6/5/2024
About a year and a half ago, I began writing a book that had been at the back of my mind for a while. The proposed title is A Worthy Walk, with a subtitle of Living Each Day According to the Will of God. It is inspired by the passages in Ephesians 4:1-3 and Colossians 1:9-12. This has been an important subject to me for decades because I truly wanted to know what God expects of me as His child and as an ambassador for Christ, and because I did not think that I was getting the instruction that I needed from church, Sunday school, the many books that I read, or pastors and teachers that I listened to. Consequently, I often teach on various aspects of our daily walk as believers. Although I have a number of studies on the website about what God has done for us through the work of Christ at the cross for us and our subsequent position and hope in Christ, I feel that the studies about how we should live in response to the salvation we have received by the grace of God are the most important and applicable ones. Doctrine and application cannot exist separately, however, because how are we supposed to know how God wants us to live if we do not understand what He has done for us through Christ?
Through this book I hope to provide a solid and comprehensive basis for why we should endeavor to live according to the will of God and then adequately cover at least some of the many exhortations and commands about how we should live each day (and how not to live). In the process I am drawing from many of the studies that are already provided on the Bible Studies page of this website, as well as adding new material to fill the gaps.
I interrupted the work on this book in March 2023, for a little more than a year, to develop and teach studies on the Law of Moses and related subjects (see the previous postings below going back to May 2023). That was a good diversion as those studies fit into what we were studying as a group and because I had wanted to do a study on the Law of Moses for quite some time. However, a couple of months ago I was able to get back to writing my book.
I do not have any grandiose plans for this book. I will be pleased and thankful even if only a few relatives and friends read it. The writing of it has already been very beneficial to me, both reaffirming the incredible grace of God in my heart as well as learning things that I have missed or misunderstood through the years. I will not be surprised if I will need to improve or correct some of my previous studies by the time I am done with this book.
I hope to provide small parts of the book (in current draft form and, therefore, subject to change) on the Mini-Studies page starting soon, focusing on exhortations regarding our daily walk. I hope you find them beneficial. This will be done concurrently with whatever subject we are studying as a group.
4/22/2024
When I was preparing my study The Law of Moses, I was wondering whether I should add a chapter on how Christ is revealed in the Law based on Luke 24:44-45 and other passages. I didn’t know how involved that might be, so decided to do a separate study later. It turns out that I started to investigate this subject right after I finished the study on the Law. After reading fulfilled prophecies in the books of Matthew through John and reviewing my notes from my study on the Law, I began to see that Christ is prophesied about, or spoken of through types, in the Law of Moses much more than I had ever imagined. I hope you enjoy reading Christ in the Law of Moses as much as I enjoyed preparing it.
It is not unusual during the preparation of a new study that I find the need to revise an older study, sometimes to clarify or expand on a point or to fix an error. In Christ in the Law of Moses I address “the Alpha and Omega” in Revelation 1:8 that is usually attributed to God the Father. However, I now believe that the name is referring directly to Christ. Consequently, I made a revision to the study Who Do We Worship? to account for this new understanding. I encourage you to check it out and see what you think.
3/18/2024
We are currently studying the various gospels (proclamations of good news) in Scripture and which ones apply to us. It is loosely based on my study Which Gospel? that is posted on the Bible Studies page. During one of our discussions, we briefly talked about Christ the Messiah and what that means. I decided that it couldn’t be briefly addressed, so figured it was time to do a thorough investigation of Scripture on this subject. The result of that effort was posted today as the study Is Christ Our Messiah? In my youth I was taught that Christ is our Messiah, but you will see that I have a different perspective now. As always, I learned new things during the course of my investigation. My prayer is that you find this study useful and enlightening.
