Focal Passage: Acts 16:1-5, II Timothy 2:1-2, 3:10-12 

The term oxymoron is defined by the Oxford dictionary as “a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction.” Some short examples of an oxymoron are open secret, clearly confused or my personal favorite — jumbo shrimp. 

We might like to think that II Timothy 3:12 would fall into this literary category. Notice that the desire for godliness and the surety of persecution are linked together. God did not intend for us to see these two realities as contradictory. 

Describing someone as godly/persecuted is not an oxymoron. In fact, God tells us emphatically “all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”  [Read more…]

Focal Passage: Acts 9:26-28, 11:22-26, 15:36-40 

Isn’t it encouraging to read about the conflict between Paul and Barnabas? What?! How can their disagreement be encouraging? Critics and skeptics attack the Bible with striking regularity. 

One of the arguments they make is that the Bible is merely a compilation of contrived stories to serve a religious purpose rather than eye-witness accounts of actual events. If this was the case then why would Luke, the author of Acts, describe this disagreement in such detail? He wouldn’t. This narrative and others like it serve as affirmations of the reliability of Scripture. 

Those of us that believe in the infallibility of the Bible don’t necessarily need evidence of the accuracy of the Word of God. We already have a high view of Scripture. It is encouraging to be reminded of the historical precision of biblical accounts. We can also learn a great deal from the way God worked through real, flawed, sinful people in Bible times. A brief glimpse into Barnabas’ part in this story will help us as we are seeking to be faithful as Christ-followers today. [Read more…]

Focal Passage: Esther 2:5-7, 4:8-17 

Why are you reading this article? Instead of saying “I’m not sure, I have some other things to do,” and put it down, keep reading. 

I know I’m about to wade into some dangerous waters but are you reading according to the sovereignty of God or your free will? Think about that question. 

The physical abilities necessary to read and the class you may be preparing for were given to you by God, right? But didn’t you have to open the paper and make the choice to use your eyes and brain to comprehend these words? 

I bring this up not to say that I’m going to unravel the deep mystery of the sovereign foreknowledge of God and the free will of man, but because our passage displays the tension between these two realities beautifully. Oftentimes following God is difficult, we can follow faithfully as we understand this tension with greater clarity.  [Read more…]

Focal Passage: I  Samuel 2:22-26, 3:7-10, 15-18 

Before vocational ministry, I was a deckhand on a fishing boat. Whether it’s snapper fishing in the Gulf of Mexico or catfishing in the Tennessee River, every fisherman knows the rarer the fish the more exciting the catch.

For example, we were going through the motions of a typical day offshore catching snappers when quite literally, out of the blue, we hooked a sailfish. As this electric-blue billfish jumped out of the water through a chaotic thirty-minute fight, everyone put down their fishing poles just to watch the action. 

Take this illustration and do your best to contextualize God’s Word to Samuel. I Samuel 3:1 says, “… And the word of the Lord was rare in those days. …” Out of the blue came the voice of the living God. When they realized what was happening Samuel and Eli stopped what they were doing and listened. [Read more…]

Focal Passage: Numbers 27:12-23 

You know the Great Commission, “Go therefore and make converts. …” If you’re familiar with Matthew 28:19 you’re aware that is wrong. Jesus calls His followers to make disciples, not converts. To be clear, conversion is a biblical, necessary experience (Acts 15:3). 

The Oxford dictionary defines conversion as, “a change in one’s religious beliefs.” Trusting Christ is so much more than a change in a belief system. Christ-followers should identify themselves as disciples who make disciples.

What does this have to do with Moses and Joshua? The kind of relationship that Moses and Joshua display is built into the word “disciple.” The word itself calls for the existence of a teacher and a learner.  [Read more…]