THE HOME DEVO

       Is the silence of the Scriptures prohibitive? By that we mean, may one improvise in acts of religious devotion in the absence of a specific “you must not ...”? If the New Testament is silent about a specific matter (e.g., the baptizing of infants, the burning of incense, the use of mechanical instruments in worship), may a person pursue that practice? Some allege that this is the case. They contend that asking folks to respect the silence of the Scriptures is a human regulation that has no support in the Bible. They are wrong. Hebrew 7:14 contains the very principle that is the focus of this discussion. In this context, the sacred writer has noted that there has been a change in the priesthood. The Aaronic priesthood of the Old Testament regime has given way to the better priestly system of the New Testament economy. It is then suggested that Christ could not serve as a priest “after the order of Aaron” (cf. 8:4). Why not? Because Jesus was descended fr...

       Have we ever wondered how a worm gets inside an apple? If we think that the worm burrows in the apple from the outside , we’d be wrong. Scientists have discovered that the worm comes from the inside of the apple. But, how in the world did he get there? The answer is simple. Female apple maggot flies finds a sweet smelling apple that is ripening and lands on it. Using a small, sharp, hollow tube on the underside of her body, the fly stabs a small hole in the fruit. Then she releases her eggs, which slide down that hollow tube into the apple. Soon afterward, the eggs hatch inside the heart of the apple into tiny white worms called railroad worms, who eat their way out of the apple. Similarly, sin, like the worm, begins in the heart of man and works out through an individual’s thoughts, words, and actions ( Matthew 12:34-37; Matthew 15:15-20; Mark 7:14-23; James 1:14-15) ; cf. Psalm 39:1 ; Proverbs 13:3 ; Proverbs 21:23 ) For this very reason,...

  In the text found in 1 John 2:12-17 , the apostle John warns mature men and young men of three lusts: ·       The lust of the flesh ( Genesis 3:6 ; cf. Joshua 7:21 – “saw that the tree was good for food“) — the insatiable appetite to indulge in pleasures that inflame the flesh but never satisfy (Numbers 11). ·       The lust of the eyes ( Genesis 3:6 ; cf. Joshua 7:21 ) – “it was pleasant to the eyes“) — wandering eyes that continually want more riches and possessions, but always remain covetous ( Acts 5:1-10 ). ·       The pride of life ( Genesis 3:6 ; cf. Joshua 7:21 ) – “a tree desirable to make one wise“) — the vain mind that thirsts for man’s applause. But the glory evaporates quickly ( Acts 12:20-23 ). These three lusts are damaging to those who engage in them as well as the victims they leave in their destructive path. Additionally, these lustful desires can never fully satisfy , because...

  The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947 has been called the greatest archaeological find of the 20th century. The ancient manuscripts hidden in the caves near Qumran are the oldest known copies of key Old Testament books. As followers of Christ we believe that the Bible is the eternal, unchanging Word of God.( 1 Peter 1:23 -NKJV; cf. Hebrews 6:13-20 -NKJV), thus we firmly believe the inspired words penned by the Psalmist: “ Forever, O Lord, Your Word is settled in heaven. Your faithfulness endures to all generations ” ( Psalm 119:89-90 -NKJV). Jesus once stated:“ Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away ” ( Matthew 24:35 -NKJV). The Bible is more than just a historical relic. It is the living, powerful Word of God ( Hebrews 4:12 -NKJV), in which we encounter the inspired teachings of the Lord and discover how to live for Him and honor Him ( 2 Timothy 3:16 -ASV; Romans 12:1-2 -NKJV; Ephesians 4:23-32 -NKJV; Philippians 3:7-15 -NKJV...

  Shopping for a good watermelon is difficult because no matter how good it looks on the outside, it’s hard to tell what it’s really like on the inside. We can tap it, thump it and squeeze it, only to take it home and discover that the inside is not edible. On one occasion when Jesus’ disciples did not wash their hands before eating, the Pharisees became extremely irritated because it violated one of their man-made traditions ( Mark 7:1-8 ). Jesus immediately challenged them by saying: “ All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition ” ( Mark 7:9 ). He went so far as to call them “hypocrites” ( Mark 7:6 ) and explained that what comes from the inside of an individual is what “defiles” him, not the other way around ( Mark 7:14-23 ). If we’re not careful, we can become so absorbed with looking good on the outside, that we forget what really counts. In fact, when we get to the place where we think “we’ve arrived,” we may become proud of ourse...

  Yesterday we talked about the "H" in Kyle Idleman's book “AHA”.  The H is for honesty and the last A is for "Action".  Many of us identify our problems, we are honest with ourselves about them, but we do nothing about it.  We must take action to make a positive change in our life.  The longer we put off making that change, the harder it is to change, and the deeper we go into that sin.  We all tend to push the limits.  If the speed limit is 65, we feel like that law enforcement will allow us to go 70, so we do.  We want to know how close we can get to the cliff before we fall off.  We want to know how close to "sin" we can get before we actually commit the sin.  This is primarily because our heart is not right.   Matt recently made an excellent point in his lesson about our attendance at church  on Sunday  night.  We have all heard people say "Well we really don't have to go to church  on Sunday  Evening...

       Malachi 3:6 says "I the Lord do not change...".  God is the only being that does not need to change something.  We never see biblical examples of Jesus teaching, keep doing what you are doing, don't change a thing.  Now, the point here is that we all have some changes in our lives.  In the letters to the seven churches of Asia, while almost all of them were encouraged in the good things they were doing, they were also told the areas in which they needed to change or they would pay the consequences.  So if we have taken the wrong path, how do we change? Well, Simmons says that we must first face and embrace the truth.  Brutal honesty is the first step to making change in our life.  Kyle Idleman wrote a book titled "AHA".  The title is an acronym for the words "Awakening, Honesty, and Action". The change agent here is Honesty.  We must evaluate ourselves and be totally honest with what is hindering us from completel...