A friend of mine dropped Israel and New Breed’s latest CD titled A Deeper Level off at my desk and suggested I give it a whirl. Growing up on Alternative, Grunge and Classic Rock, I thought that the Gospel genre wouldn’t be my cup of tea. I associated Gospel with the likes of Bill and Gloria Gaither and other quartet groups. However, I dropped A Deeper Level into my player and began moving to a Deeper Level!
Archive for the ‘Featured’ Category
The skinny on Mark; a book of the Bible
On January - 20 - 2009
Have you ever walked into the tail end of a conversation and wonder what started the discussion? The conversation made sense as you were apart of it, but when you found out the origination of the conversation it provided greater insight into the discussion. The same is true with the Bible. The Bible makes sense as you read it, but once you know the origination of the book, one gets greater insight into what it says. Over the next several weeks, PursuingHim.com will be sharing the skinny or overview of the origination of the books of the New Testament in hopes that this will provide some further insights for studying God’s word. These articles coincide with our Spring 2009 Lunch Bunch called New Testament Challenge. Previously, we looked at the book of Matthew, this week we will be continuing with the book of Mark.
How to study the Bible
On January - 17 - 2009
“I want to study the Bible, I just don’t know how,” said John. I’ve heard people say this time and time again. Reading and studying the Bible is not as difficult as people make it. A lot of times people just don’t know where to start. The key is TO start. Below you will find six steps to help you study God’s word. These are six steps that I’ve found useful in my own Bible study times.
Neighborly lovin’
On January - 14 - 2009
I was on my way into work recently a little earlier than usual and caught a portion of a message from Alistair Begg, a pastor in Cleveland who speaks with a Scottish accent. (Not quite the Sean Connery brogue but still Scottish.) Something he said caught my ear and rode with me the rest of the way in. He said, “Love is to be defined in caring terms not based on emotions or feelings.”
Allister was giving a message from the book of James 2:8-13 about favoritism. A verse he used as the base of his message was the last portion of verse eight, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” He stated when you wake up in the morning, you don’t wake up and say “I love myself, I love myself, I love myself!” Unless of course you are Paris Hilton, then that’s another story. But the fact of the matter is that when it comes down to it, you show that you love yourself by taking care of yourself. You make sure that you’ve had something to eat, you’ve taken a shower sometime in the last several days, and that you stay warm enough. Simply put, you show yourself love by caring for your daily needs.
What does that have to do with our neighbor? When we look throughout the Bible, we see the phrase “Love your neighbor as yourself” nine times. One of the nine instances quotes God the Father in Leviticus 19:18, another five quote Jesus (Matthew 19:19, Matthew 22:39, Mark 12:31, Mark 12:33, Luke 10:27), and the other three are others quoting Jesus or God the Father (Romans 13:9, Galatians 5:14, James 2:8). Evidently by who said it and the number of times the same phrase was reiterated, “Love your neighbor as yourself” was not meant to be taken lightly. It included the word “neighbor.” The word neighbor can be defined as people you meet at the store, co-workers, family members, really anyone you come into contact with. To sum it up, we should be caring about our neighbor (people at the store, co-workers, family members, etc.) the way each of us care for ourselves.
I really had to get serious and ask myself, Am I caring for my neighbors the way I care for myself? Do my actions show that I care about my neighbor? As I looked back, in some places I did a decent job, in some places I totally stink at showing love to my neighbors. What about you? Are you caring for your neighbors the way you care for yourself? Do your actions back that up? How are you loving your neighbor?
Treatment of others
On January - 1 - 2009
Do to others as you would like them to do to you.
- Luke 6:31
We tend to see this line used when parents are teaching their children how to interact with others. While the verse is good for that, what about us as adults? How are you treating the people you come into contact with?
Just four verses before the above verse, in Luke 6:27, we see Jesus challenging his disciples to love their enemies and do good to them even though their enemies may hate them. Jesus continues and instructs the disciples to bless those who curse them and pray for those who hurt them even going to the extreme of giving to anyone who asks. The famous Golden Rule is found after all of this, “Do to others as you would like them to do to you.”
Jesus’ words and teaching are still true for us today. How would your enemies describe the way you treat them?
Suggested reading: Luke 6:27-36
Music Remedy
On January - 1 - 2009
This album remedies the ills of boring worship music. David Crowder Band’s Remedy
With a distorted electronic rock , Can You Feel It challenges the you, listener to shake off the difficulties of life reminding that God is here… God is everywhere. The band provides an updated rendition of the hymn O, For A Thousand Tongues To Sing adding their unique touch to the track. Remedy, the track the album is named speaks to the great truth found throughout the Bible — Jesus the remedy to our sin problem.
Tracks
- The Glory Of It All
- Can You Feel It?
- Everything Glorious
- … neverending …
- Never Let Go
- O, For A Thousand Tongues To Sing
- Rain Down
- We Won’t Be Quiet
- Remedy
- Surely We Can Change
