October 31 – Matthew 19 & Mark 10

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Matthew 19 & Mark 10. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.

I do not write what I am about to write in a proud and boastful way, only as a teaching element. In 2007 I graduated college with a degree in Bible and Theology. I spent four academic years of my life studying the Bible. I was given tools and knowledge to better understand the Bible. In those four years I studied nearly every book of the Bible on some intimate detail level. Sadly to say, it was not until 2012 that I actually for the first time read the Bible cover to cover. I had read it all over different parts of my life, but never in an organized attempt to do so. With all that training, with all that study, and with all the times I have read the Bible, especially many sections of the Bible, you would think it would be hard to have a new understanding, especially over familiar passages.

Photo Credit: Microsoft Clip Art

Well in our reading today, I found an amazing truth nestled in the words of Jesus. A rich young man comes to Jesus and asks what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus goes over some basics and the man confirms that he has kept all of them. Jesus reminds him there is one wrong thing he has done … he has clung to his wordily wealth. When the man leaves sad and dejected, Jesus turns to his disciples and tells them … “Dear children, it is very hard to enter the Kingdom of God. In facts, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!” (Mark 10:24-25 NLT) From here Jesus disciples are perplexed and they struggle with the thought that no one can enter into God’s kingdom. Here is where I had a new revelation … “Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.” (Mark 10:27 NLT)

I have always read the camel in the eye of the needle story independently without the follow up. At least I have never connected them. In the first part Jesus is teaching that in reality, there is nothing that anyone can do to enter into the Kingdom of God. Rich men cannot buy it. Poor man cannot be pure enough. Religious men cannot do enough. There is nothing you and I can do to inherit the Kingdom of God. But that is where God steps in on this matter … “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God.” I do not know about you, but that tells me there is something God is up to.

As Christians we know the rest of the story. We know that Jesus will go to the cross … something He alludes to latter in the chapter … where He will pay the debt for our sins. A camel goes through the eye of a needle easier because there is nothing you and I do to inherit the Kingdom of God. It is the work of God in Jesus on the Cross.

Now I did not learn anything new in our reading today. I only saw for the first time this teaching Jesus used here in Mark 10 to illustrate it yet another time in scripture. Friends, no matter how many times you have read the Bible there is always something new and something different that you can draw from God’s Word. 

October 30 – Luke 18

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Luke 18. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.

Photo Credit: Microsoft Clip Art

If we return to our theme of grouping we come to Luke 18 and see a series of stories strung together. We see the persistent widow who comes to the unjust judge, followed by the Parable where the Pharisee brags he is not a sinner while the tax collector falls broken before God, followed by the story of the little children coming to Jesus. What theme do you see from these stories?

I see the theme of a just but loving God. God is one who serves justice to those who have sinned against him. His love for us forces Him to do so. As I write this my mind goes back to the scene that played out before sitting down to write. I just finished disciplining my daughter for throwing a fit when I told her no to using my iPad at this moment. I would not have shown her love if I did not discipline her for her choice to behave with a fit. Friends that unfortunately is justice produced by love.

But … God does not stop there. Not only does His love require justice, His love also shares forgiveness. The little children coming to Jesus in their purity is what God desires of His children. The tax collector falling broken before God is the process of returning to Jesus with the purity of the children. In that state, God’s love overwhelms in forgiveness. God is not like the unjust judge. It is not through persistence that God’s hand is forced. God is always just, both in administering justice and love. But we can learn from the widow, we must always come before God, persistently in a broken state realizing that without God we are not like the little children. 

October 9 – Matthew 12, Mark 3, & Luke 6

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Matthew 12, Mark 3, & Luke 6. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.

Photo Credit: Microsoft Clip Art

What are you concerned with, the details or the overall project? I have a friend who was a jet engine engineer. Because of confidentiality agreements, she was not allowed to discuss the parts she designed. Regardless of her agreement, she did not know much about the other parts. She only really knew about the part she was responsible for and how it affected the other parts around her. This was done on purpose in part so one person could specialize on one part. Because of this she was oblivious to the other parts of the engine. When we focus too much on one aspect of something, we loose sight of the bigger picture.

