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Baptism - What does the Word of God Say?

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Photo from my day of baptism, right before I went under the water - July 16, 2000   Baptism Baptism is very important.  My opinions are very unimportant.  Don’t depend on ancient traditions, which may have strayed from the written Word of God. What does the Word of God say about baptism? Colossians 2:8 NKJV  Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. 2 Timothy 3:1-5 NKJV  But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:  2  For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,  3  unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good,  4  traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,  5  having a form of godliness but denying its power. And fro...
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Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

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  I'd say half the time that I teach at our church, somewhere in my lesson is this passage: Matthew 22:36-39 NKJV  "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?"  37  Jesus said to him, 'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.'  38  This is the first and great commandment.  39  And the second is like it: 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' These commandments are the foundation of so much.  Jesus taught that our relationship with God and our fellow man come first.  They must be the basis of everything we do as Christians. When in a Bible study yesterday, it came to me that there is an un-numbered, silent but assumed third commandment in that passage. . .  Read it carefully again, and try to find it: Matthew 22:36-39 NKJV  "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?"  37  Jesus said to him, 'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR H...
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The Tempter

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Lots of people profess to believe in Heaven.  Not so many seem to believe in hell.  If we believe in a loving God that watches over us, the flip side of that is one who wishes to derail our train and make trouble for us. I can tell of many many happenings in my life where the hand of God was upon me, and other times where another force was at work. . .  I struggled to quit smoking for a year and a half.  I finally broke my addiction at a ladies prayer meeting in the in the jail two weeks before Christmas 2001.  Two inmates prayed for me after I told them of the struggle I was having, and my addiction was gone!  No more withdrawal symptoms, no more anxiety, grouchiness. . .ALL GONE through the power of prayer. I had been clean for several months, when I went to the University Park Mall, in Mishawaka, Indiana.  I believe it was early March.  There was snow and slush on the ground.  UP Mall has many many acres of parking.  As is my usual ha...
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Strong's H5175 - Serpent

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This morning before it left for work, I saw a post on my Facebook news feed, the article was about how the most egregious mis-translation in the Bible was where Eve met the ‘serpent’, that the word serpent should rather have been translated as a fallen angel. I had never heard such a claim.  I looked at the Hebrew word found in Genesis chapter 3.  In the KJV it is Strong’s H5175.  Here is the definition from Strong’s Hebrew dictionary: H5175 × ָ×—ָשׁ nâchâsh naw-khawsh' From H5172; a snake (from its hiss): - serpent. Total KJV occurrences: 31 Here are all the verses where the Hebrew word H5175 occurs: serpent (H5175) Genesis 3:1  Now the serpent (H5175) was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? Genesis 3:2  And the woman said unto the serpent (H5175), We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: Genesis 3:4  And the serpent (H5...
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Spiritual Genealogy

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I'm beginning a study of the book of Matthew for a Wednesday morning bible study at our church. The first verses of Matthew are not the most exciting verses of the whole Bible. . . Matthew begins with the genealogy of Jesus: Matthew 1:1 The book (biblos) of the genealogy (genesis) of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham: The first two words in Greek are: biblos genesis. . . The book of beginnings. . . Mirroring the first book of the Pentateuch. The book of beginnings. The Jews of the day would immediately recognize the parallel significance. . . The beginning of the world created by God in Genesis 1. . . The beginning of the world saved by God in Genesis 2. Matthew's genealogy begins with Abraham who lived about 2000 years before Jesus. . . This has always seemed dry and boring to me. There are a few people of interest, but most are faceless names lost in trackless time. Until it came to me. . . I too have a genealogy. . . a nameless, faceless unbroken li...
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Measuring Your Progress as a Christian

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  How do I measure my Christian progress?  At times I become discouraged at my slow pace.  I keep making the same mistakes, or I go back to making mistakes I thought I was beyond. We've lived in our home for 8 years.  There is a tree in our front yard.  Looking at that tree this morning, I cannot tell any difference in how it looked 8 years ago, but if I look at photographs from back then, and now I can clearly see growth. Psalms 1:1-3 KJV Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper We are to be like trees and not like weeds which spring up quickly, and whither and soon die.  Our growth is to be...
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Unity

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  I’m involved in a study on unity in the Bible.  Yesterday I posted 22 Bible verses which spoke about unity.  This morning as I’m meditating on this, about how I do not believe that it is God’s will that the body of Christ, the Church, be so fragmented as it is. From Google: There are estimated to be more than 45,000 Christian denominations globally as of the early 2020s, a number that has grown significantly from around 500 in 1800. These groups range from large, established traditions like Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy to thousands of smaller, independent, or Protestant denominations. The forecast is that if this trend continues, that there will be 60,000 Christian denominations by 2050. What a horror this is.  Just a few verses regarding this: 2 Corinthians 13:11 KJV  Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind , live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you. Acts 4:32 KJV  And the multitude of...
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