BibleVersity

"Out of the depths I have cried to Thee, O LORD." - Psalm 130:1 (NASB)    Any good parent is familiar with the different "cries" that children exhibit. Among these we find the I-have-a-boo-boo cry, which usually produces tears, both on the child and the parent. There is also the I'm-not-getting-my-way cry, which needs no explanation and is very similar to the I'm-not-getting-enough-attention cry. In addition, we are familiar with the there's-a-monster-in-my-closet cry, which demands immediate attention or no one will get any sleep. However, there is no other sound from a child that is like the cry of desperation, the cry when they are seriously hurt or in danger. This piercing cry penetrates the hearts of mommies, for it is a cry of terror, despair, and helplessness. This desperate plead is for intervention. As I read David's words this morning, this is the kind of "cry" I hear coming from his lips. What particular depths the Psalmist...

"…we were afflicted on every side: conflicts without, fears within." - (2 Cor 7:5, NASB)    I love it when I am studying the Bible and happen to discover some spiritual gem that I managed to miss in previous studies. Paul is writing to the Corinthian church and shares some deeply personal revelations from his own heart. Among these are the trials that he, and those with him, have faced. Jesus told Ananias, before he went and prayed, that Paul that he must suffer many things (Acts 9:16) . Paul, who previously persecuted the church, now has been and is suffering for the One whom he persecuted. In the verse above, Paul is speaking of events that took place in Macedonia. Although he does not elaborate on the specifics, he does tell us that their "flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted on every side…" As a result of this constant toll, fear developed in the heart of Paul. Paul was afraid!    The term "fear" is found over three hundred times in the NASB ...

"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!" - (Ps. 133:1, NASB)    I am not a huge social media guy, except when it comes to posting things about the LORD. With this said, over the last month I have either joined or been invited to numerous groups on a social media site. Since these are groups I have joined, most of the time I agree with the items that are shared regardless of who they are from. There will always be the occasional nuance that will cause some disagreement, but as a whole we agree. Among these groups I also find that there are those whose opinions of Biblical things are far different from mine. This does not surprise me, for we see this in our local churches. Then there will be the quote or statement that demands that some well-meaning individual come to rescue with Scripture to show the brother or sister the error of their ways. In all honesty, I have no problem with any of these, for I believe that the LORD has given ...

"My soul cleaves to the dust; Revive me according to Your word." - (Ps. 119:25, NASB)    Psalm 119 is one of the two most well-know in the collection, and retains the title of the longest. At 176 verses, it covers an entire five pages in the Bible I am looking at this moment. Besides the length of this Psalm, one of the most glaring facts that stand out is the focus on God's Word. When we use that terminology today, we are referring to the Bible, the entirety of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation. In David's time, the NT was not written, neither were many of the writings among the prophetic collections, and some others. David uses various terms in referring to God's Words: law, ways, statutes, commandments, testimonies, and precepts, and others. However, each refers to the inspired directive that comes from God. So, even though David did not have access to the collection of books we have today, we can still refer to all of these as the Word of God. At its co...

A Brief excerpt from yesterday's message.    The term "baptism" is familiar to most people, regardless of the particular church they may be involved in. However, as we read the Scriptures, we soon learn that baptism does not refer to one but three separate events. The first baptism is into the body of Christ, a.k.a. salvation, the new birth, or being born again. They all refer to the same. This is the process by which the Holy Spirit, through the regenerative work of Jesus, brings us from spiritual death to spiritual life, thus making us part of the "body" of Christ. Paul writes, "For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and were all made to drink of one Spirit.” (1 Cor. 12:12, NASB) I refer to this baptism as a baptism of position, because we have moved from an existence apart from God due to sin into a position with God due to the right-standing that is ours due to Jesus Christ's death a...

"If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit." - Gal. 5:25 (NASB)    In recent weeks I have not posted as regular as has been my custom. As many of you know, much of the postings that I share come straight out of my time alone with God. In many cases, the insights I share are still turning over in my own heart and mind even as I post them. For the last few weeks, the LORD has been speaking to me concerning the area of Spirit living, but has not released me to share those things here. In the future, I believe I will be sharing much more in regard to this necessary area of our Christian walk. However, today I want to share a simple and yet profound truth.    In the verse above, Paul is concluding some thoughts on living by the Spirit as opposed to living "under the law" or living as natural/carnal men. It is as this point that he makes powerful statement, "If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit." The "if" is for ...

