy: "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15) ESV

Our Church Has A New Name

This week the members of our church voted to change the name of our church from Brookville Baptist Church to Brookville Bible Church.

Now that our church has this new name, I hope and pray that we will become more dedicated and devoted than ever to know what the Bible says, and live according to what it says.

In Paul's second letter to Timothy he wrote:  All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,  that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.  (2 Timothy 3:16-17) ESV

A banner in our church declares that this is a church where Jesus is Lord and people are loved. In order for that to be true, we must know what is in the Bible and live by it. Even Jesus Himself confirmed the authority of Scripture by saying again and again "it is written" when speaking and teaching. He was reminding people that what had already been written in Scripture by Moses and the prophets was the word of God.

If Jesus is to be our Lord we must know what He wants us to know. It's not up to us to make up or to imagine what He might want us to know and do. We need to go to the Word of God and read what it says and how it says it in context.

If we are going to use the word Bible in the name of our church we want to be sure that we and all who teach in our church heed Paul's instruction to Timothy when he wrote Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15) ESV

We are to do our best. Our very best. We are to take care that we rightly handle the word of truth. We don't want to add to it or take away from it. We don't want to change it to make it more acceptable to people. We don't want to make it say what it does not say.

We don't want to misrepresent God or what God has said in His Word. If we ever do that, even unintentionally, we won't be rightly handling the word of truth.

We want to follow the example of Paul in declaring to others the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27). To do that we have to study the Bible carefully. We need to know what comes before and after passages of Scripture. We need to know what the rest of the Bible has to say about the subject that one passage addresses.

The Bible contains what God wants us to know about Himself, and what He has done, is doing, and will do.

The Bible tells us how God wants us to relate to Him, in awesome fear, obedience, worship, and thankfulness for the salvation provided by the sacrifice of His only begotten son, Jesus.

The Bible also tells us how God wants us to relate to one another, in our churches, in our families, and in the world.

The more we know what the Bible truly teaches, the more we will be able to live as the people and the church He commands us to be.

Let us all, whether members of Brookvville Bible Church or not, be diligent in learning what God want us to learn from His written Word. May the new name of our church inspire to us to do our very best to know what the Bible says to us so we can become better equipped for every good work.

Love Your Enemies?

Mat 5:43-48  "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust...You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. ESV


Jesus said some awfully hard things. It was commonly accepted that loving our neighbor and hating our enemy was completely acceptable. But Jesus told us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. He said that our Father in heaven makes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and unjust, therefore that is the example we are to follow.

By giving the example of how God loves us, providing sun and rain to everybody, Jesus let us know that He's not talking about feelings of affection. He is talking about what we do in regards to others, whether they are friends or foes. Just as God provides things that are needed by everybody, so we ought to give to others what they need regardless of how they treat us.

But being kind to those who are unkind to us isn't easy. It doesn't come naturally. If someone insults us we want to insult back...or maybe punch them in the nose.

We want to live by own own standards. We want to be just "good enough" to be acceptable to those people whose opinions we care about. But Jesus doesn't go along with that. The only standards that matter to Him are God's standards. He calls on us to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect.

Can we succeed in being perfect? No. We're sinners and even when we try our best we still fail. And often we won't even bother to try. We'd rather sin that do things the way God wants them done.

So, should we give up and just go on sinning against others and against God? God forbid that we should even think such a thing.

Jesus, who did live perfectly, was the perfect spotless sacrificial lamb to die in our place. We can be acceptable to God because Jesus paid for our sins. For that we can be eternally thankful.

If we seek to cease from sinning and sometimes fail, we can and should confess our sins and Jesus will forgive us and cleanse us (1 John 1:9). But if we intentionally sin whenever we feel like it, then we'll be declaring by our actions that we don't consider Jesus to be our Lord. Such behavior and attitude will hopefully result in chastisement by God. If it doesn't, then a person should question whether he or she has ever really been saved and adopted by God as His child (Hebrews 12:8).

Loving our enemies, being kind to those who are unkind to us, isn't what most of us want to do. But that is what Jesus did. We were His enemies. We didn't want Him to tell us what to do. But He loved us so much that He suffered and died for us, to atone for our sins.

