until then we encourage you to visit a sister blog, https://www.lordletmegrow.com/freebiblestudy

The Bible can be described in various ways. It is a light (Psa. 119.105), a seed (Lk. 8.11), and a sword (Eph. 6.17). It can also be viewed as a gift. In Jn. 17.14, Jesus said, “I have GIVEN them Your word. In 2 Tim. 3.16, Paul wrote, “All Scripture is GIVEN by inspiration of God.” In 2 Pet. 1.3, Peter wrote, “…His divine power has GIVEN to us all things that pertain to life and godliness.” Since this is the holiday season, let us consider how some of us might treat gifts that are given to us during this time. Let us notice six similarities between the Bible and a gift.

The gift must be opened to be used. A child knows that! The Bible is the same way. It must be opened to be used. To gain from its pages we must be like the godly man in Psalm 1. We must delight in it and meditate in it day and night!

Some like the gift’s pretty package, but they get upset when it is opened because it is not what they expected. Some react to the Bible in the same way. They are excited to study it and learn until they read something they are not willing to accept. In John 6.66, many of the disciples left Jesus. The context reveals that He was teaching them a hard saying and they would not accept it.

Some play with the packaging of the gift more than the contents. Some treat the Bible that way. They may purchase one with an attractive cover, carry it so others will see them with it, and even put it in obvious places around the house to be seen; yet, they do not practice opening it to get the benefit of reading and applying it to life. Jesus said, “If you KNOW these things, blessed are you if you DO them” (John 13.17).

Some use the gift briefly and then put it away. The Bible is often treated in much the same way. One is curious. He looks in the Word for what he wants. When he finds it he quits looking. He misses what God says in a multitude of other areas. James said, “But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does” (1.25).

Some gifts are given that make both the giver and the one who receives the gift happy. That has to do with the attitude of both the giver and the receiver! The Bible is just such a gift. The giver (God) certainly has the right attitude. The receivers (us) must have the right attitude in order to receive the happiness found therein. Psalm 144:15 says, “Happy are the people who God is the Lord!”

Some truly appreciate the gift, noting that it is the thought that counts and not the price. While many truly appreciate the Bible, it ought to be said that both the thought AND the price matter with God’s Word! The thought of the gift comes from a loving Father Who sacrificed His Son for us (John 3.16). The price of the gift comes from a loving Son Who shed His blood for the new covenant (Mat. 26.28).

Think about it!

Kevin Williams

Some form of the word “prepare” is used 161 times in the Bible. Some form of the word “ready” is used 89 times (“be ready” – 13 times). Many times these phrases are used in what I would call an “incidental” fashion. In other words, the use is not theologically significant. Our focus in this study will be on a few of the important uses of this word, so that we can better understand the kind of readiness and preparedness that the Lord desires and requires of us.

PREPAREDNESS FOR JESUS AND HIS KINGDOM

From the outset of the New Testament, John’s mission was to prepare mankind for Jesus and His coming Kingdom (see Lk. 1:17). His message involved the necessity of turning to Jesus in repentance and baptism (see Mk. 1:4) in preparation for receiving the eternal kingdom (see Dan. 2:44). This kingdom is also referred to as the church (see Mt. 16:18-19).

Today, mankind must prepare for the kingdom through turning from sin and being baptized for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38). At this point, the Lord adds one to His glorious kingdom (see Acts 2:41, 47; Jn. 3:3, 5; 1 Cor. 12:13; Gal. 3:27).

This is the beginning of preparedness!

PREPARED FOR EVERY GOOD WORK

The New Testament indicates multiple times that God’s children ought to be ready for good works. While some minimize the need for good works, James describes the Christian without good works as living by a dead faith (see James 2:14-26).

Instead, Paul said that Christians are “created in Christ Jesus for good works” (Eph. 2:10). The word “for” here denotes that good works are the purpose of the Christian life. Thus, Paul told Titus to remind the brethren “to be ready for every good work” (Titus 1:3).

Christians, who are saved by the righteousness of God, strongly desire others to obtain that salvation, and are willing to engage in the work of the Lord toward that magnificent end (see Titus 3:4-5)! Ultimately the works of the Christian are toward an eternal end, or else they are no better than the good works of any other humanitarian organization. Jesus came to “seek and save the lost” (Lk. 19:10). His mission is ours!

PREPARING FOR FUTURE SERVICE

While there are always things Christians can do in the Lord’s service, the Bible also speaks of preparation to make oneself more useful to the Master. Paul told Timothy in 1 Timothy 3:1, “If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task” (or, a good work). Yet, as we read the qualifications that follow (along with those in Titus 1), we observe that this is a work that has been prepared for. The same may be said of the work of deacons. In fact, the text says in verse 10, that they are to “be tested first.” In other words, they have faithfully prepared themselves for this position and now meet the divine qualifications.

The truth is that every Christian ought to be in continual training for better and further service in the Lord’s kingdom. Growth in grace and knowledge (2 Pt. 3:18) ought never to be minimized, as it aids in one’s service in any and every area of God’s kingdom.

Hebrews 5:11-14 indicates that some Christians have had plenty of time to be teachers of God’s Word, but they are not because they are “dull of hearing” (v. 11). Sincerely feeding on the Word of God produces good Bible teachers (see 1 Pt. 2:1-2).

Next week we will conclude this brief study concerning our preparation as God’s servants. Let us remain prepared in the kingdom of our Lord by retaining penitent hearts, being ready now for good works, and exercising the discipline needed for greater service in His Kingdom.

