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Thoughts Introduction What matters to God should matter to us. Wouldn't you agree? When the book of Nehemiah was written, about a thousand years had passed since God had used Moses to lead the people out of their Egyptian captivity. Much had happened in the passing years. There had been the time of the judges, but then the people begged to led by a king, like the surrounding lands were, so God first appointed Saul, who turned out to be a disappointment, as God warned the people he would be. Then there was David, who certainly had his share of failures, but was a man after God's own heart. After David was his son, Solomon, who built a Temple for the people to have a place to worship God. Then a long succession of David's descendants followed Solomon, some of whom were godly men, some of whom were evil men who did not follow God. Eventually, because the people had turned their backs on God to worship false gods, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob allowed Jerusalem to be conquered by Babylon. The Te

Thoughts Have you ever heard the phrase, "Fools rush in where angels fear to tread"? I don't think I'm a fool, but if I am, so be it. What I am about to talk about needs to be addressed, especially in our current culture. So God created humans in his image. In the image of God he created them. He created them male and female.Genesis 1:27 And God saw everything that he had made and that it was very good.Genesis 1:31 A woman must never wear anything men would wear, and a man must never wear women’s clothes. Whoever does this is disgusting to the Lord your God.Deuteronomy 22:5 The purpose of this essay is not to be hateful. Nor am I a transphobe. I do not hate people of either sex if they disagree with me or Scripture. I am not afraid (which is what "phobia" means) of them either. My motivation, in all of my teaching, is to explain the Scriptures in such a way that the true nature of God is revealed. I believe that when He is properly understood, there is a high probability that hearts will be cha

Thoughts Who Wrote This Book? This book is one of three epistles, or letters that are attributed to John the apostle, who wrote the Gospel of John. He is the disciple that is often called “John the Beloved” because it is thought that he is the one  referred to six different times in the Gospel of John as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” It was also probably this John to whom the Lord revealed end times events in the book of revelation. And He is also the disciple who was with Mary at the foot of the cross, and into whose care Jesus gave Mary.  Who Is the Letter For? The letters were not written to a specific church, but were intended to be circulated around to all the churches. It was to help them and encourage them in their devotion to Jesus, to remind them that false teachers would be around, and to emphasize that their love of God and people was paramount, especially other believers.  Who Is the Letter About? John begins chapter one much like he did his Gospel. He refers to Jesus as the W

Thoughts Something that struck me in today's reading was in verse 5 and 6. Paul had told the Jews that Jesus was the Christ, and they opposed and slandered him. His response was interesting. What do many of us tend to do today when people don't accept our message? We try to change our approach. We try even harder to convince them that Jesus is who He said He is. But Paul shook the dust from his clothes in protest and said to them, "You are responsible for your own fates! I’m innocent! From now on I’ll go to the Gentiles!" He didn't seem to fret over saving every last person he delivered the message to.  Folks, we need to remember that our job is merely to deliver the message as faithfully and accurately  as we can. It's not our job to convince. We can't. It's the Holy Spirit who convinces. Yes, we must be prepared to give an answer when people ask questions, but we cannot bring about the change in the human heart. Once we've delivered the message, our job is done. That's not to say that we should tak

Thoughts Redemption In the Old Testament? One of the common ideas of the New Testament is redemption. But in chapter 10, verse 8 we read about redemption, too. Here it is again, starting at verse 6: “I will strengthen Judah and save the tribes of Joseph. I will restore them because I have compassion on them. They will be as though I had not rejected them, for I am the Lord their God and I will answer them. The Ephraimites will become like warriors, and their hearts will be glad as with wine. Their children will see it and be joyful; their hearts will rejoice in the Lord. I will signal for them and gather them in. Surely I will redeem them…”Zechariah 10:6-8 NIV Do you know the meaning of redemption? In Today’s Dictionary of the Bible it says, “Redemption: the purchase back of something that had been lost, by the payment of a ransom.” The idea is that of payment made for our redemption. The debt against us is not viewed as simply canceled, or written off, but it is fully paid. Christ’s blood…His

