Tag: Following Jesus

Morning Musing: Romans 12:21

Leave a comment

“Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Our culture has a fascination with evil. Through our stories we often wonder exactly what it is, how it works, what it can accomplish, where and how we experience it, and so on and so forth. While the various authors who contribute to the Scriptures do touch on the nature of evil from time to time, there’s a stronger theme across the narrative: as the people of a God who is good, we are to overcome evil. How? Paul tells us right here at the end of his list of characteristics of life in God’s kingdom. Let’s take a look.

Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: Romans 12:19-20

Leave a comment

“Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for God’s wrath, because it is written, ‘Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord.’ But ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. For in so doing you will be heaping fiery coals on his head.’” (CSB – Read the chapter)

We’ve all been there. Someone comes along and does something that makes you mad. What’s more, they meant to do it. Now you are left with a choice: How are you going to respond? Do you get them back? Do you let it go? Do you express your displeasure in some unmistakable way? If we’re being honest, for most of us, our first instinct is to start plotting how we can get revenge in some way. That’s normal. It always has been. And if there’s no God, or if we can’t trust the gods to avenge us, that kind of thinking makes sense. But if there is a God as is revealed in the pages of the Scriptures, it doesn’t. Let’s talk about it.

REad the rest…

Morning Musing: Romans 12:17

Leave a comment

“Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Give careful thought to do what is honorable in everyone’s eyes.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

One of the principles kids tend to operate by is that turnabout is fair play. If someone has wronged you in some way, it’s only right, it’s only fair, it’s only just that you get to do it back to them in return. This principle lies at the heart of one of the foundational ideas in the history of jurisprudence: an eye for an eye. The idea that we should respond to others in kind has been baked into the cake of humanity from nearly the start. And then came the Christian worldview to turn that idea on its head. Let’s talk about what Paul, borrowing from Jesus, had to say about it to the church in Rome.

Read the rest…

Digging in Deeper: Romans 12:14

Leave a comment

“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Another house of worship was attacked this past weekend. A man drove his truck into the building, and once he came to a stop, he started firing. He was eventually taken down after a brief shootout with police, but before that time he managed to kill or wound several members and set fire to the building, causing extensive damage and potentially killing even more. The church in America may not be the recipient of the extent of persecution as the church in places like Nigeria where scores are being brutally murdered each year by Islamic terrorists while the government looks on with apathy, but there is an evil force that is motivating more and more persecution of it. This is in spite of the current administration’s intentional efforts to put a stop to any federally sanctioned forms of persecution the previous administration quietly implemented. What are we supposed to do in the face of all of this? Paul tells us right here. Let’s talk about it as we continue our walk through his list of instructions that give some practical contours for living the life of Christ well.

Read the rest…

Buildings Matter

Leave a comment

A year ago, we started out on a journey to expand and renovate our facilities here at First Baptist Oakboro. Over this week and next, we are checking back in on where we are, what God is doing, and why the work we are pursuing is still worth the effort. We’ll start today with the prophet Haggai and his call for the people of Israel to rebuild the temple. When we put God’s things first, He blesses the effort. Let’s dive in.

Buildings Matter

Have you ever hit one of those seasons when everything just feels like a rat race? You wake up, get dressed, go to work, come home, go to bed, and start it all over the next day. It feels like nothing ever really changes. You aren’t really going anywhere. You’re just doing the things that need to be done because they need to be done. You never feel like you get to the things you do just because you want to do them. No sooner do you get to what seems like it will be the end of one season than you find yourself back at the start having to run the whole thing over. It can all start to feel pointless. It can be depressing. How do we find purpose again when we get stuck like this? The answer is found in putting first things first. 

Read the rest…