Ironworks

  And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures came to Ephesus.   This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John.   And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly. Acts 18:24-26 Apollos was not always a great teacher of the church, he was wrong at one time about the Gospel Plan of Salvation. He was an eloquent man; he was mighty of the Scripture. It is certain that many denominational preachers are much like Apollos in this area: they can utter the spoken word so great, and they can recall many Scripture references and proclaim them boldly. However, a misguided understanding of baptism negates all those seemingly beneficial skills. Some are wrong on the subjects of baptism. Thes...

  And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead.   Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe. And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch, Acts 14:19-21 How do you feel about being interrupted? It stinks doesn’t it? This is especially true when you are really locked in on doing something: a project, assignment, or a program. Whatever it is, you were invested in it, and to be interrupted is an inconvenience. I was watching the President give a briefing on Wednesday August 10 th and it was interrupted as the Secret Service advised the President to come with them. After a short amount of time, the President came back in and continued his briefing explaining that a suspect had bee...

If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:   How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,   Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ. Ephesians 3:2-4 It has been said many times by the various religious groups that the source of their difference is that they just don’t understand the Bible the same way. This is presented as an answer that you should accept. If you were to object to their truth on this matter, you would simply be intolerant. So, if there are many different peoples believing many diverse things about the Word of God, we must answer the question, “Can we all understand the Bible alike?” It is not up to me to say so; it is up to God. We must always look to the Word for all answers when it comes to matters of faith. Paul wrote in his epistle the dispensation of the grace which God gave him. He added that by revelation God made known th...

  Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit.   Yea, I hated all my labor which I had taken under the sun: because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me. Ecclesiastes 2:17-18             “Love what you do and you’ll never work a day in your life.” Have you heard this famous adage? Before I was a full-time preacher I worked various jobs managing businesses. In each job I excelled. I gave it my all. In the end, I found myself in each situation feeling like King Solomon. Okay, maybe I was not all that dramatic. I never said I hated life, but my labor was pretty much unrewarding to me. I am grateful that I had the ability to work. I am grateful I was able to provide for my family. However, it just did not have the rewarding feeling that went along with it. That was my fault. Yes, my fault. I could have used each waking...

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. 2 Peter 3:10   One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth forever.   Eccl. 1:4   Is this an inconsistency? Is it possible that the Bible contradicts itself on the status of the earth? Is it possible that the advocates of a renovated earth are correct? No, no, and no. Come let us reason together from the Scriptures and look at just the meaning of “forever.”   First, the word here in Hebrew is olam . This word means forever in a more limited sense as in "a long duration." Unfortunately, many are confused between things which are eternal and things that were going to last for the foreseeable future but would have an end one day.  Shall we consider the Passover? Exodus 12:24 And ye ...