His name was John. And he is best known for baptizing people. In fact, he is known to history as “John the Baptist.” But the last words we have recorded from him express doubt.

John had been called by God to preach. He had baptized thousands. He had even received divine revelation and confirmation that Jesus was the Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1). But John had expectations—expectations that didn’t match the reality he found himself facing in Matthew 11.

John is sitting in a prison, locked up for speaking the truth to Herod. He has been taken out of the picture, so far as his life’s work was concerned. He’s unable to teach the masses, unable to baptize anyone, unable to point repentant souls to a life of relationship with God. Surely this can’t be part of the plan, he must have thought.

So John, who had already known and proclaimed the truth, sent some messengers to Jesus. He told them to ask one simple question: Are you the one we’ve been waiting for, or is there someone else? In other words, Was I wrong, Jesus, when I told people you were the Messiah? John needed confirmation (and he got it by Jesus’ response). But for the moment, John had doubts.

It’s not wrong to have doubts. But when we have them, we need to be like John and go to the right source for the answers.

-Bradley S. Cobb

Encouragement is an intentional rather than an accidental exercise. In other words, we have got to be looking for ways to do it. I am not sure that it comes naturally to everyone. I believe some have the gift of exhortation and encouragement (Rom. 12:8), but how many cannot be sure for lack of trying? It requires a certain amount of discipline and selflessness to look for people, often outside the spotlight, who are wearily struggling along life’s road.

The word translated “encourage” in the New Testament is, to me, one of the most beautiful words in the Bible. It literally carries the idea of coming alongside someone and put your arm around them, “to ask to come and be present where the speaker is, call to one’s side” (BDAG, 764). Louw-Nida defines it as causing “someone to be encouraged or consoled, either by verbal or non-verbal means” (305).

Back to Mr. Gandhi’s mission, there are always people to encourage, thank, and recognize. What about the custodian, the office administrator, the intern, or the new hire? What about the person who delivers food? What about the introverted, hard worker whose always prompt and dependable but apt to be “invisible”? There’s the lunchroom employees, the teacher’s aids, the bus drivers, teachers, administrators, and the security personnel at school.

This is a fantastic practice in our church life, too. Look for the new Christians, new members, the alone, the elderly, little kids, the socially awkward, the singles, the widows, and, of course, the visitors. Find a tangible way to express gratitude and recognition for them. Perhaps something like placing three pennies in your pocket or three rubber bands on the fingers of your left hand will keep this necessary work at the forefront of your mind.

Yes, the Scriptures command it: “Encourage one another and build up one another” (1 Th. 5:11), “encourage the fainthearted” (1 Th. 5:14), “encourage one another day after day” (Heb. 3:13), and “encourage one another” (Heb. 10:25). But, it may surprise how rewarding and satisfying it is to bless people with some simple, sincere encouragement.

Do you have three pennies? Why not pocket them, then pursue people you can lift with a simple word of joyful cheer? Three such acts a day amounts to over a thousand acts of kindness a year. If we all did that, it would revolutionize our world! Three pennies might not buy much in the world, but they might change a life!

Neal Pollard

• Acts 20:1-4 – “After the uproar had ceased, Paul sent for the disciples, and when he had exhorted them and taken his leave of them, he left to go to Macedonia. When he had gone through those districts and had given them much exhortation, he came to Greece. And there he spent three months, and when a plot was formed against him by the Jews as he was about to set sail for Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia. And he was accompanied by Sopater of Berea, the son of Pyrrhus, and by Aristarchus and Secundus of the Thessalonians, and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus of Asia.”
• Ephesians 6:21 – “But that you also may know about my circumstances, how I am doing, Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make everything known to you.” 
• Colossians 4:7 – “As to all my affairs, Tychicus, our beloved brother and faithful servant and fellow bond-servant in the Lord, will bring you information.” 
• 2 Timothy 4:12 – “But Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus.”
• Titus 3:12 – “When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, make every effort to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there.”

In all of these references there is a theme. Tychicus was a servant that Paul could rely on. Paul often described Tychicus as “the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord” and “fellow bond-servant in the Lord.” Paul sent Tychicus from church to church so that he could update them and preach for them. It seems that there was never a doubt in Paul’s mind about Tychicus and his heart to serve the church.

He was a beloved brother in Christ, a hardworking servant, and a man who was faithful to God’s word. Tychicus often gets overlooked in scripture because He isn’t a big name like Paul or Peter or James or John. But His work is the reason many of these churches in the New Testament were able to thrive. The first century church was what it was largely because of Tychicus and His heart to serve the Lord.

You may not be the preacher. You may not have a Bible degree. But it doesn’t take a Bible degree or a preaching school to make a servant. We need more servants like Tychicus. We need people who work behind the scenes, yet on the front line. Those are the kinds of people that kept the church alive and well in the first century, and those are the kinds of people that will keep the church alive and well today. My challenge to you is to be more like Tychicus. Find a need in the congregation and fill it. Be someone the elders can rely on to get things done. Be someone that everyone loves. Be faithful to God’s word. Be a hard worker. Be a servant. Be a Tychicus.

