Tag: God’s plans

Digging in Deeper: Romans 15:22-29

2 Comments

“That is why I have been prevented many times from coming to you. But now I no longer have any work to do in these regions, and I have strongly desired for many years to come to you whenever I travel to Spain. For I hope to see you when I pass through and to be assisted by you for my journey there, once I have first enjoyed your company for a while. Right now I am traveling to Jerusalem to serve the saints, because Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. Yes, they were pleased, and indeed are indebted to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual benefits, then they are obligated to minister to them in material needs. So when I have finished this and safely delivered the funds to them, I will visit you on the way to Spain. I know that when I come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessing  of Christ.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

The Scriptures are often inspirational. They’re occasionally confusing. Sometimes they’re admittedly boring. Occasionally they’re unnerving. Every now and then, though, they’re just practical. Here as we draw near the end of Paul’s letter to the Roman church, he offers up a review of his travel plans. This is the kind of material we often just skip over because it doesn’t seem to have much practical relevance. But if every word of the Scriptures is God-breathed and intended to shape us to look more like Him, then this is too. Let’s take a look at what’s here to see what we can see.

Read the rest…

Christmas Eve 2025

Leave a comment

Today’s the day! For weeks we have been waiting and preparing for this day to arrive. It’s Christmas Eve! In just a few more hours we will all close our eyes and open them on the day of our Savior’s birth. Each year at my church we gather together on this special evening in order to celebrate the reason for the season as a body. We don’t make it long or terribly fancy. But it is memorable and meaningful. This year I’m involving the kids in the message in a way I haven’t before. They’ll be right up on stage with me, and I’ll share some fun things about the Christmas story with them while the adults get to listen in. Hopefully it’s going to be a good time. With this in mind, for today’s post (the last, with the exception of next Monday, until after the New Year) I thought that I would give you a sneak peek at what I will be sharing with them. May today be a day of joyfulness and rejoicing for you. Merry Christmas!

Read the rest…

For Our Good

2 Comments

After a few days off, it’s good to be back. The Advent season is a time for preparing for the arrival of Jesus into our world and into our lives. For the next few weeks, as we take part in the preparation, we are going to spend some time looking at the stories of Jesus’ arrival. When Jesus arrived, heaven met earth in a way that left earth forever changed for the good. These classic stories give us some insight on how that happened. They may be familiar, but there is nonetheless great wisdom here if we will have it. Let’s get started with Matthew’s story of Jesus’ birth and see what the Spirit has to say through it.

For Our Good

Many of you know that I enjoy building metal models. They are all over my office. I think what I enjoy most is following instructions carefully and winding up with a neat-looking finished product in the end. There are enough things in this world that don’t have nice, neat endings where you can see and physically hold in your hand the results of your work. These metal models give you just that. And these days, the more complex they are, the more fun they are. I think my last model had somewhere near 200 pieces and 8 double-sided pages of instructions. That felt good to finish. 

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…

Morning Musing: Romans 11:13-16

Leave a comment

“Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Insofar as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, if I might somehow make my own people jealous and save some of them. For if their rejection brings reconciliation to the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? Now if the firstfruits are holy, so is the whole batch. And if the root is holy, so are the branches.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Have you ever benefited from an opportunity that someone else missed? I was waiting for a table at a busy restaurant with limited seating the other day. While I was sitting there the hostess called for two different groups who weren’t there anymore. She scratched both names off the list and ours moved up. We wound up not having to wait nearly as long as we thought. Just before we were seated, though, one of them came back to see if they could still get a table. They could, but it was going to mean starting over at the bottom of the long list. Paul says Israel’s missing out on God’s kingdom because of their rejection of Jesus gave this kind of an opportunity to the rest of the world. Let’s take a look at what he’s saying here.

Read the rest…