Category Archives: Obedience

Sin & Church Attendance

Can you imagine getting drunk Saturday night and then going to church the next morning? Can you imagine rolling out of a bed you share with your live-in lover, getting dressed, and going to church? Can you imagine having beer … Continue reading

Posted in Backsliding, Character, Church, Church Attendance, Discipleship, Disobedience, Doing Good, Faithfulness, Holiness, Obedience, Personal Holiness, Repentance, Sanctification, Sin, Worship | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Lunchroom Trays & Jesus

You remember those lunchroom trays from your childhood, don’t you? They were so compartmentalized. They were the epitome of “a place for everything and everything in its place.” The cream corn wasn’t supposed to spill over into the mashed potatoes. … Continue reading

Posted in Church Attendance, Commitment, Discipleship, Dress and Appearance, Entertainment, Family, God's Will, Obedience, Personal Holiness, Sanctification, Separation, Work, Worship | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Walking Civil War

William Barclay wrote, “Every man is a walking civil war. Within him there is the tension, the division, the battle between right and wrong, between good and evil, between passion and reason, between the instincts and the will.” Truer words … Continue reading

Posted in Addiction, Backsliding, Choices, Comfort, Covetousness, Disobedience, Doing Good, Encouragement, Eternity, Heaven, Man's Freewill, Obedience, Personal Holiness, Rebellion, Salvation, Sin, Temptation, The Holy Spirit, War | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Got Your Baptismal Certificate with You?

The two ordinances that God has given the church are the Lord’s Supper and Believer’s Baptism. The Lord’s Supper points us to Christ’s death, and Believer’s Baptism points us to His resurrection. Each ordinance hinges upon a right understanding of … Continue reading

Posted in Addiction, Adultery, Backsliding, Baptism, Character, Christ's Death, Christ's Resurrection, Commitment, Conviction, Crucifixion, Discipleship, Disobedience, Doing Good, Dress and Appearance, Dying To Self, Eternity, Faithfulness, Holiness, Hypocrisy, Idolatry, Lust, Lying, Obedience, Personal Holiness, Racism, Rebellion, Repentance, Sin, Temptation, The Lord's Supper | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

What Love for Jesus Looks Like

Harry Winston, the famous New York diamond dealer, once heard about a wealthy Dutch merchant who was looking for a certain kind of diamond to add to his collection. Winston called the merchant, told him he thought he had just … Continue reading

Posted in Addiction, Alcohol, Backsliding, Choices, Commitment, Confession, Discipleship, Disobedience, Doing Good, Dress and Appearance, Drugs, Dying To Self, Faithfulness, Gambling, Gluttony, God's Holiness, God's Will, Holiness, Love, Obedience, Personal Holiness, Priorities, Rebellion, Repentance, Sanctification, Separation, Sin, Temptation | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Blessing of Changing a Sermon

On Sunday, July 1st, 2009, I had in mind to preach a sermon on prayer. Specifically, I planned to preach on the so-called “Lord’s Prayer.” But as I began to ease into my studying and preparing for that sermon, the … Continue reading

Posted in Baptism, Belief, Change, Children, Christ's Death, Christ's Resurrection, Disobedience, Forgiveness, Obedience, Parenting, Personal, Preaching, Reward, Salvation, Seeking Forgiveness, Sin, The Holy Spirit | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Path That Won’t Lead You Back

In moonshine country, a revenuer once asked a boy, “Son, will that path take me to your daddy’s still?” The boy answered, “Yes, but it won’t bring you back.” Life has some paths like that. They will take you to … Continue reading

Posted in Choices, Disobedience, Fatherhood, Homosexuality, Lesbianism, Obedience, Rebellion, Sin, Temptation | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Change

In her newspaper column on gardening, Jan Riggenbach gives us a good word on how to plant bedding plants. She writes: Giving new bedding plants some rough treatment at planting time may be the best thing you can do to … Continue reading

Posted in Aging, Change, Choices, Elderly, Faith, Fear, God's Will, Obedience, Reward, Trusting In God | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Are You Still Digging Johnson Grass?

A young man hired himself out to a neighboring farmer for the summer, but the farmer turned out to be a strict boss who worked the boy very hard. Finally, the young man decided to claim his revenge. Late one … Continue reading

Posted in Making Restitution, Obedience, Personal, Reconciliation, Restoration, Seeking Forgiveness, Sin, Sowing and Reaping | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Dry Land

When a drought hits a land, springs go dry, wells stop working, and creeks run low. There is, however, another kind of drought, one that is mentioned in Psalm 68:5-6. Those verses say: A father of the fatherless, a defender … Continue reading

Posted in Attitude, Backsliding, Bible Study, Change, Character, Choices, Confession, Decisions, Disobedience, Doing Good, Dying To Self, God's Chastening, God's Love, God's Wrath, God's Judgment, Obedience, Personal Holiness, Pride, Problems, Rebellion, Repentance, Reward, Scripture, Sin, Sowing and Reaping, Submission, The Bible | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment