Hebrews 11.2 observes, for by it the people of old received God’s commendation.
The ‘it’ in this sentence is faith. There is a faith that God commends. In Part I we began to explore the faith that God rewards as we looked at the lives of the hero’s of the faith listed in Hebrews 11. Picking up where we left off: (more…)
1 Samuel 15.22 warns, does the LORD take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as he does in obedience? Certainly, obedience is better than sacrifice; paying attention is better than the fat of rams.
If you slowly read this verse and soak in it’s meaning, doesn’t it make sense that if there really is a God this is exactly how He would be? Doesn’t it make sense that if there really is a God He couldn’t be fooled by our religion into thinking we were good? Neither would religious activities truly make a person good if the normal activities of their life were evil. Wouldn’t obedience to God seem to make the most sense as to what God really requires? (more…)
Psalm 40.3 records, He gave me reason to sing a new song, praising our God. May many see what God
has done, so that they might swear allegiance to Him and trust in the LORD!
I have been a part of the ministry of CBMC for nearly 30 years. I have worked vocationally for the organization for the past 21 years. The reason I love the ministry so much is because it’s process for making God known is so simple and so effective. (more…)
Mathew 24.38 describes, in those days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and 
giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark.
I had the recent pleasure of visiting the life size Ark built to replicate the one described in the Bible. God had Noah build an ark for saving his family and an animal remnant from God’s judgement of the entire earth for its rebellion against Him. It’s amazing the size while inside are descriptions and replications for how Noah might have housed, fed, watered and removed the waste of all the animals. (more…)
Judges 21.25 records, in those days Israel had no king. Each man did what he considered to be right.
Not much has changed in 4000 years or so. People are people with the same propensities from generation to generation and from nation to nation.
It is because our origin is from God through His creation of one man and one woman from whom all the peoples of the world have their beginning. This ideology is unique to Christianity and explains why in precept, not always in practice, Christianity stands alone in its teaching that all people are created equal regardless of gender, race, income or intelligence. (more…)
Acts 22.14-15 describes, the God of our ancestors has already chosen you to know His will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear a command from His mouth, because you will be His witness to all people of
what you have seen and heard.
Paul’s description of how he came to know the one true God summarizes how all of us come to know the one true God. We enter the world estranged from God. It is not inherent to the human species at birth to recognize or serve God. From infancy, we humans are self preserving and self seeking. (more…)
Judges 14.17 describes, she cried on his shoulder until the party was almost over. Finally, on the seventh day, he told her because she had nagged him so much. Then she told the young men the solution
to the riddle.
Nagging has a way of wearing us down. That explains why children use it most often because it is so effective at moving their parents to give them their way. God rewards faithfulness and even warns that only those who remain so until the end will be rewarded. Faithful until what end? Ours or the world’s I suppose. (more…)
Judges 3.2 describes, God left those nations simply because He wanted to teach the subsequent 
generations of Israelites, who had not experienced the earlier battles, how to conduct holy war.
The idea of holy war is not a very positive one today. While it’s quite an old concept the Muslims have made the idea immensely unpalatable. The Muslim version of holy war involves using women, children and the handicapped, in addition to men without other options for gaining heaven, through the means of suicide, for accomplishing their objectives. Their holy war is the destruction of the infidel or the conversion of the infidel through terror and fear. The god they serve is abusive, terrible and unattractive in every way. Yet holy war predates Islam. (more…)
Acts 5.41 records, they left the council rejoicing because they had been considered worthy to suffer
dishonor for the sake of the name.
The Church was able to grow from a handful of believers in Jesus into a world wide religion because it has been willing to suffer dishonor for the proclamation of Jesus as the only God and Savior of the world. When the Church has lost influence it has been the result of those who profess Jesus as Savior privately being afraid to do so publicly lest they suffer for proclaiming His ways. (more…)
Matthew 22.14 reports, many are called, but few are chosen.
Who God is and Who we think He is are often in-congruent. What we expect God to do or be like often conflicts with how He acts or describes Himself in the Bible.
Bible reading and study is the critical discipline necessary for aligning our opinion of God most closely to the true nature, character and ways of God. Today’s verse is a case in point over Who God really is and what we normally think God is like. (more…)
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