Category: The Shepherd’s Voice
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Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD! Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart, who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways! You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently. Oh that my ways…
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Two years ago I posted a blog (We Interrupt This Program…., 11/5/18) “on the eve of one of the most watched elections in US history, at a time when the country is more divided than ever” On the eve of the US Presidential election, those words seem even more accurate–and more ominous. What is most…
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Most of us in the church are familiar with Hebrews 11, the so-called “Hall of Fame of Faith.” Many of us can recite at least portions of the great events mentioned. And countless sermons and messages have been preached on faith from this passage. This post is not intended to add to that collection. Rather,…
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Many years ago, the Christian artist Mark Schultz came out with a song entitled “He’s My Son.” It’s a powerful song about the desperate cry of a father’s heart. Though some see it as a sad song, unworthy of a Christian listening to it, it captured my heart. Songs of honesty always have. This is…
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In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. But they had…
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Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone…
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Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God[a] and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone…
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You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s (Exodus 20:17). If the first commandment God gave His people (“no other gods before Me”) set the tone for their relationship…
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You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor (Exodus 20:16). When Peter and John were arrested by the Jewish leaders for preaching the resurrection of Christ, they defended themselves by saying, “We cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20). In this simple statement we find the definition and duty…
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You shall not steal (Exodus 20:15). Years ago, a Colorado woman sent in two eight-cent stamps to make up for having used one stamp twice (which, for some reason, had not been canceled). A former IRS employee mailed in one dollar for four ballpoint pens she had never returned to the office. In February 1974,…
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You shall not commit adultery (Exodus 20:14). Do not commit adultery. This command, like all the Commandments, seems so simple and straightforward. Yet, one look at the world around us–and even within the church–tells a different story. Like many of God’s commands, the church has often been guilty of treating only the symptoms without getting…
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You shall not murder (Exodus 20:13). Like many of the Ten Commandments, most people know (or think they know) what murder is and how it applies to their life. (And most would say it doesn’t, since they have never killed anyone.) However, like all the Commandments, Jesus has a different idea of what murder entails…
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Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you (Exodus 20:12). In an age where people are living longer, and society is more transient and fragmented than ever, many Christians wonder how this commandment should apply to their relationship with parents…
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Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock,…
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You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.s (Ex. 20:7). In this post, we will examine what it means to take the name of the Lord in vain. Many are confused about what this commandment does…
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You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God,…
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You shall have no other gods before me (Exodus 20:3). The first commandment that God gives to Israel (and thus to all) is the logical one: Have no other gods before Me. This may seem an obvious command to many, but we have to remember the context. Israel had just left Egypt with their many…
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And God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above,…
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Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as…
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And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom…
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For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for…
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God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day (Ps. 7:11). For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth (Rom. 1:18). None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All…
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For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith” (Rom. 1:16-17).…
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And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: “The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation. I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will…
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And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: “The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens. I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is…