Daren Schroeder

With about 620,000 fatalities, the American Civil War caused more American deaths than any other war. Thousands fell on battlefields under Union or Confederate rifle fire. The death toll eventually rose to about 2% of the American population, which would correspond to some six million out of America’s population today.

Only a fraction of those deaths resulted directly from battle wounds inflicted by the enemy, though. In fact, about two-thirds of Civil War deaths were attributed not to wounds but to infection and disease. You might not think of infection as a major war-time killer, but in the 1860s doctors and scientists were just beginning to understand the role microorganisms play in disease. It was only that very same decade that Louis Pasteur was conducting his ground-breaking microbiology experiments, and the germ theory of disease had not yet been developed.

So looking back from the vantage of modern science, we can see that the Union and Confederate forces were both fighting an invisible enemy: germs.  Unbeknownst to the human combatants, billions of microorganisms proliferated inside their bodies and spread unchecked to other humans. The pathogens caused life-threatening diseases like pneumonia, typhoid fever, dysentery, and malaria. Some of these diseases could have been reduced by practicing basic hygiene, but at that time people simply realize the nature of their invisible enemy or how to fight it.

As Christians, we too are fighting an invisible enemy. That enemy, the devil, is actively seeking to destroy us (1 Peter 5:8), but we never see him in physical form. Paul described our spiritual foe as “the rulers,… the powers,… the world forces of this darkness,… the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12, NASB). Thankfully, the apostle also gave some guidance on how we should engage in spiritual warfare (Ephesians 6:10–17). God provides a set of armor perfectly designed to protect us in mortal spiritual combat. We are invulnerable to the attacks of the evil one when we have taken up truth, righteousness (v. 14), the gospel (v. 15), faith (v. 16), salvation, and God’s word (v. 17).

Today, most of us can hardly imagine being exposed to a deadly infection without taking deliberate steps to protect ourselves. How much more ought we take care to don our God-given armor to protect us from the devil’s deadly attacks against our souls? Let’s be always mindful of the spiritual war that rages around us, and let’s take full advantage of God’s armor so we “will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm” (Ephesians 6:13).

Peter Yukich

The clear voiced country singer, Willie Nelson, was recently honored by his peers on his ninetieth birthday. Now I would not hold Willie up as a role model for anyone,  but I will confess to liking many of his songs. In a recent interview this Nashville rebel said, “Live everyday like it is your last, and some day you will be right.”

While I may like his voice and enjoy his songs, when the last day comes for the guitar strumming Texan, I would not want to be in his shoes. I know what Willie means in this statement, but it is not the right approach to life.  It is as Isaiah said of Israel’s lifestyle, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we may die” (Isa. 22:13). Both statements reflect the idea of enjoying the pleasures of the world to the max before you die, with no regard to what awaits you at death.

As Christians we say, “For to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Phi. 1:21). We live our life “in the world, but not of the world.”  Our lifestyle is not to seek the pleasures of the world but to “seek first the Kingdom of God (Mt. 6:33). We do not follow the fatalistic view of Job that “Man, who is born of woman, is short-lived and full of turmoil (Job 14:1), but that “This is the day which the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psm. 118:24). We live everyday ready, if it is our last, to go home to be with the Lord, “which is far better.”

-Dennis Doughty

Rick Waggoner began driving his morning bus route just as he had for the last ten years. He was forced to pull over when his bus broke down. Three young men approached the bus and savagely proceeded to shoot Rick twice in the chest, once in the hip, and also stabbed him in the arm. Amazingly, the two bullets that hit his chest were stopped by none other than Rick’s Bible! He had a habit of keeping a Bible in his shirt pocket. Even though Rick said it felt like he had been hit with a sledgehammer in the chest, he was alive  Rick was then able to wrestle away the gun and knife from the young guys and chase them off.  Rick was saved, quite literally, by his Bible.

Even though this Bible saved Rick from physical death, this is not the main purpose of having a Bible, of course. The Bible provides other benefits which are exponentially more valuable. Billions of Bibles have been sold around the world. Billions of people own a Bible. And yet, how many of them actually know about the eternally saving power contained in this book? The number is tragically small.

The Bible tells us how to receive this eternally blessing from God, “Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Brethren, what shall we do?’ Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit’” (Acts 2:37-38).

Yes, apparently your Bible can stop a speeding bullet; maybe even two. However, the true benefits of the Bible reach well beyond this life and into eternity. Are we keeping our Bible close to our hearts or is our Bible dusty, forgotten, and perhaps even lost? Only when we study and apply the Bible to our lives can we be spiritually saved by this wonderful book.

Brett Petrillo

My childhood preacher died this past week. Even reading that sentence as I write it, I don’t like the word “died.” I could have said “passed away” or “went home,” but it wouldn’t change the reality of it.

I have some special memories of Terry Broome. My family moved to South Georgia when I was 3.5 years old. We attended Forrest Park Church of Christ where Brother Terry ministered. I recall knocking doors with him before I was school aged. One Sunday night he was preaching and the power went out. He went right on preaching. This was before the days of iPads or smartphones with flashlights. He knew his stuff well enough to plow on in the darkness. I could share many more, but suffice it to say that my earliest impressions of ministry came from observing Terry Broome.

Thanks to the influence of several older Christians in my youth, I know firsthand the blessings of the generational mentorship we find in Scripture. Men like Terry Broome were my “Paul” and I was to them “Timothy.”

