A People for His Name

Understand What You Can

June 21, 2011

After 20 years of reading the Bible through every year, I am more convinced now than ever before that it is a trap to think that not understanding everything in my reading means I should stick to studying or reading a particular passage or book until I do understand everything and not worry about reading through the whole Bible. What’s more, I fully believe that we should expect throughout our lives that God would keep on showing us great and wondrous things out of His Word that we have never seen before.

I can attest to many times even in recent years that God has shown me significant truths out of passages that I have read and studied intensively for years. In light of my experience, I encourage every believer to focus on understanding what he can and not be overly troubled about what he does not understand in his reading of Scripture.

Yes, we should try to understand as much as we can, but seeking such understanding should not be at the expense of profiting from the entire Bible year after year.

In Bible reading

Answered Prayers 6/20/11

June 20, 2011

Yesterday morning, I was quite discouraged because I had no upcoming opportunities to preach in my schedule, my employment situation was still not good, and some other concerns were weighing on me heavily. God ministered to me through the services yesterday and provided me with much encouragement, for which I am thankful.

Today, He mercifully provided me with a seemingly good prospect for additional tutoring for at least the next two weeks or so! Better than that, a pastor contacted me about ministering at his church this coming Sunday, and I also received some other good news concerning my efforts to get more preaching opportunities!

God willing, I will be tutoring a new high school student in chemistry for 4 hours this week, and I will be teaching SS and preaching twice on this Sunday. Praise God for answered prayers!

In Prayer

"Shall Be Saved . . . Save Yourselves"

June 19, 2011

At Pentecost, the apostles were “all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:4). In Jerusalem, there were “Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven,” (2:5) who heard them speaking to them in their “tongues, the wonderful works of God” (2:11).

In response to some who mocked the apostles by saying, “These men are full of new wine” (2:13), Peter authoritatively explained that they were “not drunken” (2:14-15). He explained that rather God had poured His Spirit on them, as the prophet Joel had prophesied (2:16-21).

Because his hearers were devout Jews, Peter’s lengthy citation to them of this important OT prophecy communicated much more truth to them than just what the words that are recorded directly express. To these men who already knew the teaching of the book of Joel and no doubt much else that is in the OT, this citation forcefully confronted them with the truth of God’s future judgment in the Day of the Lord.

Peter ended his citation by saying, “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (2:21). The flow of thought shows that this statement concerns salvation from the judgment that the Lord would bring in His Day.

Keeping this teaching in mind is vital for interpreting aright Luke’s final remark about Peter’s ministry at Pentecost: “And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, ‘Save yourselves from this untoward generation'” (2:40). In view of his earlier teaching, this lengthy exhortation for his hearers to save themselves must be understood as having in view their being saved from the judgment to come on “this untoward generation” in the Day of the Lord.

Moreover, earlier, Peter had climaxed his message by declaring that God has made Jesus Lord (Acts 2:36). The flow of thought throughout the record of Peter’s ministry at Pentecost, therefore, shows that in his final exhortation (2:40), he challenged his hearers to be saved from the judgment that Jesus in His Day will bring as the One who has been appointed as Lord.

In Evangelism, Interpretation

Guitar Music for "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross"

June 18, 2011

Melody and chords for When I Survey the Wondrous Cross in my format for guitar.

In Guitar Music

Prayer for a Scammer

June 17, 2011

Recently, because of my being naïve and careless, a scammer succeeded in defrauding me of a fair amount of money. In keeping with the spirit of Jesus’ teaching to pray for those who wrong us (Matt. 5:44), I offer this prayer for the person who scammed me:

Heavenly Father, please deal with this person in such a way that he will repent of his sin of stealing before it is eternally too late. Let the wickedness of this wicked person come to an end.

If it would please You, so orchestrate the circumstances of this person’s life that it would be unmistakable to him that You have supernaturally intervened so that he “is snared in the work of his own hands” (Ps. 9:16) and thereby brought to repentance. Please also send someone into his life who will give him Your gospel concerning Your Son so that he will believe in Him and have his sins forgiven.

In Jesus name, Amen.

Mere Coincidence or Answered Prayer?

In Prayer

Jesus' Warning That Spammers Need to Heed

June 16, 2011

I have been blogging since February of this year and have learned much about writing, blogs, PHP, CSS—and the practices of spammers. Having to deal regularly with many spam messages, I think that spammers need to consider solemnly that Jesus taught, “Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment” (Matt. 12:36). He

emphasizes the importance of what people say by speaking of every careless word they utter. When people speak lightly without paying serious attention to what they are saying, the careless word, the word uttered without any thought of the effect that it will have on other people, then that word shows something of what they are, deep down . . . This makes it more significant than the person uttering it may think, and it will be taken into account on Judgment Day. Jesus is saying that in the end we must all give account of ourselves and that words we take lightly will then be seen to have meaning, for they show our innermost being.—Morris, The Gospel according to Matthew, 322; bold words are in italics in the original

Based on the content of the spam messages that I am receiving on my site, I believe that their authors are sadly storing up for themselves wrath from God in the Day of Judgment.

