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Words of Wisdom Articles are mini articles that have been printed in the Oneida, TN, Independent Herald newspaper since September 2019. “Words of Wisdom” is published online weekly and available on: www.ihoneida.com/words-of-wisdom/ . 

1-30-2024                              Snow                       NEW
Since our annual average snowfall is about four and one half inches, this recent eight inch in one episode snowfall, coupled with about ten days of sub-freezing temperatures has forced us to realize some things:

(1)Since “snow [comes] from heaven” (Isaiah 55:10), bringing its “treasury” (Job 38:22), then God has blessed us by this outpouring.

(2) No human effort caused or stopped this winter blast because God promised, “While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease" (Genesis 8:22), and God’s still in charge.

(3) There is no “climate change” or “global warming,” for our part of the globe still obeys God, not man!

(4) God promised that our sins “shall be as white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18), so “Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.' (Acts 22:16). 

1-23-2024                      Who Can Come To Church?                       NEW
Christians who continue “steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:42), and the “uninformed or unbelievers” who want to learn God’s Word (1 Corinthians 14:16, 23-25). And Christians will not be judgmental of them: “My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, ‘You sit here in a good place,’ and say to the poor man, ‘You stand there,’ or, ‘Sit here at my footstool,’ have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?” (James 2:1-4).
 
1-16-2024                     No Gospel Censorship                       NEW
Jesus’ Gospel commanded “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). The obedient number of men had grown to “about five thousand” (Acts 4:4). Jewish leaders said, "’But so that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them, that from now on they speak to no man in this name.’ And they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said to them, ‘Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard’" (Acts 4:17-20). 

1-9-2024                      “Sorcery”                       NEW
When King Manasseh completely abandoned God, he “caused his sons to pass through the fire in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom; he practiced soothsaying, used witchcraft and sorcery, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger” (2 Chronicles 33:6). All societies that abandon God resort to these same kinds of practices: heartless sacrifice of their children; vain and completely false sources of spiritual information; and immoral behavior before God. “Sorcery” today would be called “drug abuse.” Problems then and Jesus’ answer now is to: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:15-16).
 
1-2-2024                      What’s “New” For 2024?                       NEW
What would make this a “new” year for you? a: new job? new house? new car? new clothes? We can change our “things,” but some things must stay the same: our relatives; our habits; our past year; our memories. What would truly make this a “new” year is if each one of us would change ourselves, then we would make this a “new” year for those around us. If we follow Jesus Christ, it requires “that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:22-24). Change what we can – ourselves.

12-26-2023                   The Influence of Jesus Christ                       NEW
“And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen” (John 21:25). Jesus’ impact was too great for historians to deny it; His effect was too great for theologians to change it; His motive was too great for sinners to ignore it; His church is too great for apostates to smear it; His miracles were too great for false prophets to imitate them. The written Word of God contains more power than the world can hold, and the worldly can admit, for it teaches us “that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age” (Titus 2:12). Truly, all that I am I owe to Jesus Christ, revealed to me in His divine Book.

12-19-2023                   Why Is There No More “Peace on Earth?”                       NEW
Angels announced at Jesus’ birth: "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!" (Luke 2:14). Why, then and now, is there not “peace on earth?” It is because there are not more men of goodwill! “Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ; not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men” (Ephesians 6:5-7). Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you” (John 14:27). Peace on earth only happens in those who follow the Prince of Peace. 

12-12-2023                            Salvation Finally Revealed                        NEW
“For whatever things were written before were written for our learning” (Romans 15:4). “Our learning” must come from studying the events written in the Bible. God’s plan to save both Jew and Gentile through Jesus Christ, and add the saved to the church of Christ, is in the New Testament, not the Old Testament. Paul wrote that God’s Plan, “... In other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets” (Ephesians 3:5). Peter commanded Jews: “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38); and Gentiles “to be baptized in the name of the Lord” (Acts 10:48). Jesus saves “from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses” (Acts 13:39). 
 
12-5-2023                     Fulfilled Prophecies                        NEW
Peter’s second sermon to the Jews in his day said: “Yes, and all the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days. You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities” (Acts 3:24-26). Jesus came and fulfilled what the Old Testament prophets had spoken and written, after they spoke and wrote it. Otherwise, there is no such thing as fulfilled prophecies. Notice that the prophecies came first, then the fulfillment in “these days” of Jesus Christ; and the Gospel was preached to the Jews first, then to us. 

11-28-2023                   Can We See God?
While on Earth, Jesus said to Philip: “He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?” (John 14:8-9) Thus, Jesus “is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation”(Colossians 1:15). Jesus is the “image” (Greek icon) of “the invisible (Greek aorata) God.” Jesus emphasized, “Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father” (John 6:46). “Idolatry” is any, and every, attempt to make God or Jesus visible to our physical eyes, whether it is done with statues, Creches, paintings, or trinkets. This is why: “Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man's devising” (Acts 17:29).   

11-21-2023                   Kick A Goal – Not God!
With a career-ending injury in her final game, a soccer “star” said: “I’m not a religious person or anything and if there was a God, like, this is proof that there isn’t.” If there is no God because she is injured, whom did she thank for her ability to play that game, since it is God who “gives to all life, breath, and all things” (Acts 17:25)? Truly the Psalmist said: “The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God; God is in none of his thoughts” (Psalm 10:4). Eliphaz rightly reasoned: “For affliction does not come from the dust, Nor does trouble spring from the ground” and "But as for me, I would seek God, And to God I would commit my cause” (Job 5:6, 8). Job asked, “Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?" (Job 2:10).

11-14-2023                            Are You Sure?                       
“Have I not written to you excellent things Of counsels and knowledge, That I may make you know the certainty of the words of truth, That you may answer words of truth To those who send to you?” (Proverbs 22:20-21). The Holy Spirit inspired Luke to write his book on the life of Jesus Christ “that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed” (Luke 1:4). Jesus said people were “mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God” (Matthew 22:29). To two disciples, Jesus, “beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself” (Luke 24:27). When only Scriptures are studied, we can be absolutely sure of their conclusions, “For God is not the author of confusion but of peace” (1 Corinthians 14:33).  The Bible is right!

11-7-2023                     Prejudice Kills  

Haman prejudicially “sought to destroy all the Jews” (Esther 3:6), but was hanged on his own gallows (Esther 7:10). When the Jews were God’s Chosen, and it was “legal” to kill them, Ahasuerus “the king permitted the Jews who were in every city to gather together and protect their lives-to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the forces of any people or province that would assault them, both little children and women, and to plunder their possessions” (Esther 8:11). Thus, “On the day that the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, the opposite occurred, in that the Jews themselves overpowered those who hated them” (Esther 9:1). The annual  two-day Feast of Purim should keep this memory alive. Today Christians, not Jews, are God’s Chosen (2 Thessalonians 2:13-15;              Mark 16:15-16), but God’s provision for defense against the wicked should be remembered. 

10-31-2023          Today’s Jews Are Not God’s Chosen People
In Antioch of Pisidia, Paul preached Jesus Christ: "through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses” (Acts 13:38-39). “The law of Moses” was given only to the Israelites (Deuteronomy 5:2-3) and only until Jesus Christ came: “[the Law] was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made” (Galatians 3:19). That promised “Seed” is Christ    (Galatians 3:16). Concerning Moses’ Law, Jesus “has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross” (Colossians 2:14). Since Jesus’ death, none of the Jews can claim to be God’s Chosen People. God said, "This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!" (Luke 9:35). Christians today are God’s chosen (2 Thessalonians 2:13-15; Mark 16:16).

10-24-2023                  God Has No Future Land Promise

There is no prophecy of Scripture about the Jews returning to their Promised Land that has not already been fulfilled! Jerusalem was destroyed in the Old Testament, "to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths. As long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years" (2 Chronicles 36:21). God used Babylonians to remove His people for 70 years. That time ended, "in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing" (2 Chronicles 36:22). No New Testament prophecy promises the Jews that land, again.

10-17-2023                  He Hit Me Back
David said the wicked, “made a pit and dug it out, And has fallen into the ditch which he made. His trouble shall return upon his own head, And his violent dealing shall come down on his own crown” (Psalm 7:15-16). Solomon wrote: “The violence of the wicked will destroy them, Because they refuse to do justice” (Proverbs 21:7). “Whoever digs a pit will fall into it, And he who rolls a stone will have it roll back on him” (Proverbs 26:27). People devise things that eventually come back to, as we often say, haunt them, bite them, or backfire on them. Truly, “An angry man stirs up strife” (Proverbs 29:22). Those who murder and destroy others should expect, and be given, retaliation in kind. All who defend the terrorists attacks or condemn only the responders reveal their evil hearts.

10-10-2023                  National Righteousness
“It is an abomination for kings to commit wickedness, For a throne is established by righteousness” (Proverbs 16:12). What can government leaders do that is “wickedness?”

(1) They are pleased that their people act wickedly, like Ephraimites who “make a king glad with their wickedness, and princes with their lies” (Hosea 7:3). Samuel had shown where this will end when he said, “if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king” (1 Samuel 12:25);

(2) King Manasseh encouraged: foreign religions, idolatry, child sacrifice, superstition, immorality, shedding innocent blood                 (2 Chronicles 33:1-10; 2 Kings 21:16). Not all “laws of the land” are “righteous.” To establish a throne (or seat of power) requires “righteousness,” or respect for God and His Principles, throughout the nation (top to bottom), for: “Righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34).

10-3-2023                    The Problem of “Racism”                        FEATURED
In the beginning, “God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them”  (Genesis 1:27). Thus humans were made “in the image of God” but physically distinguishable as “male and female.” Sin and corruption caused God’s world- wide flood in Noah’s day (Genesis 7-9) and it was through Noah, his three sons and their wives that God started humanity, again. Every human born on earth is “in the image of God,” either male or female, and capable of choosing to sin. God scattered people over the earth by confusing languages at the tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9). The Gospel of Christ was preached in different “native languages” (Acts 2:5-12). Christ saves those of the human “race” who obey (Mark 16:15-16). Sin, not “skin,” is the “racial problem.”
 
9-26-2023                    The Spirit of Barabbas
“Pilate said to them, ‘Whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?’” (Matthew 27:17). Pilate could “find no fault in” Jesus (John 19:4, 6), but the stirred-up mob only said, “Crucify Him” (Luke 23:21). Barabbas was “notorious”  (Matthew 27:16), in a city rebellion committing murder (Mark 15:7; Luke 23:19), “a robber” (John 18:40). What a choice: an “evil man,” who “seeks only rebellion” (Proverbs 17:11), or Jesus Christ who had “no fault.” Pilate represented the “legal system” (today, it’s the courts, politicians, demonstrations, and propaganda) permitting removal of Jesus Christ but freeing criminals. God warned, “Do not associate with those given to change” (Proverbs 24:21). “Barabbas” on the streets, instead of Jesus Christ, is to “sow the wind, and reap the whirlwind” (Hosea 8:7). 
 
9-19-2023                    We Are Not In Despair
"But as a mountain falls and crumbles away, And as a rock is moved from its place; As water wears away stones, And as torrents wash away the soil of the earth; So You destroy the hope of man” (Job 14:18-19). Job voiced the danger of being surrounded by downers! By the time we read the headlines, see network TV News, watch destructive TV shows or dismal movies, or listen to our dreary “friends,” it’s no wonder that “depression” has enveloped our land. But if we listen to God, in Romans 15:13: “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing.” Christians learn to speak like Paul, “We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair” (2 Corinthians 4:8). 

9-12-2023                    Tampering With Evidence 
“Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus” (John 12:9-11). Living Lazarus was proof Jesus had the power of God over death. One day, when He calls for everyone, “all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth” (John 5:28-29). “Religious leaders” sought to tamper with the evidence, that is, “put Lazarus to death.” Those who refuse to accept truth may try to destroy the evidence with censorship or propaganda, none of which changes the truth but simply exposes those who serve Satan. 

9-5-2023                      Are You Confused?              
Satan’s powerful weapon has always been confusion. “But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:3). Satan offers choices other than the one thing God wants us to do. That produces confusion and bad decisions. “For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints” (1 Corinthians 14:33). God makes us “male and female” (Matthew 19:3), Satan offers a gender choice; God makes heterosexual marriage a lifetime commitment (Matthew 19:6), Satan offers adultery and fornication; God makes parents responsible for their children’s up-bringing (Colossians 3:20), Satan offers children their own guidance; God’s Gospel saves those who obey    (Acts 2:38-47), Satan falsely offers salvation any other way. The confused have made bad decisions.

8-29-2023                             God Exists 
Paul pointed to the distinctive God of the Bible when he said, "We also are men with the same nature as you, and preach to you that you should turn from these useless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all things that are in them” (Acts 14:15).  

1) No human being should be elevated as “God.”  It is as Jesus said, “do not be called 'Rabbi'; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren” (Matthew 23:8).

2) “The heaven, the earth, the sea” did not always exist, nor were they haphazardly “exploded” into their orderliness.  

3) Every living thing on earth must have come from “the living God,” not man-made deities!

 4) The only explanation that makes sense, is: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).  

8-22-2023                    Signs Of The End                       
Seeing the Temple in Jerusalem, Jesus predicted its destruction when He said, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone shall be left upon another, that shall not be thrown down" (Mark 13:2).  The Apostles asked, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when all these things will be fulfilled?" (Mark 13:4).  Jesus listed many “signs:” “wars and rumors of wars,” “earthquakes in various places,” “famines and troubles” (Mark 13: 7-8).  Jesus linked “tribulation” connected to “’the abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet” connected to Jerusalem’s destruction, which occurred in A.D.70.  All of these “signs” were for “this generation” which would “by no means pass away till all these things take place” (Mark 13:30).   None of these signs had anything whatsoever to do with predicting the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ!

8-15-2023          Answer To Cruelty                      
“Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed” (Hebrews 12:12-13). Whether this is discussing physical or spiritual weaknesses, a Christian’s attitude should be to help and not hinder. Meanness toward the weak showed a lack of respect for God: “'You shall not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind, but shall fear your God: I am the LORD” (Leviticus 19:14). “'Cursed is the one who makes the blind to wander off the road.' And all the people shall say, 'Amen!'” (Deuteronomy 27:18). “Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all” (1 Thessalonians 5:14). “Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy” (Matthew 5:7). 

8-8-2023                      Look Back, But Don’t Re-live                      
Do you “live in the past?” “Do not say, ‘Why were the former days better than these?’ For you do not inquire wisely concerning this” (Ecclesiastes 7:10). When we have only good memories about the past, we: (1) have faulty memories, and (2) probably haven’t learned much. Life is a great teacher, but lessons come from both good and bad.

“Let grace be shown to the wicked, Yet he will not learn righteousness” (Isaiah 26:10). It is important to know that “God requires an account of what is past” (Ecclesiastes 3:15). Christians have learned that “we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles--when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries” (1 Peter 4:3). Good people don’t want to go back!

8-1-2023                      Works or Words?                      
“In all labor there is profit, But idle chatter leads only to poverty” (Proverbs 14:23). Since the Garden of Eden, God decreed to man, “In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground" (Genesis 3:19). The routine should be: “Man goes out to his work And to his labor until the evening” (Psalm 104:23). Jesus said, “Are there not twelve hours in the day?” (John 11:9). Good men will “labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need” (Ephesians 4:28). It is punishment to “Let the creditor seize all that he has, And let strangers plunder his labor” (Psalm 109:11). Work produces “profit,” “chatter” is cheap. Many hands make light work, many words profit nothing. An economic system with more words than work will fail.

7-25-2023                       “Raising Hell?”                    
According to many songs and party people, having a lot of fun is “raising Hell.” According to Jesus: first, this is profanity, because Hell cannot be “raised,” it is for souls damned for Eternity, a.k.a. “the condemnation of hell” (Matthew 23:33); secondly, it should not be “raised” for it is described as “torments” without a drop of water for relief (Luke 16:23-24); and third, a maimed body in life is better than the next life in “hell fire” (Mark 9:42-48). Since “Hell” cannot nor should not be “raised,” and is eternal torment: how much “fun” is it to say that? To “raise Hell” in life can only lower someone’s soul into it forever! Jesus said, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16).

