Monthly Archives: October 2018

Our Precious Modern Ears

woe-to-you-when-all-people-speak-well-of-you-for-so-their-fathers-did-to-th-esv

We would love to have a strong preacher like John the Baptist, wouldn’t we?

When the crowds came out to be baptized by him, he said, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath! Produce fruit in keeping with repentance!” (Luke 3:7-8)

How about now?

Our precious modern ears don’t like such strong language. Our precious modern feelings don’t want to be offended. Our precious modern egos flinch at such plain words.

Have we forgotten texts like:

“Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you!” – Luke 6:26

and

“Obviously, I’m not trying to be a people pleaser! No, I am trying to please God. If I were still trying to please people – I would not be Christ’s servant.”- Galatians 1:10

J.C. Ryle said,

“There is no ‘charity’ in flattering unconverted people. My chief desire is to exalt the Lord Jesus Christ, make Him beautiful & glorious in the eyes of men, and to promote the increase of repentance, faith, & holiness upon earth. I am one of those old-fashioned ministers who believe the whole Bible and everything it contains.”

Imagine that.

The Wrong Seed For The Harvest You Desire

Gal 6 7

Be careful what seeds you are planting, watering, and ultimately – harvesting. It would be crazy for a farmer to plant corn and then expect sunflowers. Likewise, don’t expect joy, patience, and good will, if you are planting seeds of doubt, anxiety, and fear,

“You will always harvest what you plant.” – Gal. 6:7 (NLT)

“When your eyes are upon your symptoms and your mind is occupied with them more than with God’s Word, you have in the ground the wrong kind of seed for the harvest that you desire. You have in the ground seeds of doubt. You are trying to raise one kind of crop from another kind of seed. It is impossible to sow tares and reap wheat. Your symptoms may point you to death, but God’s Word points you to life,”  ― F.F. Bosworth, Christ the Healer

Why I Choose To Believe the Bible

Why do you believe the Bible?

Ever been asked that? What was your response; I was raised in the church? I tried it and it worked for me? I don’t know really, I just have faith?

Nope. That just doesn’t cut it.

“I chose to believe the Bible because it’s a reliable collection historical documents written by eyewitnesses during the lifetime of other eyewitnesses. They report supernatural events that took place in fulfillment of specific prophesies, and claimed that their writings were divine rather than human in origin.” – Voddie Baucham

Sound familiar? It ought to:

“For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” – 2 Peter 1:16-21 (ESV)

Know what you know. Properly defend it.

THE WAY THE TRUTH THE LIFE

I believe you are… THE WAY, THE TRUTH, THE LIFE

“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’” – John 14:6

In the Beginning God

in the beginning

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” – Gen. 1:1

“in the beginning” in Hebrew is one word: reshith.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” – John 1:1

John here is connecting Jesus to the Creation event. At Creation was the Word, which is to say: Jesus.

Skip over to Prov. 8 (verses 22-31).

“22 ‘The Lord possessed me at the beginning of His way,
Before His works of old.
23 I have been established from everlasting,
From the beginning, before there was ever an earth.
24 When there were no depths I was brought forth,
When there were no fountains abounding with water.
25 Before the mountains were settled,
Before the hills, I was brought forth;
26 While as yet He had not made the earth or the fields,
Or the primal dust of the world.
27 When He prepared the heavens, I was there,
When He drew a circle on the face of the deep,
28 When He established the clouds above,
When He strengthened the fountains of the deep,
29 When He assigned to the sea its limit,
So that the waters would not transgress His command,
When He marked out the foundations of the earth,
30 Then I was beside Him as a master craftsman;
And I was daily His delight,
Rejoicing always before Him,
31 Rejoicing in His inhabited world,
And my delight was with the sons of men.’”

– Prov. 8:22-31

This is Wisdom personified speaking. All scholars agree that Wisdom is, in fact, Jesus. Christ is the wisdom of the Father. Jesus is saying He is eternal, He was there with the Father at Creation, and that He delighted at His Father’s handiwork.

Jesus mentioning Himself as being “at the beginning” is the same Hebrew word: reshith.

So when Moses says “in the beginning,” he is not just referring to the start of time, but to a Person; Jesus. One could substitute “in the beginning” with “in Christ.” In essence, the very first words of the Bible are “in Christ.” Right from the start, the Bible begins by alluding to the Son. It’s a pretty amazing little nugget.

“For in Him all things were created, things 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. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” – Col. 1:16-17 (also note Rom. 11:36 and 1 Cor. 8:6).