I once heard a respected professor make a statement about how we would be remembered. He said the preachers in the Restoration Movement that we remember are those who wrote most prolifically. It’s true that today, if we “know” someone who lived more than a generation before our time, it’s probably because we’ve read about that person or read their own writings.

As important as writing can be, I believe one of the greatest ways we live on is by mentoring others in the faith. One of the key focuses of Jesus’ ministry was the discipling of the apostles. He mentored them and then promised to aid them through the Holy Spirit once He completed His earthly work (cf. John 14:26).

Mentorship is a key element of biblical Christianity. So, dear Christian, look around you. Do you have a “Paul” in your life, whom you look to as an example and spiritual mentor? Do you have a “Timothy” whom you can encourage and guide by example?

If you do it right, someday someone might remember you the way I’m remembering Terry Broome. I can think of no higher compliment.

Clay Leonard

When God decided that He wanted to create man, He also knew that the Word would have to become flesh in order to pay the penalty for the sins which man with a free-will would commit. Consequently, before Jesus could come to earth, there needed to be chosen:

A woman – Mary

A nation – Israel

A land – Palestine

A Law – Law of Moses

The main idea I want to consider is the role of the modern nation of Israel in God’s plan for saving man…

This aspect of Premillennialism believes there will be:

1) A future restoration of the Jews to the land of Palestine;

2) Their subsequent (mass) conversion of Jews to Christianity.

To word it another way, “Premillennialism” believes that the Jews are still God’s chosen people and they still have a role to serve as Jews in God’s plan to save mankind.

Here is the Bible’s response to this:

The Jews had inherited the Promised Land:

One of the core components of the “covenant” God had made with the fathers (see Gen. 12:1-3) is the land of Canaan in which to dwell. As I have already stated, that promise was repeated dozens of times to Israel to motivate them to stay faithful to God as they entered the Promised Land and to never take for granted that wonderful blessing.

But, we need to observe that God said He had fulfilled all His promises relative to the “land promise:” Deut. 4:25-27; 28:58-66; Joshua 21:43-45; 23:14. And it was fulfilled in its entirety: 1 Chronicles 18:3; 2 Chronicles 9:26.

Of course, Israel had to obey God to remain in the land: 2 Kings 17:1-23; 24:1-20; 25:1-21.

There is a promise of a return, but it is a return from Assyrian and Babylonian exiles: Jeremiah 29:1-14; 30:1-3; Ezekiel 36:24, 33; 37:15-22. That promise of return was fulfilled as well: Ezra 1:1-4. There are no unfulfilled prophecies for the Jews of any future blessings in Palestine, or any other country.

We know that the “Jews” living today are not God’s chosen people because:

1) The Law which created the Jews has been nailed to the cross: Romans 7:1-4; 2 Corinthians 3:4-11; Galatians 3:23-29; Ephesians 2:11-22; Philippians 3:2-6; Colossians 2:13-17; Hebrews 8.

2) Physical circumcision has no spiritual significance at all anymore: Romans 2:28-29; 4:10-12; Gal. 3:27-29; Col. 2:11-12.

3) Terms used of national Israel are now fulfilled in the church: Galatians 6:16; 1 Peter 2:9-10; Rev. 1:6.

The church of Christ is the spiritual Israel of God; it is our task to share the message of the Kingdom with those around us.

Paul Holland

Texting is all the rave these days. But you have to be careful to send the message you really want to send, especially if your phone has autocorrect. For instance, someone observed that thanks to autocorrect, 1 in 5 children would be getting a visit from Satan last Christmas. Some other wag texted, “The guy who invented autocorrect for smart phones died today. Restaurant in peace.” Then there was this exchange between a mother and her son:   * Mom: Your aunt just passed away. LOL.   * Son: Why is that funny?    * Mom: It’s not funny, David! What do you mean?   * Son: Mom, LOL means Laughing Out Loud.   * Mom: Oops! I thought it meant Lots of Love.

Whether all texts convey what the sender really means to say or not, texts are flying off our fingertips and out of our phones. Statistics on texting are staggering. Some 81% of Americans text regularly. Over 6 billion texts are sent daily. Over 180 billion texts are sent every month. 27 trillion texts are sent every year. America is responsible for approximately 45% of the world’s text volume. Adults under 45 send and receive 85+ texts every day, on average. Adults 18-24 years old send and receive over 128 texts every day. Adults 18-24 years old send and receive 3,853 texts a month. I can’t go on with this except to note that texting, like just about every other technology, is a mixed bag. It can be so helpful, but also so harmful. If used reasonably it is a useful tool and can even be fun. But if allowed to, it become a tyrant that turns in to an addiction. Like other potentially dangerous activities, maybe there should be a warning to texters that says something like, “Text responsibly.”

Now that I’ve said all that, let me print out the greatest text that has ever been sent, and it was sent almost 2,000 years ago, before anybody on earth ever thought of “texting,” let alone sending one on a smart phone. That “text” is found in what always polls as the most famous and favorite verse in the Bible — John 3:16. It reads this way in the New King James Version: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”  No single verse in all the Bible more effectively captures the heart of what we call the gospel or good news of God’s love and desire to save mankind from sin than that 25-word text! It is the most frequently quoted, used (and we might add, misused), and preached verse in the Holy Scriptures. Consider this from Bible scholar of past years B. C. Goodpasture. He wrote, “Forty men engaged in writing the Bible over a period of 1,500 years (1,400 B. C. to 100 A. D.). They wrote as moved by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21) and not in words of human wisdom but in words given by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:13). The Bible contains 3,566,840 letters; 773,746 words; 31,173 verses; 1,189 chapters; 66 books (39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New).”