That is exactly where the Pharisees where. They were focused on the letter of the Law and not the heart of the Law. The permission for priest to work on the Sabbath (Matthew 12:5), or David getting food for his men (Matthew 12:3-4), or saving a sheep from a well (Matthew 12:11) all point to the fact that God left room for heart in the Law over strict observance to the Law.

Are we guilty of this today? Do we look at what the life of a Christian is supposed to look like and demand it forgetting our freedom and salvation in Christ? Do we forget that we are saved by grace that nothing we can do will save us, and rely and trust on God for it? I am not advocating a life filled with sin because of that freedom, just a life that has assurance regardless of the mistakes we make. 

February 18 – Leviticus 16-18

Today’s reading comes from Leviticus 16-18. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word.

As a Christian there are theological issues that I feel I have a really firm understanding of. Then there are issues that for various reasons I just do not get at all. In some instances it is easy just to assume that this is the case and take it at its face value. In other instances it really pushes my faith … it really stretches me. One of those theological issues that I have not understood but trusted the Bible was over the shedding of blood and the whole need for a sacrifice.

I cannot say I have doubted the need for blood sacrifice but at the same time I just have not completely or fully understood it. To be honest even after the revelation I had in my mind after today’s reading, I still cannot say I fully understand it. However, in Leviticus 17 today God began to shed some new light in my mind on this issue.

Read again these words … “For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life. Therefore I say to the Israelites, “None of you may eat blood, nor may an alien living among you eat blood.” ‘Any Israelite or any alien living among you who hunts any animal or bird that may be eaten must drain out the blood and cover it with earth, because the life of every creature is its blood. That is why I have said to the Israelites, “You must not eat the blood of any creature, because the life of every creature is its blood; anyone who eats it must be cut off.” Leviticus 17:11-14. I guess the reason an animal sacrifice works is because it has given up its life, and the blood represents that life. It is through the blood that nutrients, oxygen, and other needed things are delivered to the parts of body. Blood is life!

It’s cool to experience a new understanding. While I am nowhere close to full understanding, a little light bulb went off in my brain this morning, which is really cool! Thank you for letting me share this little ah ha moment with you.

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January 29 – Genesis 48-50

Today’s reading comes from Genesis 48-50. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word.

Today we close out a second book … Genesis. We have seen God’s hand at work in multiple ways. We experienced creation, destruction through the flood, the scrambling of languages, learned how to cope from calamities through Job, and witnessed the building of a nation through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Genesis closes out on a high note. Jacob blesses his son Joseph and his two boys, he calls all his sons together and showers blessings on them, Jacob is buried with full Egyptian pomp, and Joseph dies understanding the harm his brothers sought was meant by God to save his family and preserve the promise. God has been good to Joseph and his family.

I think there is a good lesson to learn from the blessings Jacob shares with his sons. Reuben had done a detestable thing sleeping with Bilhah Jacob’s concubine. Both Simeon and Levi sinned in murdering the Shechemites after they raped their sister Dinah. We see that there are consequences because of sin. Reuben looses his seat at the table of nations … he will not be counted in the twelve tribes … one of Joseph’s sons occupies his place

Friends there are always consequences for sin. But let me remind you, while there are consequences for sin there is also forgiveness. We might have to spend the rest of our life dealing with the consequences of our sinful actions, but in Christ there will always be forgiveness, and those consequences only last in this life. In Christ we are considered righteous and have the privilege of spending eternity in the presence of God.

January 22 – Genesis 30-31

Today’s reading comes from Genesis 30-31. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word.

What hides in your family tree? Are there things in it that you are not completely proud of? Have people done some pretty detestable things? Affairs, arrests, alcoholism, prostitution, quarrels, murder, jealousy, and so many other things you try hard to forget about? No matter what has been hidden away … I wander if your family tree looks as sordid as Jacobs does?