Kolton Ballance

There is nothing wrong with spending time in front of a screen. In reality, we live in a world that is more or less inseparable from technology. It has become natural, sometimes even necessary, to spend a great deal of time in front of a monitor.

However, it is good to remind ourselves that the content in our 7 hours of screen time is often developed and influenced by someone else. Therefore, our 7 hours are potentially full of content that has been greatly persuaded by our over sexualized and agenda-driven society. Our 7 hours are potentially full of content in hearty support of our culture’s degrading morals and values.  Our 7 hours are potentially full of creators, directors, and developers looking to take things one step further to add a “shock value.” This is potentially 7 hours of “bad company” to corrupt our “good morals” (1 Corinthians 15:33).

As we know, we are in control of what we set before our eyes. We can stop watching a show.  We can walk out of a movie  We can look away, change the channel, or close the browser. What we fill our minds with greatly influences the way we talk, think, and act (Luke 6:45). Therefore, since many of us have a screen in front of us for about 7 hours a day, let’s be extra sensitive and careful to place content before our eyes that falls in line with Philippians 4:8: “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”

Brett Petrillo

What had Hans  and all the others seen that day? It’s still up for debate. Was it a meteor shower? Was it a Sun Dog? It’s not clear. However, it provides us with an interesting mystery that also serves as a spiritual reminder.

Hans Glaser certainly felt that this was a sign from God and that the community of old Nuremberg needed to turn from their sinful ways— but was it?

Scripture records some celestial phenomena that we can confidentially say were supernatural in their planning (Josh. 10.11-14, Lk. 23.44) but outside of that we must be careful not to attribute what we don’t understand to an purposeful act of heaven. After all, it could be a rare but natural occurrence. It could be a misidentification or misinterpretation and we shouldn’t forget how human we all are. If God directly tells us through His word, we can trust it. If it’s not inspired, but claims things with great spiritual consequences— careful.

It’s far too easy for us to wrongly interpret even the scriptures we have to try and make sense of the world around us. While there are relevant passages that shed light on the modern age, the faithful should take to heart the command to Timothy (2 Tim. 2.15) and handle God’s book with great respect humility. There’s so much we don’t know, but we can be confident in that we serve a God who knows all.

Dale Pollard

Tamar (Matthew 1:3) became pregnant by her father-in-law Judah; Ruth was from Moab (Matthew 1:5); Solomon’s mother had been Uriah’s wife but David took her (Matthew 1:6); Mary was thought to have become pregnant by being unfaithful (Matthew 1:16); and then there is Rahab (Matthew 1:5). We are introduced to Rahab in Joshua 2.

“Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. ‘Go, look over the land,’ he said, ‘especially Jericho.’ So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.”(Joshua 2:1)

When you read that the two Israelites deliberately went to the house of a prostitute, that raises eyebrows. Various suggestions have been made over the years to defend the Israelites or to defend Rahab’s reputation. It could be that she ran a ‘hotel’ of sorts and they were innocent in going there, or perhaps they knew what type of establishment it was and were trying to blend in. It could be that it was a place they could go and not be discovered but also gain information as to what the people were thinking.

Others suggest that the word translated ‘prostitute‘ should be understood simply as a woman living with no male support or one who conducts friendly dealings with foreigners. But when she is mentioned in the New Testament the Greek word used for Rahab only has one possible meaning: she was a prostitute. So others have suggested that by this time was a former prostitute and was gainfully employed in the weaving industry, as is seen by her drying flax on her roof.

Despite how she is described, we find that she is sympathetic to the two Israelites. When she is ordered to turn them over as spies she hid them and put the authorities on the wrong path. She had arrived at the conclusion that the God of the Israelites was the true God who should be served.

“Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof and said to them, ‘I know that the Lord has given this land to you and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. When we heard of it, our hearts sank and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.’” (Joshua 2:8-11)

She helped the two men escape by letting them down from her window in the wall of Jericho. The men promised that if she were to leave a scarlet cord tied in the window then she and her family would be spared when Jericho was attacked and conquered. And this is exactly what happened: she and her family were rescued and became part of Israel, with Rahab marrying an Israelite by the name of Salmon. They had a son named Boaz who married Ruth and eventually Ruth was the great-grandmother of David, who became king, and ultimately she became the ancestor of Jesus the Messiah.

Although Jesus was a Jew he died and rose again to unite all people, both Jews and non-Jews. His lineage reflected this, having female ancestors who were Gentiles but chose to follow God. Their faithfulness shows us that no matter what our background is, we are acceptable to Jesus.

Jon Galloway.

It’s a pretty common mindset. Any student in school longs for the day when they can “finish.” Maybe a student is excited for the day when he can stop taking math classes. Perhaps another student looks forward to being done with college so she doesn’t have to take classes anymore. In general, there is an excitement to “stop learning.” Unfortunately, if we aren’t learning and growing, we are becoming stagnant and outdated.

