« October 2003 | December 2003 »
Posted by David Carroll
Revelation 5:1-7 (NIV)Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, "Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?" But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. Then one of the elders said to me, "Do not
Read more
Posted by David Carroll
Revelation 4:8-11 (NIV)Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come."Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:"You are worthy, our
Read more
Posted by David Carroll
Amos 8:11-12 (NIV)"The days are coming," declares the Sovereign Lord, "when I will send a famine through the land--not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord. Men will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the Lord, but they will not find it.Hard to believe but the Bible says it will happen; there will come a time when people will actually look for someone who will preach and explain God's word to than. The implication is that there will
Read more
Posted by David Carroll
Amos 5:4,14 (NIV)This is what the Lord says to the house of Israel: "Seek me and live"Seek good, not evil, that you may live. Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you, just as you say he is.You say you are a Christian, huh? I would probably never ask you like that, but I might think it. Actually, I would rather just know it by observation. Then I might exclaim "You're a Christian, aren't you? I can tell!" The Bible says by implication that seeking God and seeking good are the same thing. To me this is not a
Read more
Posted by David Carroll
Amos 3:3 (NIV)Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?This is a pleasant little verse which nested among a lot of sobering prophecy about how God will punish the sins of Israel. Such a little verse begs to be lifted out of the context but I think it stands as a truth all on its very own.Why do we have so many denominations? Christianity is divided by the most petty little things. But, if we are going to worship together, witness together, minister together, we need to have something which we can agree on. The modern day
Read more
Posted by David Carroll
Revelation 1:8, 18-19 (NKJV)"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.""I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death. Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this."I love this opening chapter of Revelation. These verses are the opening statements from Jesus Christ who revealed himself to John and gave him the message
Read more
Posted by David Carroll
Jude 6 (NIV)And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home--these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.I am not given to much speculation when it comes to the Bible but I do believe what it says and there are some intriguing, mysterious things it says at times. This is not major doctrine here but I believe that there was a grave reason why God flooded the entire world in Noah's day. Certainly it was the wickedness of that day as is made clear in
Read more
Posted by David Carroll
Hosea 6:6 (NKJV)For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.Both of these phrases compare the inward being with external actions. Mercy is a God-like quality and the knowledge of God only comes through His revealed word. Sacrifice and burnt offerings are really two ways of saying the same thing. For the Old Testament Israelite it really was burnt offerings. For the New Testament Christian it is really everything that we do for God including service and giving. But for both the Israelite and the Christian, God knows the motive in the heart.
Read more
Posted by David Carroll
Hosea 5:6 (NIV)When they go with their flocks and herds to seek the Lord, they will not find him; he has withdrawn himself from them.Technically, it is never too late to come to God in repentance and faith to be saved. But practically speaking, too late is indeed too late. Think about it, everything is going just fine and all of a sudden the plane starts to go down. You've only got less than a minute. What do you do? Cry out to God of course. But how can you possibly muster up saving, trusting, loving faith at that moment?God
Read more
Posted by David Carroll
1 John 5:3 (NIV)
This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome
The life of a Christian is not always smiles and happiness, but it is all joy. The Christian does not carry a heavy burden. If you find it difficult, something is not right. Most likely it is the love for God part which is connected with the not burdensome part.
Matthew 11:30 (NKJV)
For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
Posted by David Carroll
Daniel 12:4 (NKJV)"But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase."Daniel 12:8 (NKJV)Although I heard, I did not understand. Then I said, "My lord, what shall be the end of these things?"Many of the great prophets of the Old Testament, of whom I believe Daniel was the greatest, did not understand their own prophecies. They were simply writing down the visions the Holy Spirit of God was putting into their minds. Daniel was told to seal the book until the time of
Read more
Posted by David Carroll
1 John 3:17 (NKJV)But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?This is plain; material blessings on the child of God constitute a responsibility to help those in need. This verse does not necessarily limit those whom you help to a brother in Christ. However, if you see someone in need who is not a believer, first give them the opportunity to receive Eternal Life. But seasoning that message with some material help in their hands will help them to "hear"
Read more
Posted by David Carroll
1 John 3:2 (NIV)Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.I don't know much about heaven; the Bible does not answer a lot of questions that I have. The answers the Bible does give seem to just pique my interests and make me want to know more. Here are some questions I have:Since there will be no marriage in heaven (pretty much solves the divorce problem of whose wife
Read more
Posted by David Carroll
1 John 2:3-5 (NIV)We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him.Actually John is far more blunt than my title would suggest. He calls the person who claims to know him a liar if there is no evidence of it. Couldn't the evidence be something besides obedience, like
Read more
Posted by David Carroll
1 John 1:1-3 (NIV)That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched--this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.John hammers this
Read more
Posted by David Carroll