He goes on to say, “We cannot be far off the mark when we insist of all letters, words, verse, chapters and books in the Bible, none more effectively and comprehensively captures in a single statement of Scripture the Good News God brings to mankind that    the statement in John 3:16.” Amen, Bro. Goodpasture! John 3:16 is simply the greatest text ever sent!

Dan Gulley, Smithville TN

Do you ever find yourself wanting to question God? If so, you are in good company; the psalmists do the same:

Why doesn’t God do something about the prosperity of the wicked?

Why doesn’t God do something about the misery of the afflicted?

I have just finished reading Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s book The Gulag Archipelago, about the Communist concentration camps in Russia. The barbarity with which men can treat other human beings can be astounding. And not just physical torture either… within the last 100 years, millions have lost their homes, jobs, possessions, families, and even their lives because of the ruthless actions of wicked people. It’s not necessarily people who claim to be Christians who are persecuted. I’m speaking in broader, more generic terms; often good people, who just want to live their lives in peace, are abused by people in power.

Throughout the OT and even into the NT, God has expressed a special concern for widows, orphans, and the helpless. Often times, those who are righteous simply do not feel God’s presence…

QUESTIONING GOD 10:1:

If I am a child of God, a Christian, then why do bad things happen to me? And we still allow our hearts to believe that God is punishing us for something we have done. And that’s just not a biblical belief.

REJECTING GOD 10:2-11:

What one believes determines how one lives; the wicked say:

“There is no God” – 10:2-4.

“I shall not be moved” – 10:5-8.

“God doesn’t see me” – 10:9-11.

TRUSTING GOD – 10:12-18:

How do we know that God will bring about justice for the afflicted? Because He has a history of helping the orphans (ver. 14). That’s why the righteous commit themselves to Him.

God sees what is going on (ver. 14).

God judges sin (ver. 15).

God is king (ver. 16).

God defends His people (ver. 17-18).

The Lord hears the desires of the humble.

Paul Holland

“Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. 2 And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3 And they said to one another, ‘Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.’ And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. 4 Then they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.’ 5 And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. 6 And the Lord said, ‘Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.’ 8 So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. 9 Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth.”

(1) ONE LANGUAGE? (v. 1)

Chapter 10 mentions “languages” (see vv. 20, 31). The sometimes perceived contradiction here lies in that we anticipate a chronological account, but that is not what Moses provides. Chapter 10 is the genealogy of Noah which extends many generations after the flood (see v. 32). Verse 25 (of that chapter) is a reference to when the confusion of languages occurred (“for in his day the earth was divided”). Chapter 11 does not pick up at the end of the genealogy, but goes back to that time when there was but one language.

(2) THE REBELLIOUS OBJECTIVE OF THE PEOPLE (vv. 2-4)

The descendants of Noah selected a land they intended to “settle” in (v. 2). The burning of bricks was to make them very strong and durable (long-lasting). They wanted to erect a city that would unite them. This sounds good, but unity has never been the ultimate objective of God’s people. True unity must be found in the Lord’s will, not in rebellion to it! In this case, they were seeking to make a name for themselves (v. 4) and were seeking to keep from being dispersed. (See also Dt. 1:28.) Not only were the aspirations of the people rooted in arrogance, but they were in direct opposition to what God had told mankind to do: “fill the earth” (see 8:17; 9:1, 7).

(3) THE LORD’S OBSERVATION (vv. 5-6)

Human characteristics are given to the Lord in Him “going down to see” what was going on (v. 5). Of course, God knew what was going on! The people being unified in arrogance was a catastrophic condition that would lead them to a similar place as before the global flood (see 6:1-6).

(4) GOD’S ACTION (vv. 7-9)

The phrase “come let us” (that the people use twice in verse 7) is interesting in at least two regards: (1) The Lord uses the same phrase in verse 7. God’s “let us” trumped their vanity and rebellion! (2) Secondly, the “let us” here takes our minds back to the creation account when God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…” (1:26). The Godhead was involved in creation and the Godhead would be involved in the situation at Babel.

God’s approach was to confuse the one language into many. Obviously, this caused an insurmountable problem with the construction of this city and brought it to a sudden halt. At this point the Lord dispersed the people over the face of the earth.

The word “Babel” meant “gate of God” but there was a very similar sounding Hebrew word (balal) that meant “confused.” Instead of Babel being the gate to heaven, it became the gate to earthly confusion.

The Genesis account proceeds from here to the call of Abram and the three-fold promise God makes to him. God is patient and has richly blessed us through the seed of Abraham!

Daren Schroeder

Pope Francis recently stated that he believes in hell, but likes to think of it as “empty” because of God’s mercy. That is a change from what he believed in 2018 when he told a friend that he didn’t believe hell exists!

This leader has millions of followers, so hopefully they don’t agree with Francis. In fact, they might do him a favor by quoting the Bible:

“Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, ‘Depart from me, ye curse, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his an- gels” (Matthew 25:41).

And they need to emphasize to their Pope that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, even gave some statistics regarding how many would occupy hell, comparing it with heaven’s occupants:

“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:  Be cause strait is the gate, and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:13-14).