Unfortunately, this also happens spiritually. Maybe at one point, a Christian was very dedicated to studying God’s word and developing great spiritual habits, but now that Christian is coasting. We need to be reminded that God commands spiritual growth (Ephesians 4:14-16; Hebrews 5:12:14). He calls for us to “increase in knowledge” (Colossians 1:9-10), to “grow in respect to salvation” as well as to grow in “grace and knowledge” (2 Peter 2:1-2; 3:18). We cannot grow spiritually stagnant.

There is no doubt that Einstein was a lifelong learner. He understood that there was always room to grow and more to learn. Similarly, Paul, late in his life, even though his knowledge and spirituality were incredible, asked for Timothy to bring him the books and parchments (2 Timothy 4:13). Paul wanted to keep learning.

Let’s never allow ourselves to get to the point where we think we have learned and grown enough spiritually.

Brett Petrillo

How blessed are his sons after him.”

(Proverbs 20:7)

I was not one of those who grew up with a Christian father.  I remember being envious of my friends who had dads that were church leaders and great spiritual examples.  I wondered if my friends truly appreciated how blessed they were to have dads like that.

The “righteous man” in Proverbs describes one who does what is right according to God’s divine standards.  In other words, he knows the Bible and he follows it.  Solomon also says that he is a man of “integrity.”  This describes one who is genuine and sincere.  He is not a hypocrite.  His devotion to God is real, not contrived.  The fact that he “walks” this way shows that it describes his daily life.  This is who he is – day in and day out.

This verse provides two important lessons: one for dads and one for children.

Dads set the tone for spiritual direction of the family.  Their choices will impact the family for generations to come – either for good or ill (cf. Ex. 20:5-6; Prov. 13:22; 14:26).  As a result it is imperative that dads, like the one described in this verse, be righteous.  This is how they best set the spiritual direction of the family – by their personal devotion to God.  They are seen reading their Bibles.  They are seen practicing what the Bible teaches.  Their children see them putting God’s kingdom first (Matthew 6:33).  It is clear to all observers how important the church is to these dads.  They are involved.  They clearly love the church.  If you are a dad, does this describe you?  It should!  It must!  If you will someday be a dad, this verse should provide incentive to the kind of dad you should be someday.

Children are blessed to have righteous dads.  In the second line of this proverb, Solomon notes that the children are “blessed.”  This word describes the happiness they feel at their good fortune.  They did nothing to have a dad like the one they got.  Yet, here he is!  They don’t have to worry about dad embarrassing them through drunkenness or infidelity.  They are not concerned about him making selfish decisions that will negatively impact their future. They are the beneficiaries of a God-fearing life.  They get to see how he handles difficulties and how his faith in God gets him through.  Do you have such a father?  Solomon says, “you’re blessed.”

I may not have had a righteous dad, but that doesn’t mean I can’t become one.  I want my children to feel they are blessed to have a dad like me.

Denny Petrillo

Jesus appeared to Moses in the burning bush. As Moses was keeping his father-in-law’s sheep in the wilderness of Sinai he saw a bush burning, but it was not being consumed by the fire so he decided to investigate it (Exodus 3:2). It was a manifestation of God. “The angel of the LORD (Jehovah) appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush” (Exodus 3:2). This angel was called “the LORD…and God” (Exodus 3:4). God commanded Moses to go to Egypt to deliver His people. Moses said when the people ask the name of the God who sent me what shall I tell them. “God said to Moses, ‘I Am Who I Am’…Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel ‘I Am has sent me to you’” (Exodus 3:14). Notice that the One in the bush was “I Am.”  Once during Jesus’ personal ministry when the Jews were asking how old He was and telling Him that He was not older than Moses, Jesus identified Himself by saying He was the “I Am” (John 8:58). Thus, Jesus was the One in the burning bush who spoke to Moses.

Jesus led the children of Israel in the wilderness. When God sent Moses to Egypt to deliver the Israelites from bondage, He did not send him alone. God was with him while in Egypt and as he led the people to the Promised Land. Moses reminded the Israelites that when they were in Egypt “We cried out to the LORD, He heard our voice and sent an angel and brought us out from Egypt” (Numbers 20:16). “The LORD (Jehovah) was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night” (Exodus 13:21). But Exodus 14:19 tells us that the One leading was an angel.  It says, “The angel of God, who had been going before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them.” From these two passages we learn that God was going to lead them and yet the text says that it was “the angel of God.” Remember that the One who spoke to Moses from the burning bush was also called “the angel of the LORD” (Exodus 3:2). No doubt the angel who led them was the second person of the godhead – the Son – Jesus Christ.

Speaking of those events Paul wrote, “For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and all ate the same spiritual food; and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ” (I Corinthians 10:1-4). He said that one “followed,” but it really conveys the idea that He was in their presence. Although the passages in the Old Testament speak of the one who was among them as God and as an angel, Paul speaks specifically of that being “Christ.”