Every spam message that supposedly comments on a post but does not have anything to do with the post itself displays a failure to love one’s neighbor as oneself. Spammers fail to obey the Golden Rule of doing to others what they would want to have done to themselves.

May God grant spammers repentance of their multiplying idle words through their worthless messages that display their lack of love for their fellow man.

In Interpretation, Quotes

"With Many Other Words"

June 15, 2011

Following Peter’s message at Pentecost (Acts 2:14-36), his audience asked him what they should do (2:37) in view of what he had preached and the effect that his message had on them. Luke records Peter’s response to their request in two parts: (1) 2:38-39 and (2) 2:40.

In the latter, Luke tells us that “with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, ‘Save yourselves from this untoward generation.'” Because of Peter’s ministry on this occasion, including his lengthy final appeal, about 3000 people gladly received his word, and they were baptized (2:41a). In that same day, they were added to the apostles (2:41b).

Peter’s ministry included more than just proclamation of his message; he forcefully exhorted his hearers at length to respond properly to what they had heard. He thus exemplifies for us how we should minister the word to people: preach the message and then challenge people “with many other words” to respond correctly.

Based on this teaching, a lengthy invitation at the end of an evangelistic message should not automatically be viewed as a human expedient intended to manipulate people to respond. Although such an invitation could be abused by using it in a manipulative manner, we should not regard giving a lengthy invitation as an inherently unjustified practice.

In Evangelism, Ministry, Preaching

A Key Truth from First Kings 3

June 14, 2011

Early in the reign of Solomon, God appeared to him in a dream and gave him an incredible opportunity: “Ask what I shall give thee” (1 Kings 3:5). Solomon’s request teaches us a key truth about him as the king that many believers may have overlooked:

“Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?” (3:9).

Given the opportunity to ask for whatever he wished, Solomon asked for wisdom so that he could judge God’s people. His request, therefore, shows that he viewed his work as the supreme judicial agent of God over His kingdom as uniquely important.

God was greatly pleased with Solomon’s request (3:10) and gave him far more than what he asked for (3:11-13). The record of God’s great pleasure over Solomon’s request and His richly rewarding him for making that request strongly suggests that Solomon asked for something that was of unique importance for him as the king of Israel.

By following this account immediately with a record of Solomon’s use of his excelling God-given wisdom to judge a dispute among God’s people (3:16-27), the inspired author confirms this interpretation. Moreover, by then stating the nationwide effect of his superlative display of divine wisdom to judge, the writer further confirms this interpretation:

“And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment” (3:28).

Through the inspired record that plainly stresses Solomon’s God-given wisdom to judge His people, we should learn that being the chief judge for God over His people, Israel, was of unique importance for Solomon as the king of Israel. What, then, should we understand about the work in the kingdom of God that was (and is and will yet in a special way be) of unique importance for Jesus Christ, the King of Israel (John 1:49), who was (and is and ever will be) greater than Solomon was (Luke 11:31)?

In Interpretation

The Birth of the Church

June 13, 2011

While on vacation the past few days in TN, I had the privilege of teaching Sunday School at Calvary Baptist Church in Cookeville. I taught on the birth of the Church from Acts 2.

I. When was the Church born? On the day of Pentecost, which was on the day after the Sabbath.

Application: The Church must set continue to set apart the first day of every week as a special day to the Lord on which those who are in a local church assemble together.

II. How was the Church born? Through the repentance of and believing response by those who heard Peter’s preaching of the Word of God.

Application: When they do assemble together on the Lord’s Day, the Church must continue to magnify the preaching of the Word of God as the God-ordained means of building the Church.

III. What was the result of the Church’s being born? They devoted themselves to the doctrine of the apostles, fellowship, the Lord’s Supper, and prayers.

Application: The Church must continue to emphasize these four aspects in their assembling together. Believers must accept that meeting regularly for taking the Lord’s Supper and for corporate prayer is essential for the Church to be what it was born to be.

In Interpretation

Halfway done!

June 10, 2011

On day 161 of 2011, I reached the halfway mark for reading through the LXX this year: 461 chapters/920 total! Lord willing, I may yet make it through the Bible in Greek this year!

In Bible reading

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