7-18-2023                    Saved By Grace 
“But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD” (Genesis 6:8). But Noah was not “saved by faith only.” Actually, “Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did” (Genesis 6:22). “By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith” (Hebrews 11:7). Thus, “eight souls, were saved through water” (1 Peter 3:20). “Grace” is no alternate to “faith” working God’s commands. God’s “grace” teaches the instructions, man’s “faith” accepts and obeys to accomplish salvation. Jesus graciously teaches every creature, "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned (Mark 16:16). Are you “saved by grace?”

7-11-2023                    Insane Opposition                   
Christians must try to teach Bible truth and correct “those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will” (2 Timothy 2:24-26). Those who contradict Bible place themselves in opposition, and need to “know the truth,” because some are not “straightforward about the truth of the gospel” (Galatians 2:14). They are ensnared of the Devil and need to “come to their senses,” or be sane, again! The Devil’s doctrine “captivates,” but knowledge of God’s truth, frees a person to do God’s will.”  Repentance is that change of heart that will make the difference. God “now commands all men everywhere to repent”       (Acts 17:30). 
 
7-4-2023                      Jesus & Division                     
The damage of divisiveness was clearly stated by Jesus: “If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end” (Mark 3:24-26).  It substantially weakens anything when it is divided against itself.  No “kingdom” (or nation!), “house” (or family!), or even “Satan,” can be against itself and survive.  If a nation becomes divided by an invasion of illegal immigrants, political in-fighting, and “profiteers” and, at the same time, family units are torn apart by divorce and remarriage, homosexuality, “liberation” from marriage; then it “cannot stand.”  Returning to being “one nation, under God, indivisible” can occur only by preaching, and obeying, the Bible.  Jesus was right, and American history proves it!

6-27-2023                    Freedom To Obey Christ                     
There is no such thing as complete freedom. The American Revolution cast off abusive law for the freedom to establish our own law. Since sin is universal, Jesus’ Gospel invites all everywhere to cast off their shackles of sin for the freedom to serve under Jesus’ Law. “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness” (Romans 6:16-18). No one can be freed from sins to do as they please. Liberty is not license or lawlessness!

6-20-2023                    Our Beginning
Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:26-27). A careful study of this beginning of the Human Race shows that each individual is made in the image of God, which is why everyone deserves to be treated with dignity. Jesus showed and taught it, with the principle, "just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise”     (Luke 6:31). God’s History of Humanity (Genesis Chapters 1-11) connects us today with Adam and Eve.

6-13-2023                    No Bible Contradiction Here
"But if any lasting harm follows, then you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, "burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe” (Exodus 21:23-25). Jesus taught, “You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also” (Matthew 5:38-39). Did God contradict Himself?  No. In Exodus, Moses was giving “the judgments which you shall set before them” (Exodus 21:1). This was predetermined legal justice. Jesus, however, was giving His New Law for personal retaliation. There is a difference in what a court should do and what individuals may do.  Revenge belongs to God! Christians and Courts are different! 
 
6-6-2023                              Looking For Messiah
Daniel the Prophet prophesied Jerusalem would be re-built and last “Until Messiah the Prince” (Daniel 9:25).  Andrew told Peter, his brother, "’We have found the Messiah’ (which is translated, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus" (John 1:41-42). From prison, John the Baptist asked "’Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?’ Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Go and tell John the things which you hear and see’” (Matthew 11:3-4). Proof that “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God” (John 20:31) is found in fulfilled prophecy and the Gospel records of Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John. Everyone who continues to look for “The Messiah” must deny:       1) the Gospel is true; 2) the Apostles knew; and 3) that Jesus has saved anyone!  Jesus said, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:16).  

5-23-2023                    Sheep Listen
"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me” (John 10:27). Jesus identifies His “sheep” as those who “hear” His voice, and “follow” Him. Jesus predicted the religious fervor before Jerusalem was destroyed by saying: "For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand’” (Matthew 24:24-25). Even today, no “sheep” will follow after a “false christ,” especially one who claims to be the “Vicar of Christ” on earth! No “sheep” will follow after a “false prophet,” especially one who offers a Book of Mormon, or Quran, or still clings to parts of Moses’ Law, such as the 10 Commandments. “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, For so did their fathers to the false prophets” (Luke 6:26).

5-16-2023                    More Than Mother
A woman’s voice above the crowd “said to Him, ‘Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!’ But He said, ‘More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!’" (Luke 11:27-28).  Jesus was born of Mary, the only virgin mother, ever!  And, yet, His spiritual family means more to Him than she did!  Before this incident, some had “said, ‘Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You.’ But He answered and said to them, ‘My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it’” (Luke 8:20-21).  His spiritual family is “the house of God, which is the church of the living God” (1 Timothy 3:15), composed of all who “call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:2).   

5-9-2023             Tolerate or Concede?
David wrote: “Do I not hate them, O LORD, who hate You? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You? I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them my enemies” (Psalm 139:21-22). “Sin” is “falling short” of God’s commands, and all people do it, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). It was not any sinner David hated, but those whose minds were turned completely away from God. “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh” (Romans 8:5). “Tolerance” is not a Christian virtue, but a subtle, evil substitution for “concession.” Jesus said: "He who hates Me hates My Father also” (John 15:23). Should we tolerate hatred of God and Jesus Christ? Sinful minds need opposition. 

5-2-2023             Is Your Life Real?
An angel of the Lord led Peter out of prison, “So he went out and followed him, and did not know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision.” After leaving the prison without incident, “they went out and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him. And when Peter had come to himself, he said, ‘Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel, and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people’" (Acts 12:9-11). What showed Peter this was not a “vision?” The reality of where he ended up, actually out of prison! A video game, movie, TV program, “reality show,” or propaganda media are not reality. Peter came to himself when reality set in. Is your “reality” real?

4-25-2023           Debt Ceiling? 
The wise man, Solomon, wrote: “The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower is servant to the lender” (Proverbs 22:7). Those who owe are not complete owners until their debt is paid. Since “debt” is based upon what the debtor doesn’t have, then increasing a “ceiling” for the debt is simply digging the hole deeper for the debtor! Debts incurred with: credit cards; houses, cars, or education; medical treatments; government spending, et cetera, can only be satisfied by payment. Debtors are enslaved by their debt, and lenders are in charge. Jesus Christ likened our salvation to being forgiven of our debt caused by sin (Matthew 18:21-35). God doesn’t extend sin’s debt ceiling, but has given terms of forgiveness: "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16). Are you forgiven?

4-18-2023        Jesus Is Only Begotten                     
"In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him" (1 John 4:9). Jesus is special because:

1) The word "manifested" means "made obvious," and so: "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends" (John 15:13);

2) He is God's "only begotten Son," because no one else has been made like Him! Jesus is not God's "only" Son, for "For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:26);

3) "And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin" (1 John 3:5). Jesus said, "if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins (John 8:24).

4-11-2023                    Change Of Seasons
“Then God said, ‘Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth;’ and it was so” (Genesis 1:14-15).  We still have “seasons,” “days and years” because of these heavenly lights. It didn’t take “millions or billions” of years for these heavenly lights to evolve, nor for seasons, days and years to evolve. There is no scientific fact that supports the unproven “evolutionary theory.” After the flood in Noah’s day, God said, “While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease" (Genesis 8:22). Seasons change as God said, but without “evolution!”

4-4-2023                      Human Life Matters
“So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27). After the world-wide flood in Noah’s day, God decreed: "Whoever sheds man's blood, By man his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God He made man” (Genesis 9:6). People fill children’s minds with the Evolutionary lie that humans are just advanced animals, but are outraged when mass murders of humans occur. Why the outrage? No one is outraged over thousands of killed and eaten chickens, or thousands of killed and cooked cattle, or over thousands of fish fried daily! In spite of Evolutionary propaganda, people inherently know that the Bible is right: humans are the special part of God’s Creation, and our lives more precious than animals. Have faith in God.

3-30-2023                    Your Salvation’s Cost                   
Jesus said: “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8:34-37). People sing, “Jesus Paid It All,” and claim to be saved like a thief on the cross, before and without ever actually surrendering to the cross of Jesus Christ! To follow Jesus, we must deny our claims to be saved, and our self-justifying attitude, and "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38).

3-23-2023                    Who Can “Claim” Salvation?                    
"Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory" (2 Timothy 2:10). If all that sinners have to do is "claim" their salvation, why was Paul enduring "all things for the sake of the elect?" No Scripture says salvation is to be "claimed," but Jesus "became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him" (Hebrews 5:9). Salvation was bought by the blood of Jesus Christ, and is only given to those who obey Him. 
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek" (Romans 1:16). Jesus said: "He who believes and is baptized will be saved" (Mark 16:16). 
Obedience "obtains" salvation.

3-16-2023                    A Guided Conscience                     
Why study the Bible? It should be to correctly educate our “conscience.” Paul wrote: “for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them)” (Romans 2:14-15). “Conscience” is our awareness of right and wrong, but it is our guide only when we learn from God’s Word what is right or wrong! People who are Christians may do some things right because they their consciences are educated by some of God’s Word. It would be better if their conscience guided them to what Jesus said must be done to be saved: “He who believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:16). 

3-9-2023                      Evil Approved And Good Condemned                      
“He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just, Both of them alike are an abomination to the LORD” (Proverbs 17:15). Approving evil or condemning those who do good are “abomination to the LORD.” That’s as bad as it can get. Rulers are “God’s minister to you for good,” and “God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil” (Romans 13:3-4). What makes it confusing for some people is when government policy or laws become abominable to God. Only the Bible gives a clear description of what is “good,” and what is “evil.” “Whoever rewards evil for good, Evil will not depart from his house”           (Proverbs 17:13).  The Christian, however, must “See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all” (1 Thessalonians 5:15). 

2-28-2023                    Salvation And Worship                      
“So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read” (Luke 4:16). Jesus began His public preaching in a Jewish synagogue. A “synagogue” was a local Jewish worship place. “Custom” is what He was brought up doing:  going to “church!  People who obey the Gospel will worship with the saved. The people who were told to “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins”        (Acts 2:38), “Then those who gladly received his word were baptized.  That church of Christ began 3000 strong, “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:41-42). Salvation brings one into church worship.  

2-21-2023           Suicide Or Salvation?
“Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, ‘I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.’ And they said, ‘What is that to us? You see to it!’ Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself” (Matthew 27:3-5). Suicide is only an option to someone who gives up on God. Forgiveness is with God. “If You, LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You, That You may be feared” (Psalm 130:3-4). Christians must, “be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).  Whatever you have done, if you repent, God can forgive it, and Christians must forgive you.  

2-14-2023                    Love Invests                     
If it takes jewelry for a kiss, candy for a smile, or flowers for a hug, your marriage needs fixing. Love doesn’t come down to one day a year. Love is a commitment, for love “does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil”         (1 Corinthians 13:5). This applies to both husbands and wives! It is not just up to the man to put life into the marriage. Love is not a burden or a pain, but a consideration, for “love does no harm to a neighbor” (Romans 13:10).  Marriage seems to be unpopular, because it is based on love, and love requires commitment and consideration. Fabulous wedding ceremonies do not cancel out long-term effort! “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3).

2-7-2023                      Take It To The Streets              
Violence in the streets is of great concern to puzzled survivors. But there is no amount of discussions, panels, candles, demonstrations or government intervention that can deal with the problem. The problem is sin and evil, but without God’s explanation and guidance, no one can help. When sin had entered the world, Cain killed his brother, Abel, because he “was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother's righteous” (1 John 3:12). Preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ gives evil sinners an opportunity to change their lives for good. Jesus said, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” (Mark 16:15-16)

1-31-2023                   Truth or Contradictions?              
Paul’s first recorded sermon was successfully delivered in the Jewish synagogue in Antioch of Pisidia.  “But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy; and contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed the things spoken by Paul”      (Acts 13:45).  They refused God’s truth because they were envious of the crowd listening to Paul.  “Contradicting” means they face-to-face objected to Paul’s preaching, and “blaspheming” means they said hurtful things about Bible truth.  They tried silencing Paul with their “PC” objections, not unlike today’s “WOKE crowd,” preachers, and so-called “Apologists!”  Holy Spirit-inspired Bible truth, however, came with “a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist” (Luke 21:14-15).  Oh, they’ll speak up, but nothing they say will prove the Bible message wrong!  The Bible contains NO contradictions within itself or with external fact!

1-24-2023                   Bible Contradictions?              
People try to avoid obeying God by pointing out where God’s Word contradicts itself.  “But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: ‘Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand’” (Matthew 12:25).  If God’s Kingdom and Bible are “divided against itself,” they “will not stand.”  The Creation of the “heavens and the earth” in Genesis 1 & 2 are said to be contradictory.  “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).  “Created” means all matter used originally came from nothing.  Then what God did to rearrange this “matter” in seven 24-hour days is in Genesis 1:2-31.  Then details about the 6th day are given in Genesis 2.  There is no contradiction, only further detailed facts.  Truth does not contradict itself.

1-17-2023                             Jesus’ Baptism              
“Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:3-4).  Can anyone be saved before, and without, Jesus’ death? Of course, not! Should anyone claim to be saved before, and without, “baptism into His death?” Of course, not!  All who claim to be saved, and be in Christ, before they were “baptized into His death” must be claiming to be saved before, and without, the death of Jesus Christ!  Paul warned, “even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8).  

1-10-2023                   Only Following Your Heart
Children are raised with the encouragement to: “Follow your heart.”  But this advice ignores the warning: “O LORD, I know the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps” (Jeremiah 10:23).  God punished people who “followed the dictates of his evil heart " (Jeremiah 11:8); then said: "No more shall they follow the dictates of their evil hearts” (Jeremiah 3:17). Should one follow “an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God” (Hebrews 3:12)? None of us knows, completely from our own hearts, how to do good and not evil.  The solution?  “Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You!” (Psalm 119:11). Children should rather pray: “Direct my steps by Your word, And let no iniquity have dominion over me” (Psalm 119:133).  

1-3-2023                      What Is A Fool?               
“The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good” (Psalm 14:1) “The fool” says this with words of denial, or by the life of denial. The New Testament describes people living without God: “They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work” (Titus 1:16). Whether stated or lived, one is a fool to disregard God! “Fool” means empty, evil, corrupt. All who do “not like to retain God in their knowledge” God gives over to a debased mind (Romans 1:28),for they are “having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart” (Ephesians 4:18). 

12-27-2022                  Another Year Of Darkness                
“Then God said, ‘Let there be light;’ and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day” (Genesis 1:3-5).  From the first day of the Creation, God wants us to know the difference between Day and Night, darkness and light.  The prophet Daniel said, God “knows what is in the darkness, And light dwells with Him” (Daniel 2:22).  Solomon said, “The way of the wicked is like darkness; They do not know what makes them stumble” (Proverbs 4:19).  There are some people who stumbled into 2022, through 2022, and are planning to stumble into 2023.  They haven’t figured out yet, “what makes them stumble.”  Don’t waste another year in darkness! 

12-20-2022                  Getting Jesus Right-No Mass                 
The New Testament writers, “did not follow cunningly devised fables” (2 Peter 1:16) when they wrote about Jesus Christ. A “fable” is a “myth, fairy tale, or falsehood.” “Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle” (2 Thessalonians 2:15). A “tradition” is “a practice handed down, or passed along,” so Christian “traditions” must come from the Apostles, themselves. No “tradition,” then, that cannot be found in God’s New Testament, should be practiced by Christians, for “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). In the New Testament, Christians did not:

1) celebrate Jesus’ birth;

2) say He was born during some pagan time change of seasons;

3) mix up Bible events;

4)mix Bible records with myths or fairy tales! Take Christ out of the mess of “Mass!”

12-13-2022                  Baby Jesus                 
This time of year, in celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, many think everyone is saved, as one of God's spiritual children, just because Jesus was born. Jesus, however, said it takes more effort than to simply "seek" to enter His kingdom. "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able" (Luke 13:24). Then He shows that the many will think they should be allowed in only because, "'We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.' But He will say, 'I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity'" (Luke 13:24-27). But we can be reconciled to God by "the death of His Son," (Romans 5:10), not His birth!

