Author: Butch Adams

Make a “Tear Off the Roof” Decision
The four had a decision to make. They could take their friend, laid out on a stretcher, back home or they could get drastic. Jesus was right through that door, but the crowd was so thick they would never be able to get to him with the load they were carrying. Jesus could heal their friend, but only if they could get to him. (Mark 2:1-12)

The Critical Decision

Christ Heals a Man Paralyzed by the Gout. Mark 2:4. Engraving by Bernhard Rode, 1780.

When I read Mark 2:4, I think of the number of ways a different decision would have changed the way that sentence ended. “And when they could not get near him because of the crowd…”
- …they went home, planning to return another day…
- …they milled about in the rear hoping they would be noticed…
- …they decided they had more important things to do with their time and left their friend to fend for himself …
In the post Time for a Decision, we thought about decision making from the standpoint of failing to act at all. In this event, the four friends highlight a totally different kind of decision. How many choices do we make on a monthly basis that could have a life changing impact on ourselves or others?
- “I could go back to school, but I will be x years old before I get out”
- “I would love to give that person a ride to the doctor, but I already have plans for today”
- “I would love to be a part of that project, but I need to work on Saturday”
From Good to Best

Obviously, there are legitimate tough decisions we have to make sometimes. Being honest with ourselves, how often do our decisions really fit into that category?

And more importantly, how often do we let the “crowd around Jesus” stop us from getting to him?

What if we attacked the things that keep us from making the best decision the same way the four friends did? What if we took on a “tear off the roof” attitude every day?

And when we do, whose life can we change?

Bonus: More I have written on Mark 2:1-12
August 7, 2013
The Standard of My Righteousness
Most people consider themselves good. The question becomes then, “By what standard do I consider myself good or righteous?” Perhaps before I can even settle on a standard, I have to ask myself “What is righteousness?”

Setting the Standard of Righteousness

The opening line of Psalm 4 (Psalm 4:1) will give you the answer. David calls on the “God of his righteousness.” What an excellent acknowledgement of the Father! Unfortunately, when we are not careful, we can place our measuring stick against nearly anything and come up with a way to call ourselves good.

By what measurement do we consider our righteousness?

We attend fund raisers, help the needy, volunteer for the PTA or any list of “good” things in the world. This is usually an effort to tip the scales in balance to the sins we have. When we do this, we are settling on the approval of people rather than God.

The truth is, anything other than God is a poor substitute for goodness. In fact, when God is not the standard, there is no righteousness at all. James 1:17 says that God is the only thing good.

Seek Righteousness Diligently

Jesus promised that those who hunger and thirst after righteousness will be filled. (Matthew 5:6) This gives us our direction. There is no purpose or meaning in our lives if we are not seeking something – as Christians, that something is righteousness. (Matthew 6:33)
- We find righteousness in the Gospel (Romans 1:16-17)
- We give ourselves to God to be used for righteousness (Romans 6:13)
- Being in his kingdom is all about righteousness (Romans 14:17)
The world is doing a good job in tricking people into believing goodness and righteousness is something far different than what God told us. Our job is to seek his kingdom and righteousness.

Daily Bible reading for August 6

Psalm 4
Judges 16
Jeremiah 32
Mark 1
August 6, 2013
Our Light and Shield
It is nothing new for Christians to feel alone in the world. When we are at our lowest point, the light seems to become too dim to see beyond our sorrow and worry. As the world becomes bold against followers of God today, we can look back through history to see some of God’s most trusted people challenged by the same feelings.
- Lot fled Sodom and watched his wife turn to salt.
- Noah building an ark for a hundred years
- Habakkuk, Jeremiah, Hosea, Ezekiel … all charged with warning a sinful nation
- Elijah fled Jezebel
- The first century Christians under attack in Rome
As David was fleeing his own son, we get a look at how that felt in Psalm 3:1-2. We also see that he knew God’s track record for protecting his children. God is and always has been there as a shield and as a shoulder to cry on. (Psalm 3:3-4) He delivers those who use him this way – those who awaken in his sustaining light to turn the tables on the darkness out there. (Psalm 3:5-6)

Walk in the Light, Carry Your Sword

God’s Light prevails against all

John spoke to this too. Those in true fellowship with God are walking in the light. (1 John 1:5-7) Light swallows the darkness or makes it shrink into the corners. Like those mentioned above, if we can remember to use the light and use our shield we can turn the tables on the many. True children of God are easy to spot, and they make the others uncomfortable. (1 John 3:7-10)

God has given us what we need for strength, comfort and protection. God will light our way. The challenge is to become so good with God’s word that it becomes second nature to turn to it as a guide.

