Two For Thursday: Holiday Edition

Tags

Alexa, Amazon, Apple, Bible, Bible Reading Plans, CNET, Holy Bible, Ligonier Ministries, Siri

Today is the day after Christmas, and I’m already languishing at the fact that I’ll be heading off to work soon, thus, officially ending my Christmas Holidays.  To be honest, I almost feel as though I need an extra day to rest and relax – it was a busy few days.  All good things usually come to an end; however, and the Christmas Holiday is no exception.  Since that is the case, let me offer you a short, but hopefully helpful Two For Thursday: Holiday Edition.

If you didn’t already have one, some of you may have received an Amazon Echo for Christmas.  Like Apple’s Siri, Alexa has burst onto the scene for Amazon, and she is now prevalent in many smart devices that are being offered everywhere.  From thermostats to door knobs, smart remotes to garage door openers and everywhere between, you can find an Alexa enabled device.  But in order to utilize Alexa efficiently, or to utilize her to fullest potential, you need to know what commands to give her.  This is where a group of authors over at CNET have hit a homerun!  An article posted on December 11, 2019 (most current update), entitled “Every Alexa command to give your Amazon Echo smart speaker or display” lists more commands than you’ll probably ever use.  You can set a daily alarm, send texts, adjust lighting, play music, create a shopping list, etc.  There is so much you can do, and the list is ever expanding.  The Editor’s note states that the list was originally posted on April 13, 2016, but it is updated regularly.  Why don’t you head on over and learn all that Alexa can do?

Many people make reading the Bible in its entirety a priority for the new year.  And like most, I’ve started a plan many times through the years only to see it go by the wayside after a few months.  It shouldn’t be that hard to do, but it always seems to be a difficult discipline to master – that of reading the Bible daily.  For those of you that are committed to continuing the tradition of reading the Bible through in a year, I’d like to present to you a pretty exhaustive list offered by Ligonier Ministries with the catchy title “Bible Reading Plans for 2020”.  You can choose from a variety of different plans such as Chronological, Historical, Two Year plan, 5 day plan, and many others.  All come with a PDF or website link so that you can print or access the plan that is right for you.  So if you’re one of the many that will once again plan to read the Bible through in 2020, head on over and check out the list.  Whether or not you choose one of the plans listed, please be encouraged to read your Bible daily.

As promised, today’s post is short and sweet.  I trust that you’ll get some use out of the resources that are provided, and if so, how about dropping me a comment to let me know that you did?  Thanks

A Lesson From the Kitchen Sink

Tags

Bible, blood, cleansing, coffee, God, Jesus, kitchen, Pharisees, sink, stain, tomb, truth

Today’s post is a reprint of one that I shared on October 20, 2013 at one of my previous blog sites.

Early yesterday morning, as I was rinsing out my coffee pot, I noticed that as I refilled it with water, the water appeared brown. Knowing that from time to time in the past we’ve had issues such as this brown water, I checked the water in a clean glass only to find out that the water clarity was fine. As it turned out, the pot has simply stained over time by the coffee. Needless to say, no matter how many times I rinsed it, the water still appeared stained as it filled the pot…good water, but stained glass. The glass needs a good cleansing.  I was glad it wasn’t the other way around – dirty water and clean glass.  And while I contemplated that thought, a truth from God’s Word came to mind – regardless of how good we think we are, or how good we think our works are, we are all stained by sin. Let’s consider what God thinks about our good works outside of a relationship with Christ. In Jesus’ rebuke of the Pharisees, He exclaimed “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness.” (Matt. 23:27). Furthermore, we learn in Isaiah 64:6 that our righteousness is like “filthy rags” or “a polluted garment” (depending on translation). Jesus’ prescription to the Pharisees was that they should, “First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.” (Matt 23:26).

The point of knowing the aforementioned verses is to lead us/me to the all-important truth that the only way we can be cleansed is by Jesus…no other way. We need the supernatural cleansing that only Jesus’ blood offers first, then we can produce the good works that we were created to do. Scripture confirms this truth in 1 John 1:5-10 and Ephesians 2: 8-10:

“This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” 1 John 1:5-10 (scripture quoted from biblehub.com) .”

8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2: 8-10 (scripture quoted from biblegateway.com)

In closing, I’m reminded by an old song that we all probably know:

Nothing but the Blood
Robert Lowry

What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Refrain:
Oh! precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

For my pardon, this I see,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
For my cleansing this my plea,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Nothing can for sin atone,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
Naught of good that I have done,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

This is all my hope and peace,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
This is all my righteousness,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Now by this I’ll overcome—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
Now by this I’ll reach my home—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Glory! Glory! This I sing—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus,
All my praise for this I bring—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

So, how about you?  Do you ever have those kitchen sink moments?  If so, I’d love to hear about some of them.

Two for Thursday: Bible Study Edition

Tags

app, Bible, Bible Study, Dallas Theological Seminary, Faithlife, God, Logos, Seminary, websites, YouVersion

We’re back for another installment of Two for Thursday, and I suppose if I had to add an additional hint to what type of resources will be included, I’d simply say “Bible Study Edition.”

Our first resource today is one that many of you may already be aware of, but in case you’re not, let me introduce you to Faithlife.

Faithlife Corporation publishes and creates electronic tools and resources for Bible study. It produces the Logos Bible Software, but also publishes tools and resources under a number of other brands, and partners with more than 500 publishers to offer over 120,000 Christian ebooks available to users of its software.