12-5-2022                    Be Merry Without Alcohol!                 
“Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy”       (Romans 13:13). These are terms that describe company parties, conventions, frat parties, bars and taverns, Christmas and New Year Eves, or proms. This verse teaches us to behave as if others can see us in the daytime; therefore NOT with rioting and dulled judgments in alcohol and drugs; NOT sexual excesses and perversions; NOT with quarrelling and jealousy! With alcohol, Solomon said: “Your eyes will see strange things, And your heart will utter perverse things” (Proverbs 23:33). “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts” (Romans 13:14). “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27). Christians will, and should, choose not to!

11-28-2022                  Doctor Senseless     
“O LORD, how great are Your works! Your thoughts are very deep. A senseless man does not know, Nor does a fool understand this. (Psalm 92:5-6).  Comedians have made fun of “deep thoughts,” which shows how shallow their humor really is! The depth and complexity of what God thinks is way “over our heads.”  “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God”                   (1 Corinthians 3:19). “Senseless” teachers are “like natural brute beasts made to be caught and destroyed, [who] speak evil of the things they do not understand, and will utterly perish in their own corruption” (2 Peter 2:12). Their minds skip across the surface of a lake, with no grasp of what is beneath, like “brute beasts.” Unfortunately, these write school textbooks, teaching that level of “knowledge,” and get rewarded with accolades for such work! God’s thoughts in the Bible are worth deep studying.

11-21-2022         Thanksgiving Without God?                  
It's impossible to have a “Thanksgiving” unless there is someone to thank!  The Apostle Paul wrote: “I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did” (2 Timothy 1:3).

(1) God is the only source of blessings to thank, so: "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, And whose hope is the LORD” (Jeremiah 17:7).

(2) Having a “pure conscience,” then: “Blessed is that man who makes the LORD his trust, And does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies” (Psalm 40:4).

(3) Being constantly remembered in prayers, so that: “Blessings are on the head of the righteous, But violence covers the mouth of the wicked” (Proverbs 10:6).

To some it is “Team Game Day,” to others it is “Turkey Game Day,” to Christians it is “Thank God Day.”  Every day is “thanksgiving.”     

11-14-2022                  Equal Pay For Equal Work          
"Equal pay for equal work," is a popular slogan for covetous people.  Jobs are supposed to be given on the basis of "ability," and not to "equalize" differences in skin color, gender, parentage, or quotas.  Jesus likened our judgment to a man "who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability" (Matthew 25:14-15).  Each person was given an amount of money he was capable of handling.  Covetousness claims everyone sharing a certain characteristic, regardless of ability, should be paid the same, but their work does not show equal ability!  "Yet you say, 'The way of the Lord is not fair.' O house of Israel, I will judge every one of you according to his own ways" (Ezekiel 33:20).  

11-7-2022                    Prayerful Preaching   
“Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified, just as it iswith you, and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for not all have faith” (2 Thessalonians 3:1-2).  

1) We should attempt nothing without prayer to the Lord.  “You’re in my prayers,” may not be the same as, “Now I pray to God that you do no evil” (2 Corinthians 13:7). Specific prayer should be pointed to God.

2) Our desire is for “the word of the Lord” to be freely spoken and taught. Paul requested prayer “that God would open to us a door for the word” (Colossians 4:2-3).  

3) Deliverance “from unreasonable and wicked men” may come in the form of a government election resulting in oppressive restrictions being lifted.  Thank God for answered prayer!

10-31-2022                           Life Without God   
“For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God”           (1 Thessalonians 4:3-5). God placed clean, honorable sexual relations within marriage, for “Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge” (Hebrews 13:4), for “the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body” (1 Corinthians 6:13).  Those whose lives are devoted only to “sexual immorality” and “passion of lust,” “do not know God.”  Jesus will condemn those who “do not know God,” and “do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians 1:8).

10-24-2022                   Scared, Of What?   
What scares you this time of the year?  Is it houses haunted by fake "ghosts and goblins?" Or is it sights and sounds that are not human and hard to identify?  Or is it make-believe "zombies," "vampires," or "werewolves,” none of which are real?  The only time dead people walked the earth again was when Jesus Christ died on the cross, an earthquake opened graves, "and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many" (Matthew 27:52-53). They proved Jesus was raised from the dead, not that we should fear the night.  If you obey God, then "When you lie down, you will not be afraid; Yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet" (Proverbs 3:24).  

10-17-2022                           The Flood   
In the Flood in Noah’s day "the waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth, and all the high hills under the whole heaven were covered” (Genesis 7:19).  “And all flesh died that moved on the earth: birds and cattle and beasts and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man” (Genesis 7:21).  “Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark remained alive” (Genesis 7:23).  With the 8 human souls in the ark, there was “every beast after its kind, all cattle after their kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, every bird of every sort” (Genesis 7:14).  The Flood’s immense pressure formed diamonds and coal, and the run-off left scars like the Grand Canyon.  Every culture since has referred to “the flood,” the Bible has the exact facts.

10-10-2022                           Local Flood, I Think Not   
The Flood in Noah’s day substantially changed the complexion of our world, as we know it.  It was not a “local” flood, for God intended to “destroy from the face of the earth all living things that I have made” (Genesis 7:7), and He had “created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).  Before the Flood, God “had not caused it to rain on the earth,” “but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground” (Genesis 2:5-6).  Animals and plants, and then humans, grew in a virtual “hot-house,” or prime growing conditions.  Since the Flood, God decreed that we have seasons: “Seedtime and harvest … Winter and summer" (Genesis 8:22).  Peter said, “the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water” (2 Peter 3:6).

There was nothing “local” about that flood or its effects.

10-3-2022                             Try The Right Way
“Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them” (Colossians 3:5-7). Following Jesus Christ and being a Christian means leaving behind those earthly, not heavenly ways. This passage says God’s wrath is awaiting everyone who continues in these sins, and that won’t change on Judgment Day. Christians are sinners who realize the consequence of such sinfulness and the freedom there is in following Jesus Christ, and have changed. Instead of condemning Christians to make you feel better about yourself, why not become a Christian? God “commands all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30). Come alive with Christ and prepare to live with Him.

9-26-2022                             The Meaning In Life   
Before he was given wisdom, Solomon said he “hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me, for all is vanity and grasping for the wind” (Ecclesiastes 2:17).  “Under the sun” describes a life on earth, and without God, it is meaningless.  “Then I hated all my labor in which I had toiled under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who will come after me” (Ecclesiastes 2:18-19).  Without God in our life, we can hate life, work, and one another.  “There isnothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of God” (Ecclesiastes 2:24).  God blesses lives who pause to enjoy it and thank Him.

9-19-2022                             God’s Work Is Unchanged
“Consider the work of God; For who can make straight what He has made crooked?” (Ecclesiastes 7:13). In the Creation, God: “divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day and the darkness He called Night” (Genesis 1:4-5); He caused “the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear,” making “Earth” and “Seas” (Genesis 1:9-10); He “let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself” (Genesis 1:11); He made “great sea creatures and every living thing that moves,” “and every winged bird according to its kind” (Genesis 1:20-21). “Evolution” has no explanation for these distinctions, and no “scientist” has discovered any contradictory fact! God’s Creation Work still stands as written! Humans have not, and cannot, change it.

9-12-2022                             Worthless Religious Leaders   
“Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They make you worthless; They speak a vision of their own heart, Not from the mouth of the LORD. They continually say to those who despise Me, “The LORD has said, ‘You shall have peace;’ And to everyone who walks according to the dictates of his own heart, they say, 'No evil shall come upon you'" (Jeremiah 23:16-17).  What disqualified “the prophets?”

1) They did not preach God’s Word, but their own ideas;

2) They constantly soothed and stroked “God-haters” with “God’s love;”

3) They promised “no harm” to the selfish; all of which made their religion “useless.”

It is only God’s Word that lets us “be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for not all have faith.”                                 (2 Thessalonians 3:1-2)

9-5-2022                              Work and Salvation   
“In all labor there is profit, But idle chatter leads only to poverty. The crown of the wise is their riches, But the foolishness of fools is folly” (Proverbs 14:23-24).  Since God established the “work ethic,” where there is no labor, there is no profit (earnings). In the Garden of Eden, God gave man a job, “to tend and keep it” (Genesis 2:15). After Adam sinned, God expelled him with a job: “In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread” (Genesis 3:19). A welfare state, which takes from the workers and re-distributes to non-workers, promotes slothfulness: “The desire of the lazy man kills him, For his hands refuse to labor. He covets greedily all day long” (Proverbs 21:25-26).

There is no spiritual “welfare state,” for Jesus is “the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him” (Hebrews 5:9).

8-29-2022                             Propaganda of Evolution   
The doctrine of Evolution has not one single, solitary scientific fact that upholds it.

It has not one single, solitary fossil sample of the “crossovers” necessary to support it.

It has not one single, solitary Scripture that teaches it.

It has not one single, solitary system of dating that conclusively establishes it.

It is nothing but “propaganda,” supported and taught as a government-funded, godless explanation of the Creation. David said it right: “Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, The power and the glory, The victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, And You are exalted as head over all” (1 Chronicles 29:11); and, “God has spoken once, Twice I have heard this: That power belongs to God” (Psalm 62:11).

8-22-2022                             The Savior’s Start
“An angel of the Lord” told shepherds, "For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger" (Luke 2:11-12).  The shepherds said: "’Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us. And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger’” (Luke 2:15-16).  

1) This is about the birth of Jesus, and has nothing to do with a “Christmas;”

2) The shepherds saw “a Babe,” “born” that very day.  The “wise men” were nowhere around;

3) God’s “Savior” was born in Bethlehem, not Mecca, or any other place! 

8-15-2022                    What “Prehistoric” People
According to the genealogy of Jesus Christ in Matthew 1:1-17, there were 42 generations from Abraham to Jesus Christ, and according to the genealogy of Jesus Christ in Luke 3:23-38, there were only 11 generations from Abraham to Noah, and only 9 more generations from Noah to Adam, or about 62 generations in all.  Since Adam & Eve were the first humans God made in the Creation in Genesis 1:26-30, and they were given “dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves on the earth,” then there never has been a time when:  (1) dinosaurs ruled the earth; (2) there were “prehistoric humans;” (3) the earth was “millions and millions of years” in the making!  Truth is in the Bible, not in some men's mindless blindness!

8-8-2022                      There Are No Judeo-Christians   
“Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law” (Galatians 5:2-3). Clearly, Christians must not go back to Moses for their religious duties.  People who claim to preach Jesus, believe in Jesus, and obey Jesus, but add the obligations of Moses must:

1) be like Jews, keeping all of Moses: 10 commandments, fleshly circumcision, animal sacrifices, religious feasts, and days;

2) know their “Christian faith” amounts to nothing!  Paul said, "if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain" (Galatians 2:21).

Jesus took Moses’ Law “out of the way, having nailed it to the cross” (Colossians 2:14). Practicing any of that “old law” today rejects the cross of God’s Only Begotten Son!

8-1-2022                      Work Of Creation 
Everything on earth had a beginning. Every effect must have an adequate cause. “For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God” (Hebrews 3:4), an inescapable conclusion of common sense. “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. (Hebrews 11:3). What we “see” is material substance, but it was not made from itself! All scientific evidence and fact prove that matter is not eternal and must have had a beginning. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). The Bible begins with one of the strongest proofs possible that there had to have been The Creator: from nothing came something caused by The Power (“God”), who is the uncaused First Cause! 
 
7-25-2022                    God Exists                
Without the God of the Bible, no one can explain:

1) The Creation: Of world-wide oceans, God “fixed My limit for it, And set bars and doors; When I said, 'This far you may come, but no farther, And here your proud waves must stop!'” (Job 38:10-11);

2) The Bible: After all efforts to ignore or destroy it, “the word of the LORD endures forever" (1 Peter 1:25); 

3) Jesus Christ: God in the flesh, “humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore, God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name” (Philippians 2:8-9);

4) Christians: “who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator”     (1 Peter 4:19).  

Can “atheism” explain these?

7-18-2022                    The Savior’s Salvation    
“But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Galatians 6:14).  The shape of the cross does not have power to save, cast out demons, or scare off the Devil.  It is not the cross, but “our Lord Jesus Christ” who saves.  Many make an idol out of a crucifix by wearing the shape, as if it has a miraculous aura. It’s not the crucifix shape, but conversion to the Christ on His cross that saves.  Jesus “became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8), and sinners are “buried with Him through baptism into death” (Romans 6:4).  It’s not a cross shape, nor belief in that cross only, but baptism into His death that saves.  

7-11-2022                    The Savior’s Saved
A disciple asked Jesus, "Lord, are there few who are saved?" (Luke 13:23).  The answer was “Yes,” because only “whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved” (Acts 2:21). But Jesus had taught that "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).  It takes more than words to “call on the name of the LORD” to be saved.  Saul of Tarsus believed in Jesus Christ and was told to, “Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16). Calling on the name of the LORD is not done by claiming your salvation, professing salvation before baptism, or prayer.  It is completed when sins are washed away in baptism.  

7-4-2022                      The Savior’s Exception
“It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. Then a voice came from heaven, ‘You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased’" (Mark 1:9-11).

1) Since John was “baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins” (Mark 1:4), Jesus  made Himself the exception, since He had no sins (Matthew 3:15).  No one else can be saved before being baptized!

2) After His baptism God declared pleasure in Jesus’ obedience.  Today, God blesses after baptism, not before, “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27).  

6-27-2022                    The Savior’s Proof
A paralytic was brought to Jesus by four men.  “When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven you’" (Mark 2:5), and then said, “that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins --He said to the paralytic, ‘I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.’ Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!" (Mark 2:10-12).  

1) “Fake healers” today fail, but blame their patient with unbelief!  The Bible says nothing about the paralytic’s faith.  

2) Priests that claim to forgive sins must prove their claim with genuine miracles, which they cannot do! 

6-20-2022                    The Almighty Dollar?    
Given our shaky economical present and future, Scripture reminds us: “Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy” (1 Timothy 6:17). “Riches” cannot be our source of confidence because they are for the “present age” (and not the future!), and “uncertain,” a word meaning “unfixed, mobile, not stationary.” If our “trust” is in a moveable platform, then we have nothing to be confident about! On the other hand, God can be totally relied upon to be: living, always the plentiful source of good things, and presently involved in our lives. God proclaimed, “I am Almighty God” (Genesis 17:1) as the only source of all blessings. There is no “Almighty Dollar,” since God is the only “Almighty.”  

6-13-2022                    Little Children Left Alone    
“The rod and rebuke give wisdom, But a child left to himself brings shame to his mother” (Proverbs 29:15). “The rod” is the last line of discipline to be applied (not the first or only line), but children must be reminded that there is a limit placed on their actions, beyond which they must not go in respect for parental authority. It is “the rod and rebuke” that “give wisdom,” not just “the rod” without explanation and corrective instruction, but not “rebuke” without “the rod.” Unfortunately, in this society, filled with divorce and remarriage, custody battles, sexual relations without marriage commitment, a child is “left to himself.” The mother or father who thinks a child can handle things all alone is self-deceived and has abdicated the greatest authority on earth: nurturing a soul. They will give account on the Day of Judgment. Fornication fathers the fatherless!

6-6-2022                      Faith Without Works    
The Bible makes it clear that, “faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (James 2:17). Nowhere in the entire Bible has God blessed a person’s faith without the obedient works which God specified! James 2 makes that very point: verses 14-18 say that without works of benevolence to a “brother or sister” in need is “dead” faith; verses 19-20 show that “demons” believe truth about God, but without obedient works, their faith is “dead;” verses 21-24 show that even Abraham’s faith was “justified by works,” “and not by faith only;” verse 25  shows “Rahab the harlot” was “justified by works;” verse 26 says “faith without works is dead” like a “body without the spirit.” “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38). Have you faith or faith only?

