I served as pastor of Southern Baptist churches in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana for almost 30 years before taking a medical leave from the pastorate in February 2013 due to dysautonomia (POTS) and moving to Norman, Oklahoma. Blessed with renewed health, I was called as Senior Pastor of Pleasant Ridge Baptist in Morganton, NC in February 2015.
In this blog I share daily devotions from my own personal Bible readings, as well as sermons, book reviews, illustrations -- and occasional humorous "peeks" at life inside this pastor's home!
Tag Archives: sanctification
God’s Pruning Instrument
“You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.” (John 15:3) When many of us think of “pruning” happening in our lives as Christians, we may immediately of trials that God allows — and they … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Uncategorized
Tagged Bible, discipleship, God's word, holiness, John 15:3, maturity, pruning, pruning instrument, sanctification, scripture, service, spiritual growth
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The Father’s Pruning Work
“Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.” (John 15:2) Christians who undergo trials or difficulties may be tempted to … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Discipleship, Uncategorized
Tagged bearing fruit, branches, discipleship, fruit, fruitfulness, holiness, John 15:2, pruning, sanctification, service, trials, vine, vinedresser
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Don’t Miss The Holiness In His Grace
“And Jesus said, ‘I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.’” (John 8:11) Jesus’ response to the woman caught in adultery was an amazing display of His mercy and grace, and the story has touched … Continue reading
“NO Darkness AT ALL”
“This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.” (I John 1:5) John could not be more clear in what he asserts here, … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Discipleship, Uncategorized
Tagged compromise, darkness, holiness, I John 1:5, libertinism, light, sanctification, sin
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“He Will Save His People From Their Sins” (Matthew 1:21 sermon)
(Preached at Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church, December 11, 2016) In his famous play, “Romeo & Juliet”, William Shakespeare wrote: “What’s in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” And there is some truth in that. … Continue reading
Posted in Matthew sermons, Sermons, Uncategorized
Tagged C.S. Lewis, Colossians 2:14, glorification, guilt, Hebrew, I John 2:2, II Thessalonians 1:9, It is finished, It Is Well, Jesus, justificatiion sanctification glorification, justification, Matthew 1:21, paid in full, Romeo and Juliet, salvation, salvation past present future, sanctification, sin, sins, slavery, test, tetelestai, wrath, Yehoshua, Yeshua
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When A Change of Scenery Isn’t The Answer
“When he had gone out to the gateway, another servant girl saw him, and said to those who were there, ‘This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.’ And again he denied it with an oath, ‘I do not know the … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Uncategorized
Tagged change, heart, Matthew 15:19, Matthew 26:71-21, salvation, sanctification
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What Displeases Your Master
“But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed.’” (Matthew 25:26) There are two things which the master of the … Continue reading
Posted in Devotions/Bible Studies, Uncategorized
Tagged consecration, holiness, kingdom, laziness, Lordship, Matthew 25:26, morality, obedience, sanctification, sin, wickedness
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