12/30/2023
Today I posted a revised version of the study The Law of Moses. It includes a new Chapter 9: Changes to the Law of Moses. I took the opportunity to make a few minor edits as well as add the following paragraphs to hopefully enhance the following sections: a new paragraph on page 1; a new paragraph at the end of the section “Bible Divisions” in Chapter 1; a new paragraph and a Scripture passage at the end of Chapter 2; a new paragraph at the end of the section “Promises if Obeyed” in Chapter 6; a new paragraph near the end of the section “The Future of the Law of Moses” in Chapter 8; and three new paragraphs at the end of the section “Dietary Restrictions” in Chapter 10. I pray that you will find this study enlightening and useful for your understanding of the word of God and your daily walk as a child of God.
12/12/2023
Based on a comment by one of our Bible study members a few weeks ago regarding the Feast of Dedication mentioned in John 10:22, I decided that I needed to investigate how the religious leaders of Israel had changed the Law of Moses by the time of Jesus’ ministry to His people of Israel. I was aware, to some extent, of a few changes (I was not aware that the Feast of Dedication was a new feast) but learned a great deal during my investigation. I believe that the subject has an important application to the church today because we are also prone to changing the word of God for one reason or another. The result of that investigation is a brief study titled Changes to the Law of Moses that I posted on the Mini-Studies page. I hope to include this information as a new chapter in my recently posted study The Law of Moses.
11/14/2023
I made a couple of minor word changes to The Law of Moses (pages 59 and 60) and uploaded the revised version today.
I also uploaded a revised version of Governing Authority today. I incorporated some information from the study on the Law of Moses and made some other changes such as expanded explanations and additional Scripture references. I think that this study is particularly important for these days and hope that it is as enlightening to you as it has been to me.
11/3/2023
I finished incorporating the lessons on the Law of Moses into one new study titled The Law of Moses, which I posted on the Bible Studies page today. I added an introductory chapter as well as a chapter on the Old and New Testaments (regarding the old and new covenants described in the Bible). Also, I revised the previously posted lessons as needed to make all of the lessons flow better in the compiled study, to avoid some repetition, to add some information based on discussions in our Bible study group, as well as fix some errors. I learned a great deal in the preparation of this study that began last March, and I pray that those who read it will find it useful.
We have not quite finished our study on the Law of Moses because I posted the lessons often well in advance of our meetings and each one usually took a few weeks to discuss (this explains the gap in time since the last update). I have just about caught up with the postings and hope to wrap up this study soon. Because I have posted the compiled study, I have removed the individual lessons from the Mini-Studies page.
7/29/2023
The ninth and last lesson, a brief summary and closing thoughts on this study of the Law of Moses, was posted today. I hope this study has been as enlightening to you as it has been to me. Also, I hope to incorporate these lessons into one Bible study someday.
7/27/2023
Today I posted the eighth lesson on the Law of Moses. It addresses how Christianity today incorporates aspects of the Law of Moses into our worship even though we are no longer under the Law.
7/26/2023
Today I posted the seventh lesson on the Law of Moses, covering how Jesus and His disciples were under the Law, the future of the Law, and if anyone should be obeying it today.
7/6/2023
As I am preparing the last lesson on the Law of Moses, reviews of the previous lessons prompted me to fix some typos, add a couple of references, and add a couple of supporting statements in those lessons (no significant changes, though). Consequently, I have replaced the previous six lessons with updated files. I came to the humble realization many years ago that nothing I write is “final” because there is always the chance that there are typos and there is always a better, and sometimes more accurate, way to convey a thought in writing. Thank you for your patience!
7/1/2023
Today I posted the sixth lesson on the Law of Moses, covering different laws mentioned in the New Testament. You may find that the section on laws in the book of James, especially, provides a different perspective than you may be used to.
6/24/2023
For our continuing study on the Law of Moses, today I posted the fifth lesson that is on the sabbath. It covers the various sabbaths in the Law, as well as why there is no sabbath for us to observe.
6/16/2023
I posted the study Salvation and Its Blessings today. It is a compilation of verses and passages that remind us what God did for us through the work at the cross by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
5/11/2023
We are currently studying the Law of Moses and how it relates to today. We’ve had some great discussions already. What is the Law of Moses and who did God give it to? Are we to obey all of it, or parts of it (e.g., the Ten Commandments), or any of it? The Bible answers these questions. The first four lessons were posted today and there will be more to follow. I hope to incorporate them into one Bible study at a later date.