5-31-2022                   Murdered Murderer    
In Uvalde, Texas, an 18-year-old shooter barricaded himself in an Elementary School classroom and proceeded to murder 19 of its 10-year-old students and 2 Teachers, wounding many others. He was shot and killed by a law enforcement officer. Only one death was justified that day: that of the murderer! After the world-wide flood in Noah’s day, God decreed for all mankind: "Whoever sheds man's blood, By man his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God He made man” (Genesis 9:6). Jesus repeated the principle: "All who take the sword will perish by the sword” (Matthew 26:52). Murder violates God’s Law, and justifies the murderer’s death! Solomon said: “Whoever digs a pit will fall into it, And he who rolls a stone will have it roll back on him” (Proverbs 26:27). Murderers who plan, plan their own deaths!

5-24-2022                    Suicide Or Salvation?    
“Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, ‘I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.’ And they said, ‘What is that to us? You see to it!’ Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself” (Matthew 27:3-5). When Judas realized how bad his betrayal of Jesus was, he turned to the wrong people. He tried to give back the betrayal money to the people he had made the bargain with, but they refused. Remember a lesson from Judas Iscariot: the people who help you sin will not be the people who help you reform! The fleeting moment when Judas’ conscience hurt was met with coldness by the people who were condemning an innocent Jesus! 

5-17-2022                             Graduation Skills   
When people graduate from High School or University, they should be looking ahead at life. Solomon made it simple in Ecclesiastes 9:9-11.  Plan to:

1) “Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life” — i.e., be in a close, stable marriage;

2) “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might” — i.e., work hard at honorable work;

3) “I returned and saw under the sun that - The race is not to the swift, Nor the battle to the strong, Nor bread to the wise, Nor riches to men of understanding, Nor favor to men of skill; But time and chance happen to them all” — i.e., everything is not under our personal control — live with it.

One is not alone in marriage; diligent work is rewarded and appreciated; life levels the “playing field” for everyone. Good advice!    

5-9-2022                      Worthless Opinion Polls  
“Do not be wise in your own opinion” (Romans 12:16), or, “wise in yourselves.”  “Polls” used to be called “Opinion Polls,” because there was no established fact in them.  Unproven “opinions” mean nothing of significance outside the 1000 or so people who have been asked for their opinion.  Being “wise in your own opinion,” and directly contradicting God’s command, is done every time “opinion polls” are reported by Media as if these speak for an entire population of hundreds of millions!  The only Poll that matters is when the living, citizenry’s votes are protected, and counted. Jewish leaders “sought false testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none” (Matthew 26:59-60). Hearing two “false witnesses,” they were asked, "’What do you think? They answered and said, ‘He is deserving of death’” (Matthew 26:66).  Accepting an “opinion poll” as fact crucified Jesus Christ!

5-2-2022                      Heart Failures  
Jonah’s ship “was about to be broken up. Then the mariners were afraid; and every man cried out to his god” (Jonah 1:5).  Heart-failure is caused in those who don’t know the only living God.  Christians are those who have “turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God” (1 Thessalonians 1:9).  Joseph’s brothers’ “hearts failed them and they were afraid, saying to one another, ‘What is this that God has done to us?’" (Genesis 42:28).  Heart-failure is caused by misunderstanding God.  The Gospel message is for people to “repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance” (Acts 26:20).  Don’t imagine what God does TO us, but what God does FOR us.  God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). Only by knowing it shall “the truth shall make you free." (John 8:32).

4-25-2022                    A Guided Conscience    
Why study the Bible? It should be to correctly educate our “conscience.” Paul wrote: “for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them)” (Romans 2:14-15). “Conscience” is our awareness of right and wrong, but it is our guide only when we learn from God’s Word what is right or wrong! People who are not a Christian may do many things right because they have their consciences educated by God’s Word. It would be better if their consciences guided them to what Jesus said must be done to be saved: “He who believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:16).

4-18-2022                    The Despair Of Death    
Out of his pain and frustration, Job said, “Before I go to the place from which I shall not return, To the land of darkness and the shadow of death” (Job 10:21).  Since it is the Devil who has had “the power of death,” it is “through fear of death” he gets people to serve him (Hebrews 2:14-15).  It is when people fear death, they “eat and drink, for tomorrow we die”                         (1 Corinthians 15:32).  People use the fear of death to justify walking, “according to our own plans, and we will every one obey the dictates of his evil heart" (Jeremiah 18:12).  Dwelling upon death, dying, pain and suffering simply builds the “fear of death.”  Jesus “abolished death…through the gospel” (2 Timothy 1:10). It is not death, but “after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27) for which we must prepare.   

4-11-2022                    The Time Is Now    
When their government oppressed God's people, the Prophet Elijah asked the timid Israelites, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him" (1 Kings 18:21).  Good people cannot survive in a society (or world!) by shrinking away from the inevitable choice: good or evil.  Joshua challenged his people: “choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve...But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD" (Joshua 24:15).  Solomon said: “The righteous should choose his friends carefully, For the way of the wicked leads them astray” (Proverbs 12:26). Paul wrote there will be “the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel” (Romans 2:16).  There will be “multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision!” (Joel 3:14). The “cowardly” will burn in Hell with “all liars” and sinners (Revelation 21:8).    

4-4-2022            Evil Approved And Good Condemned    
“He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just, Both of them alike are an abomination to the LORD”         (Proverbs 17:15). Approving evil or condemning those who do good are “abomination to the LORD.” That’s as bad as it can get. Rulers are “God’s minister to you for good,” and “God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil” (Romans 13:3-4). What makes it confusing for some people is when government policy or laws become abominable to God. Only the Bible gives a clear description of what is “good,” and what is “evil.” “Whoever rewards evil for good, Evil will not depart from his house” (Proverbs 17:13).  The Christian, however, must “See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all” (1 Thessalonians 5:15). 

3-28-2022                    The Church of Your Choice    
“And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence” (Colossians 1:18).  Jesus Christ is “the head of the body, the church”--all singular.  There may be many named “Hesus or Jesus,” but there is only one Jesus Christ; there may be many churches, but there is only one “body” of Christ; there may be many heads of churches, but there is only one preeminent “head of the body, the church” of Christ!  Pick any “Jesus or Hesus” you wish, but only “the Christ” can save souls.  Choose any “church” you wish, but only Christ's church is made up of the saved.  Follow any church “head” you wish, but only Jesus Christ is “preeminent” over the church of Christ. 

3-21-2022                    Cult Or Church?    
Upon Peter’s confession that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God,” Jesus said “on this rock I will build My church” (Matthew 16:16, 18). Since “church” means “called together,” the members are those who have responded to the call of the Gospel: “He who believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:16), of whom it is said: “the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47). Since this is “the church of God which He purchased with His own blood”              (Acts 20:28), and “He is the head of the body, the church” (Colossians 1:18), then the blood-saved people have been added to it! Since a “cult” is extreme religious belief that is false or confusing, what is false or confusing about the church of Christ? Why blaspheme it with the term “cult?”

3-14-2022                    Who Is Antichrist?
“Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son” (1 John 2:22).  Muslims are preparing a world-wide caliphate for “al-Mahdi [who] is 'the rightly-guided one' who, according to Islamic Hadiths (traditions), will come before the end of time to make the entire world Muslim” (MahdiWatch.org). Jews are holding onto their land while they await the imminent coming of the “Mashiach.”  John the Baptist sent men to ask Jesus, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” (Luke 7:20).  After performing miracles, Jesus said, “blessed is he who is not offended because of Me” (Luke 7:23).  All today who are still looking for some other “rightly-guided one,” or “Messiah,” are thus denying “that Jesus is the Christ.”  They are “antichrist!”

3-7-2022                      Who Is The Antichrist? 
In the First Century, John wrote: “Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour” (1 John 2:18).  To those who still think “the Antichrist is coming,” John said many had come “even now,” the “now” being in the First Century.  To those who are looking for “the Antichrist,” John said “many antichrists” had already come then.  To those who mistakenly think we are now living “in the last days,” John said it was “the last hour” then!  There is NO ONE “Antichrist” in Scripture, but there are many who twist Scriptures to make it seem there is. Jesus said, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved.”  Who is “antichrist?”  

2-28-2022                    When Is Jesus' Second Coming
Nearly 40 years before it happened, Jesus predicted the destruction of Jerusalem that took place in 70 A.D. There would be signs preceding it: “wars and commotions,” “nation will rise against nation,” “great earthquakes,” “famines and pestilences,” “persecution” of His disciples (Luke 21:8-19). He related “'the abomination of desolation' spoken of by Daniel the prophet” (Mark 13:14-23), when they would “see Jerusalem surrounded by armies” (Luke 21:20), and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place” (Mark 13:30). Of the Second Coming, Jesus said, “But of that day and hour no one knows” (Mark 13:32). Those who preach those “signs” as if they precede the Second Coming of Christ have ignored what Jesus actually said, and have shown complete disregard for the Word of God.  

2-21-2022                    What “Peace” Did Jesus Bring?
Jesus said: "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27). The “world” offers “peace” by increasing government power; or giving up to one’s enemies; or signing toothless treaties; or retreating into drugs and alcohol; or speeding through life while preoccupied by electronics, jobs, athletics, or shopping! Jesus’ “Peace” comes only to those who obey His Will. "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." (John 16:33). Paul wrote to Christians: “The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:9).

2-14-2022                    Fake Divisions Of Faith    
“Now it happened in Iconium that they went together to the synagogue of the Jews, and so spoke that a great multitude both of the Jews and of the Greeks believed. But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brethren” (Acts 14:1-2).  Preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ is effective, but not everyone will be converted.  “Unbelieving Jews,” who are Jews refusing to believe that Jesus is the Christ, therefore rejecting the New Testament, caused most of the city to be “divided: part sided with the Jews, and part with the apostles” (Acts 14:4).  It’s easy to create confusion in peoples’ minds though the Gospel itself is clear and understandable. “The brethren” are now called “Christians” (Acts 11:26).  The Christians were not divided, but the public opinion about them was. Only accept the Apostles’ New Testament!

2-7-2022                      Living A Christian  
The Holy Spirit wants Christians “to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you” (1 Thessalonians 4:11).  

(1) To “lead a quiet life,” is to be a “peacemaker” (Matthew 5:9), as Jesus said. Paul explained: “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men” (Romans 12:18).  

(2) “to mind your own business” (m.y.o.b.) means you deal with yourself. This does not cancel preaching the Gospel “to every creature” (Mark 16:15) but making their life’s decisions for them.  

(3) “to work with your own hands” means self-supporting, not living off your parents.  This sounds like spiritual “rugged individualism,” and that’s exactly what God requires!  No statistical “millennials” here! Living like Christians ought doesn’t leave time for laziness, whining, or being supported by parents or government handouts! 

1-31-2022                    God Exists    
Paul pointed to the distinctive God of the Bible when he said, "We also are men with the same nature as you, and preach to you that you should turn from these useless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all things that are in them” (Acts 14:15).  

1) No human being should be elevated as “God.”  It is as Jesus said, “Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven” (Matthew 23:8-9).

2) “The heaven, the earth, the sea” did not always exist, nor were they haphazardly “exploded” into their orderliness.

3) Every living thing on earth must have come from “the living God,” not man-made deities!  

4) The only explanation that makes sense, is: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).  

1-24-2022                    The Bible Is The Voice Of God   
The Bible is the Voice of God to His World. God “has in these last days spoken to us by His Son” (Hebrews 1:2). The Apostles spoke, “not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual words” (1 Corinthians 2:13). Jesus taught “But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living" (Matthew 22:31-32). The message of God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit to anyone today has been written. One who fails or refuses to study the Word of God, fails, or refuses to hear the Voice of God!

1-17-2022                    The Bible Is From God   
"Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). This prophecy, given some 700 years before it happened, was not “dually fulfilled;” did not apply to Isaiah’s own son or the serious situation at the time; but was only one-time fulfilled in the virgin birth of Jesus Christ, so said God’s Holy-Spirit-inspired writer, Matthew, in Matthew 1:20-23. Only God could have prophesied such a unique, specific event, controlled its writing, preserved the prophecy for 700 years, and identified the event that completely fulfilled the original statement.  The Bible does this hundreds of times, proving that it comes only from God, but no other religion’s book does: the Hindu Rig-Veda; the Muslim Koran; or the Buddhist Tripitaka! 

1-10-2022                   Bible Critics   
“For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion”  (Romans 11:25). Have you noticed that the people who criticize the Bible know practically nothing of its contents? Bible critics, most of the time, are ignorant of its theme, continuity, or preservation, and are only wise in their own opinion! Many atheists and skeptics, on the other hand, have become Bible-believers when they study what it actually says. “Remember this, that the enemy has reproached, O LORD, And that a foolish people has blasphemed Your name” (Psalm 74:18). “Let Your mercies come also to me, O LORD-Your salvation according to Your word. So shall I have an answer for him who reproaches me, For I trust in Your word” (Psalm 119:41-42).

1-3-2022            Jesus Saves The Lost   
Jesus defined His mission when He said: "For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost” (Matthew 18:11).  Define “lost.” It is from a Greek word meaning “wasted, ruined, lost,” and Satan is called “Apollyon,” meaning “him who lays waste” (Revelation 9:11).  Is your life being wasted through alcohol and drugs, sex and babies outside of marriage, hatred and racism, violence and murder, or cheating and stealing? Then Satan rules your life! To break Satan’s power, Jesus became “flesh and blood,” “that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Hebrews 2:14-15).  “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7). Baptism is into His death (Romans 6:3).     

12-27-2021           A Beginning Or Ending Year    
Israel’s Promised Land was “a land for which the LORD your God cares; the eyes of the LORD your God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year” (Deuteronomy 11:12).  The “end of the year” was as important as “the beginning of the year,” to God. The beginning is filled with anticipation, hope, and promise. Paul told the Corinthian Christians: “It is to your advantage not only to be doing what you began and were desiring to do a year ago; but now you also must complete the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to desire it, so there also may be a completion out of what you have”    (2 Corinthians 8:10-11).  It does no good to still want to do what we wanted to do a year ago. We must do it! 

12-20-2021  There is NO “Season” Because Jesus Is “The Reason”    
“I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching” (2 Timothy 4:1-2). There is no “season” for preaching Jesus Christ, for Christians must “always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15). The Apostle Paul preached “the words of truth and reason” (Acts 26:25). Jesus IS “the reason” for this message in preaching! Jesus said: “blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!" (Luke 11:28). Since Jesus IS “the reason,” then there is NO “season” for preaching Jesus Christ. 

12-13-2021         Baby Jesus 
This time of year, many celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, but do not seem to understand some things.  For instance, God's Son was born to a woman who did not believe in abortion.  Though not the "mother of God," Mary was chosen to bring forth the body for God's Son.  "The angel Gabriel" said to her: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God" (Luke 1:35).  Had she feared for her own life, reputation, or future at work, she could have been scared into an abortion, but instead, she feared God.  No righteous person can consistently accept the birth of the precious Jesus and believe that abortion is alright.

12-6-2021          New Birth Order
"Let all things be done decently and in order" (1 Corinthians 14:40). No better example of this is found than Jesus' statement:  "He who believes and is baptized will be saved" (Mark 16:16). Baptism is into Jesus' death. "Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?" (Romans 6:3). Any salvation offered before baptism is without the blood of Jesus Christ on the cross. If not, why not? There is not one passage of Scripture where baptism and salvation/remission of sins are mentioned together that places salvation before baptism. If salvation comes to a sinner without being baptized into Jesus’ death in order to obtain remission of sins, then, as far as their “salvation” is concerned, “Christ died in vain” (Galatians 2:21).
 
11-29-2021        Sequence Matters
"Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us...it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed" (Luke 1:1,3-4).  The Book of Luke was written by the Holy Spirit because "many" were writing their own account of Jesus' life, but not accurately. Luke's "orderly account" literally meant he was writing about the events in Jesus' life "one after another." Time sequence means something, for "God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son" (Hebrews 1:1-2).

11-22-2021         Thanksgiving Is A Mouthful   
“But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks” (Ephesians 5:3-4). Surely we can see that filthy, smutty, dirty language that spews from a person's heart cannot be canceled out by an hour or a day of “Thanksgiving.”  Jesus made this very clear when He said: “Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34). “Thanksgiving” should not be confined to a day, but to a way of life, and a change of heart. David said: “I will wash my hands in innocence...That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving” (Psalm 26:6-7).