Wayne Price

Sought by Saul, David lived a life on the run. His enemies were powerful and determined to snuff out his life. But David had the only ally that matters. Looking back on the deliverance that God accomplished and the salvation that God won for David, the king of Israel praised the King of all creation.

“I love you, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies” (Psalm 18:1-3 ESV).

David describes Jehovah as “my rock and my fortress and my deliverer.” To David, God is a “shield” and a “stronghold.” We have no trouble visualizing those illustrations. We can envision God as a fortress built upon a high mountain. He is impenetrable. “None of those who take refuge in him will be condemned” (Psalm 34:22).

The phrase “the horn of my salvation” is more puzzling to us. Only twice is the phrase found in the Old Testament and both are the words of David (see 2 Samuel 22:3). What does David have in mind?

Those who have encountered animals like domesticated cattle know how much power resides within even the most docile of cows. Add horns and the danger increases. Now imagine an animal feared for its ferociousness. The Cape Buffalo is perhaps Africa’s most dangerous animal. It is more feared among hunters than lions or rhinoceros.

The ox represents such strength in scripture. In Moses’ final blessing upon Israel, he refers to the tribes of Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh) as a “firstborn bull” who has “majesty” and whose “horns are the horns of a wild ox.” With these horns he shall “gore the peoples, all of them, to the ends of the earth” (Deuteronomy 33:17). Balaam refers to God being to Israel “like the horns of the wild ox” (Numbers 23:22; 24:8).

The horn was power, majesty, and deliverance. God was the horn of salvation.

How compelling it is that after John’s birth, his father Zechariah prophesied about Jesus, and used this same phrase.

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David” (Luke 1:69, 70).

Jesus is the horn of salvation. He saves us not from an injurious country, an insolent neighbor, or an inconvenient request, but from our ultimate enemy. He saves us from Satan, sin, and ourselves. He saves us from the certain and imminent spiritual death toward which we were all hurtling.

We need a champion. We need a conqueror. We need a horn of salvation. We cannot be victorious alone.

Victory in God looks different than worldly victory. God’s people who live in victory live in light and peace.

It is because of the “tender mercy of our God” that light shines upon us from above and guides our feet into the way of peace (Luke 1:78, 79).

May we all live in the light of God and walk in the way of peace.

Lee Parish

For years, workers and visitors flocked to the sight of silvery dust flakes that floated to the floor in a mill where steel strips rolled over pads in a tall cooling tower. In his book The Heat: Steelworkers’ Lives and Legends, steelworker Joe Gutierrez tells how beautifully “the snow danced in August.”

Then people discovered the dust was asbestos. “Everybody breathed it,” wrote Gutierrez. He now suffers from the slow, choking grip of asbestosis, as do many plant workers.

“Who am I? I’m everybody. Can’t walk too far now. I get tired real fast, and it hurts when I breathe sometimes. And to think we used to fight over that job,” he says.

How many things in our culture resemble the silver flakes in that steel mill? They’re enchanting but deadly. Meditate on Caiaphas with me for a few minutes…

CAIAPHAS WAS A RELIGIOUS PERSON:

He was the virtual leader of the Jewish people, from a  religious perspective. To be high priest, to speak to God for men, and to speak to men for God, should not only have lifted a man into nobility; it should have kept in his view the supreme purpose and the spiritual function of the church, the kingdom, which Jesus Christ the Messiah had come to establish.

We know Christians who have forgotten about the exalted and the pure. They have been distracted by this world and so they play loosely with “Truth” and forget the greatness of the kingdom of God and its richness. Spiritual talk makes them feel uncomfortable and endangers their own “church” or “kingdom” which rules in their own hearts.

CAIAPHAS WAS CLOSED MINDED:

Caiaphas had been influenced by hundreds of years of false teaching, a false approach to Scripture – the pattern for the priesthood for Caiaphas was what had happened in the years before he entered the office – not the pattern God had given him in Exodus and Leviticus. Caiaphas did not keep an open mind, he did not “test all things, hold fast to what is good” (1 Thess. 5:21); he did not have a discerning mind.

CAIAPHAS HAD A DARKENED HEART:

Caiaphas could easily imagine the followers of Jesus getting out of control and the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, could interpret their actions as insurrection. He could then send in the Roman soldiers who would crush the temple and the priesthood and there would go Caiaphas and his priesthood and his pride.

So he made his determination: “He must be put to death!”

The church of Jesus Christ needs members with pure hearts. She needs wise counsel and energy and conversation that is healthy and wholesome. She needs members who are patient and untiring in their efforts to serve.

Listen to the voice of Jesus Christ. Open the gate of your heart wide so that the King of Glory can come in and reign over your thoughts and words and actions.

Paul Holland

INTRODUCTION:

Any man who is fair and honest with himself will readily admit that in the final analysis he is dependent upon God for all his blessings. No man could live in this world a single hour without God’s benefits. Yet, in the face of all this, it is a notable fact that man is seldom satisfied with the things that God so graciously bestows upon him. A thoughtful consideration of these truths should cause man to realize that his nature is depraved through sin, and that he should seek to get back to God.

1. MAN AND HIS HOME IN EDEN:
   1. Jehovah gave Adam and Eve a home in the Garden of Eden and told them how they might keep it, but not being satisfied to do as God command them, they lost it. Genesis 3.
   2. Man has been told how he may regain the lost paradise, but he is not satisfied to follow God’s instructions and he will have no one to blame but himself if he is finally lost.

