From the moment that man was expelled from the Garden of Eden human beings have been in bloody conflict with one another. In the first story after Eden, Cain killed his brother Abel because he was overwhelmed with covetousness. God had regard for Abel and his offering but did not have regard for Cain in his offering. Cain became angry and his countenance fell; therefore, Cain killed his brother Abel. (Gn 4:1-15) This became the way of man up to the time of Noah and the flood. Man returned to the same after the flood; man, against man, family against family, tribe against tribe, nation against nation and ideology against ideology. Jesus told his disciples that between his first and second advents there will be wars and rumors of wars, but they are not to be frightened because it is the way of the world until the end. (Mt 24:6-8) When He broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, "Come." And another, a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it w…

I have 3 1/2 weeks before the fall semester begins at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. I have been working towards a Master of Theological studies. I hope (Lord willing) to complete the degree in the spring of 2019. During the summer break I have been thinking a great deal about where the Lord is leading me after graduation. Where does he want me to serve? What is my place in his kingdom? What does he want me doing? I have been wondering about these questions and many more this summer.

I have read several books this summer:
Leiter, Charles. The Law of Christ. Hannibal: Granted Ministries Press, 2012.Resigner, John G. The Believer’s Sabbath. Frederick: New Covenant Media, 2002.Zaspel, Fred G. The New Covenant and New Covenant Theology. Frederick: New Covenant Media, 2011.Long, Gary D, ed. The First London Confession of Faith 1646 Edition With an Appendix By Benjamin Cox. Bolton: Sovereign Grace Ministries, 2004.Long, Gary D. NCT: Time for a More Accurate Way. Gary D. Long, 2013…

The apostle Paul told Timothy to discipline himself for the purpose of godliness and said that bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things because it holds promise for the present life and the life to come. (1 Tm 4:7b-8)

I have spent my entire life disciplining my physical body. For this reason, at the age of 50, I can go out on a hot summer day and run 7 1/2 miles in less than an hour. Yet the apostle Paul says that this is of little profit.

Some have cast aside physical exercise all together and use statements like these to justify their laziness. Keep in mind, he did not say of no profit but of little profit because the spiritual disciplines are of greater value. My physical exercise is of benefit for this life only but godliness is of value here and in the resurrection to come.

I have a confession to make: I am a timid man. Yet the apostle told Timothy in 2 Tm 1:7 that God has not given us a spirit of timidity. My timidity causes me to b…

A gospel conversation need not be punitive, condescending or longwinded. A gospel conversation can be part of our everyday conversation. A gospel conversation should always purpose to honor God, exalt Jesus Christ and seek the best for one’s neighbor. A gospel conversation can be used to encourage and build up. We should admonish the unruly, but we should also encourage the fainthearted, help the week and be patient with everyone. (cf. 1 Thes 5:11-14)

I would like to share a conversation that I had last week and would like to make gospel conversations a regular part of my blog:
To embolden myself to seek out gospel centered conversations. To embolden you to seek gospel centered conversations. Edmundo was a runner when he lived in Las Angeles; therefore, we had the love of running in common. I unbuttoned his shirt to expose his chest to my stethoscope. While listening to his breath sounds and heart tones a crucifix came into view. I asked him about his experiences as a runner in Las …

I have a desire to live in a world in which everyone loves God with all of their heart, soul and strength, and loves one another as self.
Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1 Cor. 13:4-7, NASB95) Though my inward desire is to live in a world in which everyone loves God and his or her neighbor as their selves, I do not find within myself the qualities of love described in this text of scripture. I am not always patient. I am not always kind. I am often jealous of my neighbor. I will brag about things and act arrogantly. I will act unbecomingly. If I do not get my own way I may be provoked to anger and will often believe that I have been wronged. I laugh about things that I kno…

“Love is at the root of everything—all learning, all relationships—love, or the lack of it.” [1]

This past week, along with my wife Darlene, we went to the theater to watch a movie. The movie: “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” Won’t You Be My Neighbor is a documentary about Fred McFeely Rogers, the star of the children’s television show “Mr. Rogers Neighborhood.”

After watching this movie, I realized how connected I am to Fred Rogers. Mister Rogers Neighborhood aired on February 19, 1968, I was born on May 4, 1968; therefore, I spent my developmental years as a child in the early 1970’s watching this television show.

I remember that I didn’t see much of my Father as a young child because he worked a lot. Mr. Rogers was my friend, he invited me to be his neighbor, he told me that he loved me, taught me to be kind to others and explained the world around me.
Once I was a school age child I still watched the show, but the world began to pull me away from the make-believe world of Mr. Rogers N…

I truly love the Scriptures, therefore, my favorite class in seminary was hermeneutics, because in that class I was taught how to interpret scripture. I love the scriptures because they are the word of God to men in this fallen world. The build up to this class were four Bible survey classes in which I was taught authorships, historical/cultural backgrounds, and genres. All of these are very important to correctly interpret scripture. Therefore, I was taught to interpret scripture within its grammatical/historical context. When I say grammatical/historical context I do not mean a literal interpretation, but literary meaning. "Literary meaning refers to the meaning the author has purposely placed in the text."[1] The two biggest problems that people make when interpreting scripture is either being hyper-literal or hyper-spiritual. We must extract the meaning intended by the authors who wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in their own historical/cultural contexts a…