11-15-2021         God’s Plan Of Salvation   
In the Garden of Eden, God commanded Adam not to partake of forbidden fruit, because “in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:17). It was “the serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan” (Revelation 12:9) who contradicted God when he said, “You will not surely die” (Genesis 3:4). On the Pentecost after Jesus’ resurrection, God’s Apostles commanded: "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). Those who believed that command was “God’s plan of Salvation” were the Holy Spirit, the Apostles, and those who obeyed it. Only the Devil would say: “Believing that Acts 2:38 is God’s Plan of Salvation will take you straight to Hell!”

11-8-2021           Nations That Forget God
Before Israelites entered the Promised Land, Moses warned they "will do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger through the work of your hands" (Deuteronomy 31:29).  How bad would they get?  “The LORD will strike you with consumption, with fever, with inflammation, with severe burning fever, with the sword, with scorching, and with mildew; they shall pursue you until you perish” (Deuteronomy 28:22).  “A nation whom you have not known shall eat the fruit of your land and the produce of your labor, and you shall be only oppressed and crushed continually” (Deuteronomy 28:33).  When they would not return back to God, God said, “Prepare to meet your God” (Amos 4:12).  “The wicked shall be turned into hell, And all the nations that forget God” (Psalm 9:17). As a nation, let’s remember God.

11-1-2021           Nations That Forget God
Before Israelites entered the Promised Land, Moses warned they "will do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger through the work of your hands" (Deuteronomy 31:29).  How bad would they get?  “The LORD will strike you with consumption, with fever, with inflammation, with severe burning fever, with the sword, with scorching, and with mildew; they shall pursue you until you perish” (Deuteronomy 28:22).  “A nation whom you have not known shall eat the fruit of your land and the produce of your labor, and you shall be only oppressed and crushed continually” (Deuteronomy 28:33).  When they would not return back to God, God said, “Prepare to meet your God” (Amos 4:12).  “The wicked shall be turned into hell, And all the nations that forget God” (Psalm 9:17). As a nation, let’s remember God.

10-25-2021         Are You Double-Minded? 
Prayers from a doubting heart don't work.  “For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways” (James 1:7-8). We cannot pray to God and doubt Him at the same time! “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us” (1 John 5:14). According to Acts 9:9, 11, Saul of Tarsus spent three days praying and fasting in blindness, but he had no confidence that he was saved until he was told to “Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16). In Acts 9:18, “he arose and was baptized.”  Are you sure you're saved?

10-18-2021         Life Without God   
“For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God”           (1 Thessalonians 4:3-5). God placed clean, honorable sexual relations within marriage, for “Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge” (Hebrews 13:4), for “the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body” (1 Corinthians 6:13).  Those whose songs and lives are devoted primarily to “sexual immorality” and “passion of lust,” “do not know God.”  Jesus will condemn those who “do not know God,” and “do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians 1:8).

10-11-2021         An Intelligence Test   
Paul’s first missionary trip began on the island of Cyprus: “And when they arrived in Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. They also had John as their assistant. Now when they had gone through the island to Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus, who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man called for Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God” (Acts 13:5-7). All across the island, they “preached the word of God.” Sergius Paulus, the “proconsul” who represented Roman Government, was “intelligent” for seeking “to hear the word of God.” Intelligent governance by those who seek “to hear the word of God,” can only get better. We must insist it be so. How “intelligent” are you?

10-4-2021          Faith Or Cowardice          
“And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you are blessed. ‘And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled’" (1 Peter 3:13-14). Christians stand for the truth of God’s Word, having no dread from “threats, nor be troubled.” Our confidence comes from obeying God’s Word. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7). This “spirit of fear” is “cowardice,” or shrinking back from something. The Bible shows us God’s “power” over everything; it brings out the best in us as “love;” and gives us “a sound mind,” or controlled attitude, we call “confidence.”  Christians fear less and have less to fear.

9-27-2021          Bible Talent Is Money 
Jesus taught about a man going on a journey who distributed talents to his servants, “to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability” (Matthew 25:15). But he rebuked the one-talent man by saying: “you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers” (Matthew 25:27). Sad, isn’t it, that people have crowded God out of their worship by calling their abilities “talents?” Their “worship” has become a concert displaying their “pride” in their abilities, and not being humble before God! In the Bible, a “talent” is a measure of money, not an exercise of abilities! Jesus said, “true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him” (John 4:23). God’s worship should be what He demands, not what we think we deserve!

9-20-2021          God’s Work Is Unchanged   
“Consider the work of God; For who can make straight what He has made crooked?” (Ecclesiastes 7:13). In the Creation, God: “divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day and the darkness He called Night” (Genesis 1:4-5); He caused “the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear,” making “Earth” and “Seas”         (Genesis 1:9-10); He “let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself” (Genesis 1:11); He made “great sea creatures and every living thing that moves,” “and every winged bird according to its kind” (Genesis 1:20-21). “Evolution” has no explanation for these distinctions, and no “scientist” has discovered any contradictory fact! God’s Creation Work still stands as written! Humans have not, and cannot, change it.

9-13-2021            Follow Destruction With Faith   
As Elijah watched, “behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice”                    (1 Kings 19:11-12). Earthly powers humble humanity: Hurricanes and tornadoes destroy; earthquakes shake our foundation; fires consume our works, but God is not in any of these, for “our God is in heaven” (Psalm 115:3). These humbling powers should make us listen to His voice in Scripture. Jesus said, "blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!" (Luke 11:28) In re-building, build faith!

9-5-2021            The Time Is Now 
When their government oppressed God's people, the Prophet Elijah asked the timid Israelites, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him" (1 Kings 18:21). Good people cannot survive in a society (or world!) by shrinking away from the inevitable choice: good or evil. Joshua challenged his people: “choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve...But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD" (Joshua 24:15). Paul wrote there will be “the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel” (Romans 2:16). There will be “multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision!” (Joel 3:14). The “cowardly” will burn in Hell with “all liars” and sinners (Revelation 21:8).

8-30-2021                   Have A Good Heart       

Solomon said: “He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, But whoever walks wisely will be delivered” (Proverbs 28:26).  Jeremiah wrote: "The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9); and “O LORD, I know the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps (Jeremiah 10:23). God’s inspired Word tells us not to depend only upon what our own heart says about our spiritual condition, but to listen to what God has said. “But ‘he who glories, let him glory in the LORD.’ For not he who commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends”              (2 Corinthians 10:17-18). Nowhere in the Bible are we told to “follow your own heart.” “A deceitful heart finds no good” (Proverbs 17:20).  

8-23-2021                    Living Slowly   
“A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance, But by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken” (Proverbs 15:13). A happy face usually shows a happy heart within. “Sorrow of the heart” would usually show a depressed or dejected individual. One person cannot have both at the same time!  “All the days of the afflicted are evil, But he who is of a merry heart has a continual feast” (Proverbs 15:15). Afflictions of any kind can make life seem to pass slowly because the difficulties are added onto the normal pressures of life. It is when we let these “afflictions” take over our lives that life becomes “evil.” “A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones” (Proverbs 17:22). Don’t deal with yesterday’s, or tomorrow’s, problems. Jesus said, “Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Matthew 6:34).

8-16-2021                    See For Yourself  
To the Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus proved He was The Prophet, because, as she said, “He told me all that I ever did” (John 4:39). When she told her neighbors, “they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. And many more believed because of His own word” (John 4:40-41). (1) The true Prophet of God didn’t ask a stranger any details about her life before He told her all she had done. (2) Actual faith comes from Jesus’ actual Word, so that we may “know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life” (1 John 5:20). 

8-9-2021                      Salvation And Prayer
In the New Testament, there is no record of a sinner being saved by prayer alone.  When the church of Christ began, sinful Jews asked, “what shall we do?”  Peter told them to, “Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38). The first Gentile sinner, Cornelius, was praying, but was told to send for Peter to tell him saving words (Acts 10:30; 11:14). Peter “commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord” (Acts 10:48).  Saul of Tarsus saw Jesus, Who sent him into Damascus where he prayed, and was told to “be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16). None of them were told only to pray, claim their salvation, or join the church of their choice.

8-2-2021                      Reeling From Stealing 
Jesus said: "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19). “Treasures” have earthly value, and God approves respect for personal ownership. Everyone who breaks in and steals is a thief who is violating God’s Law. The Gospel of Christ teaches:  “Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need” (Ephesians 4:28). Thieves, to show repentance, should have to buy what they have stolen by getting a job. Jobs should help workers be benevolent to others. Karl Marx’s criminal communism abolishes personal ownership, God’s Christ protects private property. Decide how you want it: godliness or ungodliness.      

7-26-2021                    Who Lights The Fires?   
“A scoffer seeks wisdom and does not find it, But knowledge is easy to him who understands” (Proverbs 14:6). A “scoffer” claims to seek wisdom but contradicts wisdom when presented. Scoffers reject the possibility of wisdom before they open their eyes to it! Therefore, “A scoffer does not love one who corrects him, Nor will he go to the wise” (Proverbs 15:12). Scoffers are destructive deniers. “Scoffers set a city aflame, But wise men turn away wrath” (Proverbs 29:8). They destroy what others may have established through wisdom. Scoffers destroy others’ Bible faith, businesses, families, and civility. “A proud and haughty man -‘Scoffer’ is his name; He acts with arrogant pride” (Proverbs 21:24). The solution? “Cast out the scoffer, and contention will leave; Yes, strife and reproach will cease” (Proverbs 22:10). Scoffers are no good for any society.

7-19-2021                    Critical Race Theory   
(1) It completely contradicts God’s teaching about humans, which makes it ungodly! ALL HUMANS are created by God with a physical body and soul (Genesis 1:27; 2:7), in one of only two genders (“male and female”) and NEVER is the color of skin a line of separation. All humans came from Eve (Genesis 3:20), and the one family of Noah (Genesis 9:18-19), so all “skin colors” are simply variations within the same human family!
(2) By definition CRT is designed to teach hatred and resentment against “white skinned people,” and guilt and self-effacement among the “white-skinned people” (www.britannica.com “critical race theory, CRT”). If that is not “Bullying” with a capital “B,” then what is?
(3) CRT is the Devil’s Lie about humans, history, and heart-health. NO ONE should support it, teach it, believe it, embrace it, or wish it on anyone!

7-12-2021                    No “Separation of Church and State”      
There is no such thing as “Separation of Church and State,” not in the U.S. Constitution, or in practice!  The U.S. Constitution never separates “church and state.”  In practice, though, the Federal Government has used “faith-based charities” for years to accomplish some of their programs.  In Tennessee, Catholic Charities administer the Federal program of immigrant resettlement.  Why can pulpits be used to endorse government plans, while the government smothers any influence from “the faith?”  “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them”            (Romans 1:18-19).  No government prospers while willfully ignorant of God.  Governments collapse with no faith to hold it up! 

7-5-2021                      Falling Short   
“Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it” (Hebrews 3:17 - 4:1).

1) Israelites in the wilderness failed to enter the Promised Land because they did not finish the journey as God commanded.

2) “Unbelief” is not obeying.

3) The resurrected Jesus said "preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:15-16). Falling short of His command is “unbelief.”

6-29-2021                    Judgmental Cancel Culture   
“Also do not take to heart everything people say, Lest you hear your servant cursing you. For many times, also, your own heart has known That even you have cursed others” (Ecclesiastes 7:21-22). How hypocritical is anyone who condemns others for that of which they, themselves, have done? Have the “cancel culture judges” never used the words they now hold in contempt? “As it is written: ‘There is none righteous, no, not one’” (Romans 3:10). Jesus said: "Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:1-3). No “cancel culture judge” has spoken so perfectly to be qualified to judge/condemn anyone else!

6-22-2021                    Creation ID   

Jesus Christ endorsed the Genesis Creation account when He said “He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female’” (Matthew 19:4). There is condemnation for all who cross, or ignore, this distinction. “Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge” (Hebrews 13:4). Gender benders can change. “Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites…will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11). “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverse mouth I hate” (Proverbs 8:13), even for a month!

6-15-2021                    Forgiveness And Faith
Jesus Christ said: "’Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, 'I repent,' you shall forgive him.’ And the apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith" (Luke 17:3-5).

(1) Who are you to judge another person’s heart? Legislation determining what are “hate crimes,” and Media rejecting confession of wrong-doing are contrary to God’s Word.

(2) Jesus said, “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34). We must assume that spoken words are “heart-felt.”

(3) Sin is a violation of God’s Word. Who are you to add arbitrary, man-made “works of penance” to make someone’s repentance to your liking? It is “godly sorrow [that] produces repentance leading to salvation” (2 Corinthians 7:10). Repentance is between the sinner and God.

6-8-2021                      Who’s Guilty?   
"The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.”                 (Ezekiel 18:18-20). Clearly, the sins of the fathers shall not be imputed to their sons.

(1) If a son “shall not bear the guilt of the father,” then no one can “inherit Adam’s sin;”

(2) It is rejection of God’s Word to blame any people today for any “slavery” in the past! Sins of the past cannot justify present hatred and violence! Past lessons learned can promote better behavior in the present. Re-living past slights or hurts, only keeps old wounds fresh in an unloving manner. “Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers all sins” (Proverbs 10:12).

6-1-2021                      Help Wanted  
“Moreover the profit of the land is for all; even the king is served from the field” (Ecclesiastes 5:9). No society thrives or survives without workers earning wages. God made the basis of society a man-woman marriage (Genesis 2:22-24); and, after sin, women were given difficult childbirth and subjection to their husbands, and men were given work to live by               (Genesis 3:16-19).“Man goes out to his work And to his labor until the evening” (Psalm 104:23). “The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, Whether he eats little or much” (Ecclesiastes 5:12). Ignoring heterosexual marriage units, or not accepting male-female sexual identities, or paying people to not work are all rejection of God’s Word! “The desire of the lazy man kills him, For his hands refuse to labor” (Proverbs 21:25). A community is crumbling when “Help Wanted” ads aren’t answered.

5-25-2021                    Woe V. Wade
The Judaeans King “Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another, besides his sin by which he made Judah sin, in doing evil in the sight of the LORD” (2 Kings 21:16). He “had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, which the LORD would not pardon” (2 Kings 24:4). In Genesis 25:19-28, Isaac and Rebekah’s twins, Esau and Jacob, were “not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil” (Romans 9:10-11). Unborn babies are innocent. God did not pardon shedding very much innocent blood. Judas Iscariot confessed “saying, ‘I have sinned by betraying innocent blood’"         (Matthew 27:4). Innocence is described as anyone, like babies, who have done no harm to anyone, and Jesus Christ, who only did good (Acts 10:38). Babies’ innocent blood damns, Jesus Christ’s innocent blood saves. 

5-18-2021                    Who Starts It?
Solomon said: “The mouth of the righteous is a well of life, But violence covers the mouth of the wicked. Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers all sins” (Proverbs 10:11-12). Who turns street demonstrations or parades into destructive, flaming violence? Who keeps people divided along racial, ethnic, or economic lines? Who keeps feeding children “critical race theory” to create bitterness and hatred even before they learn to love? “The Wicked.” Like David, we ask God to: “Consider my enemies, for they are many; And they hate me with cruel hatred (Psalm 25:19). “The wicked” fill streets with “all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking” (Ephesians 4:31). Before Jerusalem’s destruction, Jesus predicted “lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12). The lawlessness of hatred has a chilling effect on love. Look around.

5-11-2021                    The Poverty Of Riches

“But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition” (1 Timothy 6:9). When “the desire to be rich” is all-consuming, nothing good results because:

(1) Wealth before God is nothing. “There is one who makes himself rich, yet has nothing; And one who makes himself poor, yet has great riches. (Proverbs 13:7). Faith, then fortune is right. “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5).

(2) Wealth before family is failure. “Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward” (Psalm 127:3). Family is a “treasure chest.” “Better is a little with the fear of the LORD, Than great treasure with trouble” (Proverbs 15:16).

5-4-2021                      Intimidation    
“Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God” (John 12:42-43). Though the miracles proved Jesus was the Christ, they were intimidated into silence. Open confession of faith is required, for Jesus said, “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32-33). For Jesus to confess to God that He knows us should be far more important than anything humans (friends, family, business, government) can do to us! “Let the redeemed of the LORD say so” (Psalm 107:2).

