Wrote

Posted on May 13, 2011 by Mike Benson

THERE IS ONLY one occasion in Scripture when Jesus is recorded as writing anything; and, the Scriptures do not tell us what it was (John 8.6, 8)…
Wouldn’t you like to know?
I know that I would.
However, we are not told.
As you recall, the occasion involved a woman taken in adultery. When Jesus stooped down, what did He write on the ground? Did He write the words grace, mercy, or forgiveness? Did He write a Scripture? Did He write the name of the man who was involved with her? Did He write the names of this poor woman’s accusers? Did He write the hidden in the lives of those who wanted to stone her?
We are not told.
However, we are told the effect that Jesus’ words, both spoken and written, had upon those gathered before Him. John records that the men, convicted by their consciences, went out one by one, from the eldest of them to the youngest (John 8.9).
I find it interesting that on the only occasion that Jesus wrote, He wrote on the ground. He wrote on a tablet that would quickly be stamped out. Can you imagine that would have happened if Jesus had been written on a scap of paper? No doubt, the world would be filled with scraps of paper today all claiming to bear the handwriting of Jesus.
THOUGHT: The Bible does not cater to the curiosity of man and therefore shows that it is of divine origin. Wade Webster, “Why I Believe The Bible is The Word of God” (Part 1), POWER, April, 2011, 4
KneEmail: “As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue.” 2 Peter 1.3
Bible reading for 05.13.11: John 3.19-38; 2 Kings 17, 18
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Home

Posted on May 6, 2011 by Mike Benson

THE STORMS THAT hit Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia have left devastation and ruin all across these states…
The pictures are almost surreal.
It is hard to imagine entire neighborhoods, business districts, and countryside wiped out in just a matter of seconds from the force of the tornadoes that hit.
While we were fortunate that God spared us, we need to keep many other folks in our prayers.
Of all the pictures I saw of the damage, one stood out more than the others… a couple standing in front of some damaged houses. All around them is destruction and their faces betray their dismay at the magnitude of the damage. Yet, they are holding on to each other. Everything they were familiar with, everything they had known, everything that had been normal the day before, is now gone…but they have each other.
It is one thing to lose a house and all its furnishings. It is quite another thing to lose your home. A home can exist even when the house is gone. You see, a home is made up of two or more people who share love, life, and laughter. And that home is made stronger when God is at the center of everything that takes place in the lives of those who are part of it. When God is at the center, our homes are storm proof. That doesn’t mean bad things will never happen. It simply means that when tragedy does strike, you will find the two of them huddled together, holding each other, and giving and receiving support. That’s how homes weather a storm.
Many of the houses in Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia are gone. They may be rebuilt, but the greatest asset for those who have lost so much is their home. Home…where love dwells, where joy and grief is shared, and where the storms of life are not a threat…but a shelter of protection. Gary Knuckles, “Storm Proof,” Briensburg church of Christ Bulletin, 05.01.11: www.briensburgchurchofchrist.org
KneEmail: “Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” Ecclesiastes 4.12
Bible reading for 05.06.11: Luke 23.26-56; 1 Kings 21, 22
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Shield

Posted on April 19, 2011 by Mike Benson

ON FEBRUARY 20, 1962, at 9:47 A.M., the spacecrafe Friendship 7 rose on a pillar of fire, piloted by lone astronaut John Glenn…
Leaving the coast of Florida far behind, the space capsule orbited the earth three times, traveling 81,000 miles in less than four hours. As the craft began its descent from space, mission controllers in Houston received a warning signal: A sensor indicated that the capsule’s heat shield was in danger of detaching. If the heat shield came loose during re-entry, the capsule would burn like a meteor–and John Glenn would die.
There was no way to fix the problem in space. The capsule was already approaching the outer fringe of the atmosphere. As the tiny spacecraft fell toward Earth, the heat shield glowed red-hot–then white hot. Soon, a hot cloud of ionized gas particles called plasma surrounded the capsule. Because radio waves cannot penetrate plasma, the spacecrafe experienced a total communications blackout–what astronauts and mission controllers call a “black hole” (not to be confused with the black holes that form in space when a star collapses).
The minutes crawled by and the suspence mounted in the Houston control room. NASA engineers felt totally helpless. Finally, after five minutes of silence, mission controllers heard Glenn’s voice crackling over the radio: “Friendship 7 to Houston–”
Shouts of joy shook the control room. John Glenn was coming home.
It turned out that the warning signal had come from a faulty sensor. Although neither Glenn nor the mission controllers knew it at the time, the heat shield was absolutely firm and reliable. The fears for John Glenn’s safety during this black hole experience were unfounded.
If you’ve ever been through a Joseph Pit experience, you probably know what a communications “black hole” feels like. While you are in the pit of adversity, you feel that your world is collapsing, that your life is out of control–and that God is silent. You call out to Him and there is no answer. The silence of a black-hole is deafening. You feel isolated and alone. You question God’s love, His care fo you, and even His existence.
But even when it seems that God is distant and silent, when you feel you are in a black hole of isolation and loneliness, your “heart shield” is still there, firm and reliable. In your black hole experience, God is teaching you to go deeper into your relationship with Him. You may think that your life is out of control and burning like a meteor, but in reality God, your heat shield, still protects you from the fiery forces that surround you. Os Hillman, “The Black Hole,” The Upside of Adversity, 45-46
KneEmail: “But You, O LORD, are a shield for me,My glory and the One who lifts up my head.” Psalm 3.3
Bible reading for 04.19.11: Luke 15.1-10; 2 Samuel 6-8
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Through