"You are the God who works wonders; You have made known Your strength among the peoples." - (Ps. 77:14, NASB)    Christians believe the Bible to be God's inspired word to mankind, and rightly so. There are a good handful of reasons that we can boldly proclaim the Bible to be the only inspired writing. Among these would be the unity of the writing through the hands of 40+ different authors in over 1,500 years of writing, the historical, geographical, and archaeological factual information, the fulfillment of prophecies, and others. However, to me at least, the most important is the "wonders," the supernatural manifestations and miracles that accompany the Bible. All the other reasons are vastly important, but miracles tend to be personal in nature as God does something mighty in an individual, family, or group of people. They also tend to get people's attention. This is one reason why Jesus told His followers "signs will accompany those who have be...

"…as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted…" - (Co. 2:6-, NASB) A brief excerpt from yesterday's message    Conversion through faith in Jesus Christ is the greatest event that will happen in your life, but it is not the only great God-event that will happen. Too often we think of getting saved as the finish line. Salvation is not the finish line, it is the starting block in a life of faith. Once we have been transformed by God's marvelous power, the real race begins. The most important action a new believer (seasoned believers as well) is to ground themselves in the things of God, via the Bible, prayer, and a local church. God has given us these wonderful tools so that we might grow in our understanding and relationship with God, through Jesus. Paul told the believers to "walk" or live a new life in Jesus as they become firmly rooted, built up, and established in the faith. We must establish good soil in w...

"…and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip…" - (Acts 6:5-6, NASB)    Philip was an interesting man. If you trace his life in the book of Acts you will find a man who faithfully exercised the responsibilities entrusted to him. Very little is known of him at this time, other than he was full of the spirit and of good reputation. He was one of the seven, chosen from among and by the church, to serve the church under the disciples blessings.  Later, when the church is scattered abroad due in large part to pre-conversion Paul, Philip ends up in Samaria. There he preaches and teaches about Jesus, cast out demons, and performs miracles before the people. Philip's preaching of the gospel impacted Samaria so much that Peter and John came to further the ministry there. Later, Philip meets an Ethiopian who is searching the Scriptures. Philip teaches him about Jesus and baptizes him. As a result the gospel spreads into Ethiopia. Philip is m...

"Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but though Me." - (Jn. 14:6, NASB) A brief excerpt from yesterday's message.    This was the final Sunday in our series on, "I Am," looking at Jesus' comments of Himself. Although this is not the last in sequential order, I believe this statement to be a culmination of all the "I am" statements that Jesus made. We can break this verse down into individual parts and look at their meanings, but take a look at the overall message of this verse. As the truth, He is the revelation of God's perfect will to fallen humanity. As the way, He is the journey or path by which we are able to enter into heaven and the glory that is the Heavenly Father. And, as the life, He is both the beginning and the ending, the source of our initial regeneration and the sustaining life until we are translated into glorious beings.  We cannot learn about God without the revelatio...

  "A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master." (Matt. 10:24, NASB)      Please don't panic! I am not backsliding or leaving Christ, I just want to share something interesting I have observed. The word "Christian" comes from the Greek christianos , and is used three times (Acts 11:26 & 26:28, 1 Pet. 4:16) in the NT. Christianos means "follower of Christ," and was likely a title for believers given by Greeks or Romans, and was meant to be derogatory.  Now, look the term "disciple". Disciple comes from the Greek word mathetes meaning, "student, pupil, apprentice, or adherent," and is used some thirty or more times in the NT. Mathetes is the word Jesus used to describe those who follow Him. A simple comparison of the two definitions allows us to see a difference between the two terms. Eerdman's Bible Dictionary explains further, "…it is apparent that becoming a disciple of Jesus in general m...

