Posts by Eddie Parrish (Page 5)
Ancient Psalms and Modern Worship (1)
Today’s Christian is probably not much different than the first-century disciples of Jesus in that we, as did they, struggle with prayer. While I cannot remember a time in the gospel accounts that the disciples ever asked Jesus to teach them to preach, teach, or sing, we do find them making this request, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1). Paul would later write, “We do not know how to pray as we should” (Rom. 8:26). I know the feeling.…
The Treasure of Scripture
According to the Wycliffe Bible Translators (www.wycliffe.org/about/statistics), there are over 6,900 languages spoken in the world today. Just over 2,000 of those languages have no part of the Bible translated into them. The total number of people who do not have access to a Bible in their language is estimated to be 350 million. To be among one of the language communities in the world with access to the entire Biblical text is one of God’s great blessings. Though one…
Praying Like You Mean It
Has anyone ever watched you pray silently and concluded that you were drunk? I don’t know about you, but that’s never happened to me. However, it happened to Hannah in 1 Samuel 1:9-18. In the past I pictured Hannah’s prayer as coming from a prim and proper June Cleaver-ish young lady sitting up straight in a chair, hands folded and gently placed in her lap. With that picture in mind, I struggled to understand how Eli could watch a woman…
Pushing Baptism Too Quickly – Part 2
In part one of this article, we called attention to two important facts: (1) that immersion in water is essential if one wants the blood of Jesus to wash his sins away (Acts 22:16; Rev. 1:5); (2) that in their haste to get sinners into the water, some well-meaning Christians have not sufficiently focused on the teaching that must precede baptism. Let us conclude with the following: When is a Sinner Ready for Baptism? The best place to start is…
Pushing Baptism Too Quickly
The role of immersion in God’s plan for the salvation of souls has been the subject of debate for a long time, especially over the last 200 years in America. From the early days of the Restoration Movement until now, faithful Christians have argued, and rightly so, that immersion in water is the point in time when a sinner comes out of the world and into the body of Christ (Gal. 3:27); when a sinner becomes saint; when a child…
Abraham’s Early Mornings
For most of my life, I was not a morning person. The older I get, the more I enjoy rising early to start the day. But it doesn’t happen quickly. Most days, without an alarm pounding my eardrums, I would sleep later than I should. If, however, the day promises something out of the ordinary and pleasant (e.g., the beginning of a vacation), I will wake up before the alarm clock goes off. But the prospect of an unpleasant day…
What Exodus Teaches Us About God
Exodus does not merely tell the facts about the Jewish people escaping slavery. It draws the reader ever closer to the God who made it all happen. What do we learn about God in the book of Exodus? God Keeps His Promises. God had promised Abraham that he would make a great nation out his descendants (Gen. 12:2; 15:12-16). The book of Exodus emphasizes God’s intention to fulfill those promises (Exo. 2:24; 3:6–8, 15–17; 4:5; 6:2–8; and also 32:13). God…
The Excellent Ones
“As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.” Psalm 16:3, ESV In the passage above, David revealed his love for his kinsmen. They were God’s people, which made them majestic and noble. That’s high praise for people who weren’t perfect. David’s fellow-Israelites made their share of mistakes. They had their flaws. They committed their sins. Yet, inspired of the Holy Spirit, David called them “excellent” – warts, blemishes, and all.…
God Isn’t Finished with You Yet
For the conscientious Christian, weaknesses and failures can be particularly vexing. To put it bluntly and personally, I hate it when I fail to live up to God’s standard. It irritates me. I know that when it comes to sinners, the apostle Paul staked a claim to the moniker, “chief” (1 Tim. 1:15). But he died centuries ago, and there are days when I believe I can make a compelling case that I now deserve chieftain status in the tribe…
Nehemiah: a Great Servant of God
Nehemiah, the ancient wall builder of Jerusalem, often finds himself far down the list of favorite Bible personalities. That’s understandable. There is much to commend the more popular names of Abraham, Paul, David, Peter, or Moses. But Nehemiah deserves to be in the conversation, too. Consider some of his admirable traits. He Was Compassionate We are introduced to Nehemiah’s compassion for his people early in the first chapter of the book that bears his name. Though his hands were full…
Self-Examination and the Lord’s Supper
In the troubled Corinthian church, the Lord’s Supper had not been protected from abuse. This mistreatment of the Supper was so serious that Paul bluntly told them that the way they were handling this memorial was actually a despising of the church (1 Cor. 11:22) that invited God’s judgment on them (11:29). As he corrected their practice, he called their attention back to the inauguration of the Lord’s Supper on the night of the Lord’s betrayal (11:23-25). The apostle affirmed…
Foundations of Progress
If someone asked you to identify the most basic fundamental principle that must be present in order for humans to reach their full potential in knowledge and wisdom, what would you say? How about this: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Prov. 1:7). “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight” (Prov. 9:10). True knowledge and wisdom are rooted in…