1. ISRAEL’S DELIVERANCE FROM EGYPTIAN BONDAGE:

1. The life of the Israelites was a bitter one while they were serving the Egyptians (Exo. 1:13-14). But God in his goodness led them out of that bondage and instead of showing their appreciation for his kindness, their after-life was one of almost continual murmuring. They complained about the way they had to travel, their food, drink, the giants in the land, walled cities, etc.
2. Both the Scriptures and human experiences teach us that the way of sin is hard (Prov. 13:15). God in his mercy delivered us from the bondage of sin (Rom. 6:16-18), yet how often do we complain of our lots as Christians?

III. THE MISUSE OF THEIR GOD-GIVEN RICHES:

1. Before the people left Egypt, God gave them favor with the Egyptians, and when they requested it, they gave them jewels of gold and silver (Exo. 12:35-26), but it was not long afterward until these things were made into an object of their worship (Exo. 32:1ff).
2. The same God has bestowed many material blessings upon us but how often do we worship them instead of God!? The Israelites were not satisfied to use their blessings as Jehovah intended, and neither are we (Heb. 13:5; Mal. 2:2).

1. THE REMEDY FOR THIS UNHOLY ATTITUDE:

1. Not only do these examples demonstrate that man is blessed, yet not satisfied, but they also emphasize the fact that human nature is the same in all ages of time.
2. The only cure for this disorder is to realize that if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature, or there is a new creation (2 Cor. 6:17), and that if he wants to please God, he must walk after that rule (Gal. 6:15-16). There must be a putting off of the old man and a putting on of the new man (Eph. 4:22-24). Then it will be that he may find himself.

a sermon by the late Wayne E. Holland

preached at:

Hiawassee, GA (1/08/1984)

Roxboro, NC (7/15/1989)

Henderson, NC (1/14/1997)

Have you ever heard of an upside down Christmas tree? Some of the first trees to be offered were 18 years ago by a New York based company called Hammacher Schlemmer. The trees retailed for $600. The company’s website advertised that the tree would make it easier to see ornaments and would allow more room for the accumulation of presents underneath. Other retail sites got in on the action and now you can order a 7’ tall Christmas tree through Amazon for $74 or through Home Depot for $160 (which is pre-lit)…

When we become a follower of Jesus Christ, our world gets turned upside down. When we truly try to start walking by faith and not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7), we learn what it means to trust God for His promises. We will not obey Jesus in any way until we trust Jesus.

Let’s take a look at the first event recorded in Luke in which Jehovah God sent a messenger from heaven, for the first time in four hundred years! Gabriel will turn Zacharias’ and Elizabeth’s world upside down.

THE HOPELESSNESS OF MAN – 1:5-7:

Now, you might feel that your own situation in some way is hopeless. But its when we have found ourselves hanging on to the end of our rope that we quit trusting in ourselves and we begin trusting God and His promises. Do you think God wants you to be successful and to use your skills in His service? Then you’ve got to trust Him to do that in His own way.

THE MESSAGE FROM GOD – 1:8-13:

Now here, the message from Gabriel to Zacharias is this:

1) Your petition is heard. Do you trust God to hear your prayers? Do you trust God to answer your prayers? Mark 11:24; John 14:13; 1 John 5:14.

2) Specifically relative to Zacharias, “Elizabeth your wife will bear you a son.” Elizabeth was sterile, but through the power of God, she will give birth to a son. When Gabriel appears to Mary, Jesus’ mother, with a similar but even more astounding message, he tells her: “Nothing will be impossible with God” (1:37).

3) Then, Gabriel, reflecting God’s plans, gave John his name. The name “John” means “a gracious gift” or “merciful God.” Either way, it would be a reminder of Elizabeth every time she called his name that he was God’s gift.

THE MESSENGER OF JESUS CHRIST – 1:14-17:

This paragraph is the most important from a theological perspective of this whole section. Who is this messenger of Jesus? What was he supposed to do?

Through this work, John the baptizer would “make ready a people prepared for Jehovah.” In other words, after hearing John preach, then the Jews would be ready to accept Jesus as Jehovah God in the flesh and their Savior.

THE UNBELIEF OF MAN – 1:18-20:

When you and I open ourselves to being led by God, both in the Scriptures and through prayer, He will guide us where He wants us to be, doing what He wants us to do. This miracle, among all the miracles in the Bible, are designed to help us have faith and confidence in the word of God so that we will trust the promises of God.

THE WORDLESS MESSAGE – 1:21-23:

When Zacharias finally exited the tabernacle, he was not able to talk. Then the people realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. He “kept making signs” to them but remained mute. That makes me wonder if he thought that, perhaps, if he tried talking to them and told them about Gabriel, that God would give him his speech back. But, it didn’t work, not until after John’s birth and Zacharias wrote on a tablet that the boy’s name would be “John” (ver. 63-64).

THE WORD FULFILLED – 1:24-25:

When God answers our prayers, the best thing we can do is thank Him and worship Him. We praise God because of answered prayers. And it strengthens our resolve to trust Him more strongly and more broadly in the future.

It really will turn your world upside down when you learn what it means to trust God’s word. Your prayers will be answered and your life will be enriched.