"…And behold, the LORD was passing by!…the LORD was not in the wind…the LORD was not in the earthquake…the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing.  When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out…" - (1 Kings 19:11-13, NASB)     This is an amazing passage to me. In other place throughout the Bible God has "spoken" through fierce winds, earthquakes, and fire. So it was not merely a matter of the gentle blowing that got Elijah's attention, it was something else. What was it about this gentle blowing that allowed Elijah to recognize God's presence within? I do not believe that it had anything to do with the gentle blowing itself, rather it was about Elijah. Paul tells us that the natural man cannot discern or understand the things of the spirit of God (1 Cor. 2:14-3:3) . Elijah, and later Elisha, were both mighty men of God who did not look at the natural things the way most people do. Where men saw f...

"No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him…" - (Jn. 6:44, NASB)    Jesus tells us plainly here in John's gospel account that, unless God the Father draws them, a lost person cannot come to Christ. The Greek word used here is helkyō *, and it means to drag away. As I think about that, the visual picture I get is of a parent walking into an ungodly location, grabbing their child's shirt collar, and "leading" them out into safety. The child, at that age, could most certainly resist and overpower their parent, but dare not because of the parent's authority and the repercussions that would follow.    In Christianity today, there is a thrust to make the gospel more "friendly" to the lost. In an effort to become more relevant we refer to sinners as "pre-Christians", substitute "lectures" for sermons, promote "life principles" instead of sin & judgment, mercy & grace, salvation & holines...

"…I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches…" (Acts 19:13-17, NASB)    This is one of my favorite passages of Scripture in Acts. We do not know these guys' names, only that they were seven brothers whose father was names Sceva, a chief priest. They had been watching the miracles that Paul was performing and were awestruck. So, perhaps because their father was a prominent religious leader, they took it upon themselves to attempt some of the same miracles as Paul. However, their results were strikingly different. Whereas Paul was able rebuke and drive out demons, these seven men were driven out, beaten up and naked by the way, by the demon-possessed man. What made the difference? They had knowledge of Jesus, but Paul had a relationship with Jesus.    There is a vast gulf between knowing about Jesus and knowing Jesus. The Bible teaches us volumes about who Jesus is, what He wants in this world and in our lives, and how to properly worship and serve Him. However...

"I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing." - (Jn. 15:5, NASB) A brief excerpt from yesterday's message.    There is one main, overarching theme in this passage of Scripture: Jesus is our source! Everything else in this passage flows from that thought. He is the vine, not we ourselves. We sometimes think, or at least act, as though we have the capacity to bear fruit by sheer strength and determination, but it is just not possible. We are the branches. The branch receives its nourishment from the vine itself, and the health of the branch is directly linked to both the health of the vine and the strength of its connection. As the vine, Jesus is perfect, so there is no problem there. The problem comes in our connection with the vine. The stronger connection we have, the more of His life flows in and through us. I am not talking about improving on salvation. We cannot do anything fur...

"…When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong, because the LORD is the One who holds his hand…" - (Ps. 37:24, NASB)    David was a remarkable individual. He passionately worshipped and loved God. He also passionately failed God. As a result of his sin, two lives were lost. How did David respond? He continued worshipping the LORD. Even though he never penned it this way, David knew that permanent failure was not an option to those who serve God. Everyone sins. This is not a new revelation, nor is it an encouraging thought, but it is true. Even after we have been transformed by the power of God in salvation, we still sin. Our nature has been changed, so we are not spiritually bound to keep sinning, but we still fail God from time to time. However, when we do sin, we have God's promise that He will forgive us and cleanse us from sin as we confess it before Him (1 Jn. 1:8-9) .    With all that said, I love the way in which David expresses his understanding, "When...

"They passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia…and the Spirit of Jesus did no permit them…" - (Acts 16: 6-10, NASB)    This is a very interesting passage of Scripture to me for a number of reasons. First, Jesus had commanded the disciples to take the gospel to the "uttermost parts of the world," (Acts 1:8) so why would Jesus not allow Paul to speak in Asia? I am not sure that we can completely know the reason for this. However, it does show us that God has a specific timing in working in the lives of people. The Bible is clear in telling us that no sinner can come to Jesus unless the Father draws them to Christ (Jn. 6:44, NASB). We cannot trick, bribe, or convince someone to get saved if the LORD has not drawn him. Furthermore, any person who gets "saved" out of trickery or pressure is in trouble, for they have been deceived, and what they have will not last.    The second t...