Category: Grace Living (Christian Life)

The Worst Day Ever!

Friday, August 11, 2017

“And when they had crucified him, they parted his garments, casting lots upon them, what every man should take. And it was the third hour [9 A.M.], and they crucified him” (Mark 15:24,25 KJV).

No matter how bad a day we are having, there is always someone worse off. For example, look at the worst day of the Lord Jesus’ life!

We complain about fighting with a broken computer while someone else is down at the cemetery burying a loved one. We whine about high food prices while someone is sleeping in a cardboard box in the alley behind the store. We complain about someone calling us a bad name when at least they did not torture or imprison us!

On the worst day of Jesus’ life, many horrible things happened to Him. You can read Matthew chapters 26 and 27, Mark chapters 14 and 15, Luke chapters 22 and 23, and John chapters 18 and 19. While we always have bad days, we can be thankful that we will never, ever experience the worst of all days in human history. It was far worse than even the Fall of man in Genesis chapter 3. On that day that the Lord Jesus died, His most trusted apostle betrayed Him. His chief apostle denied Him thrice. He was falsely accused and blasphemed against. They spat in His face and punched Him. They yanked His beard off. He was whipped. They struck Him on the head with a reed. A crown of thorns was forced into His scalp. They mocked Him. He was forced to carry His cross. They stripped Him of His clothing. He was nailed to the cross. They taunted Him as they sat at the foot of that cross. After slowly suffocating for six hours, He let Himself die!

Dear friends, such suffering is beyond our comprehension. We can read about it in the pages of Scripture but these events really do not sink in. How could God love us that much, to go through with all of that, just so we could have our sins paid in full? We are speechless. What we can do, the feeble souls that we are, is tell Him, “Thank You, Lord, for the worst day in human history!”

A Filling—Not a Feeling!

Thursday, August 10, 2017

“And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;” (Ephesians 5:18,19 KJV).

Notice, dear friends, this is a filling not a feeling!

A Christian woman approached me recently to ask if I believed in “the filling of the Holy Ghost.” I told her that I most certainly did, as the Bible does tell us to be “filled with the Spirit” (cf. today’s Scripture). However, knowing her background, I quickly added, “But there is no loss of self-control with this filling.” Whether today, or thousands of years ago, Satan’s religious system always has its counterfeits. While “praise dancing” feels good, while “holy laughter” brings some people happiness, feelings and emotions do not have the authority to gauge truth. What does it mean to be “filled with the Spirit?”

If we turn to the companion passage of today’s Scripture, we see the term defined for us. Colossians 3:16 says: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” To be “filled with the Spirit” is to “let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom.” In other words, His thinking controls us because we have studied and memorized His Holy Word. The Bible says that we need to “mind the things of the Spirit” (Romans 8:5-8). This is how the Spirit of God leads us. By recalling what we read, we walk in line with what His Word says today in the Dispensation of Grace (Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon).

How sad it is when people reduce the role of the Holy Spirit to nothing more than some strange feeling that causes one to engage in some pretty wild, disorderly, absurd behaviors. Religious tradition is so intoxicating, so inebriating, it causes people to lose all sense of reason. Nevertheless, when we “let the word of Christ dwell in [us] richly in all wisdom,” it becomes a filling rather than a feeling!

Confidence

Wednesday, August 9, 2017

“For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day” (2 Timothy 1:12 KJV).

What assurance the Christian has!

I recently watched a sad documentary on the kidnapping and murder of a teenager. Her murderer had been captured, incarcerated, and executed. Near the end, her father, a preacher, revealed that “she knew where she was going.” In her farewell note, she urged her family to keep on living for Jesus Christ, and that all would turn out right. Undoubtedly, God’s grace is the only reason this family has coped with such a loss all these decades. While it will never bring her back here, it gives them hope to see her in Heaven one day.

Friends, there is no guarantee that our physical bodies will remain intact until we die (or reach Heaven via the Rapture). Due to various sicknesses and injuries, we may lose limbs, tissue, and organs. However, in Christ, we never have to worry about our spirits being separated from Almighty God. By simple faith in Jesus Christ’s finish crosswork, we have been bound forever to God Himself. The Apostle Paul, awaiting execution, wrote in today’s Scripture that he was “persuaded.” God was “able”—yes, more than able—to hang on to him. As someone would store a valuable item in a safe, so Paul had entrusted his soul to Father God. There was complete security in Christ: nothing would be lost or misplaced. God the Holy Spirit would personally see to it that Paul made it safely to Heaven. The Apostle would in the meantime have some obstacles to endure—ultimately, a decapitation—but his eternal abode in Heaven was sure!