Logos Bible Software is a digital library application designed for electronic Bible study. In addition to basic eBook functionality, it includes extensive resource linking, note-taking functionality, and linguistic analysis for study of the Bible both in translation and in its original languages. It is developed by Faithlife Corporation. As of October 29, 2019, Logos Bible Software is in its eighth version.

For those of you that haven’t checked out Faithlife yet, you are in for a surprise!  Faithlife is a resource that is designed to work with churches and individuals to equip them for ministry and to deepen their knowledge of the Scriptures.  It is a centralized site that encompasses various other platforms such as:  Logos, Faithlife TV, and Bible Screen.  With a free account, you have access to a wide variety of web based Bible resources including commentaries, dictionaries, theological books, Bible translations, etc.  I will warn you; however, that it may take some time to find your way around the platform, especially Logos, to unlock all of its free content.  But if you take the time to do so, I’m sure that you’ll find that it is well worth it.  Before long you will have a library of free books and reference material at your fingertips!

The second resource is another that you may be familiar with and it is the very popular Bible App, powered by YouVersion.  Of the app, the website exclaims “Tens of millions of people are using the Bible App™ to make God’s Word a part of their daily lives. Download the free app and access your bookmarks, notes, and reading plans from anywhere. Enjoy hundreds of versions, including audio, all on your mobile device.”

 

This app is really incredible!  In addition to a wide variety of Bible reading plans, you have access to daily devotionals, Bible audio versions, and over 1000 Bible translations.  Videos are available, as well.  And if you are interested in maintaining a Bible reading plan, the app will send you reminders and keep track of your progress.  You can even set up a community with other users to keep track of what they are doing.  There are daily verses that can be shared via memes, or you can even create your own to share across social media platforms.

If you haven’t checked out the Bible App, I’d like to encourage you to go on over and do so.  It can greatly aid you as you seek to deepen your knowledge of the God of the universe!

BONUS RESOURCE…Just for today, I’d like to offer a bonus resource (free of charge), and it comes from the Dallas Theological Seminary.  Did you know that they offer online Bible courses for free?  Well if you didn’t, you do now!  I’m currently enrolled in a six week course on Romans, and here is a bit of the email that I received at the start of my course:

“My name is Jacob Beck, and I’m here to help you get the most out of this course. If you have any questions, please reach out to me at any time.

This course is designed to last six weeks, but you can go at whatever pace works for you. 

While these courses are not accredited at Dallas Theological Seminary or any other institution, they are adapted from the same classroom teaching that DTS students enjoy.

Once you complete all six quizzes, a certificate link appears close to the quiz section. You can click the link to download your certificate.
You can share this course with as many people as you want. You can use this Facebook sharing link, or you can direct people to courses.dts.edu to register for free.

If there are any more questions I can answer for you, just reply to this email and I’ll respond as soon as possible. 

If you didn’t know about theses free resources before today, I’m happy to share them with you.  I trust that you’ll find them packed with value, and if so, why not drop a comment to let me know?

Why I Don’t Take My Study Bible to Church

Tags

Bible, Bible Study, Church, Meaning, Message, Pastor, sermon

“Seriously?”  You may be wondering .  “Yes, seriously” is my response to you.  I choose not to take a study bible to church.  And while that may be puzzling to some, I feel that my reasoning is sound.  Furthermore, I find that I am able to retain far more of the sermon than I am if I take my study bible.  “How’s that?”  You may ask.  Well, read on and I’ll attempt to explain my reasons.

The first and most ridiculous reason I choose not to take a study bible to church is due to its size.  Wow!  Have you seen some of the sizes of those?!  Though one of my study bibles is a bit thinner than the other, it is also a hardback.  The one I consider to be my primary is about three feet thick and weighs nearly four hundred pounds!  Not really, a bit of exaggeration here (no, really).  There is a lot of thought that goes into producing a study bible that is that thick and heavy – many hours of notes, introductions, illustrations, word meanings, and maps.  Indeed, it is heavy with the prose of many biblical experts, and their insights are very helpful.  And though I love my study bibles and use them often, I just find them too big and clunky to use in church, unless I plan to literally use it as a weapon.  I am convinced, however; that this is not really how you are supposed to use the “sword of the Spirit.” ( Ephesians 6:17)

The main reason I choose not to take a study bible to church is the meat and potatoes of today’s post.  I prefer to listen to the whole sermon.  Yes.  That’s it.  I want to hear every point that our pastor is trying to convey, and I have found that I can’t do that if I am constantly following a trail of cross-referenced verses or biblical commentary.  My mind will not allow me to continue hearing the preacher speak while it also immerses itself in the thoughts of those previously mentioned “biblical experts.”  Trust me, I get it.  We should be eager to “ search the scriptures” and verify that what is being presented is biblical.  I do that.  It’s just that I do it in a way whereby I jot down notes until I get home, and THEN I refer to my study bible for additional meaning and clarification.  By doing this, I am more fully able to hear the pastor’s complete sermon and all of its applications.  I find that I do not spend precious moments (while he is preaching) flipping pages and chasing other thoughts.  That is of no benefit to me and it can be distracting to others.

In summary, I choose to use a bible that will allow me room to jot down thoughts or references in the margin.  Sometimes I use a note pad for this purpose, but whichever method I use, my mind is totally engaged in what the pastor is saying for the entirety of the sermon.  And then afterwards, I can spend additional time searching the scriptures and developing a fuller understanding.

How about you?  Does this logic resonate with you?  I’d love to hear your thoughts.

*Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. – Acts 17:11 NIV

^*12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.¹⁸ And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. ¹⁹ Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰ for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should. – Ephesians 6:12-20 NIV