Posted on March 3, 2011 by Mike Benson

THE KEY WORD is through…
God promises you will get through the waters of grief, the river of sorrow, the furnace of pain. Somehow you will get through. What you experience today will not last forever.
One encouragement here is God knows who you are. He is your Creator, and he calls you by name (Isaiah 43.1). You are His, and He will take care of His own. In time of sorrow you feel unimportant and unknown. God knows you, and you are important to him.
God also knows where you are. He knows when you’re fighting the current of the river of sorrow, when you’re walking through the firey furnace of suffering. Others may not know what you’re experiencing. One the outside you may have everyone believing you’re fine. But inside you’re about to drown. God knows — and He is there for you.
When Daniel’s three friends were thrown into the furance, the king watched (Daniel 3.22-26). And what he saw amazed him: the men were not harmed, and a fourth person was with them in the furnace.
God knows how you feel: alone, afraid, uncertain about the future, isolated, maybe rejected. God made you with your emotions, and he knows how they can overwhelm and control you. God will never condemn you for the way you feel. Tell him how it feels — He will listen.
God knows what you need. You need someone to share the pain, to walk through this long valley with you. He promises His presence. He also promises His love. God gave you His Son to conquer death and give hope.
Live on promises, not on explanations. Even if God explained by your loved one died, the answer wouldn’t end the heartbreak or quench the questions. Instead of explanations, God gives promises, which keep you moving ahead, giving hope and new strength.
You’ll get through your grief. It won’t end today or next month. But there is an end. Just face today. Tomorrow will take care of itself. Don’t burn today’s energies on tomorrow’s problems that aren’t here yet.
You’re going to make it through. David W. Wiersbe, “Going Through,” Gone But Not Lost, 77-78
KneEmail: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.” Isaiah 43.2
Bible reading for 03.03.11: Mark 8.22-38; Numbers 28 – 30
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Trust

Posted on November 4, 2010 by Mike Benson

DANIEL WAS A man of integrity with no weak spots, no scandals, and no sins that his enemies could identify…
And when King Darius came into power during Israel’s 70-year captivity, he relied on Daniel’s wise, insightful counsel. Yet there were others who didn’t like this Hebrew prophet.
Because Daniel had a habit of praying openly every day, his enemies convinced King Darius to foolishly sign a law that would prohibit prayer to anyone except the king. The penalty for breaking this law was being thrown into a den of lions. Sure enough, Daniel prayed as he always had, and it was reported to Darius. The frustration for the king was that as powerful as he was, he couldn’t change a law that he himself had set into motion. So Daniel was sent to die in a den of lions. Yet the Bible tells us that Daniel slept while the king was up all night. I find it interesting that the child of God in the den of lions slept peacefully, while the faithless man in the palace with all its luxuries was up and worried and stressed out. As Solomon wrote, “For God gives rest to his loved ones” (Psalm 127:2).
And so it is for the person who puts his or her trust in God. When we are worrying, we are really saying that God isn’t in control, that God is not paying attention. When we worry, we are not trusting in the providence of God.
And what is the providence of God? It is the belief that God is in control of the universe. Greg Laurie
KneEmail: “Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You.” Psalm 56:3
Bible reading for 11.04.10: Hebrews 1; Jeremiah 32, 33
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Focus

Posted on August 25, 2010 by Mike Benson

THE BEDOUIN TRIBES who live in the desert have a story they tell their children that can teach us a great deal about how we make decisions…
According to the story, there was once a man living in the desert with his family. He saw a cloud of dust and sand approaching from the horizon and said to himself, “It is a terrible beast coming to eat me and my family!” As the cloud of dust got closer, he saw that it was actually a man dressed in black on horseback. He then said to himself, “It is my enemy, coming to take over my well!” He went to get his rifle to defend himself. The horseman got closer and the man could now see the rider clearly through the sights of his rifle. He recognized the rider and said to himself, “No, it is my brother.”
The three lessons of this story are:
1. What we focus on determines what we believe.
2. What we believe determines what we expect.
3. We tend to see what we’re expecting to see. Daniel R. Castro, “When Heroes Are Between a Rock and a Hard Place,” Critical Choices, 35-36
THOUGHT: What are you focusing on?
KneEmail: “There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.” Numbers 13:33
Bible reading for 08.25.10: 1 Corinthians 7:20-40; Psalm 119:1-88
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Test

