This week we will continue to examine the Lord’s Word in Matthew 13:52:

          “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings forth out of his treasure things new and old.”

          I have been a Christian for more than forty years, and I have been blessed to have some level of fellowship with those from virtually every camp, movement, and denomination. I love the diversity of the body of Christ and appreciate all of the different “tribes” we have in it. It...

          The Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians that not many were wise or strong in this world who were called. However, he did not say there were not any. Paul was of the elite of this world in both learning and wealth. He sacrificed it all for the gospel and considered it a small price to pay.

          In biblical times, a scribe was a position of significant authority in both the Roman Empire and the nation of Israel. Scribes were writers who wrote the decrees of those who were in authority. In Israel, this included the copying of...

      In Luke 6:46, the Lord asks the ultimate question of a disciple:        

         “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?”

      Doing what He says begins with knowing what He says. There are not many who even care enough about what He says to search the Scriptures to find out. Being a true disciple can be a very lonely walk, even if we are a part of what is considered a great church. If you are willing to remain faithful, you will ultimately find the greatest fellowship on earth,...

          We have been discussing sin and the carnal nature from which disciples are getting free. However, we cannot get free by our own strength from these things. It takes our will to want to get free in order to please the Lord and be delivered from what is bringing so much death upon the world. However, we need God’s grace and His power to live free of these things.

          The life of discipleship is not one of constantly focusing on sin and our mistakes. However, true, biblical discipleship does start there. Without the consciousness...

          As we read in the Scriptures, those who are led by the passions of the carnal nature will perish and not inherit the kingdom of God. This we must know and keep in mind. But the way to get free of what the Apostle Paul called “the body of death” (see Romans 7:24), which is the result of eating of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, is to eat from the Tree of Life, which is Christ.

          Jesus also taught that love fulfills the law. That is easy to see. If we love God, we will...