4/23/2023
Today I posted a revised study titled Who Do We Worship? on the Bible Studies page. It is an expanded version of the previous copy (posted 3 years ago) to provide more explanation and add some more references. Also, I took the opportunity to fix a few typos. I think it is very important to understand who we are supposed to worship, and I hope you find this study to be helpful.
12/14/2022
We are continuing our study on Love Our Neighbors as Ourselves. Today I posted the full study at the end of the Bible Studies page.
12/1/2022
Our Bible study meetings have been sporadic lately due to holiday schedules and illnesses. Based on excellent discussions in recent meetings, I’ve decided to do a series of lessons on Love Our Neighbors as Ourselves, which will be posted on the Mini-Studies page starting today. The entire study will be posted on the Bible Studies page soon for those who want to look ahead.
11/1/2022
As I refer back to previous studies, I often find typos or grammatical errors that I decide to fix sometime later when other more significant changes are needed. Also, I usually find that I could have provided more information or written a statement in a way that more clearly supports or expresses my thoughts. In other words, there is usually a better way to write some things and it is probably a dilemma experienced by most writers. As I was recently referring to my study Christian Suffering, a study that I had revised a couple of months ago, I decided that it would be helpful to add Scripture references to the section on “How Do We Stand?” I did so and also corrected a couple of typos and added or changed a couple of words for clarification. I reposted the latest version of Christian Suffering today.
10/18/2022
In some of my studies I refer to believers as being in Christ and not of this world. I decided it would be helpful to me to type out Scripture verses and passages that support these truths to provide a quick reference for future studies. As I was doing so, I began adding passages about being Christ’s representatives while here on earth and what we can expect in the meantime if we truly live for Him as we are exhorted to do. The result is the new study Not Of This World that I posted on the website today.
9/23/2022
I had been taught, and believed, that abortion is murder. However, for reasons I couldn’t explain, I was unsettled when I read parts of a draft U.S. Supreme Court decision regarding abortion that was leaked to the public last spring. When the Supreme Court decided on June 24, 2022, that abortion is not a constitutional right, thus overturning Roe v. Wade, I found that I was not rejoicing with the majority of fellow believers who considered themselves to be evangelical or conservative Christians. I desperately needed to examine Scripture for myself to see what the Bible says about abortion. Brethren, I did not find what I expected to find. I began compiling my notes into what became my most recent study: Abortion. I posted it on the website today. I hope that it is as enlightening to you as it has been to me.
Because of what I was learning through my scriptural investigation on abortion, I determined that I needed to temporarily remove two of my previous studies from the website in July. There were statements in them–my sincere beliefs–regarding abortion that I could no longer accurately support with Scripture. Consequently, I made revisions to the studies Governing Authority and Christian Suffering and reposted them today.
4/25/2022
Today I posted the new study Our Lord Jesus Christ. It is a compilation of weekly studies that are provided on the Mini-Studies page, but expanded with additional passages that are typed for easier reference plus some additional information.
4/15/2022
Thankfully, we began meeting in-person again on April 7. On that evening we closed out our study on our Lord Jesus Christ (which I’m compiling into one Bible study and will post it soon) by discussing symbolism in Scripture. This ties into the study on Christ because He always spoke in parables to the multitudes (the people of Israel). I had planned on doing a lesson last evening on the prophetic last days that also ties in with the study on Christ because He will be the judge in future judgments by God. However, we decided to do a study on Christ’s resurrection instead. I have posted all three studies on the Mini-Studies page and will return to Bible character studies for the time being (I will skip an in-person study on the prophetic last days). I hope to post my notes for our weekly lessons for those who are unable to attend our meetings.
1/30/2022
As a follow-up to the last update, I went ahead and compiled verses and passages that demonstrate examples of humility and exhortations to be humble. They are provided in the study Humility: New Testament Verses. As with the previous study, this endeavor was a humbling experience.
