FBC CTX Growing in Grace Podcast

Have you ever heard Robert Frost’s poem,  The Road Not Taken ? It begins with this verse, “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth.” Psalm 1 seems to stand in a similar location to where Robert Frost must have been standing when he wrote that famous poem....

Can a toxic person remove your inner peace and joy? David began Psalm 5 with a groan. Why? Many bible scholars feel that he was grieving over the rebellion of his son, Absalom. He wasn’t a two-year old throwing a temper tantrum, this young man had arranged a dangerous military coup to overthrow King David. The king had to flee from the capital city of Jerusalem, seeking shelter and refuge out in t...

Since followers of Christ are called to be the lights of the world (Mt. 5:14-16), what better way to shine for Jesus than during the Christmas season? It’s a perfect setup to display Christ. So, how should we string the "lights of Christmas" during the Christmas season? John would tell us in the way we live our lives and in the words of hope that we share with others. The Apostle John examines the...

He Was Marvelous in How He Came, 9:6 He Is Majestic in Who He Is, 9:6 He Will Be Mighty in What He Will Do, 9:6-7 --- Growing in Grace Devotions and Inspirations   Hosted by Pastor Victor Morrison   First Baptist Church 1700 Milam Street Columbus, TX, USA 78934 http://fbccolumbustx.org/

The Holy Spirit inspired the Apostle Paul to pen the words of Galatians around 48/49 AD just after he had completed an eighteen month mission trip. He heard that then new disciples that he had made in Galatia were facing false teaching in the new churches across the region. The Judaizers were insisting that salvation was through good works, but Paul knew the truth that we are saved not by our good...

The Lord Jesus Christ said that the reason He came to this earth was “…to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:10. This is also the mission of the church. Christ’s disciples are to rescue those who are perishing in their sin. Jude 23 says, “save others by snatching (pulling) them out of the fire…” Let’s look at a biblical example of a great rescue story. Jeremiah the prophet warned the people of Je...

After successfully performing a heart surgery on a woman, the heart doctor was not able to massage her heart into beating again. So, he removed his surgical mask, knelt down beside her and whispered these words,  “Mrs. Johnson, this is your surgeon. The operation went perfectly. Your heart has been repaired. Now tell your heart to beat again.” This true story from Ohio reminds me of another t...

Long before there was a Thanksgiving Day on the calendar, many godly men and women were giving thanks for their blessings not once a year but daily. I love to reflect upon the rich heritage that we as Americans have in the tradition of Thanksgiving which started with the Pilgrims back in 1621. Although not explicitly stated, I am certain that thanks to the Lord was offered before the days of...

In the sixteenth psalm, David composed a very personal hymn in response to the goodness of God across the story of his life. We know it was personal because of his frequent use of the personal pronoun within the eleven verses of this psalm. Despite the hard times that David experienced in his life, he amazingly looked with contentment and gratitude for his blessings. I know that he didn’t write th...

After successfully performing a heart surgery on a woman, the heart doctor was not able to massage her heart into beating again. So, he removed his surgical mask, knelt down beside her and whispered these words,  “Mrs. Johnson, this is your surgeon. The operation went perfectly. Your heart has been repaired. Now tell your heart to beat again.” This true story from Ohio reminds me of another t...

The New Testament records these three words 10 times, “He is able”. Today we are going to learn from one of these passages what the Lord Jesus Christ is able to do. We will focus our attention on Hebrews 2:14-18. The closing verse of our text says, “…He is able to help those who are being tempted.” Since Hebrews 10:1-2, 11 signals that the temple was still in operation in Jerusalem, most bible sch...

There are two great needs in the churches across America today. We need more intercession for others and more illumination through a great spiritual awakening. Ephesians 1:15-23 seems to chart the way in praying for those around us to experience an enlightenment. In our text today we will hear Paul assure the disciples in Ephesus that he was praying for them the following,  “…having the eyes...

Jeremiah 17 begins with a confrontation of Judah over the seriousness of their sin in the eyes of God by comparing it to something engraved with the point of a diamond. Their sin was also serious in terms of the drastic consequences they would soon encounter for their poor choices, namely exile “ in a land that you do not know ”. So, how were they to live in exile in Babylon? Should they trust in...

