Jay Scott

Ministry and Sound Doctrine Built on the Foundation of The Lord's Church

Counting Our Blessings

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On July 13, 2021

In Bible & Doctrine

Jas 1:17  Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

Blueberries. Water. Measuring cup. Car. Gas. Grocery store. Vision. Family. Soap. Computer. Books. BIBLE.

That may seem like a strange start to an article but I think that the preceding words are just obscure enough, just “normal” enough, to deliver my point with the greatest clarity. So, what point am I trying to make exactly?

That we have blessings right under our noses every day – and that those blessings are delivered to us by the Father of lights (God). Now, those are just a few blessings I thought of off of the top of my head, but we all have many, many blessings in our lives. Let’s take this a bit further (stay with me here).

On this hot July day in 2021, I currently have a very reliable car and I have access to plenty of gas. Those are wonderful blessings, but on the downside my car also needs an oil change. I dislike getting oil changes, it’s boring and I have to deal with salesmen trying to get me to buy other things like tires and wiper blades. It also takes up a few hours of my day.

So, what do I concentrate on more, the great positives or the tiny negative? The fact that I have a great car and plenty of gas or the fact that I have to go to the dealership for a couple of hours to get an oil change? Sadly we (and by we I mean me) often concentrate on that one tiny negative aspect of something instead of on the vast multitude of blessings that God has given us.

In America today we really have to watch this. We live a life of comparative comfort and luxury compared to the rest of the world. When Jesus was speaking of the church at Laodicea in the book of Revelation, he spoke of their “riches” and how they had become reliant on their wealth instead of trusting in God:

Rev 3:17  Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

With our relative affluence here in America we sometimes have the tendency to take our blessings for granted. We can begin to think that we are supplying ourselves with our blessings and we can even start to resent anyone or anything that interferes with our machinations. We should all remember that our blessings come from God. Everything from food, clothing, and shelter to the very breath that sustains us, all comes from God.

When we think of our blessings in this manner we can begin to think on the positive aspects of our life instead of the negative. We start to see all of the wonderful things that God supplies us with every single day.

When we think of our blessings in this manner we can begin to live a life of thankfulness (to the Father of lights) for everything good we have in our lives. And, when we start to think of our blessings in this manner – that oil change doesn’t seem quite so bad.

Are We Underestimating the Power of Jesus?

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On July 5, 2021

In Bible & Doctrine

I read a scripture the other day that made me stop and think about the awesome power of Jesus. For some reason when I read it this time (and it’s a scripture we all know well) it hit me as never before. Here is the scripture:

Mat 26:53  Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?

I won’t get into the story of Jesus’ capture, persecution, and eventual crucifixion here, but let’s just say that Jesus gave us a great gift when He allowed these men to take Him into captivity. He most certainly didn’t have to – as He says here, He could have called twelve legions of angels to rescue Him.

The power of Jesus is beyond anything we can imagine, after all He is the creator of the universe (John 1:1-3)! Jesus could have destroyed every man that was afflicting Him on that fateful evening. He could have set them on fire, killed them with worms (as Herod met his fate), or (if you want a more modern take), He could have beaten them down more throughly than any Marvel Superhero.

To touch on this point in a bit more depth – I hope, I truly hope, that we don’t see Jesus as less powerful than Captain America or Superman. Our children should be taught that the “fake” power of the superheroes they see in the media are weak and feeble compared to Jesus. The power that these man-made “heroes” have in their fantasy worlds is nothing compared to the awesome power of Jesus (and He has that power in reality, right here in this world).

We should also understand that true power is being meek and lowly, true power is loving one another, and true power is being willing to sacrifice everything for one’s friends:

Joh 15:13  Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

Yes, we should remember these Christlike definitions of power, but we should also remember that when Christ comes again it will not be the time for such self-sacrifice. When Christ comes again He will come to bring justice. If we are in an obedient relationship with Christ then His coming will be a wonderful day indeed. As the Bible says:

Joh 14:1  Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

Joh 14:2  In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

Joh 14:3  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

However, if we are not in an obedient and acceptable relationship with Christ…woe to us.

