Ironworks

          This last Tuesday evening it was getting to be about supper time, I had been working outside for a while, and the sun was beating down on me. I was thirsty and very hungry. I was so hungry that when my daughter came to call me for supper, I stopped what I was doing and I went inside immediately. I had a need, and I knew a short walk would fill that need and I would have the energy to continue on with the task with which I was busy. What if I would have just stayed outside and kept working? We all have done it before I am sure. Worked through lunch, worked through dinner. Whatever we were working on became our main focus. Yet, at some point, we had to eat and drink for our survival.            Jesus said, Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Matthew 5:6. Hungering and thirsting for righteousness is the natural result of some of the things you would find leading up to Matthew 5:6. The poor in spirit need God. The mourner had a n

               Most Christians know that there were several sacrifices in the Old Testament. They also realize that the Old Testament sacrificial system pointed to Christ, and that those sacrifices are not needed today because Jesus is the ultimate sacrifice (Heb. 10:10). This is not the problem we have in our understanding of sacrifices. The problem with the sacrificial system for the New Testament Christian is not that we haven’t heard of it, but that we never had to do it. Therefore, we get confused as to what the purpose of each one was, how it worked, and when a person (under the old covenant) was supposed to offer that sacrifice. Let’s look at the different types of sacrifices to help us better understand the scriptures. The 5 Types of Sacrifices/Offerings           In the first 7 chapters of Leviticus the parameters are given for 5 different types of sacrifices. They are: burnt offerings, grain offerings, peace offerings, sin offerings, and trespass offerings. Each had a specif

Marriage, divorce, and remarriage, or MDR, is one of the topics of the utmost importance. We all know someone that has been married, divorced, and/or remarried. So there is great interest in our marriages for the overall good of the church and the world in general. Stronger marriages help to make the church stronger. Stronger marriages make the world a better place and help to prevent some of the lasciviousness we see presently. When it comes to marriage, divorce, and remarriage, we must look to God’s Word to find the answers concerning these very personal and often emotionally charged subjects.            Last year at Polishing the Pulpit, bro. Rob Whitacre brought out a very good way to describe what the Bible says with regard to DMR. I have adapted these points in my own words and I hope they will help you understand what God has said concerning the subject. God is the Only One that Can Authorize Marriage  God created marriage in the Garden of Eden. With all the things that God

I have written about abortion in the past, and I will still write about it again for the rest of my physical life. However, this week I would like to draw your attention to the sanctity of life in a deeper focus. If a New Testament Christian will appreciate the sanctity of our lives they will consider how they live. Live Separately “Wherefore Come ye out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, And touch no unclean thing; And I will receive you,” (2 Cor 6:17) If my life is sacred, then I must come out and be separate from the paths that lead to destruction. I must be separate. To do this we must consider the types of places we go, the things we practice, the words that come out of our mouths, and the things that we watch. What we tolerate in our homes, and friendships can have eternal consequences. The danger of not being separate is becoming like the world. If we are not separate from evildoers, we find ourselves to be desensitized to evil. This is not to say that we

In many cases, we have a good amount of Christian women in the Lord’s church. Sometimes it is due to life expectancy, and, at other times, it is due to a lower percentage of faithful men. Regardless of the reasons, the church needs men. We are called to lead our families, and congregations to heaven. Just as men cannot do what women can do, women cannot do what men can. There must be both for proper balance. So what kind of men are needed in the Lord’s church? Righteous We need righteous men like Noah. Righteous men have always been the minority, aside from the creation and immediately after the flood. We must be comfortable standing out from the crowd that chases immorality. Peter recorded, “For if God spared not angels when they sinned, but cast them down to hell, and committed them to pits of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment and spared not the ancient world, but preserved Noah with seven others, a preacher of righteousness, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ung