“Hearing this, the ten began to feel indignant with James & John.” (Mark 10:41)
This verse highlights a danger that good Christians need to beware of. James and John had just asked Jesus that they might sit on His right and left in His glory. This was over-ambitious, prideful, and over-reaching. Jesus dealt with them graciously (thankfully He does the same with us!) but :41 indicates that the fallout from their request was now infecting the other ten disciples in dangerous way: Continue reading
“You shall not do what is done in the land of Egypt where you lived, nor are you to do what is done in the land of Canaan where I am bringing you; shall not walk in their statutes.” (Leviticus 18:3)
This is SO applicable to Christians today. People are always saying things like: “we need to be like the world; we need to entertain like the world, be businesslike like the world;” and so on. But God says NO!! Continue reading
In the 1860’s, Mark Twain took a steamboat tour of Europe and the Holy Land, during which he visited Rome. He wrote about his experience there:
“Afterward we walked up and down one of the most popular streets for some time, and wishing we could export some of it to our restless, driving, vitality-consuming marts at home. Just in this matter lies one of the main charms of Europe — comfort. In America, we hurry — which is well, but when the day’s work is done, we go on thinking of losses and gains, we plan for the morrow, we even carry our business cares to bed with us, and toss and worry over them when we ought to be restoring our racked bodies and brains with sleep. We burn up our energies with these excitements, and either die early or drop into a lean and mean old age at a time of life which they call a man’s prime in Europe. When an acre of ground has produced long and well, we let it life fallow and rest for a season; we take no man clear across the continent in the same coach he started in — the coach is stabled somewhere on the plains, and its heated machinery is allowed to cool for a few days; when a razor has seen long service and refuses to hold an edge, the barber lays it away for a few weeks, and the edge comes back of its own accord. We bestow thoughtful care upon inanimate objects, but none upon ourselves. What a robust people, what a nation of thinkers we might be, if we would only lay ourselves on the shelf occasionally, and renew our edges!” (p. 160)
“Lay yourself on the shelf, and renew your edges” — This is basically what Jesus was telling His disciples in Mark 6:31, “And He said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.’ (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.)”
Jesus’ disciples found themselves in an extremely busy time and Jesus told them: “Come away … and rest.” Many of us are similarly busy, and we need to hear this word from Jesus as His disciples too: “Come away … and rest.” Listen and see how you need to apply Jesus words here to your own life: Continue reading
What an amazing picture we find in Leviticus 14, where the Bible describes the ceremony for the cleansing of a leper: two birds are ordered to be brought the tabernacle for the ceremony: one is sacrificed, but the other the priest is to “dip … in the blood of the bird that was slain over the running water.” (:6) Then the priest “shall let the live bird go free over the open field.” (:7) Can you imagine the feeling of that second bird as he flew away: he must have felt that he had narrowly escaped death!
Which is exactly the way that those of us who are Christians should feel! Continue reading
Psalm 119 is an acrositc. It is composed of 22 sections of 8 verses each, the verses of each section beginning with one letter of the Hebrew alphabet. So :1-8 all began with the Hebrew letter Aleph; verses 9-16 in this section all begin with the letter Beth. It is interesting to see how each section of the Psalm emphasizes a different aspect of God’s word. At least one of the emphases we find in this “Beth” section of Psalm 119 is how the author demonstrates that he really appreciates God’s gift of His word: Continue reading
”How blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the Law of the LORD.” (Psalm 119:1)
Well, that eliminates all of us, doesn’t it?! Psalm 119 is such a majestic Psalm. It is the longest Psalm, the longest chapter in the entire Bible in fact, at 176 verses. It is divided into 22 sections of eight verses, the verses of each section all starting with the same letter of the Hebrew alphabet (:1-8 all begin with Aleph, :9-16 all begin with Beth, etc.). And the theme of Psalm 119 is the incomparable word of God. It is well worth our time to read, study, and apply. But it begins with a convicting message which must not be overlooked: Continue reading
When I was pastoring in Louisiana, Governor Bobby Jindal came to our church one Sunday to share his testimony. It was a big day; we had one combined service, and every seat was filled, with standing room only. There were special directions we had to follow, and precautions we had to take, because the governor was with us that day. Bobby Jindal has a legitimate personal testimony of salvation; and it was neat to hear how a high school classmate led him to the Lord. It was a special Sunday when Governor Jindal came to our church.
The thing is, we have to remember that we have a far greater guest every Sunday we gather to worship. As my old seminary professor called it, “The presence unseen, yet more real than any other.” The presence of God Himself is with us each time we meet. And because He is with us, just like with the Governor, there special precautions we need to take, and guidelines we need to observe. We find some of these here in the passage we read this week in Leviticus 10:1-3: Continue reading
“Fire shall be kept burning continually on the altar; it is not to go out.” (Leviticus 6:13)
The Old Testament tabernacle worship was full of symbolism. It taught God’s people the “A-B-C’s” of what it takes to have and keep a strong relationship with Him. Here is another example of that: that they were to keep the fire “burning continually on the altar.” Continue reading
“Having said this, he took bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of all, and he broke it and began to eat. All of them were encouraged and they themselves also took food.” (Acts 27:35-36)
This may not seem like a significant episode, but it shows how powerful a person’s example can be. Continue reading
I'm a retired Southern Baptist pastor of almost 40 years. My wife Cheryl & I moved to Norman, OK in March of 2025. I share a weekly overview for Sunday School teachers of the weekly Lifeway "Explore the Bible" lesson, as well as texts of my sermons and other articles.
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