Let’s look at what Jesus taught regarding the construction of a strong prayer life in Matthew 7:7-12. By chapter 7, Matthew had already recorded several times that Jesus referred to the prayer life of His men. He mentions prayer in the Gospel of Matthew 16 times. The Bible uses the term pray or prayer 316 times. For example, Matthew wrote in chapter six where Jesus gives us the model prayer, “And...

Jesse Reno invented a moving device he dubbed an “inclined elevator”. He publicly introduced it at Coney Island in the Fall of 1896 where within one week 75,00 people took a ride on the innovative conveyor belt. He had submitted a patent for his invention in 1892. It had no steps, just a single platform that could move 3,000 individuals per hour. He even equipped it with handrails for safety. The...

“…the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.” Paul wrote a letter to Philemon during his first imprisonment in Rome, perhaps around 60-61 AD. Out of the four prison epistles, Philemon is without question the most personal. Paul had won Philemon to Christ during his third missionary journey while he was evangelizing Ephesus. Even though Philemon was from Colossae, he must have travel...

We are almost to Labor Day. The Bible affirms work and condemns laziness and idleness. As a matter of fact, there is. Liberty University publication that lists 43 different occupations found in the pages of Scripture. There is nothing wrong with good, ole fashion work. There is something wrong, however, with those who would attempt to work and try to earn salvation. Ephesians 2:8-9 remind us that...

In our text today Jesus chooses metaphors of salt and light to convey the impact citizens of His kingdom should have upon society because we are different from the kingdoms of the world. So, if we attempt to accommodate ourselves to the world and permit our lives to be conformed to the molds of its kingdoms, then we shall lose our distinctiveness and our potential to impact the decay and the darkn...

Despite the poor examples left to him by his grandfather and his father, King Asa was a model king in the southern kingdom of Judah. If one only were to read 2 Chronicles chapters 14-15, then there would be great admiration for this godly king. But unfortunately, King Asa didn’t end well. His great-grandfather, Solomon, also had veered off according to 1 Kings chapter 11. The 16th chapter of...

Have you ever been caught in a rip current? On average, rip currents cause over 100 deaths per year. In 2023 ninety-one lost their life by tiring out fighting a rip current. Rip tides can move at a speed of 8 feet per second, washing a swimmer anywhere from 65-165 feet out to sea quickly. First Corinthians 5 addresses a rip tide of sin that can pull brothers and sisters in Christ out into a cultur...

Have you ever heard of the 16th-century, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon’s search for the fountain of youth? Unfortunately, most historians say that in reality he really didn’t even look for it. However, I believe that most people really are searching for a fountain of joy more than a fountain of youth. The question is are they looking for joy in the right place? In John 7:37-39 Jesus spoke of...

Have you ever been trying to get some things done and yet had to keep stopping due to some unexpected interruptions? Life itself can be like this, right? Trials and tragedies can sometimes impact the plans that we are working on so feverishly. This week, for example, a hurricane blew through Houston and has greatly impacted the lives of residents. Some still have no electricity. Others are waiting...

Our national anthem was officially adopted in 1931. Long before the nation ever sang the  Star-Spangled Banner  (which I love), we sang another song written by Samuel Francis Smith. Smith was a seminary student and claimed that he penned the words to  My Country, ‘Tis of Thee  in 30 minutes back in 1831. He stated that he wanted to humbly express his gratitude for the blessings...

This week our Youth Pastor, his team of adult volunteers and the students left for Centrifuge camp in Jackson, Tennessee. All was going so well with their 5:45pm departure until their plane was delayed three hours causing an inconvenient  interruption to their schedule, forcing their arrival at camp to be 1:15am. I can just imagine some of the comments that could have been made while they wer...

I remember being so inspired when I first watched the Christian movie a few years ago entitled, Facing the Giants . It was produced by two brothers, Alex and Stephen Kendrick. In the film a head football coach was faced with a six-year losing record with his team. He discovers a group within the local school board secretly planning to fire him. He faced his failures as a coach with surrender to th...