Mat 16:27  For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.

If we are on the right side of the awesome power of Jesus then there is nothing that can harm us. Let us all acknowledge the glorious power of Jesus and follow the inspired and perfect doctrine of the Bible – then, and only then, will we be assured of eternal life with Christ our King.

Is the Bible’s Authority Being Wrenched Away?

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On June 30, 2021

In Apologetics

Young people today see many conflicts between what they are taught in school and what they are taught from their Bibles. At school (5 times a week, 7 hours day) they are taught that the universe is 13.77 billion years old and that the earth is 4.54 billion years old. At church (3 times a week, and for a much shorter time period) they are taught that God created the universe and everything in it in 6 days.

In addition, the vast majority of the people the world puts forth as being “academic” hold to this ancient universe theory (as well as the theory of evolution). In fact, if one does not hold to these mainstream “theories” they are ostracized in academia, often to the point of being made fun of.

I feel that the church has a responsibility to reveal the truth to these young people. What is the truth? The truth is there is a vast amount of scientific evidence that points to a young earth. You won’t hear about that evidence at school (or even at many churches), but the truth is that young earth creationism is backed up by solid evidence.

The purpose of today’s article was not so much to enlighten folks on the age of the earth as it was to enlighten them about what their children and grandchildren are being taught in school. It is no wonder that we see so many kids falling away from the church. If the secular theories of ‘The Big Bang’ and evolution continue to seep into the subconscious of our youth it will do vast amounts of damage.

What damage will it do? Well, it will undermine scripture and push forward the idea that we are highly evolved apes – animals. And, if we are just highly evolved animals then there is no reason not to have promiscuous sex, curse, steal, murder – you name it. If we are merely animals then there is no objective truth, just mankind’s subjective opinion of what is right and wrong.

As it says in the Dostoevsky novel The Brothers Karamazov, “If there’s no God and no life beyond the grave, doesn’t that mean that men will be allowed to do whatever they want?” I think any sensible person would say yes, that if there is no God then morality is subjective (up to each individual), and following that to it’s logical conclusion we find that someone such as Ted Bundy simply had a “different opinion” than the majority on killing for pleasure. He was just living out his dream, “you do you”, “be yourself”, “follow your heart” and all that.

This is ludicrous. We know inherently that some things are right and some are wrong – and the Bible puts forth mankind’s morality in the most divine and perfect way imaginable. Yet the world is wrenching away the Bible’s authority over their morality. It scares me to think what will happen over the next few decades if we continue to rebel against the authority and perfect morality of the Bible.

Let us all teach our children that the Bible is THE source of knowledge and that the wisdom of men is often folly. Not only that, let us instill the power of the Bible and God’s Word into our youth and into ourselves. We cannot let the false wisdom of the world influence the church of Christ without fighting back:

1Co 1:18  For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

1Co 1:19  For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.

1Co 1:20  Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?

I will end this article by leaving you with a few resources. These resources provide evidence to the contrary of the “wisdom of this world”. Be sure to check these out if you have time:

Assumptions and the Age of the Earth

Creation and the Age of the Earth

Atheist Blogger Leah Libresco Converted to Theism by Morality

Getting Started is the Hardest Part

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On June 23, 2021

In Christian Productivity

Getting started has to be one of the most difficult tasks we undertake as human beings. I have no idea why it’s so hard to begin a task – but there definitely something in us that just wants to keep procrastinating.

I was blessed enough to teach class last Wednesday night at Berea church of Christ. We discussed many things during the course of the lesson, but one of the most important was the fact that we don’t have to jump from 0 to 100 in our spiritual (or even physical) lives. I used to say (when I was a personal trainer) that “any movement is an improvement”. I still hold to this.

We all have the ability to improve spiritually but it is just so hard to get going! Getting started is the hardest part of achieving a goal. So, what is the solution?