Daniel 6:5 (NIV)Finally these men said, "We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God."King Darius had replaced Nebuchadnezzar but Daniel even found favor with Darius and so Daniel was appointed to be one of three chief administrators in the Kingdom. The satraps did not like this and sought to bring him down, however they became frustrated because they could not find any grounds for accusing Daniel of any wrongdoing. Well, these wicked satraps finally figured out what to do: make a law that directly
Read more
Posted by David Carroll
Proverbs 28:19 (NIV)He who works his land will have abundant food, but the one who chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty.I have chased my fair share of fantasies. None of them turned out. I have followed a few dreams. Some of them have worked out better than my wildest imagination. What is it about chasing a fantasy that is different from following a dream? Chasing sounds hurried, unplanned. Fantasy sounds unreal. God speaks in dreams all through the bible. But he does not speak in fantasies.You can follow a dream and it may take years of thinking and
Read more
Posted by David Carroll
2 Peter 1:20-21 (NIV)Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.The Bible is an amazing book. There are sixty-six different books penned by forty different authors over a fifteen hundred year period of time. The amazing thing is that it the message is consistent throughout. Yes there are some difficult passages but when interpreted in light of the many more clear passages the Bible speaks as
Read more
Posted by David Carroll
Daniel 3:16-18 (NIV)Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."I believe this may be favorite story in the Bible. These three friends of Daniel were absolutely confident
Read more
Posted by David Carroll
1 Peter 3:15 (NIV)But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.It's not often that people come to you and ask you to tell them about the God you worship. Why would they do that anyway? Because something about you is different. They see hope in you and there is something about you that they would like to have. So if you are not often asked, is it because they don't
Read more
Posted by David Carroll
1 Peter 3:7 (NKJV)Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.I know, I skipped over the part about wives being submissive to their husbands but I've got a couple of good reasons. Both these verses were in my reading but I am not a wife so even though I liked that part, it wasn't addressed to me, this one was. This verse's command has far greater implications since there is a direct link to
Read more
Posted by David Carroll
1 Peter 1:15-16 (NKJV)But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy."I have always heard that the word holy, when applied to men, means to be set apart or sanctified. Reading this verse I am now perplexed (not unusual for me when dealing with deep truths) because the reason for our holiness is God's holiness. It seems to say that we are to be holy in the same way as He is holy. Obviously that can't be but this is actually a common
Read more
Posted by David Carroll
1 Peter 1:8-9 (NIV)Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.I haven't seen Him either. The bible speaks of the Spirit of God as a wind which you cannot see but you can see its effect. Think about this though, Peter had seen him, touched him, lived with him. Jesus washed his feet. Peter had good reason to love Jesus. Jesus was wonderful
Read more
Posted by David Carroll
Psalm 119:11 (NIV)I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.When I lived in Atlanta in the early 90's, I had become somewhat lax in my devotion to the Church and to my walk with the Lord. Although I was assured of my salvation and my beliefs were solid because of six years of sitting under one of the great preaching and teaching pastors of all time. However, it was clear that something was missing in my life and growth as a Christian. I was asked to become a part of a men's small
Read more
Posted by David Carroll
James 4:7 (NKJV)Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.There are times when a temptation seems unusually strong. I mean by temptation something that you feel a desire to do which you know to be wrong. It is a battle between not wanting to succumb on the one hand and a strong desire to experience an illicit pleasure on the other hand. It tempting object could be food, sex or drugs. It could be things like skipping work, or school or any other obligation you would rather not do. Most of the time there is
Read more
Posted by David Carroll
James 3:13-17 (NKJV)Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.James contrasts wisdom from above
Read more
Posted by David Carroll
James 2:14 (NIV)What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?Notice that the question is not "can faith without works save you?" If that were the question, the answer would be "it is impossible to have faith without works." Faith necessarily produces works. If good deeds do not come as a result of a changed life then what is it that changed? Works do not save. Works are not even the expression of gratitude for being saved. Being saved changes you and that change is evidenced by
Read more
Posted by David Carroll
James 1:2-4 (NKJV)My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.I have heard it said many times, "Don't pray for patience, because God will just send you trials to endure." Makes sense if that was where it ended, but there is purpose in this testing of your faith; it makes you perfect and complete, lacking nothing. I want to be happy and I know you do to. This verse promises a condition
Read more
Posted by David Carroll
Ezekiel 33:10-11 (NKJV)"Therefore you, O son of man, say to the house of Israel: 'Thus you say, "If our transgressions and our sins lie upon us, and we pine away in them, how can we then live?" 'Say to them: 'As I live,' says the Lord God, 'I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?'When we take Biblical truth to its logical conclusion, it is inescapable that God, knowing the end from the
Read more
Posted by David Carroll
Hebrews 12:14-15 (NKJV)Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled;There is no better proof of a changed life that the ability to live in peace among everyone. The kind of peace spoken of here is not superficial nicety. We know this because it is linked with holiness. Such peace is a deep love founded on the basis of a redeemed nature. And we know this because it
Read more
« October 2003 | December 2003 »