1/14/2022
I recently came across a list of New Testament Scripture references on humility and the sovereignty of God that I compiled some time ago. I had referred to the list to develop a couple of studies that are already posted on this website: Let Us Be Humble and Salvation and the Sovereignty of God. The list reminded me how much the Bible says about the sovereignty of God and how we need to humble ourselves to begin to understand the depth and breadth of His sovereign nature. Therefore, I decided to simply type out the verses and passages that I believe refer to or describe God’s sovereignty (perhaps I’ll do a similar presentation on verses about humility someday). This new study posted today is Sovereignty of God: New Testament Verses. I hope that it is as enlightening to you as it has been to me.
12/1/2021
I posted revised versions of the following two studies. In both of them I had text that said that the Gentile nations will be blessed through Israel. I had believed this for many years because it had been taught based on Genesis 12:1-3 and was seemingly supported by other passages. However, during preparation of a series of studies on Abraham, I recently realized that Genesis 12:1-3 (often referred to as the Abrahamic Covenant) was not referring to the nations being blessed through Israel, but that they would be blessed through the seed of Abraham, who is Christ (Genesis 22:18; Galatians 3:16). Therefore, the Gentile nations won’t be blessed until Christ establishes His heavenly kingdom on earth (Genesis 22:18; Isaiah 60:1-3; Zechariah 8:13; Acts 3:18-26; Revelation 21:22-24). Instead of the nations being blessed through Israel, the nations will be blessed after Israel is redeemed, which won’t occur until after the rapture. This is an important distinction because Genesis 12:1-3 is often used to support the incorrect conclusion that the nations who support Israel today will be blessed. Actually, Israel has been temporarily blinded and has been set aside until God resumes His prophetic plan regarding Israel (Romans 11:25-29; see my study The Mystery (God’s Secret Plan)). I plan to prepare a study on God’s covenant with Abraham in the near future and will post it when it is ready.
The Two Messages of Our Lord Jesus Christ: Page 9, Footnote 8; Page 19, 3rd paragraph
Follow Paul: Page 1, last paragraph
11/27/2021
Several weeks ago our group finished a study on Noah and the flood. Although I had never taught this subject, it has been important to me for quite some time because many of the things that I was raised to believe about the flood simply didn’t fit with what I read in Scripture. We hit the highlights and had several excellent discussions based on the questions and comments that came up. I wrote up the study and expanded it substantially to incorporate those questions and comments. The resulting study, Noah, was posted today. As with the Adam study, some of the conclusions are contrary to traditional Christian teaching. However, please read it before passing judgment.
9/30/2021
Our most recent study, Adam, was posted today. Adam is the first man mentioned by name in the Bible. This study examines who Adam was and his purpose in God’s eternal plan according to Scripture. Some of the conclusions are contrary to traditional Christian teaching, but please check out the many Scripture references and depend on God and His Holy Spirit for your own understanding.
9/24/2021
A revised version on the study Let Us Be Humble was posted today. During the course of going through this study with our group, some typos and grammatical errors were found that needed to be fixed, and some additional information, as well as some minor reorganization to avoid redundancy, were determined to be appropriate.
7/25/2021
A revised version on the study Creation–What Does Scripture Say? was posted today. The last paragraph on page 2 was revised (the Bible does not specifically say that Enoch and Elijah did not die as stated in the original version) and supporting Scripture references were added, and the first paragraph on page 19 was revised to be more doctrinally and grammatically correct.
6/18/2021
We started in-person Bible study meetings again on June 9. It is wonderful to be able to physically fellowship together!
In April I started sending weekly text messages to the group from the Let Us Be Humble study and including them in Mini-Studies tab of this website. Even though we are meeting together again, I’m continuing to add the lessons to the website though not texting them to the group.
5/15/2021
With the lifting of COVID mandates and because most of the folks in our group are vaccinated, all of us will soon be meeting in person again. This is a relief and a blessing, and I thank God for this opportunity to fellowship together again. I’m also very thankful that no one in our group has contracted the virus. We will be continuing our study on humility that I recently started through mini-study text messages.
