Thought for the Day
Some food for thought for your meditation normally authored by Pastor Tim Boffey and occasionally authored by other church members.
(Galatians 5:18) But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
Christians do well to be led of the Spirit. When they are so led, they may be assured that they are not under the law (the “do and live” law of Moses, GAL 3:10-12), per our text. They are not under the law's condemnation (ROM 8:1), nor are they under its form of duty and service (COL 2:14-17). Clearly, being led of the Spirit is important for professing Christians, but which spirit? Scripture speaks much of ...
(Acts 2:26) Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope:
(Acts 2:27) Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
The Easter season with its days of Lent, eggs, rabbits, fish, etc. has come and gone again. But good protein does not equate with good doctrine. While Christians can and should rejoice in the fact of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave, how much better would that r...
(Genesis 13:11) Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.
Lot was hardly a model Christian. Peter tells us that he was a just and righteous man (2PE 2:7-8) but you would be hard pressed to conclude that from his conduct and choices in life. Our text today is speaking of the time when Lot made his ill-fated decision to choose the environs of Sodom, a bountiful place, “But the men of Sodom ...
Genesis 40:1-3
(1) And it came to pass after these things, that the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker had offended their lord the king of Egypt.
(2) And Pharaoh was wroth against two of his officers, against the chief of the butlers, and against the chief of the bakers.
(3) And he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where Joseph was bound.
The Apostle Peter once described the revelation given by Jesus Christ unto His apostles (the New Testam...
Matthew 12:38-40
(38) Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.
(39) But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:
(40) For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Today's text sets forth the definitive sign to th...
Obadiah 1:17-21
(17) But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.
(18) And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the LORD hath spoken it.
(19) And they of the south shall possess the mount of Esau; and they of the plain the Philistines: and they s...
(John 18:6) As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground.
In the last generation or two among professing Christians of the charismatic persuasion, the phenomenon of being “slain in the spirit” has become quite popular. Most Americans have probably seen some form of this at the hands of a televangelist, although the practice is not unique to televangelists. It is alleged that when the worshipper or someone needing healing is touched by the “anointed” preach...
(Genesis 6:6) And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
Oxford English Dictionary shows that the word repent can mean, “To cause (one) to feel regret, etc.” Such is its usage in today's text. A similar usage is where God expressed regret over having made Saul king: “It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king...” (1SAM 15:11).
God Who had made the earth and its elements was about to destroy the earth by its elements. It had become...
(Ezekiel 1:28) As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.
Today's text concludes the first chapter of Ezekiel in which (as he said), “...the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God” (EZE 1:1). His description of heavenly things here notes that the bright appearance of the lik...
(JOHN 16:33) These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
Death and taxes are not the only certainties of life in this world. For the devout disciple of Jesus Christ there is also the certainty of tribulation. Tribulation may be in the form of everyday hassles and dangers, common to all men. Added to that for the devout disciple of Jesus Christ is the tribulation that comes from a...
Galatians 2:11-14
(11) But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.
(12) For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision.
(13) And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation.
(14) But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the ...
(1 Corinthians 5:1) It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife.
(1 Corinthians 5:2) And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.
The church at Corinth was full of itself. They were, as noted here, puffed up and furthermore wise in their own conceits, or, as Paul elsewhere described it, vainl...
Numbers 15:37-41
(37) And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
(38) Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue:
(39) And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring:
(40) ...
(Revelation 1:20) The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.
In the Scripture, “angel” often refers to God's “...ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation” (HEB 1:14). In this sense we think of the likes of Michael the archangel (JUDE 1:9), Gabriel who appeared to Zacharias and ...
(Matthew 23:4) For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.
In this chapter, the Lord Jesus Christ exposed and upbraided the scribes and the Pharisees for their vain religion. They were nothing but an outward form of godliness who had not the power thereof inwardly (c/w 2TI 3:5). As our text sets forth, they specialized in burdening others with unbearable requirements but exem...
(Proverbs 24:27) Prepare thy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the field; and afterwards build thine house.
Solomon “...spake three thousand proverbs...” (1KI 4:32), sage observations about life and God. We are blessed to have a number of them committed to the pages of Scripture. This ratio of “spoken to written” was characteristic of Jesus Christ, for “...there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself c...
(Revelation 11:10) And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.
The Book of Revelation is rich with intriguing figures that have profound spiritual significance. In the eleventh chapter are described two powerful witnesses of God whose testimony serves as a torment to men. There has been much speculation as to the identity of these two witnesses and some have suggested...
(Genesis 2:1) Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
(Genesis 2:2) And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
It is interesting to note the word finished used here to proclaim the completion of God’s work of creation is the same word later used to speak of the completion of the tabernacle, “...Moses finished the work” (EXO 40:33), and Solomon’s temple, “Th...
(Acts 1:5) For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
(Acts 2:17) And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
Both of the above verses refer to the coming of the Holy Ghost/Spirit on the Day of Pentecost to fill, indwell and empower the New Testament church. A fun...
On the fourth Thursday of November, America takes time off from its ordinary pursuits to observe the civic holiday of Thanksgiving Day. Thanksgiving Day has a noble history of national giving of thanks to the Creator for His benefits. But the reverence and humility once associated with the custom has been considerably displaced by what is truly important to our culture: pleasure (long weekend, football, feasting, shopping). Pleasure in and of itself is not evil, but when it becomes the summum bonum
Numbers 14:1-4
(1) And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night.
(2) And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness!
(3) And wherefore hath the LORD brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt?
(4...
(Genesis 2:9) And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
In the Garden of Eden, God planted a tree of life to which man had access until sin entered. Once Adam sinned, man was barred from the tree of life (GEN 3:22-24) and its existence would seem to have been terminated with the global Flood of Noah's day. But it was apparen...
(Matthew 27:24) When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.
(Matthew 27:25) Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.
When someone is declaring no responsibility or involvement in a matter, or abandoning something, he might say that he has washed his hands of it. Today's text is considered ...
Galatians 1:6-7
(6) I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
(7) Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
The churches of Galatia had been founded upon the doctrine of salvation by grace through the justifying faith of Jesus Christ. But it is evident that they had in short order abandoned their original faith, soon removed unto another gospel (GAL 1:6) which had been f...
The festive occasion known as Halloween is now taken for granted. It is a time of curious, rather morbid activities for children and adults alike when some of the darkest themes of a sin-burdened creation are exhumed from history's graveyard for public display and for the profit of carnal merchants who promote the entire affair. Yet how many people (especially Bible-believers) have given honest, serious consideration to the nature of this seasonal celebration? Following is a summary of the reasons why ou...