Paul Holland

Two birds flew over a desert. Both birds saw the same scenery, but they each viewed them differently. The vulture noticed the rotting flesh and decay because that’s what it was looking for. But the hummingbird ignored the dead animals and instead looked for the colorful blossoms of desert flowers. The vulture thrives on what was and lives off of the past. They fill themselves with what is dead and gone. But hummingbirds live on what is, they search for new life, and they fill themselves with the freshness of life. Two birds flew over a desert, and they both found what they were looking for.

We all have the ability to choose what it is that we focus on. Each one of us has the ability to choose our attitude in life. God saved us for a reason, and that is so we would glorify Him with our lives. If we choose an attitude of discontentment or laziness we are failing to fulfill our divinely given purpose. Having the proper attitude helps us mentally, spiritually, and even physically. So what should our attitude look like?

God wants us to have an attitude of gratitude for letting us be a part of His saving plan (Look throughout the psalms!). Gratitude is choosing to focus on the positive. It is to be grateful for what we have been blessed with and not what we don’t have.

We should have an attitude of excitement in getting to help others find and grow a relationship with God. It is a God-given privilege to be a part of the work of the Kingdom. We are doing what really matters, and we should be excited to be a part of such a great work.

We should also have patience (Gal. 6:9). Times will get tough. It won’t always be easy to show excitement and gratitude. It’s in the trials and testing that our patience is needed. We must have a patient attitude knowing that God holds the future in His hands (Psa. 31:14-15).

If we have this proper attitude it will help us glorify God through our actions. These actions include important things like bearing fruit for the Father (John 15), fighting as soldiers for Christ (2 Tim. 2:3-4), and running in the Christian race (1 Cor. 9:24-27).  Having the proper attitude will strengthen our dedication to the Lord. We receive salvation from God and in return we must be dedicated laborers and workers in the Kingdom (Col. 3:23; Matt. 5:16).

Just like those two birds that flew over the same desert, we have been given the ability to choose what we focus on and what our attitude will be in life. Two people can go through the same terrible event and respond in two entirely different ways. God created us with the power of choice. We have the power to choose what our attitude will be. We can either focus on the bad in this world, the hopelessness, the sin and decay. Or we can focus on glorifying God with an attitude that He approves of.

Carl Pollard

The writer of Hebrews (13:5) quotes from Deuteronomy 31:8 and Joshua 1:5: “Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you.”

See the power of this promise illustrated in the longest chapter in the book of Genesis… It records a very significant event in the life of Abraham and in the fulfillment of God’s plan. Abraham needs a family. He has Isaac, but one child does not guarantee progeny.

SCENE ONE – 24:1-9:

God had promised Abraham that He would bless him (12:1-3). That blessing has now turned into reality: “Jehovah blessed Abraham in all things.” Isaac did not have a wife and he was mourning the loss of his mother (24:67), apparently now for three years.

SCENE TWO – 24:10-27:

Abraham’s faithful servant bowed down and worshiped Jehovah God for answering his prayer. To say that he blessed Jehovah God means that he praised God for His blessing on the servant. The servant felt that the loving loyalty and faithfulness God had shown to Abraham was now being shown to the servant.

SCENE THREE – 24:28-49:

Israel needed to be assured that if / when God promises to send His angel / messenger before them, He means to do just that (cf. Exo. 33:1-3). Christians are also reminded that God has angels as His servants on behalf of Christians (Heb. 1:14), but even more than that, Christians are reminded that God will never leave them nor forsake them (Heb. 13:5-6).

SCENE FOUR – 24:50-60:

Rebekah will prove to be a strong woman, as we see her again in chapters 25 and 27. After chapter 27, Rebekah will not play a significant role; later references to her will only be references (28:5; 29:12; 35:8; 49:31).

SCENE FIVE – 24:61-67:

Isaac had gone out, perhaps to meditate in the field. When they came close enough to speak, the servant related to Isaac what had happened. Knowing that God had worked all things together for Isaac’s good, Isaac took Rebekah into the tent of Sarah, indicating that Rebekah was the new mistress of the family. Isaac took Rebekah as his wife and her love comforted Isaac after mourning for his mom for three years.

CONCLUSION:

The promised seed continues.

Throughout this whole event, God has not acted. There is no miraculous event in all of this; but the astute reader will recognize God working “behind the scenes” in His providential way. While the angel of Jehovah has also been mentioned by Abraham and the servant, there is no record of the angel actually doing anything. God can work just as effectively in the normal, everyday affairs of life as He can through miracles. From Christians, it just takes trust in Him to work out what is best for His servants (Rom. 8:28) and prayer for His will to be done (James 4:15). This account ought to encourage Christians to pray in faith (Luke 18:1; 1 Thess. 5:17).

Trust God’s powerful presence in your life.

Paul Holland

The typical response when first hearing of tragedy or hard times is, “oh no. I’ll be sure and pray for you.” I have been on the receiving end of that response, but have also been on the offering side of it as well. Truth be told, I’m sure I have let down a lot of people when it comes to my prayer life.

Prayer is such a divine privilege and often gets taken for granted. Before Christ, going before God was done through a priest. Even kings couldn’t do such a task without a priest; consider the pride and fall of king Uzziah (2 Chron. 26:18). There have also been times in the Old Testament scriptures where God has told individuals, “do not lift up a prayer for this people” (Jeremiah 7:16). God wanted to hear prayers of only the contrite and faithful. The same theology can be found in the New Testament as well (John 9:31). Luckily for us, we have Jesus who takes the spot as High Priest and allows us to go before the throne despite our flaws (Heb. 4:14-16).