Conclusion

 The Son has always been active. He was the creator of all things (John 4:1-4; Colossians 1:15-16). He worked in the Old Testament period of time. He worked during His personal ministry on earth. Let’s have confidence that He works today as our mediator (I Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 4:14-16).

Wayne Burger

HE WAS FAITHFULLY TRAINED BY HIS PARENTS (LUKE 2:41-42)

Luke reveals another fact consistent with what we’ve already seen from Joseph and Mary. They were faithfully obedient to the Law’s demands and commands. Every year, they went to the Passover feast (41). Did you know the entire nation of Israel neglected the Passover from the days of Samuel to the time of King Josiah (2 Kings 23:21-23)? That means that such spiritual greats as David, Solomon, and Hezekiah did not lead the nation to observe it during their illustrious reigns. Jesus’ parents made sure He was there every appointed time. That’s where we find Him in this account. By application, what a lesson for us as parents interested in the proper training of our children. At its best, this is difficult as we compete with the world’s message and appeal. We cannot afford to lose ground by keeping them from the fellowship of God’s people. Joseph and Mary were stewards of a precious soul.

HE WAS ENGROSSED IN LEARNING GOD’S WORD (43-47)

Jesus obviously did not restrict His study of Scripture to the “assemblies,” though. His family stayed the prescribed time in Jerusalem for the feast (seven days, according to Exo. 12:15), but Jesus, unencumbered with the time concerns of adults, stays behind (43)–not to play or get into mischief, but to sit in the temple among the teachers listening to them and asking them questions (46). His level of comprehension and depth of explanation amazed these experts on the Law of Moses, the best of the best (47). Seeing the spiritual focus of twelve-year-old Jesus, I am convicted to push myself to more intensely long for the nourishment of God’s Word (1 Tim. 4:6; 1 Pet. 2:2).

HE WAS IN SUBJECTION TO HIS PARENTS (48-51)

Luke tells us of the distress His family felt when they discovered He was not in the caravan of their relatives and other fellow-pilgrims making the long, arduous journey back to Nazareth. They go back and search for Jesus for three days before finding Him in the temple (44-46). Anyone who has even briefly lost their children at the mall or left them at the church building can well imagine what Joseph and Mary must have felt. This special child with which they were entrusted is lost! Where did He sleep those few nights He was alone? How early did He arrive and how late did He stay? When His parents do find Him, they find Him content and apparently unaware that they were looking for Him. His answer perplexes them, that He was being about His Father’s business. They felt mistreated, but nothing in Jesus’ reply demonstrates disrespect or dishonor. Luke reinforces this both with the statement of fact, that “He continued in subjection to them,” and the statement about His character (52). The One who would later demonstrate such amazing preaching and power was properly preparing Himself. That preparation included being what He should be in the home.

HE WAS GROWING IN EVERY GOOD WAY (52)

There are biblical statements which are incredibly comprehensive. The five fundamental demonstrations of nature, time, force, motion, space, and matter, are revealed in the first verse of the Bible. Here, the four areas of human development, intellectual, physical, spiritual, and social, are evident in the life of young Jesus. He “kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man” (52). Parents, this teaches us about the responsibility we have to encourage the balanced development of our children. We cannot afford to neglect any of these areas. Do not downplay or downgrade the importance of learning and an education which does not come at the expense of faith. Help them to take care of their physical bodies, with proper nutrition, exercise, and teaching them to work and play. Make sure they are socially well-adjusted, not just with peers but also those older and younger than them–able to properly interact with strangers, acquaintances, and friends. Most of all, strive to develop their knowledge of the Bible and faith in the God who loves them. It’s a difficult balancing act, but it can be done! Like Jesus, our children need to grow in every good way!

Neal Pollard

I heard recently about a lady (I won’t speculate as to what color her hair was) who went into an auto parts store.  She asked for a seven-ten cap.

The employees all looked at each other and say, “What’s a seven-ten cap?”

She says, “You know, it’s right on the engine.  Mine got lost somehow and I need a new one.”

“What kind of a car is it on,” they ask.  Perhaps it was an old Datsun 710 but no, she says, “It’s a Buick.”

“OK, lady, how big is it?”

She makes a circle with her hands about 3 1/2 inches in diameter.

“What does it do?” they ask.

She says, “I don’t know, but its always been there.”

One of the employees gives her a note pad and asks her if she can draw a picture of it.  So she makes a circle about 3 1/2 inches in diameter and in the center she writes 710.

The guys behind the counter are looking at it upside down as she writes it…and they just fall down behind the counter because they are laughing so hard.

One guy finally says, “I think you want an oil cap.”

She says, “Seven-ten cap, oil cap, I don’t care what you call it, I just need one, and I don’t see what is so funny about it.”

(by the way, in case you haven’t figured it out by now, the word “OIL” upside down looks like “710”)

Perspective makes all the difference.  Things look differently when we look at them upside down.  I’m reminded of the Christians in Thessalonica who were accused of turning the world upside down (Acts 17:6).  The truth, though, they were turning the world right-side up.  We live in a world that looks at things upside-down.