I made corrections to a couple of grammatical errors in the study Christian Hypocrisy and uploaded the latest version today. The changes were in the last paragraph on page 2 and the 3rd paragraph on page 8.
4/11/2021
The study Let Us Be Humble was added to the website today. The Bible has much to say about humility, and its counterpart, pride. What does it mean to be humble? What does God expect of us? How do those who know us best see us? Can they count on us to be considerate of their needs or desires, or do they know that we put ourselves first? I learned a great deal about what the Bible says about humility and pride (and the need for awareness and improvement in my own life) as I prepared this study, and I hope that you will find it helpful to you, too.
2/27/2021
A new study entitled Christian Hypocrisy was added to the website today. I honestly think that hypocrisy is a problem today, not only in our Christian organizations but among individual believers especially. I had a 10-year-old study in my files that I reorganized and expanded upon. The original study, as well as related notes in my files, reminded me that I’ve been concerned about this subject for a very long time. Although I wish it was different, I’m afraid that I’m hypocritical, also. Preparing the current study has reinforced the need to continually (and truthfully) examine myself to be aware of my own hypocrisy so that I can actively endeavor, through the strength of God and His word, to change my thinking and actions to be a better ambassador for Christ. I pray that you will find this study helpful.
1/27/2021
Nearly two years ago I suffered a severe concussion while skiing. The concussion has affected my life in several ways. This week I decided to write out my personal story about it, mostly to help me think things through and so that I wouldn’t forget the details of an important event in my life. I’ve attached the file below in case anyone else is interested in a personal aspect of my life and with the hope that it might be helpful to someone in some way.
1/23/2021
A new tab titled Mini-Studies was added to the website this week. Because of COVID issues, our Bible study group is still not meeting in person, so I am providing mini-studies by text messaging once or twice a week. Each study will be added to the new tab shortly after I text the lesson to the group. I have just begun a series of lessons on prayer, and the first lesson was added to the new tab yesterday.
The current series is closely based on my study Prayer that we posted last spring. As is common for me, I found a couple of errors during my review of that study. Therefore, I fixed those errors. I also took the opportunity to rephrase some awkward sentences, expand some thoughts, add some footnotes, and reorganize the section What Does Prayer Do? Some redundancy was also removed. These changes did not change the scope or conclusions of the study, but hopefully improved it. The revised version was posted today. The errors I fixed are as follows:
In the section on What Does Prayer Do?, the typed passage for Romans 8:26-28 had the word “groaning” that was corrected to “groanings.”
In the same section, the reference to I Corinthians 1:8-11 in the paragraph about the Corinthian believers was corrected to II Corinthians 1:8-11. This is in the first line on page 5 of the new version.
1/12/2021
New Study
My new study Which Gospel? was added today. This topic came to mind because the gospel is often talked about in churches and is referred to in the media during the Christmas season (e.g., the gospel of Jesus), but with little explanation of what is actually meant by it. I believe it is important to understand what we are talking about so that we can convey it properly to others. In several of my other studies I refer to the gospel of the kingdom, the gospel of the grace of God, and the gospel of salvation. The first two gospels are described in some detail in the study The Two Messages of Our Lord Jesus Christ, while the gospel of salvation is explained in most of my studies. This new study, however, looks at all of the gospels mentioned in Scripture, what they are about, and how they relate to each other. I definitely learned new things as I prepared this study, and I hope you do, too. As is my custom, I include quite a few footnotes that contain supporting information, and I encourage you to read them and their associated references.
The Mystery (God’s Secret Plan) has been revised and reposted.
During preparation of Which Gospel?, I occasionally referred back to my study The Mystery (God’s Secret Plan). When doing so, I found a couple of errors that needed to be fixed. Because changes were necessary, I also took the opportunity to reword some awkward sentences, elaborate on a couple of thoughts, and add a couple of references–those changes are minor and don’t materially change the study. However, the errors I fixed are as follows:
Page 4: In the first full paragraph I reference I Corinthians 12:1-4. This has been corrected to II Corinthians 12:1-4.
