Monthly Archives: June 2016

Thursday, June 30                                          2 Cor. 9:8.  “And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that … Continue reading →

Wednesday, June 29            Acts 2:38.  And Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the … Continue reading →

Tuesday, June 28                                                        My wife’s birthday!  Please accommodate me and let me share … Continue reading →

Monday, June 27 “Public problems have private causes.”—Pastor Brad Jenson.  This statement could apply to any number of situations—a problem between two people, a marriage relationship, a political issue. The point is that any negative thought or feeling against anyone … Continue reading →

Sunday, June 26                              Paul enumerates quite a few goals in Colossians 1.  There are some overall goals:  that Christ would be preeminent in all things (v. … Continue reading →

Saturday, June 25                         With the goal of convincing someone to be a Christian, some people have pictured the Christian life as a “bowl of cherries,” a life full … Continue reading →

Friday, June 24                           “Faith enables the believing soul to treat the future as present and the invisible as seen.”  Oswald Sanders may not have had in mind … Continue reading →

Thursday, June 23 Suffering persecution as a witness to a lost world is not new.  It goes back to the dawn of history.  As soon as sin entered the world, God set into motion His plan of redemption.  There soon … Continue reading →

Wednesday, June 22 We need to take note of Paul’s attitude toward his suffering.  He said “I rejoice in my sufferings.”  I don’t think he enjoyed them.  I can’t imagine him thinking “Oh boy, I get to go to jail … Continue reading →

Tuesday, June 21 What did Paul mean by “complete what is lacking” in Col. 1:24?  By the context, it has to do with Paul’s sufferings.  His sufferings are not over.  He was currently in jail and did not know what … Continue reading →

Monday, June 20 There is a phrase in Col. 1:24 that is puzzling, at least until it’s understood in it’s context.  “. . . in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions . . .”   This raises … Continue reading →

Sunday, June 19                                         “Christ is not the means to an end; He IS the end.”—Doug Burch.  This might seem to … Continue reading →

Saturday, June 18 “When we make a church we don’t always make disciples.  When we make disciples we always make a church.  Go therefore and make disciples.”—Prayer letter from Troy Gallagher, quoting a man on their mission trip to Nepal. … Continue reading →

Friday, June 17 I’m perfectly in accord with Paul’s teaching concerning gray areas, but it has led to a few problems.  How do I live without being an offense?   Let me give you a couple examples.  As director of our … Continue reading →

Thursday, June 16 After Paul carefully and logically lays out the gospel message in Romans 1-11, he proceeds to the hortatory section.  How are we to respond to the truths of chapters 1-11?  After a number of exhortations, he gets … Continue reading →

Wednesday, June 15 When it comes to conflict, I am resolute; the other guy is stubborn.  I think you get the picture.  We use positive words for ourselves and negative words for others.  Standard operating procedure—thanks to the sin nature.  … Continue reading →

Tuesday, June 14 Some people like to fight, but most of us don’t.  We hate conflicts, and confrontations are to be avoided.  That’s not all bad.  The Bible tells us in Rom. 12:18 “If it is possible, as far as … Continue reading →

Monday, June 13 From the time a baby is born, it is in a learning mode.  Probably food, exercise, and a safe environment come first, but a baby is constantly exploring things.  What we call toys are learning tools for … Continue reading →

Sunday, June 12 No one takes delight in making mistakes.  We want to cover them up, hide them from others, make excuses for them, and forget them.  Conversely, we are quick to advertise our achievements—in subtle ways so we can … Continue reading →

Saturday, June 11                             Cutting corners is a time issue.  We want to save time so as to use it for something else.  We have a thing … Continue reading →

Friday, June 10                                 Elizabeth and I were privileged to be in Fort Collins, CO for two of our grandchildren’s graduation ceremonies.  Kevin graduated with … Continue reading →

Thursday, June 9 The development of the Book of  Psalms is clouded in antiquity, a lot of unknowns—authors, dates, and how the Psalms were collected, preserved, organized, and accepted as Scripture.  For whatever reason the Jewish Psalter was organized into … Continue reading →

Wednesday, June 8 A married couple was meant to be a team.  Each one was to have a different role, but would fit in perfectly with each other.  Think of a picture puzzle.  Hundreds of very similar pieces, yet each … Continue reading →

Tuesday, June 7 This is a special day for me and my wife.  Sixty three years of blissful marriage.  Well, there were certainly some ups and downs, some bumps in the road.  We were a typical, naïve, young couple setting … Continue reading →

Monday, June 6 We’ve been married for more than 62 years and we still occasionally have problems communicating.  Males and females are made differently, not only physically, but psychologically.  Here’s my view on it.  Women have to deal with what … Continue reading →

Sunday, June 5 The Bible has a lot to say about our speech. The Psalms and Proverbs cover just about every aspect of this subject.  The N.T. has a lot to say, too.  James shows a wise balance in James … Continue reading →

Saturday, June 4 The average American speaks 30,000 words a day in ordinary conversation.  This is a staggering figure.  I don’t plan to check it out by counting the words I speak in a given day, but it makes me … Continue reading →

Friday, June 3                               James introduces wisdom right near the beginning of his epistle.  James 1:5.  “If any man lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who … Continue reading →

Thursday, June 2 Somebody called me a wise man a few days ago.  I’m not used to that and wasn’t sure how to reply, so I didn’t say anything.  And I guess that was wise.  Maybe if someone called me … Continue reading →

Wednesday June 1                                  R.C. Sproul mentioned the “quadriga,” a four faceted system of hermeneutics that developed in the Dark Ages. It included the literal, moral, allegorical, and analogical principles of interpretation. Let’s take them in order. The literal principle is … Continue reading →