Ironworks

Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments. Psalm 112:1 The LORD is mighty; He is great; He is above all things. With His mighty voice, He spoke the Heavens and the Earth into existence. There is none like Jehovah. He formed man out of the dust, in His image, and He breathed life into him. The LORD is Holy, He is righteous, He is just. The Psalmist wrote blessed is the God-fearing man . This is not like the fear of encountering something dangerous, like when you are walking in tall grass in the summer, and you might be petrified of a snake.   When the Psalmist wrote these words, he was not thinking of creepy crawly things that might hurt or kill based on a perceived threat. He used fear as an adjective to describe the status of the way a God-fearing man will live.   In fact, that state of being, coupled with delighting in God's commandments, is not a source of worry, but of blessing. Unfortunately, ...

Last Sunday morning, I preached on the subject of alcohol. It was presented to show that no bit of alcohol is safe, social, or condoned by the Bible. I felt it necessary to share a few more answers that are often cited as possible contradictions to God’s command regarding alcohol consumption. In 1 Tim. 3:3 some of the qualifications of Bishops (Elders) are given. It is written that the elder is not to be given to wine. Yet, in verse 8, we find that for a deacon to be qualified, he must be not given to much wine (cf. 1 Tim 3:8). This presents a potential problem for many who are confused. Yet, if we remember, a warning against excess does not approve the action in and of itself. Consider Ephesians 4:26. Paul writes, “ Do not let the sun go down on your wrath.”  Does that mean that wrath is okay to be practiced before sundown? By the logic of the social drinking proponent, it must. If we go a little further in the same passage, we find a description of the Godly wife of a deaco...

In Him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.  John 1:4-5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.  1 John 1:5 In Him . Do you realize the significance of this phrase? In Him, the Christian finds all that they are. In Him, the lost find life. In Him, the Lord has chosen who will be saved (cf. Gal 1:4). Not in an individual sense, but that all those who are in Christ Jesus will be saved by the status of being in Christ Jesus.   Paul wrote in Galatians 3:26-27, “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” One important facet of being in Christ is being in the light. This is Christ defined. His light shineth in the darkness, while yet the darkness could not understand it. Despite the darkness, we who are in ...