Page 6: In the second full paragraph, the second sentence ends with “believers before God revealed it to Paul.” Actually, Paul received all of his revelations from Jesus Christ, so I changed “God” to “He” because the focus of the paragraph is on Christ.
Page 18: The last sentence of the second paragraph in the section on The Mystery of Lawlessness has “the strength of Christ within us…” This has been changed to “the strength of God within us…” because Ephesians 6:10 is referring to the Lord as God the Father as the context indicates.
Page 24: In the first bullet I reference Daniel 7:21, 25. These verses don’t support the point, so I deleted them.
Page 24: The first sentence of the paragraph at the bottom of the page refers to the prophesied last days as “beginning with John the Baptist and ending…” This has been changed to “beginning with the birth of Christ and ending…” Our Lord’s birth was in fulfillment of prophecy and began the prophetic clock regarding the last days or latter days spoken of in the Old Testament.
11/30/2020
Today we added my latest study: Are Rewards Our Goal? From my early days as a believer, I had been taught in church and in Sunday School that I would stand before the judgment seat of Christ where I’d get rewards and crowns for my good works (gold, silver, and precious stones) while my bad works (wood, hay, and stubble) would burn up. Later, after I began to understand the revelation of the mystery and the gospel of the grace of God as revealed to us through the Apostle Paul, this teaching expanded. I was taught that believers like me who understood these truths would actually be more fully approved at the judgment seat of Christ and that we would be rewarded higher positions in heaven than those believers who didn’t understand them. I don’t remember when, but quite some time ago I began questioning these teachings. They seemed too self-centered to me–they seemed arrogant. How could any believer expect to earn more rewards than other believers, considering that none of us are worthy to be saved in the first place, and because we have already been blessed with all spiritual blessings through the work that Christ accomplished for us at the cross? Rewards and crowns were presented as goals for us to earn–our motivation to serve our Lord. Is this what Scripture actually says?
Consequently, I began searching the Scriptures to try to understand the judgment seat of Christ and rewards and crowns. I have notes going back many years, and taught a few lessons addressing these things to some extent. A real eye-opener occurred a number of years ago when Linda questioned whether “gold, silver, and precious stones” actually represented good works. Maybe they represented works that we thought were good, based on our own efforts, and that they, too, might burn up. The context of the passage seemed to support her concern, so it led to more scriptural investigation. I haven’t dealt with this subject for a few years, but several weeks ago I started putting all my notes into one study that was posted today. Perhaps the study can be summarized in one sentence: Do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do.
Granted, this study is different than anything I have ever been taught. Furthermore, I admit that I don’t fully understand what will happen at the judgment seat of Christ, and I certainly don’t know what it will be like in heaven (see Romans 8:18-25). However, I’ve addressed a significant number of verses and passages and offered my understanding of them for your consideration. I truly hope and pray that this study will be of some benefit to you and in your walk as a child of God and as an ambassador for Christ.
10/23/2020
In 1995 I visited an elderly friend of mine, Norm Carlson, at his home in Salida, Colorado. Norm was a wonderful man of God who was not afraid to share his faith with his friends and his community. After sharing some stories about how we were saved, how we began to understand the gospel of the grace of God, and our experiences since that time, Norm insisted that I write out my stories as my personal testimony of faith in case I began to forget the details. I decided to do so, and it was good to recall the events of the previous 20 years or so. I remember sending him a copy, but I don’t recall sharing it with anyone else other than my wife, Linda (that was a long time ago, and my memory is a bit suspect!).
As I recently reread my testimony, which I called Testimony of Grace, most of the events came back to mind as if they had occurred yesterday. I decided to post it on our website to share it with those who might be interested in my background. Other than updating the file to my current word processing program, it is as I wrote it 1995 (I did fix a couple of typos and grammatical errors, but probably not all of them). I think it explains why I love to teach the word of God, which is something I hope to do for many more years. You will see that I hoped to become a pastor of my own church someday, but that hasn’t happened. Instead, I have enjoyed the privilege of being a Bible teacher for several small groups of friends in the cities we have lived in, and have taught at several Bible camps and conferences over the years. I feel truly blessed!
