Andy Sochor, Author at Plain Bible Teaching

Andy Sochor June 4, 2012

One Who Commits Adultery Lacks Sense (6/4)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Proverbs 4-6.

“Can a man take fire in his bosom and his clothes not be burned? Or can a man walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched? So is the one who goes in to his neighbor’s wife; whoever touches her will not go unpunished” (Proverbs 6:27-29).

This is one of several passages in the book of Proverbs that warns against adultery. The number of times it is addressed should make us realize how dangerous this sin is. Besides that, we all know of cases of a person, often one we would not expect, who has gotten caught up in this sin.

The world will tell us it is alright to look and lust as long as we do not commit adultery. The Scriptures teach us not even to look and lust because this leads to adultery (cf. Matthew 5:28; James 1:14-16).
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Filed Under: SERIES: Daily Notes & Observations Tagged With: adultery, lust, sin

Andy Sochor June 3, 2012

The Beginning of Knowledge (6/3)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Proverbs 1-3.

The book of Proverbs is a book about wisdom. Wisdom, as we often point out, is the application of knowledge. So in discussing wisdom, we need to have the proper foundation of knowledge. But how do we begin to acquire knowledge. Solomon gives us a starting point:

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:7).

If we want to acquire the knowledge that will enable us to gain the wisdom that God desires us to have, we must have an appropriate fear of the Lord. There are a few reasons for this:
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Filed Under: SERIES: Daily Notes & Observations Tagged With: fear, wisdom

Andy Sochor June 2, 2012

A Lily Among the Thorns (6/2)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Song of Solomon 1-8.

“I am the rose of Sharon, the lily of the valleys.”

“Like a lily among the thorns, so is my darling among the maidens” (Song of Solomon 2:1-2).

We occasionally hear Jesus referred to as the rose of Sharon or the lily of the valley. The description of the bridegroom and his beloved in Song of Solomon is seen by some as an allegory describing Christ and His bride, the church. Ironically, these verses that have been used to describe Jesus are not referring to the bridegroom, but the bride. While there may be some statements that could be stretched so as to make a parallel with Christ and the church, Song of Solomon is simply a description of the love a couple has for one another – before and after marriage.
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Filed Under: SERIES: Daily Notes & Observations Tagged With: marriage

Andy Sochor June 1, 2012

What Is Lost Because of Sin

Satan tempts us to sin by highlighting its supposed benefits. The Scriptures acknowledge that there is a certain amount of pleasure that can be derived from sin. Yet Moses understood that such pleasure was “passing” and that the rewards for rejecting God could not compare with God’s rewards for the faithful (Hebrews 11:25-26). But Satan does not want us to look beyond what is immediately before us. He wants us to focus on the temporary pleasures we can gain from sin and ignore those things which we stand to lose because of sin.

What is it that we stand to lose because of sin? To answer this, let us consider what was lost in the beginning when sin was first introduced into the world.
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Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: fellowship, forgiveness, heaven, Jesus, obedience, sin

Andy Sochor June 1, 2012

"Redeem Me From the Oppression of Man" (6/1)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Psalm 119:89-176.

“Redeem me from the oppression of man, that I may keep Your precepts” (Psalm 119:134).

Throughout this psalm, David expressed his love for God’s word and his determination to follow it. Yet here he mentioned a potential obstacle for his obedience – oppression. David certainly experienced this in his life. Therefore, he was well aware of the challenges that oppression presented to faithful obedience. So his prayer to God was for this obstacle to be removed.
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Filed Under: SERIES: Daily Notes & Observations Tagged With: persecution, prayer

Andy Sochor May 31, 2012

"She Was Deeply Stirred Over Her Son" (5/31)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from 1 Kings 3-4; 2 Chronicles 1; Psalm 72.

Solomon is remembered for his wisdom which was given to him by God. The first example in the Scriptures of him using his wisdom was in the dispute of two women arguing over which one of them was the mother of a particular child after the child of the other woman had just died.

“Then the king said, ‘The one says, “This is my son who is living, and your son is the dead one”; and the other says, “No! For your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.”‘ The king said, ‘Get me a sword.’ So they brought a sword before the king. The king said, ‘Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other.’

“Then the woman whose child was the living one spoke to the king, for she was deeply stirred over her son and said, ‘Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and by no means kill him.’ But the other said, ‘He shall be neither mine nor yours; divide him!’

“Then the king said, ‘Give the first woman the living child, and by no means kill him. She is his mother’” (1 Kings 3:23-27).

Filed Under: SERIES: Daily Notes & Observations Tagged With: parenting

Andy Sochor May 30, 2012

The Want of Records

Near the end of his book, Early History of the Disciples in the Western Reserve, Amos S. Hayden lamented the fact that there were not more records from the previous generations from which his generation could learn. He wondered if future generations would have an even harder time finding the writings and history of their predecessors.

“In these pages, personal knowledge and gathered data have, in part, supplied this lack. But this source of information is, with the passing generation, rapidly going down to the dumb grave; the silent receptacle of all things human.

“The scribe was a man of high authority among the Jews, a little vain, and a sweep of his robe somewhat too ample. The horn of oil made the nation jubilant when it was emptied in the consecration of a priest or a king. But the horn of ink has made many nations joyful by its recitals of their deeds, and its transmissions of their jubilees.
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