November 17, 2015

Paul’s Message to Felix

Paul before Felix

After Paul was arrested in Jerusalem, he was taken to Caesarea where he had the chance to speak with Felix the governor. The apostle used this opportunity not to plead with the governor to release him, but to deliver a message from the gospel that Felix needed to hear.

“But some days later Felix arrived with Drusilla, his wife who was a Jewess, and sent for Paul and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus. But as he was discussing righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix became frightened and said, ‘Go away for the present, and when I find time I will summon you’” (Acts 24:24-25).

The points that Paul discussed with Felix are necessary for all of us today. Let us briefly consider them:
Continue Reading

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: , , , ,
November 17, 2014

The Root of the Problem (Part 16): Lack of Self-Control

The Root of the Problem: Why We Sin & How We Can Overcome

It is easy to look at our society today and conclude that self-control is an old-fashioned virtue. If we desire something, we should go get it. If something feels good, do it. This is the message that our culture is preaching to us. But regardless of the prevailing mindset of society, the Scriptures teach us that we must exercise self-control.
Continue Reading

Filed Under: SERIES: The Root of the Problem Tagged With: , ,
November 13, 2013

Six Things Pornography Users Do Not Want

XXX key

Pornography is a huge problem in our society. Many Christians have even fallen prey to it despite Jesus’ plain warning:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’; but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell” (Matthew 5:27-29).

Many believe pornography is harmless (or they simply refuse to admit to understanding how destructive it is). But Jesus said that lusting after someone is so destructive that one ought to be willing to go to extreme measures to remove the opportunity to lust. This is the primary problem with pornography – lust.

However, one can be guilty of lust without ever viewing pornography. While it is true that sin is committed anytime one lusts after someone, pornography is particularly dangerous. There are reasons why people choose to feed their lust in this way. It is because there are certain things that pornography users do not want. We will notice six of these in this article.
Continue Reading

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: , , , , ,
May 22, 2013

“What Am I Still Lacking?”

Jesus and the Rich Young Ruler

When we begin reading the account of the rich young ruler who came to Jesus (Matthew 19:16-22), we read of one who seemed to be a good man with a good attitude who showed a lot of promise in becoming a disciple of Christ. Notice the good qualities we are told about this man:

  1. He was spiritually minded – He was interested in eternal life and came to Jesus in order to find out how to obtain it (Matthew 19:16).
  2. He was religious – When Jesus listed some of the commandments that he needed to keep, the young man said, “All these things I have kept” (Matthew 19:20).
  3. He was interested in improving his service to God – After affirming that he had been keeping the commandments that Jesus mentioned, he asked, “What am I still lacking?” (Matthew 19:20).

Unfortunately, despite the promise that he showed initially, in the end he “went away grieving” (Matthew 19:22), presumably because he was unwilling to do what Jesus told him to do – sell his possessions, give to the poor, and follow Him (Matthew 19:21).

We need to be like the rich young ruler in the sense that we desire to grow and improve our service to God. However, unlike the rich young ruler, we must also be willing to do the work that is necessary to improve or fix what is lacking in our lives.

We might ask the same question as this man: “What am I still lacking?” Let us notice some things that might be lacking in our service to God so we can see the areas in which we may need to improve.
Continue Reading

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: , , , , ,
March 11, 2013

The Application of Wisdom: Character (Part 2)

Notes on Proverbs

In addition to the lessons we can learn from the seven abominations, there are other character traits that one will gain from his pursuit of the wisdom that comes from above.
Continue Reading

Filed Under: SERIES: Proverbs Study Tagged With: , , ,
August 17, 2012

"They Have Obeyed Their Father’s Command" (8/17)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Jeremiah 35-37.

The Lord told Jeremiah to go to the Rechabites, bring them to the house of the Lord, and give them wine to drink (Jeremiah 35:2). This was not an endorsement of the consumption of alcohol, but there was a point to this. Notice the response of these men to the offering of wine:

“We have obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he commanded us, not to drink wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons or daughters, nor to build ourselves houses to dwell in; and we do not have vineyard or field or seed. We have only dwelt in tents, and have obeyed and have done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us” (Jeremiah 35:8-10).

These were grown men (evidenced by the fact that they had wives and children). They were free to make their own choices about drinking wine, dwelling in houses, and tending to fields or vineyards. But their continued obedience to the will of the earthly father indicates a deep respect for him, especially since following these instructions would mean living a very different lifestyle than their fellow countrymen.
Continue Reading

Filed Under: SERIES: Daily Notes & Observations Tagged With: , ,
June 17, 2012

Like a City Without Walls (6/17)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Proverbs 25-26.

“Like a city that is broken into and without walls is a man who has no control over his spirit” (Proverbs 25:28).

Building walls around a city was a “great and extensive” work (Nehemiah 4:19). So why is it that so much time, effort, and resources would be used to construct these walls? It is because the walls had a very practical and necessary purpose. They were to help protect the city in the event of an attack.

Understanding the purpose of the city walls is essential to understanding this proverb from Solomon. One who cannot control himself if vulnerable.
Continue Reading

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