Yesterday we first encountered the family tree Jacob has birthed. It began with sons born to his first wife Leah. Today we see that the wife he loved, whose womb was closed gives her maidservant to Jacob to give her children. When Leah sees that she is not having kids of her own she gives her own maidservant to Jacob to have children for her. In the heat of this back and forth, Leah turns to selling herself for her husbands affection when she sells to Rachel’s her sons mandrakes. She has more children and then finally Rachel’s womb opens and she has a son.

Friends this is an incredibly sordid family that is beginning. The cat fights and the back and forth would make any polygamist family today embarrassed. But here is the cool thing, no matter how much strife was taking place; God was using it for his kingdom. It is through Jacob that the promise God made to Abraham that his decedents would be numerous really begins to explode. Not only does Jacob’s family explode in number but God blesses him with material wealth. Again this blessing comes through some suspicious means, but God uses it for his purposes.

I do not know what is in your family history or even your own personal history, but remember this, no matter what is there, God’s grace, God’s love, and God’s mercy can and has cleansed you of it. God has a purpose for you. If you have found salvation at baptism, and the Holy Spirit now dwells in you, you have been justified, considered 100% righteous in the eyes of God. If you want a full explanation of that, see this earlier post. God can use you and has plans to use you no matter what guilt you carry around. So remove that guilt and turn towards him a little lighter and follow his lead.

WOW, WOW, WOW, WOW!!!!!

Below is the daily Bible reading I am doing for the West Side Church. Please feel free to follow along.

Today’s reading (Romans 4) is a continuation of yesterdays reading. Obviously the people of Rome whom Paul wrote this letter to were struggling with the proper observance of the Law of Moses. Paul has heard about this and is trying to help them in their understanding of the Laws place. You see many Jews who became a Christian believed that they had to still follow the Law of Moses, and they even tried to force Gentile Christians into following it. Now there is nothing inherently evil about the Law, in fact it is very good for us to know. The Law reveals what is detestable in the eyes of God, which points to sin, and shows us whom God desires us to be. However, when we seek salvation through the Law we are wrong.

So Paul uses Abraham as an illustration. You see Abraham lived somefour hundred years before the Law was even given to Moses. He was not saved by the Law, he was saved by his belief in God … “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Basically what Paul is trying to show the church in Rome was that their observance of the Law, while a good thing, was not a saving thing. Paul is saying … “There is nothing you can do to save yourselves. It is the power and work of Christ that brings you salvation.” Remember yesterday’s post on Justification.

So what does that mean for us … we must remember that there is nothing we can do for salvation. Salvation is a gift from God that we are able to freely accept from him. It is our choice to accept it. It does not matter how good of a life you live, unless you accept Christ as your Lord and Savior there is not salvation. But that also does not mean that because we have been justified we should live a life less pleasing to God. If we are truly grateful for the Salvation we have that should spur us to please God in a form of thanksgiving for the salvation he has offered. Let me ask you this, does your life reflect a heart of thanksgiving for the salvation you have been given by God for you faith in his son as Savior? If not then maybe you need to reexamine you heart!

You Have Been Justified

Below is the daily Bible reading I am doing for the West Side Church. Please feel free to follow along.

I love today’s reading (Romans 3). Today’s reading really lays out a great picture of what God has done for us through the work of Christ on the cross. Paul writes … “We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin.” Did you get that? Everyone is under sin. Everyone has sin in their lives. We know that we have sin because “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.” The law shows us that we are sinners. The law shows us where we slip up, where we miss the mark. But the law does not save us. The law does not bring us into an eternal relationship with God. No, that work was done elsewhere.

If we keep on reading we see were salvation comes from …

“But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”

Friends, it is our faith that saves us. It is our faith in Christ as Messiah, as King, as Master that allows God to justify us. So what does it mean to be justified? Well I like to explain it this way … to be justified means at the time of our confession, at the time of our repentance, at the time of our acceptance of Christ, at the time of our baptism into Christ we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, the forgiveness of our sins, and ultimately justification. That means when we are justified God views us as 100% righteous. When he looks at us it means he sees no sin, just the blood of Christ covering that sin. Jesus has entered into the picture and spoken for our sin.