Thoughts At the end of our last reading in Ecclesiastes, the end of chapter 8, Solomon had said that after setting his mind on understanding wisdom, after watching what happens here on earth, he concluded that it is impossible for man to understand it all. And this is coming from the wisest man that ever lived.  And the beginning of our reading today began with the words, “So I considered all of this carefully, examining all of it: The righteous and the wise and their deeds are in God’s hand…” I have discovered, in my life, that this is a good place to be. Before Jesus left this world he said, “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give you. I give to you not as the world gives. Don’t be troubled or afraid.”  If we try to make sense out of the world, as Solomon did, we will become like he did. We’ll become cynical and jaded. Solomon spent many years in pursuit of the things the world tells us will bring happiness. And near the end he threw in the towel and said, “It’s too much. I can’t understand.” 

Thoughts I love the fact that God knows me intimately. To understand that He knows my desire to know and serve Him makes me feel good, as when a little boy is happy when his daddy is pleased with him. But to also understand that God knows my ugly, dark, sinful parts causes me to feel utterly amazed that He still loves me. He knows my heart, and He knows the weakness of my flesh. But as Psalm 136 said in it's refrain: His steadfast love endures forever! 1 John 4:8 puts it this way: God is love. Knowing this, my heart swells with love and gratitude. And it makes me want to continue to try to please Him, to continue to persevere in my efforts to live a  life more devoted to Him today than I did yesterday.   Today's Bible Translation Bible translation used in today's episode: Ch. 134-136 ESV Support Please remember that this is a listener supported show. Your support of any amount is needed and very much appreciated. Find out how by clicking here. When you buy through links on this site, we m

Thoughts Confession In chapter 10, we find Ezra kneeling in front of the temple, tearfully confessing the sins of the people of Israel. And he is joined by a large crowd of men, women and children who also begin weeping bitterly. Why are they crying? Because they have disobeyed God by marrying foreign, or as some translations say, pagan women from the local area. Do you remember that God told them not to do this when they came into the Promised Land? Now they are truly remorseful for their sin. Plan For Correction So what happens? Does Ezra suggest what they should do? No, one of the people, Shechaniah steps up and says, "Ezra, we have disobeyed God by marrying these foreign women. But there is still hope for the people of Israel, 3if we follow your advice and the advice of others who truly respect the laws of God. We must promise God that we will divorce our foreign wives and send them away, together with their children." Is It Right? What do you think about that? Divorce their pagan wiv

Thoughts An Eye For An Eye? The final verse in chapter nineteen says, "Don’t feel sorry for that evil person. A life must be taken for a life. An eye must be put out for an eye. A tooth must be knocked out for a tooth. A hand must be cut off for a hand and a foot for a foot." And yet Jesus said in Matthew 5:38-42, 38“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye must be put out for an eye. A tooth must be knocked out for a tooth.’ 39But here is what I tell you. Do not fight against an evil person. Suppose someone slaps you on your right cheek. Turn your other cheek to them also. 40Suppose someone takes you to court to get your shirt. Let them have your coat also. 41Suppose someone forces you to go one mile. Go two miles with them. 42Give to the one who asks you for something. Don’t turn away from the one who wants to borrow something from you. Is Jesus contradicting the Old Testament?  Let's look at the context of each of these teachings. In Deuteronomy 19, we find that the chapter has to do with

Thoughts Pastor Bennett is again in chapter six of the Gospel of John. Today he’s focusing on verses 59-65. Support Please remember that this is a listener supported show. Your support of any amount is needed and very much appreciated. Find out how by clicking here. When you buy through links on this site, we may earn an affiliate commission, and you will earn our gratitude. Design: Steve Webb | Photo: Ronny Sison on Unsplash Live Not by Lies: A Manual for Christian Dissidents By Rod Dreher / Sentinel Aleksandr Solzhenitzyn once noted that people often assume that their democratic government would never submit to totalitarianism---but Dreher says it's happening. Sounding the alarm about the insidious effects of identity politics, surveillance technology, psychological manipulation, and more, he equips contemporary Christian dissidents to see, judge, and act as they fight to resist the erosion of our freedoms. 304 pages, hardcover from Sentinel.