Personally, I’m trying to do better about flippantly saying, “I’ll be sure and pray for you.” That kind of statement ought to carry a great deal of weight between the three involved parties; the receiver, the requester, and the listener. There are few more comforting thoughts in this world than to know that someone is kneeling before God’s mighty throne, having a divine conversation with my name included in the dialogue. That type of action is a responsibility that I, as a Christian, am obligated to do for others.

The problem comes down to a finite memory and simply remembering those who need prayers. You’ll find your prayer life becoming more consistent when praying for others instead of self constantly. Here are some practical ways to help our weak minds remember those in need:

1. Prayer Journal – Among the other ways to keep track of prayers, this is my favorite method. Perhaps the coolest aspect of a journal is the ability to look back through time and become a witness of how God works through prayer. Find a journal no larger than your cell phone or wallet in order to keep it on you.
2. The Echo Prayer App – If you have a smart phone, put it to use. There’s a handy app called “Echo Prayer” which utilizes your phone to create a prayer journal. I’ve used it before and have enjoyed my experience with it.
3. Good old fashioned bulletin – maybe it’s a product of being a “secretaries kid,” but I find the Sunday bulletin to be an invaluable method of keeping people in your prayers. This can also be found in digital form in your email.
4. Simply mean it. When you tell someone you’re going to pray for them, consider it an eternal reliance on you. You’ve got a job to do, so do it. You’ll find yourself growing closer to God and His people with each prayer.

   Tyler King

Astonishingly, the Nephilim have been all over social media lately, and that’s because of an appearance they made at a mall in Miami! At least according to some. Let’s give some attention to the first few verses of Genesis 6. The text reads:

“When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. 3 Then the Lord said, ‘My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.’ 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.”

Some have the strange notion that the “sons of God” in this text refers to wicked angels, and then actually go on to say that they came down to earth and had relations with “the daughters of man” and whose offspring became known as the “Nephilim.” This is actually taught in the apocryphal book of 1 Enoch and is believed by many today. But is this what the Bible really teaches?

We should note that the phrase “sons of God” does at times have reference to angels (see Job 1:6; 2:1), but not always, and definitively not in our text. The “sons of God” here almost certainly refers to the more righteous line of Seth, as compared with the wicked line of Cain, “the daughters of man.” The magnitude of evil on this earth came to a climax when the righteous line of Seth intermarried with the wicked line of Cain. God desires “godly offspring” (see Mal. 2:15), but that is not naturally occurring when the righteous marry the wicked. The seemingly innocent beginning of this problem, which led to the global flood, was marriages based largely on beauty.

The “Nephilim theory” may be debunked very quickly noting that angels are not even sexual beings! (see Mt. 22:30). The simple truth of this matter does not set well with those looking for novel things more than true and biblical things. But this fact is insurmountable for the one who believes Scripture.

We should also note that this intermarrying between these lines did NOT produce the Nephilim, period! This is simply not what the text says. The Nephilim were already a people before this ever occurred. Verse 4 says, “The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterwards when the sons of God came into the daughters of man…”

So, who are these Nephilim? The end of verse 4 says, “These were the mighty men that were of old, the men of renown.” Two things we learn here is that they: (1) “Weren’t born yesterday,” (or in the days that Genesis 6 refers to) and (2) They had quite a reputation.

We also read about the Nephilim in Numbers 13:33 which says, “And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.” Though the Nephilim were certainly known for their size, they were also known for being just as human as anyone else, like the Philistine giant, Goliath (see 1 Sam. 17).

Let’s read the Bible carefully and seek to understand what it really says and means instead of seeking to find something novel.

Daren Schroeder

There is a spiritual war going on. We are in the midst of this constant struggle between good and evil. In the trenches and the front-lines, we fight this battle on a daily basis. However, we are not alone in this battle. We have a leader who volunteered to show us the way.

There are many acts of bravery documented in Stephen E. Ambrose’s book D-Day. One account that has stuck with me is about Lt. Robert Mason Mathias serving as a platoon leader in the 82nd Airborne Division.

Lt. Mathias was riding in a C-47 Dakota over France at 0227 hours on June 6. Nearing the jump zone the plane starting to take flak from German guns. Lt. Mathias stood and took the first jump position at the open door. You may think this is strange. Leaders are supposed to take up the rear where it is safe. However, this is not the case in the Airborne. The leader is the first to jump out the door. As Lt. Mathias was standing in the door a shell burst beside him. Red-hot flak ripped through his reserve chute into his chest, knocking him off his feet. He pulled himself back to his feet as the jump light came on. He could have stayed on the plane and gotten medical care. Instead, he raised his right arm, yelled out “Follow me!” and leapt into the night. Whether Lt. Mathias died on the way down or from the impact of landing is not known. He was the first American officer killed by German fire on D-Day.

In like manner, our spiritual leader was not willing to command us from the safe confines of heaven. Knowing well what it would cost Him, our Lord made the leap from heaven to earth. Jesus entered the front-lines of the battlefield and ordered us to follow him (Matthew 10:38). Lt. Mathias and countless other soldiers sacrificed themselves to free Europe from the oppression of totalitarianism and protect the freedoms we enjoy today. Likewise, Christ, upon the cross, sacrificed Himself to free us from the oppression of sin (Matthew 26:26-28). When you find yourself feeling alone and lost in the battle, remember that Jesus has been there before. He has fought the battle and won the war. What we must do is follow him.

Thom Vaught