I have included a chart I like to use. On this chart there are two lines. The dot marks our baptism into Christ where salvation takes place. From here one line goes strait up. That is justification. When God sees a person who is justified, he sees a person who is considered a 100% righteous. However there is still a process to work out. In the lives we live we never become a 100% righteous. We still slip up; we still have our moments of weakness. However, our goal should be to continually improve. We may still fall into a valley from time to time, but when we look at our lives from year to year hopefully we see a continual improvement. This is the process of sanctification. This is the refining we go through as we strive to be more righteous each day. But the beauty of it all is in the eyes of God we have still been declared Justified!

If you have any questions about the chart please leave a comment in the section below with your email and I will do my best to answer them. The image of Jesus was borrowed from the site Annabanan's Blog.

STOP CRYING!!!!

Today's Bible reading is down below.

My friend Greg emailed me a link to this video. This is what is all about - check it out.


Cardboard Testimonies 1/10/10 from Biltmore Baptist Church on Vimeo.


I have seen several videos like this one produced by this church. Each time I watch one I sit in my chair wiping away the tears streaming down my face. Man, this is what it all about ... life change. I hope this video touched you like it did me.

What did it do to Him?

In today’s reading (Mark 11) we find Jesus doing something very odd. It is the day after Jesus’ triumphal enter into Jerusalem. He has been exalted by the people as he made his way into the city. He has spent the night in the suburb of Bethany, and is now making his way back into Jerusalem. Jesus hears his stomach growling, sees a fig tree in leaf off in the distance, but once he arrives to pluck a fig, realizes that there are no figs present. So he curses the fig tree.

The day continues on with Jesus arriving at the temple, getting upset at the sights he sees he begins running people out and turning over tables. Jesus is not happy with what his temple has become and he is no longer going to stand for it. At the end of the day they returned back to their place of rest in Bethany.

The next morning Jesus and his disciples are making their way back to Jerusalem from the suburbs. While walking along the road Peter notices the tree that Jesus cursed the day before. He notices that it is withered to the roots and points this out to Jesus. Jesus then goes into a discussion about faith and having the proper amount of faith, but more importantly, the right type of faith.

To many this is a very strange story. If you read just about the fig tree without the incident of the temple cleansing you may miss the point of what Jesus is doing. This is one of those times it is very important to get the context. In fact the context goes back to the triumphal entry scene. Jesus is bringing in a new order of doing things. Something different is going to take place. No longer is it the outward sings that will save a person. No longer is it righteous living that brings you into the good graces of God (Disclaimer: this does not give a free pass to not live righteous lives). In this new order of things entering into the good graces of God will be because of the content of your heart, the faith you have in Christ.

The temple was supposed to be a place of worship to God. It was a physical place where God was said to reside. They have took the true heart and nature of it and turned it into some devious, something that it was never intended to be. So what does this have to do with the fig tree? Keep reading

Many people get upset with Christ because the Bible says it was not the season for figs, and here he is cursing it for not having fruit. We are given a context clue to why Jesus cursed it … the tree was in leaf, but there were no figs. You see, when the tree is in leaf there should be figs on it. Now that does not mean they are ripe and ready, but there is at least something edible. So, if the tree is in leaf, and there are no figs on it, that means there will be no figs that year. The tree was being deceptive … it screamed I have good fruit, but on closer examination, it had no fruit, not even bad fruit.

Jesus has come to separate and change the order. Jesus is concerned with what is on the inside. He is concerned with the content of the heart, not necessarily what the outside shows, just like the fig tree, and just like the temple.

You Want Me to do What?

Below is the daily Bible reading I am doing for the West Side Church. Please feel free to follow along.

Today’s reading (2 Peter 3) paints a gloomy picture of what is to happen after the judgment of the world. The world is going to be destroyed and purified by fire. People are going to come and make a mockery out of those waiting on Christ. Now that is something I do not desire to live through. But the great thing is it does not even scare me. Why? Because I know that I am saved by grace through faith, for a new life in Christ.

