The Sins of the Elder Son
The story of the prodigal son is one of the most well-known parables that Jesus ever told. Most people are familiar with the prodigal’s part of the story. He was discontent with living and serving in his father’s house, so one day, he demanded his inheritance early. The father gives it to him, and he leaves home and wastes all the money on wicked living. After some time, famine came to the land, and the prodigal had to find work feeding pigs to survive. Finally, he comes to his senses and returns home. Instead of being angry and holding a grudge, his father happily receives him back into the family. But the prodigal son had a brother, also mentioned in the story. The story concludes with an exchange between the father and the elder son. The elder son never left home. He was hard-working. He obeyed his father’s instructions. All of these are admirable traits, but there was something wrong with the elder brother’s heart. He was proud, bitter, and envious, and he proved it by refusing to join in celebrating his brother’s return. How we react when the lost are found reveals what is truly in our hearts. If we are unmoved by a sinner’s profession of faith in Christ or cynical about a backslidden Christian getting right with God, we are acting like the prodigal’s big brother. We must confess our pride, bitterness, and envy and rejoice with the Father when a prodigal returns.
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- Jul 9, 2023The Sins of the Elder Son
The Sins of the Elder SonThe story of the prodigal son is one of the most well-known parables that Jesus ever told. Most people are familiar with the prodigal’s part of the story. He was discontent with living and serving in his father’s house, so one day, he demanded his inheritance early. The father gives it to him, and he leaves home and wastes all the money on wicked living. After some time, famine came to the land, and the prodigal had to find work feeding pigs to survive. Finally, he comes to his senses and returns home. Instead of being angry and holding a grudge, his father happily receives him back into the family. But the prodigal son had a brother, also mentioned in the story. The story concludes with an exchange between the father and the elder son. The elder son never left home. He was hard-working. He obeyed his father’s instructions. All of these are admirable traits, but there was something wrong with the elder brother’s heart. He was proud, bitter, and envious, and he proved it by refusing to join in celebrating his brother’s return. How we react when the lost are found reveals what is truly in our hearts. If we are unmoved by a sinner’s profession of faith in Christ or cynical about a backslidden Christian getting right with God, we are acting like the prodigal’s big brother. We must confess our pride, bitterness, and envy and rejoice with the Father when a prodigal returns.
- Jul 5, 2023Living Right In A World Gone Wrong
Living Right In A World Gone WrongAs the book of James comes to a close, the final instructions sum up how to live right in a world gone wrong. So many times we focus on visible outward actions instead of the invisible spiritual condition. The outward is merely a reflection of the inward and the visible is merely a symptom of the invisible. If we are going to live rightly, we must be right with God and others.
- Jul 2, 2023Giving As An Act of Worship
Giving As An Act of Worship“Give unto the LORD the glory due
unto his name: bring an offering,
and come before him: worship the
LORD in the beauty of holiness.”
(1 Chronicles 16:29) Everyone is
worshipping something. Even the
most irreverent, ungodly atheist
engages in worship. Webster
defines “worship” this way: “To
adore; to pay divine honors to;
to reverence with supreme respect
and veneration.” Worship is when
you demonstrate your devotion to
someone or something by giving the
most and the best of your time and
treasure to it. The idea of giving is
so connected with worship that we
cannot even imagine a form of
worship that doesn’t involve some
aspect of giving. Even those who
do not worship the true God
understand that worship involves
giving of offerings and sacrifices.
They do it to appease their false
gods and earn their favor, but it
shows that God has put into the
conscience of man the knowledge
that giving is a part of worship. As
Christians, we too should give as
an act of worship to the Lord. We
should give thanks, we should give
praise, and we should give money.