4-26-2021             Salvation and Worship

“So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read” (Luke 4:16).  Jesus began His public preaching in a Jewish synagogue. A “synagogue” was a local Jewish worship place.  “Custom” is what He was brought up doing:  going to “church!”  People who obey the Gospel will worship with the saved. The people who were told to “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38). “Then those who gladly received his word were baptized. … And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:41-42). Salvation brings one into church worship. That church of Christ began 3000 strong. 

4-19-2021            HOW TO STOP THE VIOLENCE!    
Jesus said: "For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies” (Matthew 15:19). Only the Word of God can change the human heart. “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). Gun laws don’t stop ”murders;” marriage licensing doesn’t stop “adulteries” or “fornications;” jails don’t prevent “thefts;” slander laws don’t stop “false witness;” and libel laws don’t end “blasphemies.” These deal with after the fact. Only converting the heart can stop  these from being done. God’s commandments “are all summed up in this saying, namely, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’" (Romans 13:9). Preach Jesus Christ!

4-12-2021                     Are All Saved?    
“We trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe” (1 Timothy 4:10).  God is the “Savior of all men” but not all are saved, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).  God has made His offering for any who will accept it. “But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God” (Hebrews 10:12). Scripture is given “for obedience to the faith” (Romans 16:26).  Jesus said: "if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins" (John 8:24).  “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16).

4-5-2021                      Salvation And Bible Faith    
No one has received a revelation from God since the New Testament was finished. God’s last word to Israel was: “Remember the Law of Moses, My servant, Which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel, With the statutes and judgments” (Malachi 4:4).   400 years of silence from God followed.  God has similar statements in the New Testament: “contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3); “remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Jude 17); “If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 14:37). The written Scriptures are God’s last words to the world. Whoever claims more is sadly mistaken!

3-29-2021                        Right Judgments   
“Discrimination” is the quality or power of finely distinguishing,” or making judgments. Making moral judgments based upon what God says is exactly what God wants us to do. Solomon asked God to, “Give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?" (1 Kings 3:9). Making “judgments” and “discerning” on the basis of “good and evil” is what God's “wisdom” is all about. Jesus called “hypocrites” those who “can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time? Yes, and why, even of yourselves, do you not judge what is right?” (Luke 12:56-57). Making moral judgements, people “Have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (Hebrews 5:14).

3-22-2021                     Perils of Paul 
“Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my owncountrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, inperils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness” (2 Corinthians 11:25-27).

(1) Jesus never said it would be easy to “preach the word.”

(2) Life is a “risk” or ”peril,” but that’s no excuse for avoiding the market-place or going to church (Acts 17:17; 20:7)!

(3) Where was Paul’s “guardian angel” to keep these things from happening? Take a chance on life.

3-15-2021                     Cancel or Cancer? 
“Do not remove the ancient landmark Which your fathers have set” (Proverbs 22:28). God’s Wisdom plainly states that no one should “plow under” the entire society. Without “history,” details of The Creation by God would be forgotten: “This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens”     (Genesis 2:4). “History” shows God destroyed Sodom & Gomorrah “making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly” (2 Peter 2:6). A “canceling of culture” spreads “profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness” like “cancer” (2 Timothy 2:16-17). “The wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them” (Colossians 2:6-7). “History” reminds us of what we were, but seek to change.

3-8-2021                      The Flood Sand Dunes
“For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water” (2 Peter 3:5-6). People act as though the world-wide flood in Noah’s day (Genesis 6-9) was some exaggerated local flood. About one-fourth of the State of Nebraska has grass-held sand dunes, some over 400 feet high. This area of western Nebraska, known as the Sand Hills, can only be explained as sediment from a great flood. Since there is no ocean nearby to explain this huge beach in the middle of dry land, a person must “willfully forget” about the flood in Noah’s day to make-believe there’s any other explanation! No “billion-year Evolution,” for only God was needed. Do you believe?

3-1-2021                      Verbally Inspired  
Paul argued the “verbal inspiration” of the Bible regarding the "seed" promised to Abraham: “Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, ‘And to seeds,’ as of many, but as of one, ‘And to your Seed,’ who is Christ”   (Galatians 3:16). God's original promise to Abraham is recorded in Genesis 22:18: "In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed." The Old Testament Hebrew word for "seed" cannot apply to the Israelites, Levites, or anyone else, before Jesus Christ. The inspired writer of Galatians 3:16 makes an inspired interpretation of Genesis 22:18 and shows the fulfillment recorded in Matthew - John was perfectly accurate! God knew what He said in the promise, and certainly knew when events had “filled full” (or “fulfilled”) what He meant for men to believe. 

2-22-2021                     Pay Back Or Forward? 
“Do not say, ‘I will do to him just as he has done to me; I will render to the man according to his work’" (Proverbs 24:29). Returning evil for evil means the victim has become evil, or dropped to the level of the evil-doer. The wiser way says, “Do not say, ‘I will recompense evil;’ Wait for the LORD, and He will save you” (Proverbs 20:22). The best way to treat an evil-doer is: “If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; For so you will heap coals of fire on his head, And the LORD will reward you” (Proverbs 25:21-22). This is quoted for Christians to follow in the New Testament in Romans 12:17-21. Don’t let the bad guys win!

2-15-2021                     Workman’s Compensation 

Proverbs 21:5: “The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty, but those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty” Work, hard work, and plenty of it is the only way to true wealth. Solomon also said: “Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before unknown men” (Proverbs 22:29); and, “All the labor of man is for his mouth, And yet the soul is not satisfied” (Ecclesiastes 6:7). Without earning our own way, we become slaves. “The hand of the diligent will rule, But the lazy man will be put to forced labor” (Proverbs 12:24). Jesus said there is more to life: "Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you” (John 6:27).  

2-8-2021                      Can We See God?
While on Earth, Jesus said to Philip: “He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?”   (John 14:8-9) Thus, Jesus “is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation” (Colossians 1:15). Jesus is the “image” (icon) of “the invisible (aorata) God.” Jesus emphasized, “Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father” (John 6:46). “Idolatry” is any, and every, attempt to make God or Jesus visible to our physical eyes, whether it is done with statues, Creches, paintings, or trinkets. This is why: “Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man's devising”            (Acts 17:29).

2-1-2021                      To Have Or Have Not  
Jesus said: "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses" (Luke 12:15). Envy and covetousness exist when those who “have not” train their eyes on what others “have,” desiring to obtain it by evil means, then we have an example of what God calls “covetousness,” which is idolatry (Colossians 3:5). Satisfaction with what we “have” comes from trusting God to be in charge: “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’" (Hebrews 13:5). When the “poor” are encouraged to covet what the “rich” have, they become “robbing hoods,” whether or not they are members of a political party, street thugs, labor union, man-made religion, or underworld brotherhood! 

1-25-2021                    What Price “Unity?”
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (Romans 1:18). Many are calling for national unity. “Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?”      (Amos 3:3) Opposites cannot be brought together unless one side repents and relents. “Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord's table and of the table of demons”                  (1 Corinthians 10:20-21). Those who practice violence for their power, and preach hatred and resentment for their purpose cannot demand “unity” from those who love the Bible and the Constitution, without changing themselves.

1-18-20201                    Truth Supressed

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (Romans 1:18). Even Jesus had difficulty getting Jews to accept the truth about Himself: "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me” (John 8:44-45). Suppressing truth doesn’t change what is true. “Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?” (Galatians 4:16) Speak “the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15)

1-11-2021                     Engendering God’s Wrath
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (Romans 1:18). Jesus said, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female'” (Matthew 19:4). Efforts to suppress the gender truth of Creation engenders God’s wrath. Whether it is to remove gender differences in a language’s pronouns, trans gendering surgeries, or flagrantly adopting cross gender practices, God’s wrath is incurred. Jesus’ statement shows that:

(1) Creation facts contained in Scripture (Genesis 1:27) and as universally seen in human nature had not changed;

(2) He did not adapt Creation facts to modern customs, nor did He separate Creation fact from human fantasies. God approves no attempt to suppress His Creation of “male and female.” 

1-4-2021                      Sin’s Sly Beginning
The Devil, as a serpent (Genesis 3:1; Revelation 12:9), tempted Eve in three steps:

1) Doubt - “Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?" (Genesis 3:1);

2) Denial - "You will not surely die” (Genesis 3:4);

3) Distrust - "For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil" (Genesis 3:5).

The Devil tempts today in the same way.

1) Bible commentaries, sermons, and so-called “translations” fog truth, Solomon wrote, “That I may make you know the certainty of the words of truth, That you may answer words of truth” (Proverbs 22:20-21).

2) Jesus’ truth is denied: "He who believes and is NOT baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:16).

3) “God is faithful” (2 Corinthians 1:18). Are you tempted?

12-28-2020                   A Truly New Year
Under the Law of Moses, God began each Jewish New Year with the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16). With a special, once a year ceremony, the sins of the people were pronounced on a “scapegoat” and a sacrificial sin offering and a burnt offering were also offered. The nation was to begin their yearly planning by making things right with God. Under the Law of Jesus Christ, God “now commands all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30), and, if you haven’t, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38). Only then will the Lord add “to the church daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47). There is no other, or better, way to begin a truly New Year for 2021! 

12-21-2020                        Chirst or Christmas? [Reason for the Season, Part 4]
Jesus said of the Pharisees: “’And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men--the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do. He said to them, ‘All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition’” (Mark 7:7-9).  

Do you notice the “doctrines” and “commandments of men” are practices without any authority from God? Pharisees wanted to appear even more religious than those who simply obeyed God’s Word, so they invented observations, and set aside “the commandment of God.”  The observance of a “Christ’s Mass” is just such a Pharisaical practice. Christians remember Jesus’ death in the Lord’s Supper, and resurrection every 1st day of the week. For a “Christ’s Mass,” many set these aside.

12-14-2020                 Star Light, Star Bright [Reason for the Season? Part 3]

On December 21, the Jupiter and Saturn regular 20-year conjunction will occur to observers, this time appearing closer than usual. The closest observable conjunction before that was in medieval 1226! The miraculous “Star of Bethlehem” led wise men, but had nothing to do with a “regular conjunction,” because Matthew 2 says:

(1) it moved to guide wise men, not shepherds (vs. 1, 9);

(2) led for more than a year (vs. 7, 16);

(3) “came and stood over where the young child was,” a selected house, not a manger (vs. 9-11);

(4) never occurred again (v. 12)!

Also notice wise men came “after Jesus was born in Bethlehem” (Matthew 2:1), not the day of birth with the shepherds       (Luke 2:8-16). Those Wise Men never saw the baby Jesus, and wise men today will respect what the Bible says about it!

12-7-2020                  Sequence Matters,  [Reason for the Season? Part 2]    

"Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us"          (Luke 1:1)..."it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed"  (Luke 1:3-4). The Book of Luke was written by the Holy Spirit because "many" were writing their own account of Jesus' life, but not accurately.  Luke's "orderly account" literally meant he was writing about the events in Jesus' life "one after another." Time sequence means something, for "God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son" (Hebrews 1:1-2).  

11-30-2020              No Bible Myths,  [Reason for the Season? Part 1]

"For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty" (2 Peter 1:16).  Peter, James, and John had seen what took place on that Mount of Transfiguration that is recorded in Matthew 17:1-9; Mark 9:2-9; and Luke 9:28-36.  It is important that we know: 

(1) the written accounts of this are accurately recorded; 

(2) Peter, as an eyewitness, verified that event in Christ's life on earth; 

(3) God had spoken from Heaven to point out Jesus as "My beloved Son. Hear Him."  

The Bible is not full of "fables" (the Greek word is "myths"), and should not be treated as such.  What is written in the Bible should not be "jumbled up" as if it doesn't matter, and outside stories must never be added into the Bible text.

11-23-2020             Fear Of Salvation    

People are afraid of Jesus Christ when they don’t know, nor understand, the truth about Him. He walked on the sea and His disciples “supposed it was a ghost, and cried out " (Mark 6:49-50). At His resurrection, the women were told: “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said” (Matthew 28:5-6). “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments” (1 John 5:3). People who don’t know nor understand the truth about salvation are afraid to be baptized to be saved. God explained: “do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?” (Romans 6:3). No salvation is outside of Christ. Fear not to obey Jesus Christ.

11-16-2020    A Religious Poll    

“And it happened, as He was alone praying, that His disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, ‘Who do the crowds say that I am?’ So they answered and said, ‘John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again’ (Luke 9:18-19).” The opinion on the street was: (1) speculative; (2) divided; (3) wrong! Did Jesus say, “Each one has their own truth?" or “Everyone is entitled to their own opinion?” OR “It doesn’t make any difference what they believe and practice?” None of these. Jesus said to His disciples who had seen His miracles, heard His teaching, and followed Him, ‘“But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said, “The Christ of God”’ (Luke 9:20). Prayers for unity without accepting what the Bible says avail nothing!

11-9-2020           What Changed?

After “the most important election in history,” what have the results really changed? 

Not God: "For I am the LORD, I do not change” (Malachi 3:6). Not Jesus Christ: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). 

Not The Holy Spirit’s Bible: “contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). 

Not the Gospel of Salvation: "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:15-16). 

Not God’s Authority Over Government: “For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God” (Romans 13:1). 

Not the church of Christ: “I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18).

11-3-2020             Faith or Cowardice    

“And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you are blessed. ‘And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled’.” (1 Peter 3:13 14) Christians stand for the truth of God’s Word, having no dread from ’threats, nor be[ing] troubled.” Our confidence comes from obeying God’s Word. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7) This ‘spirit of fear" is “cowardice,” or shrinking back from. The Bible shows us God's power over everything; it brings out the best in us as love, and gives us a “sound mind” or controlled attitude we call “confidence.” Christians fear less and have less to fear.

10-27-2020        Dying to Lie    

“An evildoer gives heed to false lips; A liar listens eagerly to a spiteful tongue.” (Proverbs 17:4) Surely in a poitical campaign year, this is easily understood. “Evildoer” describes someone whose heart is full of wickedness and sins. ’False lips’ describes the mouths through which the heart of evil speaks falsely. Only a wicked person wants to feed his, or her, vile heart with lies coming through “false lips”. The liar collects garbage scraps from tongues of hateful spite, and cares nothing about truth, righteousness, or purity! The problem for the rest of us is trying to “see the forest for the sleaze!” Gossip taken seriously is malice in those with no respect for the truth! Jesus said the Devi is “a liar and the father of it” (John 8:44), but we know His children! Beware of the Devil's famly reunion!

10-20-2020        Who Elected Our President?        

'The LORO brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect. The counsel of the LORD stands forever. The plans of His heart to all generations" (Psalm 33:10-11). Have you notced how “peace treaties,” “global initiatives,” and megalomaniacs all fade out and fall apart? There is no power organization of "globalists" that God wll allow to take over His world, for it is God Who “removes kings and raises up kings" (Daniel 2:21). As King David wrote: “The earth is the LORD'S. and all its fulness, The world and those who dwell therein" (Psalm 24:1). While we think, by politics and elections, we grant power, the government’s power is “given you from above!” (John 19:11). A government that recognizes and protects “unalienable rights” that come from God, is best for all concerned!

10-13-2020       Might Doesn’t Make Right    

Because the Media focuses on street mobs and their violence, people may ask, “Are they right?’’ God once warned: “You shall not follow a crowd to do evil.” (Exodus 23:2) Solomon’s wisdom said, “Those who are of a perverse heart are an abomination to the LORD, but the blameless in their ways are His delight. Though they join forces, the wicked will not go unpunished; but the posterity of the righteous will be delivered.” (Proverbs 11:20-21) A union of sinners, expressed as to “join forces” (literally, "hand to hand”), cannot overpower God's line of “righteousness”. God finds abominable everyone who teaches otherwise! Proverbs 17:15: "He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just, both of them alike are an abomination to the LORD.”  Let's join hands in what is right, and not be pressured into what's wrong! {Colossians 2:8) “Receive Jesus” the Scriptural way, not by man-made traditional teaching.