10/18/2020
It has been awhile since the last update. Our group is still not meeting in person for lack of a place to meet but, more importantly, because of COVID concerns. Positive cases continue to rise in our county but, thankfully, no one in our group has contracted the virus. God is working out all things for good in believers (Romans 8:26-30; Philippians 2:12-13), and that might include contracting the virus and the consequences that follow. However, He expects us to obey the laws of our governing authorities (Romans 13:1-7; Titus 3:1-2; I Peter 2:13-17) and to consider others as more important than ourselves (Philippians 2:3-8; Romans 12:3, 16). God also wants us to act maturely (I Corinthians 13:4-7; 14:20; 16:13-14).
In the meantime, I have been sending mini-studies to the group through text messaging. Included were lessons on each aspect of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). I pulled the lessons together into the new study Fruit of the Spirit that was posted today. I hope you find it helpful.
9/3/2020
- Our Bible Study group is going through The Mystery (God’s Secret Plan). I’ve found one typo so far: the reference of Ephesians 3:1-3 in the third paragraph on page 19 should be Ephesians 2:1-3. This has been corrected and the revised file has been posted. There may be some more changes to come by the time our study is completed.
- In June, our group did a short study on racism because of the racial trauma that our country has been experiencing. It is not often that I address current events in my studies, but the subject weighed on my heart and I interjected more personal thoughts and experiences than usual in the study. I think all believers need to seriously examine themselves regarding this subject. The study No Room for Racism was posted in early July.
- A new study called Governing Authority was posted today. I have personal notes in my files on this subject going back to the late 1970s. I have taught small segments of this subject over the years in Bible studies and during family Bible camps and conferences. Frankly, my perspective has been either disregarded or hasn’t gone over too well among my fellow brethren. During the last few months I compiled my notes and expanded on them significantly. I struggled in putting it all together because I know from experience that how I view Scripture on this subject isn’t well accepted by many of the believers I associate with. However, I think the subject is very important and I bare my soul perhaps to a greater degree than in any of my other studies. Furthermore, I stand by my convictions and leave it up to the readers to decide for themselves where they stand. I hope you take the time to read this study and all the associated Scripture references as well as the footnotes.
- During the 1970s, a phrase that was heard among believers and unbelievers alike was “the devil made me do it.” Is this really true? I checked it out and came up with another conclusion. I have addressed the role of Satan many times during Bible studies to support the context of whatever subject we were studying, and did a stand-alone series of lessons on Satan in 2002. I expanded on those notes this summer and prepared a new study called Satan and His Role, which was posted today. Satan is real, powerful, and active, but God provided us with the tools we need to resist him. I hope you find this study helpful.
- Finally, some thoughts on the COVID-19 pandemic. Our Bible study group has been meeting at a subdivision community center because we basically outgrew the homes we were meeting in. Last spring our Bible study group stopped meeting for a couple of months because of state restrictions regarding gatherings. We kept in touch through emails and texts. We resumed meeting in June when restrictions were eased somewhat to allow groups of certain sizes to meet. New management at the community center recently told us to stop meeting, at least for now, presumably over continuing COVID-19 concerns. During this time we are doing mini-studies by text messaging (not everyone has the capability for using email, Zoom, or other formats). What do I think about all of this?
- First and foremost, I thank God that no one in our group has contracted the virus. We have a couple of members working on the front lines in the medical profession, and several of us fall into the “high-risk” health category.
- I’m not one to cry out that my constitutional rights are being violated or that we are being persecuted by our state government. I’ve made my stand clear on this matter in my study Governing Authority that was posted today.
- God is faithful, and I am certain that we will be able to meet somewhere in person again sooner or later. In the meantime, we can fellowship together, worship God, and grow in the grace and knowledge of God without actual in-person fellowship–the church, which is the body of Christ, is not a building.