Category: Reflections Articles

The common characteristic of men who pleased God in the Bible is the devotion they showed to God. For example, Abraham’s son Isaac, “And Isaac went out to meditate in the field in the evening…” (Genesis 24:63). Or, David’s practice of prayer and meditation. “Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice” (Psalm 55:17). “When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches” (Psalm 63:6). Our greatest example, the Lord Himself, customarily sought solitary places at times where he could immerse Himself in His devotions to His Father. “Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed” (Mark 1:35).

While I am typically unimpressed with the books and helps that are supposed to facilitate “devotional time”, the private efforts to focus our minds on prayer, meditation, and Bible reading are a laudable endeavors. Those who seek to draw near to God are successful! As David told his son Solomon, “As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever” (1 Chronicles 28:9). God wants this closeness, but it takes effort on the part of man to obtain it. “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded” (James 4:8). Continue reading “A Life of Devotion” →

In 2 Corinthians 4 we have an interesting comparison between the precious gospel of Christ, and the men and women who possess that gospel.  In verse 4 Paul describes the good news in the following way, “the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

In contrast,  in verse 7 he simply states, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels.” Such a great dichotomy. The treasure is ultimate, of inestimable value. The vessel in which it is housed is not significant in comparison to the contents.

The value of the gospel is clearly indicated in scripture.  In Romans 1:16, Paul writes that it is “the power of God to salvation.”  In another place he wrote, “it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe” (1 Corinthians 1:21).  In fact, the Lord Himself weighed in on the subject, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come”  (Matthew 24:14). Continue reading “Earthen Vessels” →

“Where is the promise of His coming” (2 Peter 3:4).  This was the question that scoffers asked as time passed in the first century, and the world continued.  Many in that time (both Christians and unbelievers) misunderstood the fact that the promise of Jesus’ second coming did not necessarily mean he would come within a few months or years of His leaving the earth after His resurrection from the dead.

The teaching of both Jesus and the apostles — that Jesus would come, that no one knows the exact time of His return, but that it was important to be prepared — is teaching that every generation needs to take to heart.

Consider that accepting that teaching will cause a child of God to live faithfully throughout his life, as he looks for and seeks to hasten “the coming of the day of God” (3:12). Continue reading ““Where is the Promise of His Coming?”” →

Back in 2018, when Beto O’Rourke ran for the senate against Ted Cruz, I received a political phone call from O’Rourke’s campaign. I decided to make a point. I told the worker I would never vote for someone who used profanity in campaigning, like he did. It floored the young lady. “But, he is so passionate about his positions.” She couldn’t understand why profanity could be considered such a negative.  She had never heard such a thing!

Beto was fairly novel at the time. Of course, societal use of profanity has a long history in our nation. But in the public discourse of political speech (not in the backrooms, but in campaign speeches and television appearances) it was still rather uncommon. Continue reading “God’s View of Profanity” →

We are disciples of Jesus of Nazareth. We believe as did Peter and his fellow apostles that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). This faith in the Sonship and Deity of Jesus is an indispensable aspect of our discipleship. It also has great ramifications, specifically in the area of authority, and the legitimacy of receiving worship from man.

Jesus has been given “all authority…in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18). This indicates the Father’s intention to establish in His son a new covenant and new kingdom. We are told in the last days that God has “spoken to us by His son, who He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds” (Hebrews 1:2). Jesus is uniquely God’s means of redeeming men to Himself. Continue reading “Praise the Lord” →

You have heard of it, have you ever wondered what Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” really was?  The reference is to the first 10 verses of 2 Corinthians 12. Let’s consider a bit of context:

First, Paul referred to himself in the third person, by writing, “I know a man in Christ…” He referred to an occasion fourteen years previous where he had received a vision from the Lord. Interestingly, an examination of Paul’s timeline indicates that this vision is only related here. In other words, there is no indication he had mentioned it before. The nature of the vision is not known by Paul (3), but it is not the only vision he had received or would again receive (1).

His reference to this vision is to establish to the Corinthians his standing as an apostle. Though, as a humble man, such self-referencing was not a comfortable thing.  In fact this is what his opponents did, which may have had an effect upon some Christians, necessitating Paul’s boasting of his vision on this occasion. Normally he was reticent, “But I refrain, lest anyone should think of me above what he sees  me to be or hears from me” (6). Continue reading “Thorn in the Flesh” →

Among the instructions Paul gave to the church in Colossae was the need for prayer. He wrote, “Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains, that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak” (Colossians 4:2-4).