Daily Bible reading for August 5

Psalm 3
Judges 15
Jeremiah 31
Hebrews 13:20-25
August 5, 2013
Brotherly Love: Top of the List
The Hebrew writer gave brotherly love first place in a list of items that please God (Hebrews 13:1-16)

Five Ways Brotherly Love Works

As you go to your next worship service, keep in mind that brotherly love is one of the reasons for going to church. It is a time to strengthen the bond of those we study and worship with. Those bonds:

Brotherly love is not only good for us, God requires it!
- help us become teachers
- help us become charitable
- help us learn from the examples of others
- help us feel grow to maturity
- help us practice compassion
John has a very specific warning about our place with God in relation to the love we have for our brother. (1 John 2:9-11) Practicing kindness, making connections and not being a busybody are ways to get into God’s light. Given everything else we need to be in the light, a lack of brotherly love will shade into darkness.

Daily Bible reading for August 4

Psalm 2
Judges 14
Jeremiah 30
Hebrews 13:1-19
August 4, 2013
Faith Only: A Complete Listing
Here is an exhaustive listing of the places in the Bible that mention “faith only” (Or “faith alone” depending on your version)

Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. – James 2:24 KJV

Yes that’s it. The complete and unabridged list.

Faith is a Milestone

While faith is a very important milestone on the path to salvation, the path doesn’t end there. As I have outlined on my Gospel Plan of Salvation page, faith comes very early on that journey, but at this point, the seeker is only beginning to see the goal in the distance. God has never accepted a person’s faith by merely taking his word for it.

In my post, But, What Do You Do By Faith?, I listed off a few points for consideration when discussing “faith only” salvation vs. the requirement to be baptized for the remission of your sins. (Acts 2:38) With those points (and even more) we can quickly determine that we need a deeper study of the word if we have taken any passage and tried to prove “faith only.”

The Heroes of Faith didn’t get away with Faith Only

Moses Striking The Rock – Pieter de Grebber, 1620

One of the points in the But, What Do You Do By Faith? post looks to Hebrews 11 as proof that God requires more than just believing or “accepting” God. Each and every one in that chapter had to go do something:
- Faith led Abel to offer the correct sacrifice (Hebrews 11:4)
- Faith led Enoch to actively please God (Hebrews 11:5)
- Faith led Noah to build the ark (Hebrews 11:7)
- Faith led Abraham to pack up and move his family (Hebrews 11:8-10)
- Abraham and Sarah had innumerable descendants through their faith (Hebrews 11:11-12)
- Abraham knew that God could raise Isaac after he sacrificed him (Hebrews 11:17-19)
…and the list goes on. We know that we need faith to please him, (Hebrews 11:6) but we can also see that if any one of these folks in Hebrews 11 had failed to act on God’s command, the outcome would have been very different for them. (See: Moses Strikes the Rock)

God has a complete plan for us. It is up to us to complete the plan.
August 3, 2013
10 “Better Things” Over The Old Law
The Old Testament was meant for the children of Israel. It was just a place holder that featured mere shadows of Christ, his life and the job he came to do. Now that he has come, died and risen, we are heirs to his covenant that improves on the one given to Israel.

Ten ways we have it better

Since the gospel was given to all, it can only follow that it was superior in every way to the old law. With Christ, we have a:
- better revelation (Hebrews 1:4) – In 7 Reasons Christ is King we examined his credentials as the Christ, the one the law and the prophets were looking for. It is through those qualifications that the revelation he brings us is better, and in fact the ultimate authority of all things spiritual.
- better expectation (Hebrews 6:9) – Those that know the gospel know how to please God and therefore are better people. Even the world expects more from us.
  Jesus brought us a better Covenant
- better priesthood (Hebrews 7:7-11, 20-28) – In 8 Reasons Christ was like Melchizedek we compared Christ to Melchizedek. Even he was of a better priesthood than the tribe of Levi. Melchizedek was without recorded beginning or end, his ancestry and descendants were not recorded, and even Abram paid tithes to him.
- better hope (Hebrews 7:19) – The did not motivate and inspire people to righteous living. The Spirit was not there as the Comforter. The Gospel gives us that and more – now we may draw near to God, in fact he commands it (James 4:8)
- better testament (or covenant ESV) and better promises (Hebrews 7:22, 8:6) – With all of the old laws and rituals being made on the shadows or types of things to come, under the new covenant we have them made on Christ and the spiritual.
- better sacrifice (Hebrews 9:23, 26) – The sacrifices under the old law did not cleanse sins, the bloodshed had to be repeated on a regular basis. Christ’s sacrifice and bloodshed was once and for all.
- better possessions (Hebrews 10:34 ASV) – We have the Holy Spirit. We have Christ confessing our name to the Father. We have redemption. We have a home in heaven.
- better country (Hebrews 11:16) – The Promised Land of the new covenant is with the father (John 14:2)
- better resurrection (Hebrews 11:35) – This could be talking about our spiritual resurrection being a vast improvement over any form of earthly prolonging of life. (Philippians 1:21)
- better things (Hebrews 11:40, 12:24) – A summary of the arguments in Hebrews
The Jews had to be reminded of these things as the book of Hebrews was written. The writer understood that as Christianity progressed, we would be able to take these things for granted. So much so that collectively, we forget to talk about them and review them often enough.

Daily Bible reading for August 2

Song of Solomon 8:8-14
Judges 12
Jeremiah 27-28
Hebrews 11:1-12:2
August 2, 2013