Author: mdpittman05

Lessons from Southern Ohio: MT Episode 18

Psalm 1:1-3

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners nor sits in the seat of scoffers, but his delight is in the law of the Lord and on his law he meditates both day and night. He is like a tree planted beside streams of water that yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither.”

I grew up in southern Ohio, right on the mighty Ohio River. Summertime in the late 80s, we had a long period where there was no rain. I am unable to remember how long the drought lasted, but it was long enough that crops began to wither and die.

Except those farms that boarded the Ohio River. Hundreds and thousands of acres that shared a bank with the river were able to use their tractors as pumps and siphon water to their crops. I can remember driving up State Route 7 and seeing the vast landscape with sprinklers spraying lifegiving water. Those fields were beautiful and green.

As we begin a new year I wanted to share the purpose of Monday Thursday. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to listen to these short messages but they are written with the believer in mind. My hope is to encourage you and with Biblical insights and observations maybe help you grow your faith.

Through this year we will come back to this Psalm on occasion to be encouraged. This is one of my favorite passages in all of Scripture. There are MANY things which this Psalm can teach us but today learn the lesson from the 1987 drought of southern Ohio. Those farms near the stream of water, that is the Ohio River, not only survived but thrived.

Delighting in God’s word IS spending time IN GOD’S WORD and this is the picture of being planted by a stream of water. As a believer, if you want to survive, if you want to thrive, even when it is difficult, let this word be a constant source in your life. Daily.

I look forward to occasionally coming back to this Psalm this year and I certainly look forward to spending more time with you on Monday’s and Thursday’s. For now,

Happy new Year

S.D.G.

The Sunday Message: Hebrews 2:10-11

10 For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. 11 For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source.[b] That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers

The Sunday Message: Hebrews 2:5-9

There are some minor and occasional audio issues in this presentation. We do apologize and we are working to correct the issue for future sermons. Thank you.

5 For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. 6 It has been testified somewhere,

“What is man, that you are mindful of him,
    or the son of man, that you care for him?
7 You made him for a little while lower than the angels;
    you have crowned him with glory and honor,
8     putting everything in subjection under his feet.”

Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. 9 But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

Hebrews 2:5-9

A Peculiar People: MT episode 17

On Monday’s episode I closed our time together noting that while it is great Christ that was born into this world, it is more important Christ be born in you.  Let’s consider this thought further and from a different angle.

“Jesus, who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto himself a peculiar people zealous for good works.”  Titus 2:14

I picked this passage because it uses the word “peculiar.”  As Kenneth Weust says, “Christians are the peculiar people of God.”

This is a word sometimes we use for people who are odd or strange.  I have definitely met some people who claim Christ and are strange but that is not what is meant here. 

The word here in the original language is a compound of two words, “around” and another word “to be”.  Mentally, picture a circle with a dot in the middle.

As the circle is around the dot, so God is around His people.  He has the dot all to himself.  These people are His own unique possession. Peculiar!

There are days when my obedience and pursuit of God, on a scale of 1 to 10, I would put at a 7 or 8.  Then there are those days or seasons, where things just are not going well.  I might put it at a negative 5.

God is the constant.  In speaking about the believer’s security, Jesus says, “My Father, who has given me (the sheep) is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” John 10:28

Good seasons and bad, we are circled by the Father.  Keep that picture in your head and let it be and encouragement.  As a believer, we are God’s circled people. His possession.

So, the different angle is, this season, it is not only to have Jesus in us (Colossians 1:27) but also, us in Christ (Colossians 2:6).  What a beautiful gift!

S.D.G.

Be Being Filled: MT episode 16

My wife Tina really loves Christmas.  She does a terrific job decorating the house for each holiday, but Christmas gets the most attention.

This year a new tree was delivered in early October.  I happened to come into the room where she had opened the box and began putting it together.  I laughed.  She heard me and then began to make an excuse, “I had to see if all the parts were there.”