Evidently, that was the confidence that that preacher and his wife had concerning their murdered daughter. She had lost her life at a very young age, but Father God did not lose her soul and neither did she. What persuasion, what hope, what confidence Calvary’s cross provides us! “That ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13).

Our latest Bible Q&A: “What is Romans 2:24 talking about?”

Guarded

Tuesday, August 8, 2017

“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6,7 KJV).

With today’s Scripture in our hearts and minds, those hearts and minds are guarded!

Second Timothy 3:12 tells us: “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” Acts 14:22 says of Paul and Barnabas: “Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.” Whenever we purpose to live godly in Christ Jesus, we will suffer persecution. This is a fact of Christian doctrine, even though the popular idea in “churchianity” today is that God wants to remove all of our problems (or remove us from them).

If Satan cannot cause us to change or pervert the doctrine that we teach and preach, then he will do his best in using whatever he can to stop us from teaching and preaching. In other words, after unsuccessfully attacking the message, he proceeds to attack the messenger. Should we worry? Should that bother us? Should we fret? Should that discourage us from even trying to do right at all? No, dear friends, no! Today’s Scripture reminds us not to be “careful”—we should not be anxious, worrisome, taking thought of it.

In our circumstances, regardless of our circumstances, we are “by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving [to] let [our] requests be made known unto God.” Why? Prayer is not designed to change our circumstances, as commonly thought, but it is to change us within as we endure those circumstances. “The peace of God, which passeth understanding, shall keep [our] hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” The idea here with “keep” is guard. Satan is out to harm us internally (mentally and spiritually). Thankfully, God has given us the ability—through His written Word and us praying according to it rightly divided—so we can ward off his attacks. Ultimately, it will cause us to think of our circumstances the way God Himself does.

Young and Old(er), Take Heed!

Monday, August 7, 2017

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Psalm 119:9 KJV).

By God’s grace, dear brethren, I celebrate my 29th birthday today!

Every passing birthday, Christian friends, causes us to realize two things. Firstly, we see how far we have come in our understanding of life, the world, and God’s ultimate plan. Secondly, we see how far we still have to go! Grace living is a process. Father God does not just “zap” us with sound Bible doctrine so we instantly have sinless behavior. We start as babes in Christ, knowing little. Yet, we do not stay there. Every time we open God’s Word and study it rightly divided, there is steady maturity. That daily intake of sound Bible doctrine allows the indwelling Holy Spirit more material to use in our lives. He takes those verses we believe and transforms us internally, thereby causing our behavior to conform to those grace doctrines.

Notice Ephesians 3:16: “That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;….” And 1 Thessalonians 2:13: “For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.” Finally, 1 Timothy 4:13: “Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.”

Whether young or old(er), we can cleanse our filthy ways by paying attention to God’s Word rightly divided. Psalm 119 proceeds with: “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (verse 105). The Holy Bible guides us right now, where we stand. It also illuminates us into the distant future, that we still not deviate left or right. When we do find ourselves drifting away from this right path, or if we find ourselves not even on that path anymore, then we take heed to the grace doctrines in the Pauline epistles, Romans through Philemon. (This reformation will save us much headache and heartache the next birthday… and countless others!) 🙂

It is the Lord’s House!

Saturday, August 5, 2017

“And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all” (Ephesians 1:22,23 KJV).

It is “His” Body indeed!

Church leaders should be concerned about the countless heresies that threaten to undermine and dissolve their assemblies. Doubtless, they must vigorously guard their pulpits, careful not to let false teachers slip in and do the Devil’s “dirty work” among God’s people! Yet, some well-meaning Christians have overwhelmed themselves in this regard. They spend most or all of their time and energy seeking and refuting error—leaving little to no time and energy to study the truth they already have in the Holy Bible rightly divided!

