flynn034

In the End   Aunt Mary, who was in her 90s, would call her nephew, David, from time to time asking him to take her to the beauty parlor.  David, who had some health struggles of his own, would always oblige if he possibly could.  He would go and pick her up, take her to the beauty parlor, come back and get her when she was through, and take her home.  Then the playful “battle” would begin.  Aunt Mary wanted to give him some money for gas; David didn’t want it.  “You take it, or I won’t call you anymore,” threatened Aunt Mary.  David responded, “Well, just give me the money then!”  His relationship with her and his desire to help her were more important than the money.   When asked what her great-grandmother had meant to her, Madison (Cox) Holland wrote: “My Meme [pronounced meemee] was a big part of the village that raised me.  Because of this, it's hard for me to pinpoint specific me...

Baptism Does Not … The Bible has much to say on the subject of baptism. The Book of God tells us that baptism is for remission of sin (Acts 2:38); that it saves us (Mark 16:16; 1 Peter 3:21); it puts into Christ where all spiritual blessings are (Romans 6:3; Ephesians 1:3); through this act we can become the children of God (Galatians 3:26-28); it is to be preceded by faith, repentance and confession of our faith that Jesus is Lord (Acts 8:36,37; 2:38); and the mode of baptism is immersion (Acts 8:38; Romans 6:4).  It seems that the vast majority of the religious world rejects the idea that baptism has anything to do with the forgiveness of sin. As noted above, their claim is totally false. Yet we have some brethren who take the Bible teaching on baptism to the other extreme, thinking that it is a kind of cure all problem with regard to sin, without ever repenting. This teaching is erroneous as well! One cannot continue to practice sin after he has been baptized into Christ. ...

Luke 6:45--The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.   Our heart is a treasure house where we store those things that control our intellect, emotions, actions, attitudes and will. What we think, believe, how we act and react is determined by that which we have stored in our hearts.   We need desperately to hear and heed the words of Solomon , "Watch over your hearts with all diligence, For from it flows the springs of life" (Proverbs 4:23).   Keeping watch over our heart will require that we do as Paul instructs in Philippians 4:8, think on those things that are true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, of good report, excellent and worthy of praise. It will require that we be willing to present our bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God and not be conformed to this world (Romans 12:1-2...

The Royal Priesthood Reigns with its Hero – King Jesus “I came. I saw. I conquered.” Julius Caesar, 47 BC? No, Jesus Christ, 4 BC-30 AD!  Psalm 132:9-18. Jesus came calling sinners to repent and enter His kingdom. Mark 1:15. As Son of David he would sit on David’s throne. Genesis 49:8-10; Isaiah 9:6-7; Matthew 22:41-45. At the end of Jesus’ ministry, one prominent Jewish councillor even asked for Jesus’ body on the cross, and Mark said he was waiting for the kingdom. Mark 15:43. When Jesus came He saw our need, conquered our sin, was raised from death to become King, and rules  His kingdom of priests till he returns at the end of time. Exodus 19:6; Psalm 45; 110:1-7; 132:9-18; Daniel 7:21-27; Colossians 1:12-14; 1 Peter 2:5-9; 3:13-22; Revelation 1:6; 2:17; 5:10; 7:9-17; 20:6. In fact, King Jesus rules over everyone and everything in the universe. He is Lord of all. Psalm 2; 110:1-3; Matthew 11:27-12:8; 28:18; Mark 4:35-41; Acts ...

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us (Hebrews 12:1)   In 1 Corinthians 9:24-26, Paul likens the Christian life to a race in which the Christian runs in earnest with his eyes fixed on a definite goal. Winning that crown of righteousness must be an all consuming desire of the runner (Philippians 3:12-13; James 1:12).  We must run as if there were blinders on our eyes so as to not let any distractions cause us to swerve to the right or left. Our race will not be an easy one.   I suggest to you three things that must be a part of our daily routine if we are to successfully endure to the end of the race and win the prize of the high calling of God:          1.  Spend time each day talking with the Lord. It is so uplifting and comforting     ...

This is a reply to the article “People who are “Just Christians” Don’t Have a Clue” posted at https://www.thecatholicthing.org/2018/10/07/people-who-are-just-christians-dont-have-a-clue/ My reply? 1 Peter 4:14-16; 1 Corinthians 4:1-13 Even the first “pope” – Peter himself – said we suffer for the name of Christ – as Christians. Nothing about Catholics, Protestants, denominations, sects, heresies, philosophies, etc. And the whole point of 1 Peter is to stress that we suffer for what is right, not for what is wrong. 1 Peter 2:20; 3:17; 4:19. Setting yourself up as a human head of the church on earth is clearly wrong, since only Christ is head of the church in heaven and on earth. Matthew 28:18; Ephesians 1:22-23; 1 Peter 3:21-22. Claiming a foundation for the church that is other than Christ and the original apostles, is clearly wrong. Matthew 16:18-19; 18:18; 1 Corinthians 3:10-11; Ephesians 2:19-22. Dividing Christ’s chu...

  The English poet Alexander Pope wrote, “Hope springs eternal in the human breast: Man never is, but always to be blest.”   But where does man turn when hope dries up?   The director of a medical clinic told of a terminally ill young man who came in for his usual treatment.  A new doctor who was on duty said to him casually and cruelly, “You know, don’t you, that you won’t live out the year?”   As the young man left, he stopped by the director’s desk and wept.  “That man took away my hope,” he blurted out.   “I guess he did,” replied the director.  “Maybe it’s time to find a new one.”   Commenting on this incident, Lewis Smedes wrote, “Is there a hope when hope is taken away?  Is there hope when the situation is hopeless?  That question leads us to Christian hope, for in the Bible, hope is no longer a passion for the possible.  It becomes...