VerseD: 1 Timothy 6:12

Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
1 Timothy 6:12, ESV

Too many people have not counted the cost of discipleship (Luke 14) and therefore misunderstand what the Christian faith truly is.

If we wish to be faithful to our Lord, we must forcefully take hold of the truth of Christ and what it means for our lives, and we must strive to live in light of that truth, not the truth we make for ourselves.

VerseD: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
1 Thessalonians 5:16‭-‬18, ESV

A grateful heart cannot help but rejoice in all things. Look at the disciples in Acts who thanked God for being worthy to suffer because it was for their Lord. This only becomes possible by continuously being in contact with Him.

Do you have a grateful heart?

VerseD: 1 Timothy 4:12

Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.
1 Timothy 4:12, ESV

Young, old, or have a past: do not wait for others to give you a chance.

You live your faith, and live it well in the power of Christ by the Holy Spirit to the glory of the Father.

Amen.

VerseD: John 5:24

“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.”
John 5:24 ESV

When John later said “There is no fear in love” (1 John 4:18), he was reminding us that faith in Christ means we no longer need fear punishment and harsh judgment. Through His life, death, and resurrection, Jesus Christ literally saves us.

NEW: VerseD: Philippians 2:13

I am starting something new for my blog, obviously with today being the first day.

It is what I am calling “VerseD”, a verse of the day with a quick thought.

May we all be a little more blessed by having a new thought everyday from God’s Word.

“for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”
Philippians 2:13 ESV

We may feel things are out of our control sometimes (or all the time). It may feel God is testing us. In truth, God has a plan, and we are a small part.

Find the peace this can bring.

Remember God is in control.

So, what do I believe?

This about sums up my thoughts, too.

Daniel

Our Proverbial Future

For those who did not know or forgot, I am a contributor to Proverbial Thought.

Let us know your thoughts to Anthony’s questions!

Daniel

Anthony Baker's avatarThe Recovering Legalist

The Other Blog

Many of you may know that I have another blog, and some of you may take advantage of it on a daily basis.

The other blog is ProverbialThought.com, and it has been a daily/semi-daily part of our lives for several years, bringing to us the wisdom of Proverbs – with a twist.

But here’s the thing… we are coming to an end to another rotation, and I’m wondering what to do next.

The Future of “Proverbial Thought”

If you haven’t yet gone to my other blog – one that has been co-written by some wonderful people – go there now and see what you think.

Where should we go from here?

Start over – again? With a fresh group of contributors?

What about listing all of the past posts in pages, just like I started doing with the first two chapters?

I would love to know…

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A Faith Old Enough To Vote

Today is my 18th Re-Birthday! [For more details, see hereherehereherehere, and here.
Yep. 18 years ago today I succumbed to Jesus’ bear hug of forgiveness and grace. My faith is now legally an adult in most of the world.

Do I feel accomplished?

Honestly, I will always know there is more to do until the day I no longer need to number my days (Psalm 90:12), for The Wisdom of God made flesh has been made fully known to His Creation.

Rather, I am beginning to feel the pressure of time. I was a teenager when entering the Christian fold, so I am only in my mid-30s. However, the Lord has been teaching me to number my days (ask those who know me best! There are stories!), so I can see “missed opportunities” and periods of disobedience in my past. I see faces of people I could have been “That person” to.

Yet, these should not be seen as regrets … at least of I truly believe my sovereign Lord truly is sovereign. Rather, these are moments to glean from and push forward. 

I think Paul put it best.

. . . and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained.

Philippians 3:9‭-‬16, ESV

Therefore, I finish as I have in the past:

 . . . by quoting Jude (3):

Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.

Let us celebrate our common salvation and share this faith with our fallen world!

Generations upon Generations

The Ram in The Thicket's avatarThe Ram in The Thicket

The Bible speaks a lot of generations…I mean a lot! The Old Testament is filled with long passages about who fathered who and to which tribe each person belonged and how long each person lived and so on and so forth.

This week, while reading Matthew 1 (as part of our One Year Bible reading plan….it’s not too late to start. The link is at the end of this post), I was captivated as the first 17 verses are dedicated to the genealogy of Jesus, beginning with Abraham and taking us to Jesus…42 generations in between to be exact! What stood out to me while reading this is the fact that God fulfills many of His greatest promises over the course ofgenerations…not seconds, not hours, not days…but generations! All the way back in Genesis 2 God promised Jesus and here in Matthew 1 we finally meet Him!

It…

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Happy New Year 2018

2017 was another full year.

I taught 7th Grade Math.

We changed local churches.

God finally helped to revive my teaching and apologetics ministries, most notably through the creation of the a simple man of God YouTube channel.

I survived the closing of my favorite coffee shop, where I was a customer, a barista, and finally the manager.

This all leads to the extremely likely possibility of new Adventures. (Yes, this is a veiled hint as to what is coming next.)

In all things, God is good. All the time.

Fall on the promises of God, this year and always.

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

Numbers 6:24‭-‬26 ESV

In His Love,

Daniel