“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” (Isa. 5:20).

The world looks at material things and calls them “items of great value.”  It looks at sin and immorality and calls it “good and right.”  It looks at lies and calls them “truth.”  It can be very confusing unless we realize the need to turn things around and look at them from an eternal perspective.

If things in your life “don’t look quite right,” perhaps you’ve been looking at things upside-down and you need to allow God to help you to turn things around.

Have a great day!

Alan Smith

Sold into Egyptian slavery by his ten older brothers while he was still in his teens (Genesis 37:2), Joseph, under the watchful eye and care of God, rose to a high position of authority, second only to Pharaoh himself (Genesis 41:39-45). In fulfillment of a series of dreams by Pharaoh and correctly interpreted by Joseph, a great famine struck all of that part of the world, including the land of Canaan where Joseph’s aged father, Jacob, and all his brothers and their families resided.

Following some intriguing visits by his brothers to Egypt in search of food, Joseph revealed himself to them, and, in time, his entire family, including Jacob (whose name had been changed to Israel) was relocated to Egypt. By Pharaoh’s approval and with his blessings, they were given the land of Goshen in which to live and carry on their occupation of breeding and raising livestock (Genesis 46:1-47:6).

In time, the original group of Jacob’s descendants who moved to Egypt, including Joseph himself, all died. Over the ensuing years, “the children of Israel (Jacob) were fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them” (Exodus 1:7). Eventually, “there arose a new king over Egypt who did not know Joseph” (Exodus 1:8). This simply means that the new king did not know the history of the circumstances that had brought the Israelites into the land of Egypt to begin with. Because of the enormity of their numbers, this new king saw the descendants of Jacob as a threat and put them in servitude (Exodus 1:9-14).

What a sad turn of events! What a tragedy to not know the history of how and why the Israelites were in Egypt! Stephen, in the New Testament, in rehearsing the history of Israel, referred to this tragic fact of history (cf. Acts 7:17-18). Evidently, he thought his hearers needed to be reminded of this important truth.

The story of how Joseph and his father’s family came to be in Egypt and how in later years “there arose a new king who knew not Joseph” has within it a powerful and needed lesson for God’s people today. Just as “there arose a new king over Egypt who did not know Joseph,” we have among us today those who do not know the history of the New Testament church and its uniqueness or the fundamentals of apostolic New Testament Christianity. They have no real understanding of the plea (and the principles behind the plea) to go back to the New Testament and just be the pre-denominational and undenominational church we read of there—a church without human creeds and names, man-made doctrines and practices, sectarian thinking and terminology, and culture-driven “adjustments” and accommodations.

Sadly, we have had a generation of preachers, elders, deacons, Bible class teachers, Christian school presidents, faculty members, administrators, editors of papers, and writers of whom a number show little if any understanding of the distinctiveness of the church. As the motley crowd said to Peter, “[Their] speech betrays [them]” (Matthew 26:73). They speak “the language of Ashdod” (Nehemiah 13:23-24). (If you are not familiar with this text and its principle you need to familiarize yourself with it).

Today we have those in the pulpit, in elderships, in the Bible classrooms, and in important educational and journalistic roles who seem to have little if any understanding of when the church of the Lord was established, how it can be identified in the midst of a pluralistic religious world, how it is to be organized according to the Scriptures, how it is to worship, what its work is to be, or how it is to finance the work the Lord gave the church to do.

Increasingly, we have members (including preachers, elders, Christian university professors) who leave the church and join a denomination and think nothing of it! They think they can go to the Baptists, the Episcopalians, the Presbyterians, the Disciples, the Catholics, or some Community Church, et. al. and still be faithful Christians. In their view of the matter they simply “switched denominations”! They had no understanding of the uniqueness and distinctiveness of the church of Christ and its undenominational nature.

The “new kings” in the church (the untaught generations) do not understand why we do not use instrumental music in worship, and why we do not have women elders and preachers.

They do not understand why we observe the Lord’s Supper every Lord’s Day or why we are not governed by the Old Testament but by the New Testament, the last will and testament of Christ, thus superseding all previous wills and covenants.

The progressives among us do not like not being able to appeal to the Old Testament to support their desire to have instrumental music in the worship of the New Testament people of God. To them, worship under the New should be no different from worship under the Old! They eschew the pattern authority of the New Testament.

Some of the “new kings” even question the necessity of baptism for the remission of sins. Some are advancing the notion of “open membership” (“If you believe in Christ in any sense, you are welcome to be a member, whether you have been immersed or not or for what reason you may have been immersed”).

For many, Sunday is just another day of the week. People casually forsake the assembly of the saints in order to pursue their own selfish pleasures.

Increasingly, homosexuality is being defended and the ancient sin of Sodom and Gomorrah is being “re-studied” and “re-defined.”