Moderation in the ministry is key, for even good things can be taken too far. It is easy to get caught up in addressing this error, that heresy, this splinter doctrine, that new “fad” belief. The Christian must always keep things balanced. Focusing on one issue and ignoring the rest is unwise. Yet, focusing on everything to the point where you cannot firmly grasp any one Bible doctrine is also imprudent. Eventually, the Christian will adopt the self-view of “saviour”—“I must save the Body of Christ from this, from that….” That believer will then worry about “correcting” everyone, hunting people down and making sure they have the right doctrine. Many sleepless nights will result—“Without me, all Christians will be deceived. I must warn every last person about every single doctrinal inaccuracy.”

Dear brethren, relax! There is no need for exhaustion. Our English word “church” is ultimately derived from the Greek kurios, meaning “lord.” To wit, “church” means “the Lord’s:” it is an entity that belongs to Him. The Church the Body of Christ is just that—it is His Body. He can and will take care of it. He nurtured it before we were born and He will take care of it after we die (if He tarries and we die). Rather than worrying about all congregations, we need to be focused on our individual group (assembly, family, et cetera). We maintain the testimony of sound Bible doctrine there, and let other leaders do the same with their group! 🙂

Think!

Friday, August 4, 2017

“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:2 KJV).

Christian friend, it is only “reasonable” that ye “be… transformed by the renewing of your mind!”

Someone recently asked me why so many people blindly follow a certain individual who is so exceptionally corrupt. To say that she was amazed is an understatement. She just could not figure out why they could not see past the mirage and notice what was really there. My answer to her was one word: “emotions.” People are using their hearts rather than their heads.

Emotions in and of themselves are not sinful, but sin has tainted them. They want to control us in a negative way. Emotions have no brain: they are dumb and constantly changing. Do we really want something so unstable and unreliable running our life? Yet, we yield to emotions and do all sorts of foolish things and embrace all kinds of nonsense. We Christians conducting our lives according to our emotions is ever so dangerous. Our changed minds should be guiding us! God does not want “know-nothing” children, people dependent on ignorant emotions. Saints must be taught sound Bible doctrine so they can think properly. How tragic it is that the Body of Christ has had the completed Bible for 2,000 years, and how pitifully ignorant Christian believers still are concerning it! No wonder we have so much difficulty concerning what to believe or do.

Today’s Scripture says in context: “[1] I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. [2] And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” After delivering 11 chapters of doctrine, the Holy Spirit says, “Now that you know what Jesus Christ has done for you and what He wants to do with you, think on it, believe it, and then walk in accordance with it!” Regardless of our emotions, friends, we walk in these truths.

A Grace Study Bible

Tuesday, August 1, 2017

“And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2 KJV).

Today, we reflect on five full years of the arC Ministries’ Grace Study Bible Project!

Some 100 years ago, the Scofield Study Bible was published. It was a work that popularized—not invented—dispensational Bible study. For a century, the Church the Body of Christ has used this monumental aid to edify itself. It was (and still is) useful in recovering precious Bible truths that had been lost for centuries, doctrines still pushed aside by denominational hierarchies that prefer to be the “authority” with their “tradition of men.”

Five years ago today, after much prayer and consideration, I began the formation of a new grace study Bible. Using the King James Bible, my goal in this project is to build on Dr. Scofield’s foundation laid long ago. We are (and will always be) indebted to that brother for his faithful service, his submission to the Holy Spirit to produce a profitable study Bible. (Incidentally, Dr. Scofield led a missionary to Christ, that missionary led a preacher to Christ, that preacher led a woman to Christ, that woman led Mom to Christ, and Mom led me to Christ.) What took Dr. Scofield decades to learn, we can acquire in a fraction of that time. Brother Scofield did not live long enough to progress any further in Bible understanding, but in the century since he has gone to heaven, a faithful remnant within the Body of Christ has expanded upon Dr. Scofield’s insightful notes. We recognize where he was wrong in certain areas, and we can improve those areas in our understanding and study.

In brief, some stats about our grace study Bible. We seem to be roughly 50 to 55 percent completed with it. How many more years it will take remains to be seen, but rest assured, what cannot be condensed into marginal notes or footnotes, will be, Lord willing, expanded into a full-Bible commentary book series! Stay tuned in the coming years and thank you for your prayer in this regard! 🙂

* You can read more about our Grace Study Bible Project here.