When you are in Christ you have the promise of eternal life. The horrors of the end times, the horrors of Hell should not even be something that fazes you. You have been justified by Christ, and have a promise in an eternal life that is truly grand. However, this outlook should also spur us to action.

Many of us know people who are far from God. If you are not a Christian, baptized into his wonderful grace, then you are far from God. The purification of earth and the heavens, as well as the punishment of an eternity in Hell should cause us concern for the ones we love who are far from God. Could you imagine your mom, the uncle you dearly love, and the neighbor who makes the wonderful cookies spending eternity in Hell because they are far from God? Their need of salvation should make us spring into action so that we can introduce them to the wonderful grace of Jesus. So with what kind of vigor do we attack evangelism? Is it a top priority or something you hope you will do? I pray it is a top priority.

It Blew Me Away

Below is the daily Bible reading plan I am doing for the West Side Church of Christ. Please feel free to follow along.

I do not get to the book of 2 Peter much. For some reason I tend to be a Pauline man (The writings of the Apostle Paul). So today’s reading (2 Peter 2) was an amazing refresher for me. It has been a long time since I read that in its entirety, and it blew me away.

Peter’s sets a good case for those who have draw near to God, only to draw further away from him at some point. He concludes the chapter by saying …

“If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at
the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not
to have known the way of the righteousness, than to turn their backs on the
sacred command that was passed on to them.”

… Over the course of time I have heard many different arguments on what that passage is talking about. Instead of going through each one, I want to give you my interpretation. The promise of Heaven and having the privilege of spending eternity with God is just amazing. When you come to faith in Christ and you learn the way of the Lord, then you are given that privilege of spending eternity in Heaven in the presence of God. If you were to turn away from God, deny him as master, and then yourself become a slave to sin, you are removed from the book of life … Jesus is no longer your intercessor. To have a glimpse of Heaven and then have it removed makes your eternity in Hell that much worse. Eternity in Hell without the knowledge of God would be better than eternity in Hell with the knowledge of God. That is my interpretation of that passage.

Even though we live in a world ruled by sin, there is hope. Earlier in the reading Peter discusses what will happen to the righteous … “if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment.” Friends, if we are in Christ, considered justified by God (100% righteous) then we will be rescued by God and not have to worry about an eternity in Hell. What an amazing God we serve.

Three Promises

Below is the daily Bible reading I am doing for the West Side Church of Christ. Please feel free to follow along.

Today’s reading (Acts 3) we are given some insight into what happens when we repent and turn to God … “Repent, then and turn to God, so that you sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you – even Jesus.”

When we turn to God, three things happen; sins are wiped out, times of refreshing come, and the Christ will be sent. This is a beautiful promise we receive from God. He promises to wipe out our sins which is justification. In Christ we are given times of refreshing. When we are in him, he provides times were we can recharge, times where we can tune back into him, times were we are protected from all the world’s toils and snares. Finally, I believe the sending of the Christ will be the collection of God’s people. If you are in Christ, the time will come when he will stand as a mediator, sharing with God that you have accepted him.

Friends, God did this for you. Is not God’s grace amazing and awesome?

You have been Justified!

Below is the daily Bible reading I am doing for West Side. Feel free to follow along.

Today’s reading (Psalms 15 & 16) lays out how one can dwell in the Sanctuary of God. When I think of dwelling in the Sanctuary of God, I am imagine being in the prescience of God himself. So how does one dwell in the Sanctuary of God, by upholding the list David gives.

Walking blameless
Speaking truth
No slander on the tongue
Does his neighbor no wrong
No slur on his fellowman
Honors those who fear the LORD
Who lends his money without usury
As well as a few other things.

So are you able to keep that 100% of the time? Do you ever fear that you will not get to dwell in the Sanctuary of God? You shouldn’t. You see, Christ came to remove sin. Christ's death on the cross, and his resurrection from the dead paid the price for the times when you don’t keep these things. This is justification. At baptism you have been justified. In the eyes of God, you are 100% righteous. When you do slip up, you must have a repentant heart, but you have been forgiven. That is why there is nothing you can do to save yourself. Christ did the work so you can dwell in the Sanctuary of God.