It is not unusual to hear a person in the pew speak of the preacher as “The Pastor” or to wonder why we do not call preachers “Reverend.”

Many of our young people have no grasp of simple, New Testament, undenominational Christianity. There has been a sad lack of basic, fundamental Bible teaching, and some elders have made it clear that they do not want that kind of teaching in either the classrooms or from the pulpit.

A number of years ago, an elder went through all the tract racks in a large church that increasingly was becoming more progressive and removed all printed materials that dealt with basic and distinctive Bible teaching. He did not think the tracts represented the kind of reading that would give either the members or visitors the kind of image they ought to have of the church!

And now for several decades we have been reaping the results of this “new approach”! Once again the words of Hosea have relevance: “They sow the wind, and reap the whirlwind” (Hosea 8:7). Ignorance of the fundamentals of the faith has paved the way for the departure of our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren from “the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” (Galatians 6:7).

Yes, sadly, in far too many places today there have arisen “new kings” in places of leadership and influence in the church – people who “do not know Joseph” – people who do not know the New Testament principles on which the church of our Lord was founded and to which it owes its continued faithfulness and effectiveness. Presidents and Boards of Trustees have forgotten (or abandoned) the principles on which the Christian schools and colleges were founded and who the educational institutions were originally set up to serve. With them the two big issues today is the recruitment of students and the raising of money. Fidelity to the Lord and His word show up somewhere lower on the list of priorities.

New kings! New emphases! New directions!

Hugh FULFORD ─

But its end is the way of death.”

(Proverbs 14:12)

Many people know this proverb.  It is an important one (and did you know it is one of the proverbs that is repeated exactly elsewhere? See 16:25. That makes it doubly important!)

The proverb is an extension of 14:11 where Solomon describes two men who have chosen radically different paths for their lives.  One is a wicked man.  He has chosen a way that goes a completely different direction from God.  He is not interested in God’s word or God’s way.  Yet it is important to note that the verse says his way is one that seems “right.” He hasn’t chosen to be wicked because he didn’t feel that was the best move for him.  Why does anyone choose to be wicked?  They see that choice to be one that will give them the best life, the most rewarding life (maybe characterized by many possessions and the gratification of sinful lusts).  Yet Solomon finishes the story.  His choice ended up being “the way of death.”  In the Proverbs this means that he ended up getting himself killed.

What are some lessons we can learn from this proverb?

First, people can be sincerely wrong.  This man went a way that “seemed” best to him.  There is nothing in this verse to question his sincerity.  He did what he thought was right!  But, it wasn’t right!  It was “the way of death.”  God did not spare him because he was sincere in his convictions.  Today there are many people who are sincere in their religious convictions.  They are certain they are going the right way.  But, as this man, their way could end up with serious, eternal consequences.  In Matthew 7:22-23 there are those who stand before Jesus convinced that they have faithfully served Him.  To them Jesus says “depart from Me!”  Jesus doesn’t say, “well, you didn’t do what I wanted, but were sincere.  Therefore I’m going to save you anyway.”  They are told to “depart” because they “practiced lawlessness.”  Sincerely isn’t good enough.  We must make sure that we are living according to God’s word.

Second, we need to pay attention to God’s directions.  The Bible is our spiritual road map.  “I have not turned aside from Your ordinances, for You Yourself have taught me (Psalm 119:102).  The fact is, this wicked man had good information available, he just chose to ignore it.  The “upright man” (in v. 12) took advantage of the spiritual information that was available.  As Jeremiah says, men are not able to direct their own lives (Jeremiah 10:23). “The way of the LORD is a stronghold to the upright, but ruin to the workers of iniquity” (Proverbs 10:29).

Third, wisdom demands that we consider the path we are on.  There is nothing wrong with stopping and making sure we’re on the right road.  The Bible is the only way we can know – for sure – whether we are or not (3:6).  “Then you will walk in your way securely and your foot will not stumble” (3:23).

Denny Petrillo

Open our eyes to what is true,

To the inspired words that have come from You.

Open our eyes to what is honorable,

Never supporting what You find intolerable.

Open our eyes to what is right,

So that we can stand up for it with all our might.

Open our eyes to what is pure,

Turn our eyes from the evil things that allure.

Open our eyes to what is lovely,

The most beautiful being the heavenly.

Open our eyes to what is good,

Help us to center on these things, as we should.

Open our eyes to what is excellent,

Such as Your love, which is evident.

Open our eyes to what is worthy of praise,

May this be the constant focus of our gaze.

Whatever is true, honorable, pure, and worthy of praise in your sight,

Whatever is lovely, good, excellent, and right,

On these things help us forever to dwell.

Yes, Lord, open our eyes, that we may never against you rebel.

Philippians 4:8 – “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”

 Brett Petrillo

What was intended as an insult was really a compliment: “This man receives sinners and eats with them” (Luke 15:2).

Notice the words in the text. The word receive means to wait actively or expectantly. It is reminiscent of the way a mother longs to finally see her newborn child. Jesus was a welcoming figure, particularly to those who were not otherwise welcome.

