Baptized into Christ The word “baptized” is not the translation of the Greek work in Romans 6:3-4, but a transliteration spelling it out in English letters. The word in the original language means to dip. The figurative use of the word means to take on a new identification. After I dip a white shirt into red dye I no longer refer to it as the “white shirt,” but the red shirt. It has a new identification. The apostle Paul wrote, “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?” (v. 3). The word Baptizo in Romans six means “the introduct ..read more

Genesis 3:15 the Seed of the Woman The salvation of every soul begins with God. As soon as Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden we hear the Shepherd’s voice calling out for His lost sheep, “Adam, where are you?” It is the Father searching for the prodigal (Genesis 3:8-13). Genesis three is not a place where we would expect grace. It is in the context of judgment after the Fall that the LORD God curses the serpent. Adam and Eve hear God speaking to the “shining one.” It is not a direct promise to Adam and Eve, but a word of judgment to Satan (Rev. 12:9; 20:2). He says to the serpent, “And I will p ..read more

April 23 2020 Morning and evening The Unchanging Need of the Human Heart We of the twentieth century have exactly the same basic needs as the people of the first century. We feel the weight of sin and mortality just as they did. We long for peace and life eternal exactly as they did. We are tortured by fears, stunned by losses, grieved by betrayals, hurt by enmities, made heartsick by failures, scared by threatening death, chased by the devil and frightened cold by the thought of coming judgment. They sat in their simple houses and worried by candlelight. We speed along in sleek, shiny cars an ..read more

Unanswered Prayers What is your attitude toward unanswered prayer? What do think God is trying to teach you when He chooses not to answer your sincere prayers? It is the mature Christian who wrestles with the burden of sincere, spiritual, yet unanswered prayers. We see the depth of this spiritual problem in the life of the apostle Paul. It is in the context of his desire to exalt Christ in every occasion that he barely mentions the ultimate Christian experience and then only once after it took place fourteen years earlier. “Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reaso ..read more

DEVOTIONAL FOR APRIL 27 2020 “Cast your burden upon the Lord—and He shall sustain you!” Psalm 45:22 There are some mistaken notions current concerning the ways in which God would help us. People think that whenever they have a little trouble, a bit of hard path to go over, a load to carry, a sorrow to endure—all they have to do is to call upon God, and He will at once take away their sorrow, or free them from the trouble. But this is not the way God helps us! His purpose of love concerning us is—not to make all things easy for us—but to make something of us! When we ask God to save us from our ..read more

Forgiveness According to the Riches of God’s Grace Scripture: Ephesians 1:6-7 Forgiveness According to the Riches of God’s Grace Forgiveness According to the Riches of God’s Grace The greatest peace and joy in all the world is knowing all my sins have been forgiven according to the riches of God’s free grace in Jesus Christ. We are trophies of His grace both now and throughout eternity. There is nothing like the free, full, sovereign, unconditional, eternal grace of God that deals with all our sins. The apostle sang “the praise of the glory of God’s grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the ..read more

Are You Saved? Have you been saved?  Have you come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ?  It is a question that is almost exclusive to Christianity. The word saved in the Bible had three tenses. We were saved from the penalty of sin the very moment we put our trust in Christ Jesus as our savior. We are now being saved from the power of sin by the process of progressive sanctification. Moreover, we shall be saved from the presence of sin at the coming of our Lord in His glory. We were justified by faith in Christ, we are being sanctified by the Holy Spirit and we shall be g ..read more

Can We Preach The Tithe?By Dean Shriver on Jun 30, 2018Intermountain Baptist Church     based on 29 ratings  (rate this article) | 67,703 viewsTithing is a volatile topic—even away from the pulpit. Dean Shriver suggests a novel approach to the “fuzzy edges” of tithing.Scripture: 2 Corinthians 8:7-13Tags: Giving, Tithe, Preaching, Tithes Tithing—I believe every Christian should do it.  But can I preach that?  Like you, I’m committed to preaching only what the Bible clearly teaches.  Unfort ..read more

COMPROMISE IS COSTLY Christianity today is so entangled with this present world that millions never guess how radically they have missed the New Testament pattern. Compromise is everywhere-but actually no real union between the world and the Church is possible. When the Church joins up with the world it is the true Church no longer but only a pitiful hybrid thing, an object of smiling contempt to the world, and an abomination to the Lord! Nothing could be clearer than the pronouncements of the Scriptures on the Christian’s relation to the world. The confusion which gathers around this matter r ..read more

April 23 2020 The Unchanging Need of the Human Heart We of the twentieth century have exactly the same basic needs as the people of the first century. We feel the weight of sin and mortality just as they did. We long for peace and life eternal exactly as they did. We are tortured by fears, stunned by losses, grieved by betrayals, hurt by enmities, made heartsick by failures, scared by threatening death, chased by the devil and frightened cold by the thought of coming judgment. They sat in their simple houses and worried by candlelight. We speed along in sleek, shiny cars and do our worrying be ..read more