Thoughts I’d like to just briefly touch on a couple of points made by Peter. False Teachers Are Easy To Spot First, the topic of false teachers. They were a problem in Old Testament times, they were a problem in the early church, and they are a problem today.  False teachers are usually students of the human mind and human weaknesses, and they know what people like to hear. Their motivation is often for money, sometimes for power, and never for the benefit of the listener. Some false teachers have small followings, some have millions. How do you know if someone is a false teacher? It’s not really that hard. You need to know what Scripture says. When you know the real thing well, counterfeits are easy to detect. This podcast is a good start in knowing the Bible, but it is no substitute for your actually applying yourself to deep, disciplined study on your own. Having a Bible teaching pastor is important, being a part of a good Bible study group is important, having trusted and godly friends is i

Thoughts Conflict I’m always struck by the last scene in chapter 15. It’s in verses 36 through 41. Paul suggested to Barnabas that they go and see how well the followers were doing in the cities they had visited and preached in. Barnabas said, “Hey, let’s take my cousin, John Mark along with us.” Paul said, “Yeah, no. When things got tough in Pamphylia, he wimped out on us and took off. I don’t trust him.” This caused an argument between Barnabas and Paul. And according to the language in the original language, this wasn’t a calm disagreement. Have you ever seen a baseball team manager arguing nose-to-nose with an umpire? Red faced, voice raised, hands on hips? Maybe you’ve even seen a manager kick dirt on the ump?  That seems to be the kind of argument Barnabas and Paul had. The word used for argument in our text can be literally translated as paroxysm. I had to look that one up. The definition of paroxysm is: a sudden attack or violent expression of a particular emotion or activity. Some syno

Thoughts Introduction Zechariah and Haggai (which we read last week) were contemporaries. Both were called by God after the 70 year exile. Zechariah's prophecy came two months after Haggai's first prophecy. Where the prophecies of Haggai had primarily to do with the Temple, Zechariah's were about the people. The language of Zechariah's messages were very similar to that of the book of Revelation, with symbolism, types, and visions. Zechariah is a common name in the Old Testament, and we do not know much about the author of this prophetic book. We do know from the book of Ezra that he was the son of Iddo. The Message In chapter one, God's message to the people is, "Return to me, and I will return to you.” In reading chapters 1-7, there are prophecies of the coming Messiah. Seeing Jesus In the Book of Zechariah In chapter 1, verse 11, He is the man who stood among the myrtle trees.  In chapter two, he is the man with a measuring line in his hand. Here, Jesus is going to measure the ph

Thoughts I think that what we can take from Solomon’s teaching here in Ecclesiastes is that wisdom, money, power and everything else that man strives for does not bring happiness or understanding or peace. Solomon had it all. But at the end of his life he realized that what God does is far beyond man’s understanding.  Notice that not once has He accused God of being unjust or unfair. He has said that some of the things he has seen are unfair, but he chalks that up to just what happens in this life. And he admits in the last two verses of today’s reading that we just cannot understand it. Some things we just need to leave in the hands of God. Our human heart doesn’t easily find that conclusion to be very satisfying, but if you don’t want to drive yourself crazy trying to figure out what is impossible for our puny, finite minds to grasp, then you really do have to come to grips with that reality.  We need to trust that God truly does love us. And He does. We need to trust that God truly is holy. And

Thoughts Three more Songs of Ascent today, which are songs that were sung as faithful Jews were going up to Jerusalem as they were going to the Temple for the three annual festivals of the Jewish calendar. Putting Away Pride Psalm 131 is David's song in which he declares that pride has no place in his heart. It is a very short song, and Charles Spurgeon had this to say about it: “It is one of the shortest Psalms to read, but one of the longest to learn. It speaks of a young child, but it contains the experience of a man in Christ.” For someone with as many accomplishments as David had, it can be very difficult not to harbor pride or arrogance. We know from Scripture that David had at least one bout with pride, when he got into trouble with Bathsheba. To be sure, lust was a big part of his sin, but pride was at the root of his fall. He thought that he could get away with his sin with Bathsheba and the subsequent sin of the murder of her husband. But the cascading consequences of the first sin rever