Not only that, but this was his custom. Both the words “receives” and “eats” are in the present tense. He has been doing it and keeps on doing it.

You could find Jesus just about anywhere. He accepted invitations to the home of Pharisees and tax collectors (like Matthew). You could find him in homes or in the streets. During festivals, you could certainly expect him in Jerusalem. You could find him in the fields and on farms. You could find him near the sea, on the sea, or in the mountains. You could find him among soldiers and scholars.

Jesus went everywhere because there are sinners everywhere. But he had a special place in his heart for the outcasts – those that proper society had given up on and labeled as “sinners.”

One of Jesus’ great struggles was not getting those who knew they were sinners to repent, but getting the self-righteous to see themselves as sinners, equal to the rest.

The very fact that Luke 15:2 (among other passages) exists, is because there are certain people who thought they were a select group worthy of God’s love and special blessings, as opposed to some other groups of society. This was a grave error.

The attitude of Jonah – who refused to give Nineveh a chance, then pouted when they repented – prevailed among the religious elites of Jesus’ day, and it may be alive today.

Is your local congregation a melting pot of your local community? The wealthy and the poor, the healthy and the infirm, the young and the old, the awkward and the adjusted? Is there a sea of colorful skin and a span of economic differences? Have allowances been made for the disabled? Could a deaf member participate? Would a Christian family with a special needs child find a place of assurance and acceptance? Would our neighborhood’s “sinners” be welcomed or ignored if they entered our doors?

God help us all to be accused of receiving sinners, continually.

Rick Kelley

Chapter 12 addresses confusion about spiritual gifts and its central theme is unity. Chapter 13’s central theme is love. Chapter 14’s central theme is encouragement. Verse 13 is the hinge for this specific chapter: it explains how we become part of the body so that Paul wants to tell us we are united, by the Spirit, and therefore must be united to one another. 

The Christians in Corinth were ignorant, to an extent, about spiritual gift (12:1-11). That ignorance needed to be corrected. There were a diversity of miraculous gifts, but there is only one Spirit, one Lord, and one Father. Plus, all these gifts were for the common good (ver. 7, 11). 

How do such different people come together? There are brought together by the Spirit when He leads them to be baptized into Christ (12:12-13). Unity does not disregard diversity; it organizes it for the common good. 

So, baptism is more than a symbol. It is God’s appointed moment in time when the one who believes in Christ and has repented of sins is incorporated into the body of Christ. 

This point needs to be understood… Paul writes in Romans 8:14 – “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.” We need to make sure we grasp this point. You cannot be taught wrong and then baptized correctly! To word this another way, you cannot be taught by man and then later claim to have been led by the Spirit!

Man’s doctrine that he can be “saved” on such-and-such a date and then “baptized” on such-and-such a (later) date is not what the Spirit leads us to believe and/or do. In other words, a generic baptism (believing one is already saved by faith only) is not biblical baptism. You cannot be taught by man and then later claim to have been led by the Spirit! 

Back to our context in 1 Corinthians… the implications of this unity are that no one is inferior to another. There is no independence in the church (12:14-20). We might feel like we are unnecessary, but that is wrong. It is also absurd to believe that we all have to be doing the same thing. God has given us what He wants us to have, to be used for His glory (ver. 18).

However, we are mutually dependent and need to care for each other (12:21-27). God’s design for the body of Christ promotes unity and value for each member. Finally, in the last paragraph (12:28-31), we see that there were various functions within the body. We need to seek to serve, not seek to be elevated above anyone else. 

So returning to verse 13… the solution to division is not living or worshipping more like the world or better personalities, but better theology. We are not self-made. We are “Spirit-placed” members in His body. And we put into the body when we obey the Spirit’s teachings. 

So, we need to reject division based on artificial, man-imposed schemes, embrace our role in the body as God has designed us, and care for each other as members of the same body.

Be united in Jesus Christ by submitting to baptism, through which God places you into His one body.

Paul Holland

“From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”

Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human.” – Matt. 16.21-23

When we step back and look at the chapter as a whole we can see Peter’s response to Jesus as he informs  them (the disciples) that He must die and be raised seems to be one motivated purely out of love. Peter doesn’t want his teacher, friend, and master to die. That’s understandable. He even takes the Lord aside so as to not rebuke Jesus in front of the other disciples. This wasn’t something done in Peter’s mind to thwart the plans of God, but the response to this is unexpected. Did Peter deserve to be called Satan?

His rebuke was a stumbling block to Jesus. 

Jesus was on a mission but the Pharisees, Scribes, the Roman government, and plenty of others had made the ministry of Jesus difficult- still He was able to overcome. When challenged by them Jesus was able to masterfully handle their questions and accusations. Those were challenges He faced by the wicked and cunning crowds, but someone as close to Jesus as Peter would have presented a different temptation. It’s difficult for us to hear persuasive voices from those close to us like friends and family. They have the ability to talk you out of or into all manner of things and many times this is a great help. Their advice is often appreciated more than those of outsiders. However this can also be a challenge to us in negative ways if their counsel leads us further from God. Peter deserved such a swift and blunt response because it was a threat to the will of the Father, and this is a good principle for us to follow today.