Jesus has much to say to us that we might not appreciate hearing or obeying. But He's the boss. He knows what He's talking about. He knows what is best. And He loves us more than we can imagine. Let's thank Him for what He's done. Let's seek His help to do what He wants us to do. Let us express our gratitude by our words and deeds.

John 3:16 and also 17, 18, 19 and 20

Joh 3:16-20  "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.  And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. ESV

John 3:16 is a very popular Bible verse. People often put it on signs to display at sporting events, or have on bumper stickers. People quote it when telling others about Jesus.

The verses immediately following verse 16 are not so widely quoted. But it's important to look at them to get a more complete understanding of what Jesus was saying.

What do those verses say? They declare that whoever does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the only Son of God. Why? Because Jesus is is the light. He is the one who make clear what is really true. But a great many people don't want what is really true. They want to believe what they want to true about themselves and others and everything else.

People love the darkness that is ignorance of and rejection of the light of who Jesus is and what He has said and done.

God commands us to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. We reject that. We decide we have better things to do. We have things that we want to do and we do them rather than do what God tells us to do. And if we consider God at all we simply expect Him to go along with what we've decided to do with our lives.

God knows we're all sinners who have rejected Him. Nevertheless He made one provision for us to be accepted by Him. He sent His only begotten Son to suffer and die in our place, for our sins. Jesus and His death on the Cross is the only sacrifice that the Father accepts for our sins.

God gave us a glimpse of what righteousness would look like by giving us the Law. But all of us pick and choose the parts of His law that we agree with, and then give our own interpretation as to what they mean to us. We decide we know better than God when it comes to doing what is right based on our own evaluation of things. But none of that is acceptable to God.

Gal 2:16  yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

Jesus, and His death on our behalf, is acceptable to God. Nothing else can make atonement and make things right between us and God. If there was anything else that could make things right between us and God then Jesus, the Son of God, wasted His time going to the Cross to suffer and die for our sins.

Gal 2:21  I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.

Christ did not die for no purpose. His death paid the price for our sins. We can either believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior who died in our place on the Cross, and thereby have eternal life, or we can reject Him and what He did, and remain condemned for all eternity.

I hope you will choose to believe in Jesus as your Lord and Savior and will encourage others to do the same. Any who reject Jesus, who He is and what He has done, will regret it forever.

In Jesus All Things Hold Together

Col 1:16-17  For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.  And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ESV

This passage in Paul's letter to the Colossians does not describe Jesus as merely a profound teacher or religious leader. Jesus does teach and He does lead those who follow Him. But He is so much more than that.

This passage of Scripture, like the opening verses of the Gospel written by John, declare Jesus to be the one who created everything that has been created.

Apart from Jesus, nothing that has been created would exist. There would be no universe. No stars. No planets. No you. No me.

You and I owe our existence to Jesus. Jesus, as our creator, and the creator of everything else that has been created, knows everything about us and the rest of creation. He knows the purpose of why we and all else was created.

This passage of Scripture states that we were not created for the benefit of ourselves.Verse 17 states that all things were created through Him and for Him.

You and I and everyone and everything else was created for Jesus. Want to know what you purpose in life is? The purpose why you and everything else exists is Jesus.

This passage also makes it clear that Jesus didn't just create everything and then no longer had anything to do with it. It says that in Him all things hold together.

When Jesus was here in a flesh and blood body, He didn't cease to be who has always been and will always be. He who created everything still had power over everything. He could and did walk on water. He could and did calm a storm. He could and did make enough food to feed thousands of people. He restored crippled bodies and even brought people who had died back to life.

 He could do all those things because in Him all those things were held together. He is still holding all things together. He deserves more of our attention. We ought to learn all we can about Him and what He wants us to know. To know those things we need to know what is in the Bible.

If we're not learning what is written in the Bible we are going through life ignorant of what is really important. We were designed to be able to know and understand things. If you don't yet own a Bible, you can go online to read and study it for free. One such online site where you can do that is BibleGateway.com.

Jesus is worthy of more of our attention. He holds everything together, including you and me. Apart from Him we could not exist. Let us give Him more of the attention He deserves.