Thoughts Again, no comments today. Listen for explanation. Today's Bible Translation Bible translation used in today's episode: Ch. 1-2 HCSB, Ch. 3-4 NASB, Ch. 5 NLT Support Please remember that this is a listener supported show. Your support of any amount is needed and very much appreciated. Find out how by clicking here. When you buy through links on this site, we may earn an affiliate commission, and you will earn our gratitude. Design: Steve Webb | Photo: 戸山 神奈 on Unsplash Live Not by Lies: A Manual for Christian Dissidents By Rod Dreher / Sentinel Aleksandr Solzhenitzyn once noted that people often assume that their democratic government would never submit to totalitarianism---but Dreher says it's happening. Sounding the alarm about the insidious effects of identity politics, surveillance technology, psychological manipulation, and more, he equips contemporary Christian dissidents to see, judge, and act as they fight to resist the erosion of our freedoms. 304 page

Thoughts Today I don’t have any comments for you after the reading. I’ve had a bit of a homeowner’s disaster in the past 24 hours. A water line under a concrete deck in the back yard broke, and I’ve spent the day figuring out whether to either break out the concrete to try to find the leak, or how to bypass the broken line altogether. I think I’ve figured a way to bypass the line, so that’s good. But the point is, I have had no time to study in order to give you any valuable comments. So there’s that. Today's Bible Translation Bible translation used in today's episode: Ch. 13 CEB, Ch. 14 CEV, Ch. 15 GNT Support Please remember that this is a listener supported show. Your support of any amount is needed and very much appreciated. Find out how by clicking here. When you buy through links on this site, we may earn an affiliate commission, and you will earn our gratitude. Design: Steve Webb | Photo: Andrik Langfield on Unsplash Live Not by Lies: A Manual for Christian Diss

Thoughts In today’s comments I’d like to address chapter 5, verses 1 through 6. Who Should Be the Shepherd? Peter tells the older members to be shepherds to God’s flock from a sincere desire and not for money, and do so by providing a good example, not by lording it over them. And then he tells the younger folks that they should be willing to submit to the older people. He wraps up this section by saying that they should all be very humble with each other. These verses grabbed my attention because I have been involved in the church since I was a teenager. So I’ve been one of the younger crowd, and I am now one of the older crowd. I’ve been on both sides. One Effect of the 1960s Jesus Movement When I was young, there was no doubt that the elders were in charge. Church was pretty much entrenched in the way things were done. But I got saved right around the time that the Jesus Freak movement was born, and a lot of changes began to happen. Somewhere along the line we have come to a point wher

Thoughts We see the beginning of Paul's first missionary journey in chapter 13. It's important to note that they did not begin this journey based on their own ideas. They were called by the Holy Spirit to this work. And then, the church at Antioch fasted, prayed, laid hands on them and sent them on their way. Everything was done according to the leading of the Lord. And yet, they did not have success in every place. Far from it, in fact. But notice what they did in verse 51, after they were run out of Antioch of Pisidia: "So they shook the dust from their feet as a sign of rejection and went to the town of Iconium." Acts 13:51 NIV In shaking the dust off their feet, they were saying they didn't want to take anything of that city with them. They didn't take the rejection of the people of the city personally, and they didn't doubt God's call on them. They just moved along to the next town.  Too often, beloved, when we feel called to do something for the Lord, we begin with stars in our eyes. W

Thoughts The Minor Prophets There were twelve Minor Prophets. The first nine prophesied before Judah was taken to Babylon in captivity, or pre-exile. Haggai is the first of the remaining three Minor Prophets who came after the seventy year exile. The Reconstruction Begins...Sort Of Cyrus King of Persia allowed the exiled Jews to return to Jerusalem in 538 B.C., after seventy years of captivity. Two years later, in 536 B.C., construction to rebuild the Temple was begun, but the work stopped just two years later, in 534 B.C. For fourteen years, the Temple was completely neglected. They had a foundation, but that was all. And then, in 520 B.C., the Lord told Haggai to speak to the people about their neglect of the Temple. They had excuses for not continuing to rebuild the Temple, but they seemed to have no problems building homes for themselves.  This Time For Real To their credit, Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah, and Joshua, the high priest and the people listened to the word of the Lord