In that Wednesday night class I put forth that one could start reading the Bible simply by reading one verse a day. Any movement (as long is it is forward movement) is an improvement. Maybe you can handle a chapter a day, five minutes a day, or maybe you are advanced and can engage in long study sessions. Any of these work as long as we aren’t “going backwards” and falling away from our good spiritual habits.

Remember, this isn’t just about Bible study. This applies to other areas of your spiritual life as well. Maybe you need to stop doing something. Maybe you need to add in more evangelism. Maybe you want to attend more services. The list is endless (we all need improvement in many areas).

So, this week’s blog is short and sweet and it encourages you to ask yourself just a few simple questions. Are your habits moving you towards Christ or away from Him? Are you improving or falling away? Are you growing spiritually or shrinking?

I think we all need to ask ourselves these questions from time to time and we all need to make sure our spiritual priorities are in the right order. After all, if we aren’t moving (forward) we aren’t improving! Thanks so much for reading and I’ll talk to you again soon.

The Answer is (Probably) Right Under Your Nose…

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On June 15, 2021

In Bible & Doctrine

So many people in this world are lost, confused, depressed, and hopeless. Our culture today (and, honestly, throughout history) is focused on prestige, power, material gain, and money. This is really nothing new but the situation we are in now is “different” to say the least.

Never has technology made it so easy to gain information, and yet still people are uninformed. We watch the news, read blogs (yes, I’m aware this is a blog!) and ask others (often priests, rabbis, or ‘pastors’) what we should do to remedy our derelict lives, yet many fail to think of looking for themselves.

Pro 16:9  A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.

According to the American Bible Society 87% of households own a Bible – yet only around 1% of Americans belong to the Lord’s church. This is a sad situation indeed. Think of how many people have passed away with the secret to eternal life only a stone’s throw away!

We are a culture that has become overly reliant on so called “experts” and under reliant on the Word of God. When we are searching for answers in our daily lives let us first turn the Bible, the Word of God – not to worldly experts and information.

After all the most comprehensive book of knowledge on the planet (sorry Webster) is probably right there under our noses. Only when we begin to turn to our Bibles for the ultimate truth will we truly know we are on the right path.

Psa 119:105  NUN. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, And light unto my path.

Are We Designed to Seek Glory and Spectacle?

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On June 7, 2021

In Recommended Resources

Are we designed to seek “spectacles” – feats of greatness, grandeur, splendor, and glory? I just finished a book called Competing Spectacles by Tony Reinke and I must say that I recommend it…with a caveat. Get ready to feel some discomfort if you read it. The basis of the book is that secular media (T.V., Social Media, YouTube, politics, etc.) is starting to take the place of God for many of us in America.

In this book the author talks about something that I have mentioned on this blog quite a few times, the fact that we are designed to worship. We are designed to bow to something greater than us (God made us this way) and if we do not worship God we will find something, anything to worship to fill that void. This is one of the primary causes of idolatry (which doesn’t necessarily have to be graven images). Paul tells us what kind of things we should concentrate on in the Book of Philippians:

Php 4:8  Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Php 4:9  Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

All media is not inherently bad, but we should take Biblical principles into consideration every time we consume one of these “media spectacles”. Many of these spectacles do not conform to the above verses (and many other verses in the Bible). This means it needs to be looked at carefully:

Jas 1:27  Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

When we see this content we should try and see behind the curtain. We should think a bit about who is pulling the strings and be open to the (very likely) possibility that they have motives for producing the content they do. What are they trying to get us to believe? What are they trying to get us to do? How are they trying to get us to behave?

Now it must be known that the author of the book Conflicting Spectacles is not a member of the Lord’s church. It also should be known that I’m not recommending any doctrinal matters the book might promote, but honestly I don’t think the book mentioned doctrine anyway. What I do recommend is the basic premise of the book, which I feel hits the nail right on the head when it comes to the current social & cultural situation in America.