Jesus Knows What He's Talking About

Luk 5:3-8   Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch." And Simon answered, "Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets." And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 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. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord."  ESV

When Jesus sat in the Simon's boat and taught, it seems that everyone respectfully just listened to what He had to say. They considered Him to be a rabbi, and would know what He was talking about.

 But when He finished speaking to the people, and told Simon to move the boat out into deep water and let down the nets for a catch, Simon wasn't so sure Jesus understood a lot about fishing. Simon didn't refuse to do as Jesus said, but he did give a word of caution. Perhaps he thought Jesus would reconsider what He'd said and not have them attempt to catch any fish.

 But Jesus always knows what He's talking about. When the nets were let down they encompassed so many fish they began to break, and men from the other boat had to come help. As they hauled the fish aboard, filling the boat, the weight of all those fish nearly sank Siimon's boat.

But did Simon get upset by the possible loss of his boat? Or did he rejoice at how many fish he'd be able sell? No. He fell down at Jesus knees, saying "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord."

Simon realized that Jesus wasn't merely a rabbi trained to teach the Scriptures. Jesus was much more than a teacher. He either knew exactly where all those fish were, or he'd made them to be where the nets had been let down. Clearly Jesus was no ordinary man.

Having heard Jesus teach, and then seen how He had completely turned a failed night of fishing into a catch big enough to nearly sink his boat, Simon knew this was an incredible man of God. Simon knew he was unworthy to be in the presence of one so holy.

I hope we can learn some things from Simon. I hope we'll learn that Jesus knows what He's talking about. If He has anything to say about any aspect of life, then we'd better listen and do what He says.

 In this situation, Simon thought he knew more about fishing than this rabbi. In our experience we seem to think we know more than Jesus about running our own lives. By our actions we show we think we know more than Jesus does about how to be a husband, wife, worker, or boss. We establish relationships with other people based on whatever we think is best rather than Jesus says in the Bible.

 When we learn that Jesus does know better than we do about everything, I hope we'll be like Simon and acknowledge that we're sinful and not worthy even of being in His presence. When we have that kind of attitude we'll be ready to accept His invitation to follow Him and learn from Him.

Joy Over One Sinner Who Repents

Jesus said in Luke 15:10. "Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents." ESV

 The context in which Jesus made that statement was that religious leaders were critical of Jesus for letting sinners draw near to hear Him. So Jesus spoke a parable of a shepherd who will go after a lost sheep until it is found, and a woman who will seek diligently for a lost coin until she finds it. The shepherd and the woman rejoice when they find what was lost.

Finding a lost sheep or coin are worth rejoicing about. But much greater exultation takes place when a sinner repents, for that's when there is joy before the angels of God.

There is much that God says is sin that people find quite acceptable and desirable. As long as that's what they think, they'll see no need to repent. Much of what is on TV, in movies, in songs, and in books actually encourages people to do what is offensive to God.

Sin, whether people know it or not, has serious eternal consequences. The only way to escape those consequences is to gain the forgiveness that can only be found in the person and work of Jesus.

Too many Christians are complacent about telling others about who Jesus is and what He has done and taught. It is time that we learn to be better at sharing the gospel. If we don't do it, who will? If Jesus is our Lord then we ought to be doing what He wants us to do.

 Although Jesus spent time with sinners, eating and talking with them, He never did what they were doing in regards to sin. Never, in His entire life while He was here in the flesh, did He ever sin.

 Just as Jesus spent time with sinners and talked with them, we ought to do the same. But we must not join them in their sins whether they be in words or deeds. God wants them to repent of their sins and turn to Jesus for forgiveness of their sins, just as we who believe in Jesus as our Savior and Lord have done.

 We should want for others to repent and turn to Jesus for forgiveness and salvation. Whenever that happens, we can greatly rejoice, along with the angels in heaven. Let's think about that, pray about it, and act on it whenever we are able.

Why Answer a Question with a Question?

When I first saw the title of the book, Questioning Evanglism, I wondered if the author was questioning whether or not Christians should evangelize. But I discovered that the book was about using questions as we seek to tell others about Jesus.