Persistence in prayer is a teaching consistently emphasized in scripture. One example of this is a parable Jesus taught, recorded by Luke in his gospel. It is commonly called the Parable of the Persistent Widow. A woman makes an appeal to an unjust judge who initially had no desire to help her, but because of her persistent petitions, was eventually moved to do as she asked. “…He said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’  Then the Lord said, ’Hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily’” (Luke 18:4-8). Continue reading “Continue Earnestly in Prayer” →

In his second epistle, the apostle Peter had much to say about the prophets of old. He used them to explain the difference between God’s message and the counterfeit teaching of men, both in old times and now.

In the latter part of the first chapter, he wrote of the blessed nature of prophecy. He noted that Jesus was identified as the Christ, the Son of God, by the fulfillment of the prophecies of old. His conclusion: “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation,  for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:20-21). Continue reading “False Prophets Among the People” →

In 2 Thessalonians 2, Paul refers to an important and often misunderstood part of our experience as Christians, our being God’s “chosen” or “elect.” Paul wrote in the 13th and 14th verses, “But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Continue reading “Understanding Our Choosing” →

The Old Testament taught a harsh form of justice, especially under certain circumstances. For example, if two men fight, with the pregnant wife of one man losing her child,  Exodus 21:23-25 states, “then you shall give life for live, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.”

Things are different under the New Covenant.  That doesn’t mean that the civil government does not have a responsibility to impose punishment (sometimes harsh) upon the evildoer.  “Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake” (Romans 13:2-5). Continue reading “Old Fashioned Punishment” →

Consider these words from Paul’s pen, “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (Ephesians 5:15-17).

The first consideration in this passage it to determine what is wisdom! Remember the following words, “…the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1 Corinthians 1:25). This is not to say that you can’t gain wisdom from men, you can. However, it is easy to be duped into thinking that someone or something is wise when that’s not the case! Any time anyone tells you that wisdom dictates what is a violation of God’s will, they are wrong. They are as the false teachers of Peter’s day, “But these, like natural brute beasts made to be caught and destroyed, speak evil of the things they do not understand, and will utterly perish in their own corruption” (2 Peter 2:12). Continue reading “Walking in Wisdom” →

A wonderful lesson is taught in Hebrews 7, concerning our priesthood under the New Covenant. It surpasses in greatness the priesthood of the Jews, which existed as a type of what would come in the last days. The Hebrew writer argues this truth in a very interesting way. By using Melchizedek, the king of Salem.

Who was Melchizedek? We know his title and significance, but nothing of his life. In fact, he is described in the text as being “without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life…” (7:3). This does not mean that Melchizedek was more than a man, it is simply noting that Melchizedek exists in the narrative of the Old and New Testaments to teach something about Christ. We don’t know or need to know anything about where he came from. We don’t know when he was born, or when he died. We just know him to be both the king of Salem and a priest of the Most High God. Because of this lack of information regarding Melchizedek in the pages of the Bible, it is as if he, “remains a priest continually”, thus foreshadowing the eternal nature of Christ’s priesthood. Continue reading “The Priest of God Most High” →

“Woe to those who devise iniquity, and work out evil on their beds! At morning light they practice it, because it is in the power of their hand. They covet fields and take them by violence, also houses, and seize them. So they oppress a man and his house, a man and his inheritance.”

Micah 2:1-2

It has been said that Micah’s prophecy served as a statement of God’s “lawsuit” against his rebellious people. Micah witnessed the destruction of the Northern Kingdom at the hands of the Assyrians, and the chastisement of the southern kingdom of Judah by the same nation. Continue reading “Mistreating Others” →

“Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one” (Colossians 4:5-6).

Paul’s instructions to the Colossians should be heeded by all of Christ’s disciples. Whether it be those outside the body of Christ as indicated here, or our own brethren, unmindful speech is a common cause of strife and rancor. Continue reading “Graceful Speech, Seasoned by Salt” →

A few days ago we had a power failure for a number of hours in our neighborhood. This is uncommon, as our area has always been consistently powered despite storms, etc. It might have been a problem if it had lasted longer, but we were without light and heat only for a few hours. We opened up the blinds, covered up in blankets, and got along well enough.

It was also a blessing, in a way. I remember waking up that morning to no fan, no beeps, no humming, nothing but silence. It actually was disconcerting at first, but Debbie and I thoroughly enjoyed the quiet. It was also interesting when the power came back on.  We didn’t have the lights on, but the beeps, humming and fans revealed our return to modern civilization. Continue reading “Silence & Noise” →