Posted on February 15, 2010 by Mike Benson

DID YOU KNOW…?
That the Bible nowhere says, “Accept Jesus as your personal Savior?”
That the “Rapture” is not once mentioned in the Bible?
That no one was ever told to “Ask Jesus into your heart” in answer to the question, “What must I do to be saved?”
That every verse in the New Testament in which baptism and salvation appear together lists baptism prior to salvation?
That nowhere in the New Testament is there a command or example for a baby to be baptized?
That “faith only” is mentioned just once in the Bible, and then it says, “not by faith only” (James 2:24)?
That Peter was not a pope and that he had a wife (Matthew 8:14)?
That there is no example or command in the Bible for preachers to wear special robes, clothes, etc.?
That everyone that has put Christ on in baptism is a “saint” (Ephesians 3:8; 4:12; 5:3; 6:16; Philippians 1:1; 4:2)?
That there is nothing in the Bible mentioning or even suggesting that you can be brought out of or prayed out of purgatory?
That denominational churches did not exist in the first century?
That you can be saved without ever “joining” a denominational church? (Doug Smith)
KneEmail: “Test all things; hold fast what is good.” 1 Thessalonians 5:21
Bible reading for 02.15.10: Matthew 27:27-66; Leviticus 17-19
Recommended web site: www.christiancourier.com/
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Know

Posted on April 16, 2009 by Mike Benson

“IS IT REALLY possible for a person to KNOW the truth…?”
There are so many opinions about what the Bible teaches. “Is truth even attainable in the religious realm?”
These are common questions today. Consider a few observations from Scripture:
How can a person be expected to OBEY (Hebrews 5:8-9) Christ if he is incapable of knowing what constitutes obedience to Christ?
How can a person be expected to ABIDE IN (John 8:31) the word of Christ if he is unable to learn and know Christ’s teaching?
How can a person be expected to PROVE (1 Thessalonians 5:21; cf. 1 John 4:1) what the Bible says if the truth cannot be distinguished from error?
How can a person be expected to CONTEND (Jude 3) earnestly for the truth if the truth is unattainable?
How can a person be expected to BEWARE (Matthew 7:15; cf. 2 John 7) of false teachers if there is no discernible way of telling whether or not they are teaching error?
How can a person be expected to SPEAK (Ephesians 4:15) the truth in love if he is unable to differentiate between truth and error?
Yes, we can know the truth. (Mike Benson at: http://www.forthright.net/)
KneEmail: “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32; cf. 2 Timothy 3:13-17).

Texts

Posted on February 13, 2009 by Mike Benson

THE FACT OF the matter is this: More than 24,000 copies of New Testament manuscripts have been found…
The Rylands Papyri, which contains the book of John, was written a mere 25 years after the life of Christ. The Chester Beatty Papyri, which contains the entire New Testament, was penned only 50 to 100 years after the original events. I could go on and on listing the numerous findings, each of which were written only years after Jesus walked on the earth. Credible scholars from a variety of theological backgrounds point out that the basics of the Christian message were known, understood and circulated within three to eight years after Christ’s crucifixion.
Add to this the fact that all of these discovered texts have matched one another word for word, as was the case with the Old Testament. Yet somehow, despite the astounding evidence of both time gap and quantity, the Gospels remain questioned by doubters, while other far less validated ancient texts go unquestioned. Today belief that the New Testament accounts about Jesus were cobbled together long after the fact has reached urban legend status. But when held under historical scrutiny, it’s obvious that such an argument is itself a tall tale. (Alex McFarland)
KneEmail: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105).

Assurance

Posted on February 11, 2009 by Mike Benson

“ONCE SAVED, ALWAYS saved” is wrong–the Bible teaches that one can fall from grace…
However, “If saved, barely saved,” is equally wrong! We not only teach that “One can fall from grace–he probably will!” Brethren come to worship to be “horsewhipped!” How morbid! You cannot whip brethren fifty-two Sundays a year and develop matured Christians! Happy people sing (James 5:13)! Our brethren worship in fear not faith! …Christians cannot worship without “Blessed Assurance!” We are so afraid of falling we don’t know where we are standing! We have preached guilt but not grace.
Some wish to “die in the baptistry.” How pathetic! We are born to live not born to be born! According to our thinking it would be “Christian mercy” to kill all new converts immediately after baptism! If we can trust in birth (baptism), we cannot we trust in life? If we can know we are saved ten minutes after baptism, why not ten years? (Charles Hodge)
KneEmail: “For this reason 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 what I have committed to Him until that day” (2 Timothy 1:12).

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Category Archives: Assurance