9-28-2020              Brutality is Hateful     
Those who cruelly, viciously kick and beat a political opponent, shoot parked policemen, plant explosives among the public, or recklessly maim and injure people should thank God we no longer live under the Law of Moses, for God’s justice dealt harshly with cruelty: "If a man causes disfigurement of his neighbor, as he has done, so shall it be done to him - fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth: as he has caused disfigurement of a man, so shall it be done to him.” (Leviticus 24:19-20) John the Baptist commanded soldiers, "Do not intimidate anyone,” or “no police brutality.” To do otherwise is the definition of a “hate crime." Christians recognize that, without “the kindness and the love of God our Savior,” people are "living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another" (Titus 3:3-4). Forgiveness ends brutality - ask for it!

9-21-2020              Has the Holy Spirit Spoken to You?    
Jesus said: 'However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth' (John 16:13) If promised for everyone. then there was no further need to write the New Testament, for the Holy Spirit would directly guide everyone "into all truth." But, if to the Apostles, then their written Scriptures are the Holy Spirit’s words for all! Jesus prayed over the 11 Apostles, “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word.” (John 17:20) The Holy Spirit wrote it was, ‘the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen’ (Mark 16:20). After the Apostles, Jesus expected people to follow Him through their written “word". Jesus' promise and its fulfillment are written in the New Testament. Think of the irony of that!

9-14-2020          Only Follow Your Heart    

Children are raised with the encouragement to: “Follow your heart.”  But this advice ignores the warning: “O LORD, I know the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps” (Jeremiah 10:23).  God rejected people who “walked in the imagination of his evil heart " (Jeremiah 11:8).  After punishing them, God said: "they shall walk no more after the stubbornness of their evil heart” (Jeremiah 3:17).  None of us knows, completely from our own hearts, how to do good and not evil.  The solution?  “Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You!” (Psalm 119:11).   Children should rather pray: “Direct my steps by Your word, And let no iniquity have dominion over me” (Psalm 119:133).  

9-7-2020             The Valley of Opinion    

“For I hear the slander of many; Fear is on every side; While they take counsel together against me, They scheme to take away my life” (Psalm 31:13). Media values “news” which is more “opinion” than real facts and truth. In point of fact, “opinion polls” consume a great deal of time and space these days. The New Testament commands: “Do not be wise in your own opinion” (Romans 12:16 quoting Proverbs 3:7). Opinions can bully people into fleeing. “The wicked flee when no one pursues, But the righteous are bold as a lion. (Proverbs 28:1). Opinions can be corrected: “I thought about my ways, And turned my feet to Your testimonies. I made haste, and did not delay To keep Your commandments” (Psalm 119:59-60). The Valley of Opinion is in the Land of the Lost.  

8-31-2020             Nations That Forget God   

Before Israelites entered the Promised Land, Moses warned they "will do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger through the work of your hands" (Deuteronomy 31:29).  How bad would they get?  “The LORD will strike you with consumption, with fever, with inflammation, with severe burning fever, with the sword, with scorching, and with mildew; they shall pursue you until you perish” (Deuteronomy 28:22).  “A nation whom you have not known shall eat the fruit of your land and the produce of your labor, and you shall be only oppressed and crushed continually” (Deuteronomy 28:33).  When they would not return back to God, God said, “Prepare to meet your God” (Amos 4:12).  “The wicked shall be turned into hell, And all the nations that forget God” (Psalm 9:17).  “All nations” should learn.

8-24-2020                    Tampering With Evidence

“Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus” (John 12:9-11). Living Lazarus was proof Jesus had the power of God over death. One day, when He calls for everyone, “all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth” (John 5:28-29). “Religious leaders” sought to tamper with the evidence, that is, “put Lazarus to death.” Those who refuse to accept truth may try destroying the evidence, censorship, or propaganda, none of which changes the truth but simply exposes those who serve Satan. 

8-17-2020                     We Are NOT In Despair   

"But as a mountain falls and crumbles away, And as a rock is moved from its place; As water wears away stones, And as torrents wash away the soil of the earth; So You destroy the hope of man” (Job 14:18-19). Job voiced the danger of being surrounded by downers! By the time we read the headlines, see network TV News, watch destructive TV shows or dismal movies, or listen to our dreary “friends,” it’s no wonder that “depression” has enveloped our land. But if we listen to God in Romans 15:13: “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing.” Christians learn to speak like Paul, “We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair” (2 Corinthians 4:8)

8-10-2020                   Street Crime    

David prayed, “Deliver me, O LORD, from evil men; Preserve me from violent men” (Psalm 140:1).  Solomon gave a reason for that, “A violent man entices his neighbor, And leads him in a way that is not good” (Proverbs 16:29).  Destructive violence in a land of laws is not the way of “Justice.”  “The violence of the wicked will destroy them, Because they refuse to do justice” (Proverbs 21:7).  The people who call for “justice” but preach violence are against “justice.”  “Do not be envious of evil men, Nor desire to be with them; For their heart devises violence, And their lips talk of troublemaking” (Proverbs 24:1-2).  Whether it comes from a neighborhood gang, or from city, county, state, or country, advocates of violence and plundering are nothing but lawless criminals!  “Sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4).

7-27-2020            Is There Not a Cause?     

With these words, the shepherd lad, David, showed courage. The Philistine giant, Goliath, had challenged Israel’s army for a “duel” to decide the war’s victory. “Then David said to Saul, ‘Let no man's heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine’" (1 Samuel 17:32). To Goliath, David said, “I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel whom you have defied” (1 Samuel 17:45). It’s not the size, number, or might of those who oppose the bullying Goliath of Media, Government, Business, or Education who win, but God’s “cause.” “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).

7-20-2020           No “Christian Crusades”   

In Luke 9:51-56, Jesus intended to go to Jerusalem and passed through a Samaritan village, but “they did not receive Him.”  His disciples, James and John, wanted to “command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them.”  “But He turned and rebuked them, and said, 'You do not know what manner of spirit you are of.  For the Son of Man did not come to destroy  men's lives but to save them'" (Luke 9:55-56).  Jesus did not teach, nor permit, physical retribution and destruction upon those who do not obey His will. The Apostles learned there is no such thing as a “Christian Crusade.”  Reporters and Historians have grossly perverted Jesus' teaching when they speak of “Christian Crusades.” Jesus' kingdom is “not of this world” (John 18:36).  The Gospel of Jesus Christ converts willing souls, but does not “destroy men's lives.”    

7-13-2020                    The Problem of “Racism”

In the beginning, “God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27). Thus humans were made “in the image of God” but physically distinguishable as “male and female.” Sin and corruption caused God’s world-wide flood in Noah’s day (Genesis 7-9) and it was through Noah, his three sons and their wives that God started humanity, again. Every human born on earth is “in the image of God,” either male or female, and capable of choosing to sin. God scattered people over the earth by confusing languages at the tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9). The Gospel of Christ was preached in different “native languages” (Acts 2:5-12). Christ saves those of the human “race” who obey       (Mark 16:15-16). Sin, not “skin,” is the “racial problem.”

7-6-2020                      The Spirit of Barabbas   

“Pilate said to them, ‘Whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?’” (Matthew 27:17). Pilate could “find no fault in” Jesus (John 19:4, 6), but the stirred-up mob only said, “Crucify Him” (Luke 23:21). Barabbas was “notorious” (Matthew 27:16), in a city rebellion committing murder (Mark 15:7; Luke 23:19), “a robber” (John 18:40). What a choice: an “evil man,” who “seeks only rebellion” (Proverbs 17:11), or Jesus Christ who had “no fault.” Pilate represented the “legal system” (today, it’s the courts, politicians, demonstrations, and propaganda) permitting removal of Jesus Christ but freeing criminals. God warned, “Do not associate with those given to change” (Proverbs 24:21). “Barabbas” on the streets, instead of Jesus Christ, is to “sow the wind, and reap the whirlwind” (Hosea 8:7).

6-29-2020                    Cause or Case?

“The first one to plead his cause seems right, Until his neighbor comes and examines him” (Proverbs 18:17). When “news” often becomes “noise,” surely we see Solomon’s wisdom. Just because someone claims to have been wronged, there may be another “side” (or facts!) to be considered. We cannot jump into a decision with signs, slogans, or street mobs and act too hastily.  

“The simple believes every word, But the prudent considers well his steps” (Proverbs 14:15). A “prudent” person uses the responsible filter of personal judgment before any action. “A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself, But the simple pass on and are punished” (Proverbs 22:3). Prejudice does not help for: “He who answers a matter before he hears it, It is folly and shame to him” (Proverbs 18:13). Timeless truth for our times!

6-22-2020                    Bullhorn “Brothers?”

“An ungodly man digs up evil, And it is on his lips like a burning fire. A perverse man sows strife, And a whisperer separates the best of friends. A violent man entices his neighbor, And leads him in a way that is not good” (Proverbs 16:27-29).

The “ungodly” never forgive for they dig up and live in the past. “A perverse man” (one who “devises evil continually,”    Proverbs 6:14) “sows strife,” and where there is no “talebearer, the strife ceases” (Proverbs 26:20). Interestingly, the “ungodly,” “perverse,” “whisperer,” and “violent” people are the ones in mobs with the bullhorns! Quell the riot with Jesus’ words: "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:14-15).

6-15-2020                    Keep The Sword

“Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God… For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil…But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God's minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil” (Romans 13:1-4).

God gave “the sword” to government to execute God’s wrath on evil-doers. Attacking the police is rebellion against God. Good Policemen should be respected because of the authority God has given them, while bad Policemen should suffer God’s wrath. Solomon’s Wisdom said: “Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil” (Ecclesiastes 8:11). Remove that “sword,” and the godless will rule!

6-8-2020                      Upside-down Judgment

No one who resorts to violence is for justice.  “Do not be envious of evil men, Nor desire to be with them; For their heart devises violence, And their lips talk of troublemaking” (Proverbs 24:1-2). “Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, But such as keep the law contend with them” (Proverbs 28:4).  

Only lawbreakers praise lawbreakers.  Only the wicked defend the wicked. Those who live lawfully must stand up against them.  “He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just, Both of them alike are an abomination to the LORD”         (Proverbs 17:15). It is an injustice department that releases the guilty and punishes the obedient. “The violence of the wicked will destroy them, Because they refuse to do justice (Proverbs 21:7). “The LORD tests the righteous, But the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates” (Psalm 11:5).

6-1-2020                      Who Can Predict?

Peter emphasized knowing what the prophets and Apostles of Christ had written (2 Peter 3:1-2) because some: question the Flood in Noah’s day (2 Peter 3:3-7), doubt the Second Coming of Jesus (2 Peter 3:8-13), or twist the meaning in Paul’s epistles           (2 Peter 3:14-16). He said his readers “know this beforehand” (2 Peter 3:17-18), literally “have knowledge in advance.” No one can have knowledge of the future without God’s help!

Solomon said: “Do not boast about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day may bring forth” (Proverbs 27:1).

All uninspired predictions of the future are nothing but speculation or opinion, and are uncertain! No doctor, politician, financial advisor, fortune teller, parent, preacher, educator, etc. can make accurate predictions of the future. Jesus said, “he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going” (John 12:35).

5-25-2020           A Memorial 

Before His cross, “a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head” to anoint His body for burial beforehand (Mark 14:3-9). Jesus said: "Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her" (Mark 14:9). Statues, headstones, monuments, buildings oftentimes obscure the meaning of what they are for. It’s the telling with words what people or events they represent, the history to be heard and learned. Wisdom says, “Do not remove the ancient landmark Which your fathers have set” (Proverbs 22:28). This is another way of saying “don’t rewrite history—read it and learn.”

5-18-2020           “Sticks & Stones” 

A childhood chant was, “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” Really? Maybe that is true with physical pain, but words intended to hurt, do indeed, hurt. Otherwise, why would some people hurl so many hateful, hurtful, obscene, filthy, or vile words at a fellow human being? Sometimes these come from parents, children, friends, associates, or relatives. God knows how words can hurt, and He has tried to help the situation by telling His children:

“Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers” (Ephesians 4:29). “Corrupt” literally means “rotten, putrid, like fruit.” Slinging “corrupt” speech splatters even the slinger! God’s way is best for all concerned; don’t you think? 

5-11-2020           Confining the Righteous

“When the righteous rejoice, there is great glory; But when the wicked arise, men hide themselves” (Proverbs 28:12). “The righteous” today are those who obey Christ: “If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him” (1 John 2:29). “The wicked” disregard God’s Word: “A good man obtains favor from the LORD, But a man of wicked intentions He will condemn” (Proverbs 12:2). Those who obey God are free to move about and “do good” (Galatians 6:10), unless “the wicked arise” and confine them. Peter said, kings or governors are sent by God “for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good” (1 Peter 2:14). Only “the wicked” would prevent “the righteous” from “doing good.” 

5-7-2020             Maintaining “Social Distance”

The suggested “safe distance” from each other, to avoid viral contamination, is “6 feet.” This may, or may not work, since viruses have other ways of spreading. However, “spiritual separation” is a rule a Christian must follow to avoid being drawn back into sin. “For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light “(Ephesians 5:5-8). A Christian must: “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise” (Ephesians 5:15). Don’t be “re-infected.”

4-30-2020           Wash Your Hands

We’ve heard this repeated thousands of times in the past weeks. Soap, water, and thorough application removes contaminants and makes our hands safe to use. This illustrates a spiritual application: “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded” (James 4:7-8). Obviously, this hand-washing represents the repentant heart choosing righteous actions for the hands in resisting the Devil. Surely this cannot mean the rest of a sinner’s body should still be used for sinning! The “hands” will do what the heart demands, so if a heart is right before God, the hands will be, also. Jesus authors eternal salvation “to all who obey Him” (Hebrews 5:9). This time, really, “wash your hands.”

4-23-2020           Salvation And Bible Faith

No one has received a revelation from God since the New Testament was finished.  God’s last word to Israel was: “Remember the Law of Moses, My servant, Which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel, With the statutes and judgments”   (Malachi 4:4). 400 years of silence from God followed.  Since Jesus came, God has similar statements for the New Testament: “contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3); “remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Jude 17); “If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 14:37).  The written Scriptures are God’s last words to the world. Whoever claims more is sadly mistaken!

4-16-2020           Is Your Life Real?

An angel of the Lord led Peter out of prison, “So he went out and followed him, and did not know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision.” After leaving the prison without incident, “they went out and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him. And when Peter had come to himself, he said, ‘Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel, and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people’" (Acts 12:9-11). What showed Peter this was not a “vision?” The reality of where he actually was, out of prison! A video game, movie, TV program, “reality show,” or social media are not reality. Peter came to himself when reality set in. How “real” is your “reality?” 

4-6-2020             Try, Again   

Crimes come from the heart, not the neighborhood. “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). But at Paul’s preaching in the sinfully corrupted city of Corinth, “many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized” (Acts 18:8). More laws on the books, newer housing projects, larger police forces, and longer prison sentences cannot change one heart like Jesus Christ can. To a world of sinners who need to change, Jesus said, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:16).  The church of Christ is composed of scrubbed sinners.      

3-30-2020               Wuhan Woe

Despite the extreme efforts to contain and stop the Wuhan Virus, there is an even more devastating virus that is being overlooked. A fear of the Wuhan Virus is of those who may have it and not know it, but be spreading it to others. Wuhan only affects the body; the Virus of Sin affects souls forever. John said, “He who sins is of the Devil” (1 John 3:8). Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin” (John 8:34). Jesus also said, “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man" (Mark 7:21-23). The cure “is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith” (1 John 5:4). 

3-23-2020        Hate-filled Strife    

There can be no question that in the world, “hatred” is preached and practiced! Christians should leave this behind, for Paul wrote in Titus 3:3: “For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.” There is another, different, word for “hatred” listed as a “work of the flesh” that disqualifies anyone from inheriting “the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:19-21). Only the hateful stir up strife: “Where there is no wood, the fire goes out; And where there is no talebearer, strife ceases. As charcoal is to burning coals, and wood to fire, So is a contentious man to kindle strife” (Proverbs 26:20-21). Christians are those drawn from the hateful world by God’s love. It is for the “love of God,” we should “keep His commandments” (1 John 5:3).   

3-16-2020      Is This “The End?” 