Of course some people answer questions with questions just to avoid talking about an issue. Or they think what is on their mind is more important than the subject the person just brought up. Sometimes it is simply rude to answer a question with a question.

But not always.

In fact, Jesus often answered questions with questions. When He did so, it was the right thing to do.

Why? Because just because a person asks a question does not mean he or she wants to learn something. Questions can also be used to bring about an accusation.

When the chief priest and leaders asked questions of Jesus they were not looking to be taught by Him. They were determined to trap Him with His words so they could prosecute and defame Him. When they asked Jesus to tell them by what authority He did the things He did, He asked them a question. He told them He would answer their question if they would answer His question. He asked them whether John's baptism was from heaven or from men.

Those leaders could not or would not give an answer because they knew they if they said John's baptism was from heaven, how could they explain why they didn't follow John. Yet if they said John's baptism was from men they would risk offending the multitudes who believed John the baptist was a prophet of God. So the leaders couldn't give an answer to Jesus, so Jesus did not answer their question.

Today there are times when people will ask a question of a Christian not to learn something but as an introduction to an attack on the beliefs of Christians. No matter what answer is given, the person simply wants to argue and demean those who believe the Bible. Their mind is already made up and all they want to do is denounce Christianity.

Answering such questions with an appropriate question can do more than avoid a pointless conflict. When Jesus asked the leaders whether John's baptism was from heaven or from men, they had to stop and ponder how they might answer. Asking questions can result in people doing more thinking.

Just giving a "straight" answer might not even be understood by those asking an accusatory question. What you and they mean by certain terms may be quite different. So by asking them a question related to the topic of their question, you can find out more of what they currently believe. That can help you to ask further questions which can help them think about and articulate their perspective on important issues connected with the original "question" that was asked.

If all people want is an argument, or an opportunity to put you down, there is no reason to play their game. But if your asking pertinent questions results in a serious dialogue, then the time can be well spent.

If this subject matter is of interest to you, maybe you could get a copy of Questioning Evangelism , by Randy Newman, and read it for yourself. Or see if you know somebody who has a copy and borrow it.

Thanks for reading this post. I hope it has given you a little something to think about.

Are We Ashamed Of Jesus?

How often do we talk to other people about a book, movie, TV show, news event, or sports team that we like?

How often do we talk to other people about Jesus? Or to be more specific, how often do we talk about Jesus with people who do not believe in Him as Lord and Savior?

 Why do so many of us talk so easily about all manner of things that have no eternal consequence for anybody, yet fail to talk about the one thing that does have an eternal consequence for everybody.

Are we ashamed of Jesus?

Well, Jesus does not appreciate being ashamed of Him or His words.

Luk 9:26  For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. ESV

I certainly don't want to be ashamed of Jesus. But what should we say to others about Him? What if they ask us questions that we can't answer? Will we make a mess of things, and only further convince them that we Christians don't have a clue as to what we are talking about?

Are we afraid of offending people by claiming that Jesus is the only true Savior and Lord? But by our avoiding offending others are we then offending Christ?

So, should we rush out and confront everybody with a demand that they repent from their sins and believe in Jesus as their Savior and Lord? How effective would that be? Is that what Jesus expects of us?

Did Jesus do that while He was here in the flesh?

Not exactly. So first of all we should read Scripture and learn what Jesus did, and what the apostles did after He returned to heaven. And we should take heed to what Peter wrote:

1Pe 3:15  but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,  ESV

We ought to be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks us for a reason for the hope that is in us, and do so with gentleness and respect.

Yes, we ought to be prepared. Are you, am I, as prepared as we could be or should be to give reason for the hope that is in us?

Is there anything we can do to be better prepared to talk with others about Jesus?

I believe there is. I believe we should take a fresh look at evangelism. Rather than leave the sharing of the good news to preachers and evangelists, we should do what we can to do better when it comes to talking with others about our Lord.

Today I purchased Questioning Evangelism by Randy Newman, a rabbi who came to believe in Jesus. I read the introduction this morning, and I intend to read the rest of it in the coming days so as to hopefully be better able and more confident when talking with others about Jesus.

