Sound Words (Page 28)

Naaman’s Baptism There are many types and anti-types in the Bible. Many are deliberate Old Testament stories or characters that foreshadow principles revealed in later days. Deliberate or not, there is a parallel to baptism seen in a well-known Old Testament story – the healing of Naaman. On the surface, some parallels are clearly evident. Both involve washing in water; both persons are healed and made purely clean. Beyond that, a closer look at Naaman reveals an attitude seen over…

Laying on of Hands Ken Fleeman (2019-01-20)

Discipline The idea of discipline brings up negative emotions. We instantly think of punishment for wrong doing. However, discipline is better understood as a training process. Discipline is defined as “the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior, using punishment to correct disobedience” (Google Dictionary). When it comes to our spiritual training, the teacher is to “Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching” (2 Timothy 4:2 NKJV). Note that this requires patience. Punishment should…

Purpose Life can seem mundane. Life is in fact mundane. The sun rises and sets. Generations come and go. The winds run in their circuit. The rivers run continuously into the seas, but the seas never fill. Man’s work is never done. Man is never satisfied with his work. Solomon set out to understand everything done under heaven and concluded that all is vanity. He pursued wisdom, madness and folly and might as well have tried to grasp the wind.…

Revival David describes God as his “strong refuge”, his “rock” and his “fortress”. God upheld David from his birth and David gladly praised God. As an old man, David found even greater reason to worship God despite oppression by his enemies. “But I will hope continually, And will praise You yet more and more. My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness And Your salvation all the day, For I do not know their limits” (Ps 71:14, 15 NKJV). Compelled to…

Signs and Wonders Miracles played a significant role in the expression of God’s will. The purpose was specifically to confirm the truthfulness of the message. Moses was concerned that the children of Israel would not believe that God had sent him to deliver them from the clutches of Pharaoh. God instructed Moses to throw down the rod in his hand. It became a serpent which terrified Moses. God instructed him to pick it up by the tail. When Moses did…

Sons of Encouragement Few things are accomplished in life without help. The larger and more complex the task, the larger the team required. A project manager assembles workers with the skills required, sets budgets and schedules and assigns supervisors, inspectors and record keepers. Expeditors prod vendors and contractors who fall behind. Each successive task is choreographed then executed until the whole project is complete. Even when we undertake projects alone, the example, teaching and influence of others dictates how we…

Biblical Friendship Consider our relationship with God. “… Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (Ja 4:4 NKJV). “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I…