The Basics of the Book

The core of it is this: we are designed (by God) to worship the ultimate spectacle, Jesus Christ, but when we fall away from Jesus we end up with a “God shaped hole” in our lives. What many in America turn to to fill this hole is secular media. So that might be movies with amazing special effects, YouTube binges, fiery politics, hilarious sit coms, novels, you name it. Even scarier is the fact that the media is getting better and better at “hooking us” with these false and misleading spectacles.

Again I will repeat, this does not mean that partaking in Social Media, T.V., books, and other forms of media is a sin. What it means is that we should actively think about what we are consuming and whether it fits into a Christian life.

One final thing that I’d like to mention is the amount of time we spend consuming secular media. We should be careful to avoid spending too much time on the things of the world at the expense of the things commanded us in the Bible. Studying the Bible, listening to Biblical programs, and doing things that enhance your life (outdoor work, hobbies, learning, etc.) is more valuable than listening to the agendas of the world. The agenda of the Bible is truth and it’s news is neither fake nor untrue – God and scripture should be our number 1 priority:

Act 17:11  These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

Let us search the scriptures daily to see if the things we are partaking in are healthy for our soul. After all, the Word of God has the final say in all matters temporal or eternal. Here is a rather long section of scripture that I think is pertinent to this week’s topic:

Eph 5:8  For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:

Eph 5:9  (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)

Eph 5:10  Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.

Eph 5:11  And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.

Eph 5:12  For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.

Eph 5:13  But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.

Eph 5:14  Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.

Eph 5:15  See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,

Eph 5:16  Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

Eph 5:17  Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.

So, if you are brave enough (I’ll warn you, it is almost sure to cut you to the heart as it did with me) you might consider looking up this book. I think it is around twelve dollars on Amazon (I’m not going to link to it from here). Regardless, the core message is one that I’m sure we can all agree on, most of us need to reevaluate our consumption of secular “spectacles” and focus on the ultimate spectacle; Jesus Christ’s death and glorious resurrection. Then, and only then will we be truly fulfilled and gratified.

Jesus, the Ultimate Blessing

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On May 31, 2021

In Bible & Doctrine

Last week I spoke of the blessings of normal life that are given to us by God, and while those blessings certainly are amazing, this week I’d like to shift course and discuss the ultimate blessing in our lives. After all, without this ultimate blessing all of our other blessings would be temporal and meaningless.

Often, when I think of Jesus I think of a kind and loving “Savior”. While Jesus most certainly is a kind and loving Savior we also must remember that He gave us the ultimate gift – the gift of salvation. He, the Creator of the Universe, came to earth and died an agonizing death on the cross. Above this, He bore the sins of mankind – and by His death we now have the hope of eternal life.

However, the point of this article is not to tell you something that you already knew, it is to remind us of something (I believe) we can often forget. I know that I have had times in my life where I partook of the Lord’s supper and barely regarded Jesus’ great gift to us. We cannot let this happen. Every first day of the week we should take our mind back to the cross and realize that Jesus gave us this precious gift of salvation, and that He suffered greatly so that we could have it.

Imagine a beautiful mansion on one thousand acres of gorgeous countryside. Now imagine that someone gave this to you along with two billion dollars. How would you feel about this gift? Would you consider it a great gift? A precious gift? Well, Jesus’ gift to us makes that gift laughable in importance and prestige.

Jesus offers us the gift of eternal life, which is a gift more valuable than mountains of gold and material wealth. As we go throughout our week (and on this coming first day of the week) let us take time to thank our Lord and Savior for His gift to us. Let us take time to enjoy and be grateful for the ultimate blessing in our lives.

The Blessings of Normal Life

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On May 24, 2021

In Bible & Doctrine

Too often (especially if things in our lives have been “normal” for a while) we tend to take the wonderful blessings we’ve been given for granted. We no longer seem to notice that we have food, we no longer seem to notice that we have clean water, we no longer seem to notice that we have shelter – and with the weather being what it has been lately – we no longer seem to notice that we have air conditioning! Instead of being thankful for all of these things we seem to isolate and complain about the things that we don’t have (trust me I’m talking to myself here).