We both laughed together, and I said, “keep it up.  Let’s make a Halloween Tree out of it.”  (This might drive the fundamentalist Baptists crazy right?)  But up went the purple and orange lights and various items were hung around the tree. 

Then it was Thanksgiving.  (My fav. Holiday) But I suggested let’s keep it up all year around.  It can be a Valentine’s Day tree; it can be a St. Patty’s tree. It can be the fourth of July tree.  I loved my idea.  I don’t think we will be doing it though.

Ephesians 5:18 Scripture says, be filled with the Holy Spirit.  It is not a command, but it is an encouragement.  For the sake of time, I will refer to earlier episodes (Here are links to those episodes 1, 2, 3) where we looked at sanctification (both a onetime AND ongoing event).  This is an instance of both present and ongoing sanctification.

You can’t tell in the English; this is where the original language helps.  The word and the verb tense – we do not have an English equivalent.  The literal reading is, “Be, being filled with the Spirit.” 

Be filled, present AND being filled, ongoing.  The Spirit’s presence in our lives in what leads us to more holiness (Ezekiel 36:25-27).  For believers, the Spirit is always in us.

This time of year, our culture remembers Christ’s birth.  It is a date that Scripture does not supply, but I have no problem celebrating it.  It is the Apostle Paul who gives us this freedom.

But there is a lot of similarity of Tina’s year around Christmas tree and Ephesians 5:18. The important part of Christmas is not WHEN Jesus was born but THAT Jesus was born.  Even more important is that Jesus is born in you (2 Corinthians 13:5).  The constant state of Christ be, being in us.  Each day of the year. 

S-D-G

The Sunday Message: Hebrews 2:1-4

Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. 2 For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, 4 while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will. English Standard Version

The Sunday Message Hebrews 1:3-14

 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

5 For to which of the angels did God ever say,

“You are my Son,
    today I have begotten you”?

Or again,

“I will be to him a father,
    and he shall be to me a son”?

6 And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says,

“Let all God’s angels worship him.”

7 Of the angels he says,

“He makes his angels winds,
    and his ministers a flame of fire.”

8 But of the Son he says,

“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,
    the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.
9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has anointed you
    with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.”

10 And,

“You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning,
    and the heavens are the work of your hands;
11 they will perish, but you remain;
    they will all wear out like a garment,
12 like a robe you will roll them up,
    like a garment they will be changed.[a]
But you are the same,
    and your years will have no end.”

13 And to which of the angels has he ever said,

“Sit at my right hand
    until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”?

14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?

The Great Exchange: MT episode 14

Little over a year ago while driving down the interstate there was a suitcase on the side of the road. It had sat there for over a week, and I just had to investigate.

One of the very few treasures that made me chuckle was these gloves. These gloves made me go back in time, all the way back to college. We had intramural football. My buddies and I were average, maybe a little below average football player.

I knew what I needed to be great was a pair of gloves. Yes, these would make me much better. The cheapest I could find were around $70 which is way too much on a college budget. So, I kissed intramural football greatness goodbye.

That is the thought that made me laugh at myself. The gloves, NOW FREE, would have made no difference in my ability to catch the ball (unless I lathered on some stick ‘em). My best with the gloves is horrible.

Those gloves on the hands of Jerry Rice? Now you are talking. That would be perfect. It is not the gloves that make the receiver, it is the receiver who makes the gloves. I would need Jerry Rice hands, arms, legs and the gloves to be better. This is the exchange I need- his for mine. This is unrealistic and silly to consider.

How does this relate to Jesus? One of my favorite New Testament passages in 2 Corinthians 5:21. Martin Luther called this passage, “The Great Exchange.” Why?

“For our sake, God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

For the believer an exchange took place. Christ is my righteousness. Christ is in my place. Christ took my sorrow and shame (and there was and is plenty of it) and gave me His perfect righteousness. This is the exchange. realistic change. Christ in my place. I will take that all day!

S.D.G.

The Sunday Message Hebrews 1:1-4

Lessons from Prince Harry

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

Hebrews 1:1-4, English Standard Version