Do and Teach
Posted by Philip Strong | Categories: Obedience, Ezra, Matthew
It is perhaps overly simplistic to point out that if we intend to be true disciples of Jesus, we must imitate Him (Ephesians 5:1). Such is a necessary part of being a follower, which is how "disciple" is defined. When it comes the commands of the Father, what then does Jesus teach us by His example? Note Acts 1:1, "The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach." It is a very simple statement, and a very simple code of conduct: Do what Jesus did, and Teach what Jesus taught. This lesson extrapolates this formula out into five areas of application.
How Do You “See” the Bible?
Posted by Philip Strong | Categories: Faith, Trust, How Do You See..., Ezra, Psalms, Matthew, Romans, 1 Corinthians
Jesus uses the word "see" two different ways in Matthew 13:13, "...while seeing, they do not see..." His meaning is obvious: the people under consideration look at the Word of God, but did not understand it. He does the same thing in the same verse with "hear"- "...while hearing, they do not hear..." That is, they hear the audible sound, but do not comprehend that which they "hear." Thus the question of this lesson's title: Do you just "see/hear" the Word of God, or do you really "understand/comprehend" it? How do you "see" the Word of God? Regarding this point, some say the Bible cannot be really "understood" because it is: 1) too big or complicated; 2) too mysterious; or, 3) incomprehensible without the direct assistance of the Holy Spirit. All three of these accusations are addressed in this lesson.
“Where’s Timothy?”
Posted by Philip Strong | Categories: Commitment, Faith, Growth, Ezra, Acts, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy
Do you remember the picture puzzle book of several years ago entitled, "Where's Waldo?"? It was a book filled with carefully drawn pictures of enormous crowds on each page. And, somewhere in each mass of people was "Waldo." The object was, of course, to find Waldo. Excuse the pun, but drawing on that illustration, I'd like to ask, "Where's Timothy?" Timothy was a man who, we learn from 2Timothy 2:15, had from his childhood known "the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus." What an impressive statement! So, "where's Timothy" today?
“Decisions, Decisions!”
Posted by Philip Strong | Categories: Choices, Church, Commitment, Ezra, Hebrews
I saw a car commercial recently which boasted of how many hundreds of thousands of decisions this car made every second. Not only do I not think that fast, I’m not sure I want my car to either! In fact, I’d prefer to do most of the thinking for both of us. Then on the other hand, if that old truck of mine had been one of these new “thinking” types, we might not have rolled over and wrecked recently! But know this: when performing complicated tasks like driving or living, there are a whole bunch of decisions that are going to have to be made by someone…or something (God help us!). Such brings a couple of points to mind relative to “thinking” and “decisions”: (1) good decisions typically require considerable thought at first, then become easier as we get used to making them; and (2) eventually, many good decisions come to require no thought at all, and hence cease to really even be decisions- we just do the right thing without even thinking about it. Let’s consider both of these points a little more.
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