Bible Q&A #405: “Do the words “to be” belong in Romans 1:7 and 1 Corinthians 1:2?”

arC Ministries Is 10!

Monday, July 31, 2017

“Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:20 KJV).

To our Lord Jesus Christ’s glory, arC Ministries celebrates its 10th anniversary today!!!

Ten years ago, as an 18-year-old college student, I endeavored to use Facebook to create a Bible study group for teens and college students. Thus, “ambassadors for the risen Christ ministries” was born. As I grew more in God’s Word rightly divided, I grew increasingly aware of the need for additional ministry projects. The more I had been learning drove me to share those precious truths with others. That eventually led me to look for supplementary avenues of ministry.

During these past 10 years, God’s grace has enabled us to continue the original group on Facebook. In addition, we have branched out quite a bit in other areas. This devotionals blog has been operating for over six years now. For the last five years, we have focused on developing and drafting a grace study Bible (now in its sixth year). Other ministry projects include a 22-week newspaper ministry column (this devotionals blog’s predecessor), a YouTube channel with home Bible study videos, a Twitter feed, a full-length Bible studies blog, a college campus ministry, a nursing-home ministry, and our Bible-question-and-answer blog. Last year, we launched our new main ministry website and now have a line of printed Bible study booklets available for sale there (40 new ones are forthcoming this year, hopefully). We hear from people all over the world!

Our name says it all: we serve the risen Lord Jesus Christ, not some “dead Jew” and not ourselves. The original motto of our ministry was, “To equip ambassadors, and to encourage others to become ambassadors.” Our primary goal is to teach Christians, and our secondary goal is to evangelize the lost world. Ten years later, we still endeavor to uphold God’s Word (King James Bible) rightly divided, whether it be in edifying the Christian brethren or preaching the clear Gospel of the Grace of God to this lost and dying world. For those of you who have been with us from day 1, thank you for your prayer and encouragement. We pray for you upon every remembrance! There is still plenty more for the Lord Jesus Christ to do in and through us, so let us give Him all the praise and glory as we enter Year 11! 🙂

Please note that you can support our ministry financially by securely giving here: https://www.paypal.me/ShawnBrasseaux. Thanks!

Our latest Bible Q&A: “What are ‘lewd fellows of the baser sort?’”

Not Hearing God’s Words #6

Sunday, July 30, 2017

“He that is of God heareth God’s words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God” (John 8:47 KJV).

Friend, have you ever talked to a lost person about the Bible? Have you also ever spoken to another Christian about the Bible? If you paid attention to both scenarios, you will recall that they were two drastically different conversations. There was such disconnect when dealing with the lost person whereas there was more receptivity on the part of the Christian (usually). Why? Today’s Scripture highlights the reason.

Considering John chapter 8, the Lord Jesus’ conversation with unsaved and disbelieving religionists, we see typified our interactions with such individuals today. When we present spiritual issues, they can respond only in fleshly or material terms. To them, the Scriptures are nonsense: spiritual insanity afflicts them. Focusing on their works, they do not believe God’s message to them. Lacking spiritual insight, they have no ability to see they are lost, enslaved to sin. They cannot handle the message, so they resort to petty name-calling and other personal attacks directed toward us (the messengers). Convicted, they seek to harm, silence, imprison, and even kill us—using whatever means available to them.

Sadly, some believers behave similarly when we attempt to share the rightly-divided Bible with them. They entertain such shallow, manmade perceptions of Scripture. Did you notice the parenthetical “usually” in the introduction? Most lost people refuse to hear the Gospel. Usually, Christian people will talk about the Bible, albeit loosely. Once you delve into the “meat”—deeper things such as the Dispensation of Grace—they behave as lost people. Thinking and walking in the energy of their flesh, they too love religion, human “goodness.” They rebel against those “grace” verses you cite! Second Timothy 2:26 speaks of they “that oppose themselves… [in] the snare of the devil… taken captive by him at his will.” Such Christians, polluted by religious tradition and non-dispensational Bible understanding, cooperate with the Adversary… to defeat themselves!

Thankfully, there are lost people who want to receive the Gospel by faith. They are still coming to trust in Christ every day. Thankfully, there are some Christians who still want to receive the rightly divided Bible. They too are coming to God’s light… “hearing God’s words” also!