Ironworks

“Add thou not unto his words, Lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar” Proverbs 30:6      It is presumptuous at best to assume that man can say, “You know what I think the church needs?” Yet this is what has happened since near the beginning. The Judaizers came and said, “You know what the church needs? It needs these Gentile converts to be circumcised, keep the Law, and become Jewish-Christians" (cf. Gal. 5:1-6). The Corinthians said, “You know what the church needs? It needs her members to divide based on their favorite teachers, or, perhaps, even who baptized them. Cephas-Christians, Paul-Christians, and even Christ-Christians” (cf. 1 Cor. 1:10-13)      Today, even amongst our brethren, the cries of, “You know what the church needs!” are being raised again. Many are saying that the church needs the mechanical instrument to be more modern, more inviting, and more relevant. This is not new but has been a source of division for many years. We know fr...

Therefore let us also, seeing we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising shame, and hath sat down at the right hand of the throne of God  Hebrews 12:1-2      In order to hang on, you must let go. This seems counterproductive at first glance. If we let go, we might fall and get hurt. If we let go, we might hurt someone else, and we might even hurt ourselves. Yet, letting go can also allow us to hang on to what matters.       We can hang onto the righteousness of God. This helps us to run with patience. When the race is long and arduous, and when life doesn’t end up as we planned, we can look forward to letting go of the doubts and sins that tell us to quit, give up, and stop running...

“Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end have I been born, and to this end am I come into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. Pilate saith unto him, What is truth?” John 18:37-38      The world says that truth is subjective, never absolute, and subject to one’s perception. In fact, you will often hear people speak of “my truth.” I suppose that is fine if you identify with the same truth found in the Word of Truth. Sadly, this is most often not the case. Sadly, we the church are not doing all that we could to plant the seed of truth in the hearts and minds of those we encounter on a daily basis.       Truth is an extremely valuable commodity. Truth is always the opposite of falsity. I cannot say something that is false and make it true. Water is not dry. Green is not orange. Wrong is not right. It is written, “Woe un...

Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants' fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. John 18:36      Worldliness: we are warned of it in the Word of God frequently. Even though you hear it spoken against in Bible studies and sermons, it still creeps into congregations every year. Yet it does not usually start on a Sunday or Wednesday meeting. It usually starts with compromise from the people. This is evident in the days of old as men failed to obey the commands of God. In one generation after the death of Joshua, the people of Israel knew not Jehovah, nor yet the work which He had wrought for Israel (Judges 2:10). A nation that was called to be the people of God descended into a nation in which every man did that which was right in his own eyes. (Judges 21:25). Brethren, this is why we must always be on guard for the temptation to fall into the snare of worldline...

Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things that were heard, lest haply we drift away from them. Hebrews 2:1       I doubt you have ever intended to be carried away.  Yet, it still happens. You missed a turn on a long road trip and got off track. You in fact probably just thought, “I will just enjoy myself a little bit, I will enjoy the scenic route.” Then all of a sudden you are not where you thought you would be. Not many of us intend on just drifting off course, but it is common.      As New Testament Christians, we have never intended on a decreased Biblical knowledge. We never intended on the doctrines of demons being preached from some of the pulpits. We never intended our children to abandon the faith, yet it still happens. We find that good intention does not equate to an intentional faith.       The Hebrew writer reminds us that we ought to give more earnestly, heed to the things which we heard, lest...