We do not give to earn God’s favor,
nor do we give expecting God to
bless us with great and greater
wealth. We should give to the
Lord because God means so
much to us. When we give tithes
and offerings in obedience to
the teachings of God’s Word, we
are showing that we take God
seriously and that He means
enough to us that we are willing
to part with our hard earned
dollars to honor Him. - Jun 25, 2023Samson’s Tragic End
Samson’s Tragic End
- Jun 25, 2023Pride Goeth Before Destruction
Pride Goeth Before Destruction
Samson was known as a strongman, but
in reality, he was very weak. He could
slay a lion bare handed, kill a thousand
men in one fight, and carry the gates
of an ancient city up a mountain. Yet
he was not strong enough to control
the sinful desires of his flesh. All of
the famous events from Samson’s
story involve him indulging sensual
desires and suffering the consequences.Perhaps the most well-known portion of
Samson’s story is his encounter with
Delilah. Delilah was not a godly woman
and did not love Samson. The Philistines
bribed her to discover the secret to
Samson’s strength and she readily agreed.The first three times Delilah asked him,
Samson lied to her. Each time the
Philistines were ready to take him, but
each time he escaped unharmed.
Astonishingly, Samson finally revealed
the secret of his strength after Delilah
asked him for the fourth time. Did
Samson not know what she was trying
to do? Or could it be that he had
become so prideful that he believed
he didn’t need to keep his vow to God
any longer to keep his strength?Whatever he was thinking, the
result was Samson’s capture, torture,
and humiliation. He had lived a
sensual, prideful life and he became
a prime example of the old adage,
“The bigger they are, the harder
they fall.” Why? Because “Pride
goeth before destruction, and an
haughty spirit before a fall.”
(Proverbs 16:18) Instead, we should
humble ourselves, and if we do,
God promises that He will lift us up. - Jun 19, 2023What’s In Your Heart?
What’s In Your Heart?There are two sides to every person: the inside and the outside. Or in the language of the Bible, there is the “inward man” and the “outward man.” (2 Corinthians 4:16 KJV) Each of us chooses which will receive our focus and attention. Either we will focus on the external things that other people can see and notice or on the internal things that may go unrecognized. Which one we make a priority determines the direction of our life takes. If you believe that perception is more important than reality, then your focus is on the outward man.If you believe that if you fake it, you can make it, then the outward man is your priority. If you do what you do “to be seen of men,” then external things are paramount to you, and that is a problem. It is a problem because Jesus said that what is in your heart is more important than what people see on the outside. The heart is the real you, and it determines what will come out of your life.The most religious people in Jesus' day were consumed with maintaining an appearance of godliness, but in reality, their heart was far from God. Their heart was evil, and the result of an evil heart will be an evil life. They were meticulous about ensuring that nothing went in their mouth that would “defile” them, but they ignored the corruption that was in their heart. The inward man is the most important part of us because that determines who we really are. We must be sure that we keep our hearts clean, and when we do that, our whole lives will be pure.
- Jun 18, 2023The Downward Cycle of Revenge Samson Part 3 (Judges 15)
The Downward Cycle of Revenge Samson Part 3 (Judges 15)
- Jun 18, 2023What’s In Your Heart?
What’s In Your Heart?There are two sides to every person: the inside and the outside. Or in the language of the Bible, there is the “inward man” and the “outward man.” (2 Corinthians 4:16) Each of us chooses which will receive our focus and attention. Either we will focus on the external things that other people can see and notice or on the internal things that may go unrecognized. Which one we make a priority determines the direction of our life takes. If you believe that perception is more important than reality, then your focus is on the outward man. If you believe that if you fake it, you can make it, then the outward man is your priority. If you do what you do “to be seen of men,” then external things are paramount to you, and that is a problem. It is a problem because Jesus said that what is in your heart is more important than what people see on the outside. The heart is the real you, and it determines what will come out of your life. The most religious people in Jesus' day were consumed with maintaining an appearance of godliness, but in reality, their heart was far from God. Their heart was evil, and the result of an evil heart will be an evil life. They were meticulous about ensuring that nothing went in their mouth that would “defile” them, but they ignored the corruption that was in their heart. The inward man is the most important part of us because that determines who we really are. We must be sure that we keep our hearts clean, and when we do that, our whole lives will be pure.