It’s a shame that this is the case but I think it is a natural process for mankind to revert back to “taking things for granted”. Numbers 11 has a lot to tell us about this very topic. When the children of Israel were given manna every morning they couldn’t help but complain about how tired they were of the heavenly bread (Num 11:6). They also complained to the Lord about being freed from captivity – they said that they missed the fish and cucumbers they got to eat as prisoners in Egypt (Num 11:5).

As Christians today we need to be on constant guard against this issue in our own lives. It’s very easy to take things for granted and expect them to always be there, but God gives us every blessing. Without Him we would have nothing and we could do nothing:

Joh 15:5  I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

If the pandemic has taught us anything it is the importance of normal life. Our everyday blessings and necessities are by far the most important ones in our lives. And while our physical blessings are certainly wonderful, our spiritual blessings are even more important. As the pandemic slowly fades (and with God’s help may it continue to do so) I pray that we all will be able to appreciate our daily blessings more than we ever have before, and I pray that in so doing we will give God the glory for every gift He bestows upon us.

1Co 1:31  That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

P.S. Next week we’ll be discussing the greatest gift we have been given – the gift given to us by our Savior Jesus Christ.

I Don’t Believe in the Supernatural!

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On May 18, 2021

In Apologetics

I find it very interesting that many atheists and naturalists today claim that they do not believe in the supernatural. They claim that unless there is observable scientific proof of something they are not going to believe it.

Well naturalists, I hate to the be the bearer of bad news but this viewpoint is contradictory. If one believes in the “Big Bang” and thus believes in the spontaneous generation of the components of the universe (this means they believe it came from nothing) then one is forced to believe that something beyond observable nature has occurred.

The reason the spontaneous generation of matter is beyond the “natural” is because it has never been witnessed (scientifically or otherwise) to occur. That means that spontaneous generation out of nothing (such as an uninitiated Big Bang) is just a materialistic, man made replacement for God – one that requires these naturalists to have blind faith. Not only that, but they teach this in our schools and present it as scientific fact (which it most certainly is not).

As Christians our faith is not blind, it is backed up by scientific evidence. This scientific evidence is historical in nature, but it is sure and true evidence nonetheless. There are various (scientific and philosophical) arguments for God that have stood the test of time and the Bible itself is rich with prophecy and unerring historical detail (but I’ll save that for another article).

I believe that the main issue at play in academia today is failure to submit to God. Man has always been rebellious in nature and often seeks to “figure things out” in a more complete way than God – and that man-made path always ends in disaster. We can be sure that God is the true supernatural creator of the universe – all we have to do is humble ourselves and open our eyes to the evidence.

Rom 1:20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

The Perfection of the Present Day

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On May 11, 2021

In Christian Productivity

While on the phone with my mom the other day she mentioned a quote to me. She had found it on the wall calendar. Now I’m the first to admit that calendar quotes aren’t always the greatest, but this quote was very timely for me. Anyway, I thought I’d write this week’s blog post about it (and hopefully it will be timely for you as well).

Here it is…

Be intent upon the perfection of the present day.

William Law

While I am typically very careful with whom I quote, I feel that this one has little to do with the speaker. Why? Because Jesus seems to share the same opinion (and long before Mr. Law):

Mat 6:34  Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Too often today we worry and fret over tomorrow. We add anxiety and stress to our lives by not trusting God and allowing Him to help us along our way. After all, God is in charge of everything, and as long as we do our best to serve Him He will help us overcome any trials we may experience.

Truly, today is the perfect day to live in the present. Today is the perfect day to be grateful for all that we have. Today is the perfect day to stop being anxious and to let go of earthly fears. Today is the perfect day to start living for Christ and hand our problems to Him.

I hope you got as much out of this little lesson as I did this week. I think it lowered my blood pressure quite a bit. Let us all strive to seek God and to trust Him. Let us all live in this perfect present day.

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