Every time a catastrophe occurs, gloom & doomsday predictors turn to Scripture to justify their glum attitude. Scriptures are twisted beyond recognition as predicted in 2 Peter 3:14-18. All Old Testament Prophecies about Jesus Christ were fulfilled in the 1st Century, as Peter said: “Yes, and all the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days” (Acts 3:24). Jesus predicted the destruction of Jerusalem that occurred in A.D. 70 as being preceded by “signs” (Matthew 24:1-35). But Jesus said nothing is known to predict His Second Coming when He said: “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only” (Matthew 24:36). He gave five illustrations to prove “no one knows” (Matthew 24:37-25:30). Nothing in Scripture, nor in world events, is a “sign” of the end!

3-9-2020       When Tornadoes Happen   

On God’s earth, things happen to all alike, both good and  evil. There are blessings, as Jesus said: "that you may be sons of your Father in heaven: for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust”    (Matthew 5:45). There will be death: “it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). There is destruction: “The fear of the wicked will come upon him, And the desire of the righteous will be granted. When the whirlwind passes by, the wicked is no more, But the righteous has an everlasting foundation” (Proverbs 10:24-25). “Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous” (1 John 3:7). The difference is, the righteous have faith to explain it all!        

Some think “when it’s your time to die, there’s nothing you can do about it.” David wrote: "LORD, make me to know my end, And what is the measure of my days, That I may know how frail I am. Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths, And my age is as nothing before You; Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor. Selah Surely every man walks about like a shadow” (Psalm 39:4-5). To “measure my days,” means we should count our birthdays to remind us “how frail” we are. This expression does NOT say, “God has predetermined the length of every life,” BUT we need “to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12). We should “number our days” but nothing says that God has our days numbered!

2-23-20-20          Don't Be Cruel   

In the Old Testament, God exposed “bullying” when He said, “You shall not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind, but shall fear your God: I am the LORD” (Leviticus 19:14).  It is cruel for a “deaf” person cannot hear the curse and respond.  Putting a “stumbling block” in front of a “blind” person when they cannot avoid it is despicable.  No examples bullying could be simpler to understand. God corrected this when He commanded: “Execute true justice, Show mercy and compassion Everyone to his brother” (Zechariah 7:9).  If you were in their place, how would you like someone to do you that way? Jesus summed up this anti-bullying teaching when He said, “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12).       

2-17-2020          Unqualified Love of God?     

The only verse many people accept is “God is love” (1 John 4:8). They think that means “God loves me regardless of how I live.” They could not be more wrong, for Jesus Christ also said, “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him" (John 14:21). Sinners want God to love them as they are, but David said of God, “The boastful shall not stand in Your sight; You hate all workers of iniquity” (Psalm 5:4-5). God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4); and “now commands all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30). 

2-10-2020          What Love Is     

“By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren”               (1 John 3:16). Love is not flowers, candy, jewelry, or sex. This verse describes “love” as a voluntary choice and commitment. Jesus chose to obey God and die for us. In Wyoming, Illinois, on January 30, 2017, Shelby Ann Carter, forever age 21, strapped her 12 day-old baby in a car seat, broke the 2nd story window of the burning house, and, with her dying breath, tossed her baby to safety. Shelby Ann died of carbon monoxide poisoning. Her mother’s love placed the baby’s safety above her own. Since Roe v. Wade (1973), enabling Planned Parenthood’s propaganda, 61,711,569 babies have been slaughtered in America without love! Shelby Ann should be a hero to all women who conceive.

2-3-2020             How Does God Speak Today?       

“God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son” (Hebrews 1:1-2). Jesus has said: “the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day” (John 12:48). But how does anyone know the words of Jesus? “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away”   (Luke 21:33). The things in the New Testament “are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31). We must believe everything the Bible says about Jesus – no more, and no less! His words are preserved in the Bible.      

1-27-2020            Who Has Seen Jesus?        

Jesus is revealed in the Bible – not on an iron, foil on a bottle of cider, a drainpipe, a tortilla, the side of a freezer, a potted asparagus fern, or a shroud of Turin! But, there is NO physical description of Jesus Christ on Earth anywhere in Scripture! Every depiction of Jesus, whether as a baby, an adult or on a cross, is totally without Scriptural fact, and entirely made-up by someone’s imagination! To Thomas, who had trouble believing that Jesus was raised from the dead, “Jesus said to him, ‘Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed’" (John 20:29). We are to be looking in the Scriptures for Jesus Christ, not imagining Him in any other place!      

1-20-2020          What Is Shameful      

“Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:19-21).  What is wrong with our society, or any other, is that works of the flesh are not only practiced, but they are promoted, and presumed with pride to be without any shame or guilt, whatsoever! Sinners are not ashamed of their own sins, but of all those who “Preach the word!” (2 Timothy 4:2)!  However, like Paul, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16).        

1-13-2020           Country Music Theology      

Many people, it seems, follow a “Country Music” Theology, rather than the Bible. “The Red Dirt Road,” for example, said, “I learned the path to Heaven is full of sinners and believers.”  Really? Psalm 1:5 says “sinners” are not “in the congregation of the righteous.” Jesus said He “did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance” (Matthew 9:13). And the command is, “Cleanse your hands, you sinners” (James 4:8). By obeying Jesus Christ, “believers were increasingly added to the Lord”  (Acts 5:14). Everyone will not be crowded into Heaven, according to Jesus, "for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it” (Matthew 7:13-14). God "now commands all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30), but not everyone will! “The red dirt road” is a Dead End!      

1-6-2020            Insane New Year      

"The wicked shall be turned into hell, And all the nations that forget God" (Psalm 9:17). No one questions that many Americans have forgotten God:  Evolution has replaced "The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth" (Isaiah 40:28); Affluence has replaced dependence upon "the LORD Almighty" (2 Corinthians 6:18); Immorality and Indecency have replaced "the pure in heart " (Matthew 5:8); Illegal and Lawless behavior from top to bottom rules because "sin is lawlessness"                (1 John 3:4).  If "insanity" is "doing the same things over and over, but expecting a different result," then many people are planning another "insane"   year!  Live the same, vote the same, think the same, and there will be NO NEW YEAR!  "Turn us back to You, O LORD, and we will be restored; Renew our days as of old" (Lamentations 5:21).       

12-30-2019       New Year Party, Or Old Year Vomit             

“But they also have erred through wine, And through intoxicating drink are out of the way; The priest and the prophet have erred through intoxicating drink, They are swallowed up by wine, They are out of the way through intoxicating drink; They err in vision, they stumble in judgment. For all tables are full of vomit and filth; so that no place is clean” (Isaiah 28:7-8).   Is that a good New Year’s Party, or the same sickening vomit of old year’s drunkenness?  Have you noticed the beer commercials don’t show anyone throwing up their beer? The liquor ads don’t show the blurred, distorted vision of the drivers who kill, maim, and destroy innocent people! The bad effects of “intoxicating drink” supposedly “rings out the old, and rings in the new year.”  It’s sickeningly the same, isn’t it? What’s “new?”           

12-23-2019       Why Is There No More “Peace on Earth?”       

Angels announced at Jesus’ birth: "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!" (Luke 2:14). Why, then and now, is there not “peace on earth?” It is because there are not more men of goodwill! Preachers should “preach Christ” motivated by “goodwill” toward men (Philippians 1:15). “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). Everything a Christian does should be “as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men” (Ephesians 6:6-7). Jesus said: "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace" (John 16:33). Peace on earth is for those who follow the Prince of Peace.        

12-16-2019                  Be Merry Without Alcohol!

“Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy”       (Romans 13:13). These are terms that describe company parties, conventions, frat parties, bars and taverns, Christmas and New Year Eves, or proms. This verse teaches us to behave as if others can see us in the daytime; therefore NOT with rioting and dulled judgments in alcohol and drugs; NOT sexual excesses and perversions; NOT with quarrelling and jealousy! “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts” (Romans 13:14). “For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles--when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries” (1 Peter 4:3). 

12-9-2019            Stop Thief!       

Stealing is, and always has been, a sin! Jesus Christ told us what a thief does: “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy” (John 10:10). For a Christian, God demands: “Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need” (Ephesians 4:28).  When things are stolen in war, it’s called pillaging; in a violent mob protest, it’s called looting; in a store, it’s shoplifting. "There is no truth or mercy Or knowledge of God in the land. By swearing and lying, Killing and stealing and committing adultery, They break all restraint, With bloodshed upon bloodshed. Therefore the land will mourn (Hosea 4:2-3). God has not, does not, and will not bless a country like this!       

12-2-2019            No “Global Climate Change” Here!      

The World-wide Winter of 2014 set frigid, lower temperature records than have ever been recorded. That showed no “Global Warming/Climate Change,” certainly not on this globe! Including these exceptionally-cold temperatures, world-wide climate experienced normal, seasonal changes, just as God decreed after the Flood in Noah’s day: “While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease" (Genesis 8:22). A “witness” that God exists is that He “gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons” (Acts 14:17). God’s decree has stood the tests of time and falsified interpretation of weather data! Scientific, observable facts have established that God is right, and the propaganda for a political power grab has not been! “Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar” (Romans 3:4).        

11-25-19            Lend Me Your Ears      

In William Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar,” Act 3, Scene 2, Mark Antony says: “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears.” Why pay attention to this fictional invitation, but neglect to hear God’s appeal: “Give ear, O my people, to my law; Incline your ears to the words of my mouth” (Psalm 78:1); OR to the appeal of Solomon: “My son, pay attention to my wisdom; Lend your ear to my understanding” (Proverbs 5:1); OR to the appeal of Jesus Christ: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life”      (John 5:24).       

Passing an English Literature test won’t get anyone into Heaven – possessing God’s Word will!       

11-18-19            Thanksgiving Without God?      

It's impossible to have a “Thanksgiving” unless there is someone to thank!  The Apostle Paul wrote: “I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day” (2 Timothy 1:3).  (1) God is the only source of blessings to thank, so:  "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, And whose hope is the LORD” (Jeremiah 17:7).  (2) Having a “pure conscience,” then: “Blessed is that man who makes the LORD his trust, And does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies” (Psalm 40:4).  (3) Being constantly remembered in prayers, so that: “Blessings are on the head of the righteous, But violence covers the mouth of the wicked” (Proverbs 10:6). To some it is “Team Game Day,” to others it is “Turkey Game Day,” to Christians it is “Thank God Day.” 

11/04/2019             Diversity is One-Sided     

“Diverse weights and diverse measures, They are both alike, an abomination to the LORD. (Proverbs 20:10).

“Diverse” means having two weights, one with which to sell and one with which to buy. People who advocate “diversity” usually are using a double-standard, that is, one for other people, and one for themselves. They generally mean someone else needs to accept them, while they stubbornly refuse to accept others. People push “diversity:” with minority’s rights; with religions (Muslim & churches); while seeking corporate monopoly; “free speech” on school campuses; however it seems to be a cloak for deception, for when they are in charge, they stamp out the “diversity” they advocated! God will have none of it, for “he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality” (Colossians 3:25).  

10-28-2019        Scared, Of What?      

What scares you this time of the year?  Is it houses haunted by fake "ghosts and goblins?" Or is it sights and sounds that are not human and hard to identify?  Or is it make-believe "zombies," "vampires," or "werewolves?"  The only time dead people walked the earth again was when Jesus Christ died on the cross, an earthquake opened graves, "and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many" (Matthew 27:52-53).  They proved Jesus was raised from the dead, because dead people could be raised, but not that we should fear the nights.  If you obey God, then "When you lie down, you will not be afraid; Yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet" (Proverbs 3:24). 

10/21/19                          Jesus Is Only Begotten       

“In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him” (Acts 3:18).  Even unbelievers carried out God’s will, "For those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they did not know Him, nor even the voices of the Prophets which are read every Sabbath, have fulfilled them in condemning Him” (Acts 13:27).  If “wise men” “have rejected the word of the LORD; So what wisdom do they have?” (Jeremiah 8:9).  An ignorant opinion is still ignorance! 

10/14/19                  Beware Of What You Start      

People devise things that eventually come back to, as we often say, haunt them, bite them, or backfire on them. “Whoever digs a pit will fall into it, And he who rolls a stone will have it roll back on him” (Proverbs 26:27). David said the wicked, “made a pit and dug it out, And has fallen into the ditch which he made. His trouble shall return upon his own head, And his violent dealing shall come down on his own crown” (Psalm 7:15-16). As Jesus said: "all who take the sword will perish by the sword”     (Matthew 26:52). Truly, “An angry man stirs up strife, And a furious man abounds in transgression” (Proverbs 29:22). Whether  “road rage” or “street fighting,” beware of what you start, you may get finished.       

10/7/19                  Mass Murder Motive      

After sin entered the world through the free choice of Adam and Eve, their son, “Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him” (Genesis 4:8). Toward the end of the New Testament, the explanation is given: “we should love one another, not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother's righteous” (1 John 3:11-12). Stephen Craig Paddock fired on a Las Vegas outdoor concert crowd in 2017, murdering 59, wounding over 500 others. With multiple weapons in his motel room, Paddock clearly pre-meditated murder. While authorities searched for a motive, God has already given one, he: “was of the wicked one and murdered!” God made us, God explains us, and the answers are in the Word of God!       

9/30/19                    Generation Abandoned       

In predicting what signs would precede the destruction of Jerusalem (which occurred in A.D. 70), Jesus told His disciples, “You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. And you will be hated by all for My name's sake” (Luke 21:16-17).  The sad realization is that, today, families are just as shredded. Parents, especially fathers, have left their children in the hands of grandparents, the State, the neighborhood, or to fend for themselves.  These abandoned children have become “disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful” (Romans 1:30-31).  Their disrespectful attitude is toward parents, teachers, church, Jesus Christ, and even, God, Himself!  “For the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children” (2 Corinthians 12:14).       

9/26/19                    Intelligent Design In Christian Love       

“The LORD looks down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there are any who understand, who seek God”        (Psalm 14:2). The Christian attitude is: “Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion. Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men” (Romans 12:16-17).  1) Treat all men alike.  Being a Christian is not so much to elevate ourselves as it is to help others see that they also matter to God!  Among Christians, there should be no such thing as “Black Lives Matter,” “White Supremacy,” “bullying,” or “belittling.”  2)  Payback with kindness.  Jesus gave His life so the hateful can see how it should be done!        

9/19/19                    Intelligent Design In The Bible        

“The LORD looks down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there are any who understand, who seek God”        (Psalm 14:2).  There are many, it seems, who either do not, or cannot, see the intelligent design throughout the Inspired Word of God.  "But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled” (Acts 3:18).  Even unbelievers carried out God’s will, "For those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they did not know Him, nor even the voices of the Prophets which are read every Sabbath, have fulfilled them in condemning Him”         (Acts 13:27).  If “wise men” “have rejected the word of the LORD; So what wisdom do they have?” (Jeremiah 8:9).  An ignorant opinion is still ignorance! 

9/12/19                    Intelligent Design In Creation      

“The LORD looks down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there are any who understand, who seek God”        (Psalm 14:2).  “Through wisdom a house is built, And by understanding it is established; By knowledge the rooms are filled With all precious and pleasant riches” (Proverbs 24:3-4).  Every house shows the intelligent design by which it is built, kept up, and adorned.  Common sense demands that we see intelligence in every building around us. 

“For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God” (Hebrews 3:4).  It is the “the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all things that are in them” (Acts 14:15) Who intelligently designed it.  It takes someone with uncommon ignorance to say   “there is no intelligent design in the Created World.”             

9/5/19                             Profane Pleas       

“Profanity” literally means “making it as common as a doorsill.”  Few give a passing thought to a doorsill when crossing it.  That is exactly the attitude toward God’s Name that is forbidden.  When Israel used to be God’s chosen people, He said: “And you shall not swear by My name falsely, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the LORD” (Leviticus 19:12). 

Jesus’  New Law teaches Christians to pray: “Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name” (Luke  11:2). It is only when Bible history is ignored that people profane God’s Name.  Constant “OMG’s” profane God.  When disaster comes, how can a profane person mean it when he says: “God, help me”?  If we wish to call on God to help, don’t profane His Name. “The LORD is for me among those who help me” (Psalm 118:7).