Brooklyn's Dad Talks About the Bible

Part 1 of 2. A look at the return of the Lord through the Acts age and the apostles to the circumcision. We again focus on the spheres of blessing and remind ourselves to rightly divide the differences. #theology

We never want to diminish the experience of the birthing of the new nature in the believer when he or she comes to acknowledge the finished work of the Lord Jesus as his or her only hope, but we also never want to lose sight of the primary hope of the new birth. Deaths reigns from Adam until this very hour. It is our "enemy." The Lord conquered it in his resurrection and one day, because of what h...

We take a look at the Lord's response to a question he received from his disciples on the Mount of Olives concerning the end of the age ("world" in some translations). We're centered on Matthew 24 in part. We use this backdrop concerning the plan for the Kingdom (the gospel of the kingdom being for Israel and involving the earthly plan) to set us up for a look at the hope of the heavenly city, the...

We never want to take away from what God is able to do. We never want to discourage believers from seeking God's intervention in our lives. But when we visit passages for other callings, we have to be careful. We must discern those things which speak of God's abilities and God's attributes. But that is quit a different matter than claiming things for ourselves that are neither directly given to us...

We revisit the Democratic presidential candidates' policy positions from the 1984 campaign, compare that to McGovern's 1972 platform and modify previous statements about the Democrats and tariffs. Suffice to say it's a mixed bag. Then we move to our seemingly never-ending parade of "real" Catholics telling me that popes can be wrong and we don't really need to listen to them on matters of faith or...

We look over Ephesians 5 and Paul's warning that we walk in the Light of the new nature lest we risk losing the inheritance. We distinguish between the sealed free gift by grace alone of resurrection life, secured by the perfect, finished, and pure sacrifice of Christ on our behalf versus the inheritance of rewards, crowns, and the prize based on our walk and service as believers. We start by stop...

We chat about denominational systems and the pastor/priest system seriously clouds our responsibility as individual believers to "study to show [ourselves] approved unto God, rightly dividing the Word of Truth" (2 Tim 2:15). The system also creates an enormous entryway for error and heresy and even a denial of the foundational truths of the faith (including a denial of the finished work of Christ)...

"A booklet by Charles Hummel that explores the problem of living in a world of constant urgency and distraction. Learn how to prioritize the important tasks and avoid the tyranny of the urgent." -C.S. Lewis Institute We ponder the implications of the "urgent" things in our lives that rob us of peace. We examine, in brief, the booklet cited and I offer my opinion as to its conclusions and direction...

I used to have a list of doctrinal beliefs that I thought were biblical... then I started to compare scripture with scripture and interpretation with what I saw around me. So, I set out to compare what I said I believed and applied to all the Bible and to my own life. For example, if you think the red letters are for you, have you sold all you have? If you think you attend an "Acts Church," do you...

You've got a sick child in the hospital, you're about to have your house foreclosed, your son just got drafted for World War III... you are going to be anxious. So, when Paul teaches us to be anxious for nothing (Phil 4:6) does he mean we're never to be worried or concerned? Absolutely not! Even our Lord expressed hos concerns to the Father in the Garden. But our Lord showed us the way. He put us...

We briefly review the bad Christmas takes from both the pro-Christmas and anti-Christmas Evangelical world, we wander momentarily back into Catholics attacking Catholicism, we breeze by the Church Fathers on social media, and finish with Jimmy Carter lovers embracing Reaganomics to stick it to conservatives somehow. But it all makes sense if you would just ignore the obvious and embrace the nuance...

I revisit the Ukraine-Russia war with some thoughts. We also ponder the sudden shift of Leftists and other Democrats to the side of opposing tariffs. Welcome to free trade, supply-side economics! We also visit Leftist hero Cesar Chavez's favorite subject: beating up illegal immigrants. Unions have historically loved tariffs (protectionism) and hates mass immigration (increased competition in the l...

I talk a little about my music projects and then move on the significance (or lack of significance) to the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Once again we have to remind people of their stated beliefs (on all sides). #theology

Video Version contains all the references and notes if needed: https://youtu.be/If6MlszavvM We look at Catholic Popes and Councils and their utterly clear statements on the necessity of Catholic baptism, weekly mass attendance, and good standing in the bosom of the Catholic Church at the time of death. No ifs, ands or buts. No nuancing. Utterly clear! We then look at other Popes and the current ca...

What we chat about today are doctrines held bay various people and groups that take the name "Christian." Any individual is free to take any name he wants and claim any beliefs he wants. But when he does so, we ask that he remain consistent. We briefly discuss beliefs such as "Holy Days of Obligation," Purgatory," "Salvation" on the one had and the "claiming" of verses from anywhere in any context...

We talk a little more about death and then look at David’s Song of Deliverance in 2 Samuel 22. What can we learn about prayer from comparing our experiences to David's? Right away we should understand that we do not have David's calling nor his promises, yet we are justified by grace as he was. When we look at the life of David we can see areas that do directly teach us, but we most definitely see...

I recently experienced a medical scare and the real possibility of death. Thankfully all worked out and through a series of events I was able to undergo the treatment I needed. Could I claim Romans 8:28 ("all things work together for good" etc.) as some would suggest? As I recovered I saw a social media post claiming Romans 8:31 ("if God be for us, who can be against us?") on behalf of Donald Trum...

We explore another verse regularly ripped from its context and continue to apply a right division of the Word (2 Tim 2:15). There are likely countless people who become discouraged and many more who may even mock the faith when believers rip promises for Israel from their contexts and try to wiggle themselves into them in the current age. #theology #gospel #christiandoctrine

As believers all over the West and on Social Media quote verse after verse claiming God's protection and even His vengeance against their enemies, we look around us (and at the history of believers for two centuries) and what we see is suffering, persecution, and death. What are we to do with these realities. As usual, a right division of scripture and an understanding of God in this age (separati...

You must be born again? Passed from death unto life? In Christ are all made alive? For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish? Wonderful truths, but have we must the true focus and hope because of tradition and mythology? We exalt the finished work of Christ and we exalt the victory that was the lack of decay in the tomb and the gl...

We look at a popular verse in Jeremiah chapter 17 and do what we always do: look at the context! All of scripture is profitable. We can learn about the nature of God without having to apply every verse to ourselves directly! Jeremiah 17:7 ("Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord") is quoted often, and for good reason. There is much to gleaned from this verse. But unl...

A professed Christian school in Oregon thought that we're still in the Book of Acts and that every epistle is for us today. We cover one story from the school which tells the story of child (Ava Worthington) who died because of that bad interpretation (wrong division) of scripture. A simple administering of an antibiotic would have saved the child, but the school thought they would try to claim he...

Matthew 7:1 ("judge not lest ye be judged") is probably the most quoted verse by believers and unbelievers alike in modern theological discourse. If we allow ourselves to think about it for over 4 milliseconds we'll realize there is no way the Lord is commanding his followers to never judge anything or anybody. To be sure, we must be very careful when we make judgments and we must always be aware...

The overwhelming majority of what is Christendom believes it is functioning under the New Covenant and that it is somehow a New Israel or a replacement for Israel. This belief will destroy (and has destroyed) many a Bible commentary. Further, it has stifled the growth of millions upon millions of believers. Finally, it has deluded well over a billion into believing that can attain resurrection lif...

We take a look at some quotes from philosopher Bertrand Russell. We note the wisdom that we can glean from the atheist thinker and then ponder why he was an atheist. Each of needs to be open to further enlightenment from God and we heed Russell's admonition against prideful certainty (ignoring the fact that he was pretty sure about evolution for some reason). #theology #creation