Dale Pollard

Alternatives to God are disappointing— in 1 Kings 18:21, Elijah makes the statement, “how long will you go limping between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, follow him.” The demonstration and experiment that followed was one that left the people without doubt. The two different parties, Elijah and the Prophets of Baal, set up two different altars and requested that the two gods would send fire to ignite the ox placed on the offering. After a long day of calling out to Baal, the prophets were finally ready to give up. Elijah on the other hand, requested that the altar be drenched with water three times. After calling to God once, fire came down from heaven and consumed the offering. Imagine being the prophets of Baal — the embarrassment, anger, and ultimately the disappointment. The entities of this world will disappoint us; if not immediately, eventually.

Alternatives to God are powerless — In Daniel 3, the king of Babylon finds himself in a state of pride and arrogance again. He constructed this massive 90’ golden statue and placed it in the plain of Dura. It could’ve been seen from a long ways away and was impressive to any spectator who saw it. In Chapter 3 verse 5, it was commanded that the people who were present before the statue were to fall down and worship it whenever they heard the Babylonian instruments. The faithful Jews, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah refused to worship this golden statue. Their punishment was to be burned alive, yet the one true God showed power over this persecution. The Babylonian king stated after experiencing this, “there is no other God who is able to deliver in this way.” When we compare God with the alternatives, no one matches His power.

Alternatives to God are temporary — In chapter 44 of Isaiah, the prophet exposes the reality of how the people go to a forest, cut down a tree, use some of the wood to build a fire for warmth, some of the same wood to cook food, and then takes the same lumber and carves a god, proclaiming “deliver me, for you are my god.” While there’s a lot to unpack in this chapter, it’s amazing how mankind can be so immovably fixed on the temporal gods of this world. Not only is God living, unlike the piece of wood, but He is described as the one who was, is, and is to come — meaning that He exists outside the boundaries of time. While all the other gods of this world will fade away, God remains.

Tyler King

“But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to his servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.” (Matthew 22:2-14).

Looking back on this parable with the benefit of hindsight, knowing the centuries of the Church’s history, it’s easy to understand most of what Jesus is saying. The king had an initial group of people that were invited to wedding, but refused the invitation. In the same way, the invitation of the gospel was initially given to Jews only. However, especially among the religious establishment—Pharisees and Sadducees—there was widespread rejection of that invitation. So, the king opens up the invitation to everyone in the highways, both bad and good, just as the invitation of the gospel was extended to Gentiles and Jews alike—everyone is invited.

However, there’s the strange detail near the end that can confuse us in our modern times, living so far detached from the culture that Jesus gave the parable to. We see a man at the wedding who doesn’t have wedding clothes on, and he gets kicked out of the wedding because of it! In our culture, we might wonder about this man, perhaps even feel sorry for him. Perhaps he didn’t have good clothes for a wedding because he was poor and couldn’t afford them. But the way we do weddings is different from the way they did weddings in Jesus’ time and culture. Back in that day, the master of the wedding feast would provide garments for all of the wedding guests. In fact, it would be a great insult for someone to refuse to wear wedding garments at the feast. That’s why the man is speechless when the king asks him how he got in there without wedding garments.

What does that represent? Baptism. As many of us as are baptized into Christ have put on Christ (paraphrase Galatians 3:27). Just as the master of the feast provides wedding clothes for the guests, God provided baptism for us. And just as the man without wedding garments was thrown out, none of us should expect to attend the wedding feast if we aren’t wearing the garments God provided at His own cost.

Andy Wright

I believe many experience the same in their awareness of scripture’s presence. In 2 Kings 22, we read of Hilkiah finding the book of the Law in the temple. The people of Israel had become so complacent in their history that they drifted from the very words of the Lord and His law eventually found its way to a desolate place in the temple. Despite God’s involvement, revelation, discipline, and encouragement, the people had forgotten about His divinely inspired words.

There have been times where I hear a quote from Philippians 4, or John 3, or Genesis 1, and I think to myself “oh I know what that says.” It is only when I actually read those sections of scripture that I amazingly find things I had never seen. In that same thought, I’ve read the sermon on the mount at least 100 times in my studies. Yet, every time I reread it, I find something new that I didn’t see before. This collection we call the “bible” is unlike any other form of literature in the world. I should never become woefully adapted to scripture to the point that I fail to study it on the basis of “already knowing it.”

In an effort to ignite our zeal for genuine and intense Bible study, I would encourage you to read scripture as if it’s the first time you’ve read it. King Josiah knew of God’s Word by tradition, but upon reading it through fresh eyes it invoked incredible action (2 Kings 22:11). When we become “scripturally adapted” we fail to recognize the awe of God’s Word and the transformative power it wields.

Tyler King