The introduction of the book also mentions other books that should be worthwhile reading for Christians who want to do better at letting others know about salvation.

There is More Than a Carpenter by Josh McDowell.  Know Why You Believe by Paul Little.  Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. Also The Case for Christ and The Case for Faith by Lee Strobel.

I intend to read all of these books on my Kindle reader. If you also want to be better prepared to talk with others about Jesus then I hope you will consider reading these or other books that could help you share the good news. I'm sure you can get them in whatever format is best for you.

We don't have to become an "expert" or "professional" to talk with others about Christ. But we can become better able to tell others about the hope we have in Jesus.

When Jesus returns I don't want Him to ask "why were you ashamed of Me and My words" or "why did you act as though you were ashamed of Me and My words?"

How Many Ways To God?

In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going." Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?" Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:2-6 ESV

The disciples who were with Jesus for over three years saw Him heal the sick, calm a storm, walk on water, and even restore life to a man who'd been dead for days. They also heard Him teach profound truths both to the multitudes and to themselves as they traveled about.

But for all that time they spent watching and listening to Jesus, there was still much they did not understand about Him. When He spoke about going and preparing a place for them, and coming again to take them to be with Him, they weren't sure what He was talking about.

Therefore when He told them "you know the way to where I am going" Thomas had to speak up. He felt he needed to explain to Jesus that He was mistaken. How could they know the way to where He was going if they didn't even know where it was that He was going?

Jesus wasn't perturbed by what Thomas said. He understood both the situation and His disciples much better than they did. He didn't try to resolve their dilemma by showing on a map the way to where He was going. Nor did He give them a list of directions to memorize so they wouldn't get lost on the way to the location where He would prepare a place for them to be with Him.

Instead of providing a map or directions to show the way, Jesus answered Thomas with one of the most amazing things ever spoken by anyone. Jesus told him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."

The place where Jesus was going was to be back with the Father. Later He would return and take them to be with Him in the presence of the Father. And there is only one way to come into the presence of  God the Father. That one and only way is a person,  Jesus Christ.

Why is Jesus the only way to God?

Because God is perfectly holy. We are all sinners. None of us as sinners could tolerate to be in the presence of the one true and holy God. As sinners we reject God and His Lordship over us. With our sinful thoughts, words, and deeds we rebel against God. We deny that He knows what is right for us. We declare by our actions that we deem ourselves to be better at determining what is best for us. We don't want Him to tell us how to live.

We totally deserve the judgment of God. And there is no way to fool God into thinking otherwise.

But there is a way to be accepted by God. One way. Only one way.

Jesus is that one way. He was sinless. He always has and always will do what pleases His Father. He deserves no judgment, no rejection, no punishment from His Father.

When Jesus was declared guilty by men, and crucified and put to death by men, it was not as a consequence of sinning against God. What men did to Him was because they did not like what He said, even though everything He said was true. They didn't like what He did, because they wanted to be the ones to decide who did what and when. They had decided they knew what was best and they didn't want Him around to interfere with what they wanted to teach and do.

Jesus suffered and died on the cross. He got what we deserve, not what He deserved. He went to the cross on our behalf, in our place. On that cross, His Father rejected Him, treating Him as if He had sinned the sins we have committed.

Jesus died because the wages of sin is death, and He took that payment on our behalf. His body was laid in a tomb. But on the third day after the crucifixion, Jesus left the tomb with a resurrection body what could never die again. His sacrificial death to atone for our sins was acceptable to the Father.

Only Jesus, having paid for our sins by His death on the cross, is the way we can be accepted into the presence of God. If we reject that way, if we reject Jesus and tell Him we'll find another way to be acceptable to God, we'll simply be adding more sin and rebellion against God than we already have committed.

How many ways to God? One. That way is Jesus. He is both Son of God and Son of Man, who came in the flesh as a baby so that he could be one of us, and grow up and then suffer and die for us. He got what we deserve. We can be blessed with the eternal life and unending joy that He deserves.

If at this time you do not acknowledge Jesus as your savior and lord, I urge you to take the time to get to know Him in Scripture. Read the Bible, starting with the New Testament. When you come to know Jesus, you will come to know the way, the truth, and the life.