July 29, 2015

Ten Years

Deep in Thought

“So, remove grief and anger from your heart and put away pain from your body, because childhood and the prime of life are fleeting” (Ecclesiastes 11:10).

Every hour, day, and year that passes is forever lost. Once time has passed, we can never get it back. Jesus said it is impossible to “add a single hour” to our lives (Matthew 6:27).

Within the last year, I have hit three different ten-year milestones in my personal life – the tenth birthday of my oldest son; ten years working with the church in Morgantown; and, with this article, closing out the first ten years of Plain Bible Teaching. This has led me to reflect upon how much can happen in a decade. So in this article, we are going to focus on five different ten-year periods in the Bible and see what lessons we can learn.
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July 27, 2015

The Psalm of the Word (Part 2): Purity

The Psalm of the Word

How can a young man keep his way pure?
By keeping it according to Your word.

With all my heart I have sought You;
Do not let me wander from Your commandments.

Your word I have treasured in my heart,
That I may not sin against You.

Blessed are You, O Lord;
Teach me Your statutes.

With my lips I have told of
All the ordinances of Your mouth.

I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies,
As much as in all riches.

I will meditate on Your precepts
And regard Your ways.

I shall delight in Your statutes;
I shall not forget Your word.

(Psalm 119:9-16)

After emphasizing the fact that God’s word is a blessing to us, David discussed a characteristic that will be developed in the lives of those who faithfully follow the word – purity.
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July 20, 2015

The Psalm of the Word (Part 1): Blessing

The Psalm of the Word

How blessed are those whose way is blameless,
Who walk in the law of the Lord.

How blessed are those who observe His testimonies,
Who seek Him with all their heart.

They also do no unrighteousness;
They walk in His ways.

You have ordained Your precepts,
That we should keep them diligently.

Oh that my ways may be established
To keep Your statutes!

Then I shall not be ashamed
When I look upon all Your commandments.

I shall give thanks to You with uprightness of heart,
When I learn Your righteous judgments.

I shall keep Your statutes;
Do not forsake me utterly!

(Psalm 119:1-8)

David began this psalm by introducing the idea that God’s word is a blessing to us. Why should we recognize the word of God as a blessing, and what should we do as a result?
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July 13, 2015

The Psalm of the Word (Introduction)

The Psalm of the Word

The longest chapter in the Bible is Psalm 119. Its one hundred seventy-six verses are divided up into twenty-two eight-verse stanzas. The entire psalm focuses on a single theme – the word of God.

While the psalm covers a single theme, each of the twenty-two stanzas emphasizes something different about God’s word. As we study the psalm, we learn what the word of God is, what it gives us, and what it requires of us.

In our study of The Psalm of the Word, we will examine each stanza individually and see how it fits with the overall theme. As we do this, we will make application to our lives as Christians.
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June 2, 2015

“Lord, To Whom Shall We Go?”

Signpost

“As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. So Jesus said to the twelve, ‘You do not want to go away also, do you?’ Simon Peter answered Him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life’” (John 6:66-68).

Public opinion can quickly change. This chapter in John’s gospel began with Jesus miraculously feeding five thousand people – and this number only included the men (John 6:1-13). As a result, the people concluded, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world” (John 6:14). Believing this, they were ready “to come and take Him by force [and] make Him king” (John 6:15), even though this would require them to do battle against the powerful Roman army. But by the end of the chapter, all of them had left except for His twelve disciples (John 6:66-68).

Why did the crowd leave Jesus? There are at least two reasons for this:
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April 7, 2015

A Letter to Little Children

1 John

Seven times in John’s first epistle, he referred to his audience as “little children.” He was not writing to actual “little children.” He was writing to Christians. But Christians are to be like “little children” – innocent and in need of guidance and protection. We are also “children of God” (1 John 3:1). In this article, I want us to consider the seven instructions that John gave to the “little children” and see what we should also do today.
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April 1, 2015

Is Divine Revelation Ongoing Today?

Looking toward heaven

“For this reason, I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace which was given to me for you; that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief” (Ephesians 3:1-3).

Paul told the Ephesians about the mystery he received by revelation. He was referring to divine revelation – a message that came from God. As an apostle (Ephesians 1:1), the Holy Spirit guided him “into all the truth” (John 16:13) so that he could say, “The things which I write to you are the Lord’s commandment” (1 Corinthians 14:37).

Does this type of divine revelation still occur today? Many people claim to receive messages directly from heaven. But does God reveal His will directly to people today like He did with Paul and others? It is important that we know the answer to that question. So let us consider it here.
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