- Jun 14, 2023Humbling Yourself
Humbling YourselfAt the root of every sin that we commit is a prideful heart. Sin originated when Satan (Lucifer) said “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.” (Isaiah 14:14) Pride is the defining feature of all rebellion against God.
Humility, on the other hand, is at the heart of holy living. Christ demonstrated the superiority of humility when He humbled Himself to come to earth and die for our sins. Those who are truly following Christ will strive to live humble lives like He did.
This theme of pride versus humility is the main focus of 1 Peter 5:5-7. Having admonished pastors to not be “lords over God's heritage, but [examples] to the flock” (1 Peter 5:3), Peter expands on the idea of being an example of humility. But the commands and principles are not for pastors only. All Christians should live humbly because God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. - Jun 11, 2023Samson Walked By Sight Not By Faith Part 2
Samson Walked By Sight Not By Faith Part 2
- Jun 11, 2023Tradition!
Tradition!A tradition is a ritual or belief handed down from one generation to another. Many people like traditions because they can give a sense of stability, consistency, and connection. Not all traditions are bad. In fact, many traditions are very good and helpful because they are based on Biblical principles. If, however, a tradition is at odds with God’s commands, we must reject that tradition so that we can obey God. Sadly, many people confuse traditions and God’s commands. They assume that because something has “always” been done, it must be right. They are not humble enough to admit that they and those who have gone before them might have been wrong. This was one of the glaring problems of the Scribes and Pharisees in Jesus’ day. To them, keeping the traditions of the rabbis and elders of bygone days was more important than truly obeying God’s word. Their teaching was particularly tricky because those traditions were often loosely based on the scripture. They were traditions of men presented as the doctrines of God. In Mark 7:1-13, Jesus was confronted by the religious leaders about His disciples not keeping the tradition of ritual hand washing before meals. Jesus turned the question back on them, pointing out that they were breaking the commands of God to keep their traditions. But it is not just the Scribes and Pharisees who have been guilty of elevating tradition above the commands of God. If we are not careful, any of us could fall into the same trap. We like to think that we have had it right all along, but only God’s Word is infallible. When our traditions contradict the Bible, we must give up those traditions and obey God.
- Jun 4, 2023Secret Sins (Psalm 90:8 KJV)
Secret Sins (Psalm 90:8 KJV)
- May 21, 2023Samson Part 1
Samson Part 1
- May 21, 2023A Godly Influencer
A Godly InfluencerIn the last few years, we have seen a dramatic rise in the number of people using social media to build a business around themselves and their ability to gain a following. These people are known as “influencers” because they use their platform to influence the purchasing decisions of others. God has called Christians to be influencers, but not like the world thinks of an influencer. We are to make a difference in the world, to be salt and light by living according to the truth of the gospel and sharing the message. Social media influencers persuade people to follow them. Christians should persuade people to follow Christ. The Apostle Paul was a great example of this kind of Godly influencer. His influence was so strong that people said he had “turned the world upside down.” (Acts 17:6). As a godly influencer, Paul did not live for himself. He had a taste of fame, fortune, and a following of men before he was saved, and he knew that they weren’t worth living for. Paul’s goal was to make Jesus famous and not himself. Paul lived to “preach…the unsearchable riches of Christ,” not to gain a fortune for himself so that he might live a comfortable life. Paul did not strive to build a following for himself. He only invited people to follow him as he followed Christ. The result of Paul’s selfless, sacrificial, servant-hearted influence was the glory of God through his life and ministry, which should be the goal of every pursuit a Christian undertakes. We must use whatever influence God may give us to magnify God.
- May 14, 2023The Virtuous Woman
The Virtuous WomanWho can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come. She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness. She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her. Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.
-Proverbs 31:10, 25-31
