Podcast Cancellation

Thanks to everyone who either read the transcript or listened to the podcast the last several weeks, but I am making a decision to cancel Biblically Speaking because of time constraints with my work schedule. I will still have audio sermon files available on the blog as well as articles from time to time, but I do feel it is best if I take this small load off of me for the current time.

Deception, a symptom of the Gehazi syndrome

Back in my former days as a student at Harding University some of the most remarkable memories come from meal times in the cafeteria. One particular day some students were taking bananas from the line, mashing them with their hands without opening the peeling and placing them back in the fruit basket for others to take. The purpose of squooshing the banana was to play a prank on them by deception. The fruit appeared as though it had not been touched, but when the banana was opened the student would realize they were the victim of a good banana squooshing.

The purpose of deception is to mislead someone by a false appearance or statement. One such character in the Bible who used deception to their advantage was Gehazi, Elisha's servant in 2 Kings 5. On the heels of the story of the cleansing of Naaman the leper we find the response from Gehazi who became upset because his master, Elisha, wouldn't take a present from Naaman. Gehazi came up with a plan to use deception against Naaman in order to get a present for himself. He ran after Naaman and told him a story about two young men of the sons of the prophets who had come to stay with them and they needed two talents of silver and two changes of clothes. Naaman knew that Gehazi was Elisha's servant, so he was deceived into believing this was true. Gehazi's appearance and story was used to deceive Naaman out of the present. Gehazi ultimately paid the price for his deception when Elisha confronted him about the matter and struck him with the leprosy from which Naaman had been cleansed.

Jeremiah said "The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?" (Jer. 17:9) Have you deceived anyone lately. Granted you might not have mushed up any bananas to pull a prank on someone, but perhaps you've been giving the appearance by your actions in order to deceive. It's a heart condition, and it's one of the symptoms of the Gehazi syndrome that can only be cured by the Great Physician. Will you seek the help you need today?

Podcast 8 - Relentless Pursuit

It is time once again for Biblically Speaking, a podcast taking material from God's Word and making it relevant to those living in the world today. I am your speaker, Jeremy Butt and I look forward to making the journey with you from biblical learning to practical living. Today's podcast is entitled Relentless Pursuit. Our text comes from Ephesians 6:16, so open your Bibles to this passage and we'll read it in a moment.

Just a few days ago my Mom and I were turkey hunting together. We were about to walk into a field through an opening between the tree line, so we paused and glanced into the field to make sure there weren't any birds that would spot us. Upon seeing no turkeys, we began to make our way into the field. Unfortunately, there were some birds over to the right that we didn't see because of the brush in our way, and we caught them by surprise. I was in front of Mom, and I was caught in an awkward position. I had already been seen by the turkeys, but they weren't trying to escape too quickly. I made an instinctive reaction to step up and begin releasing my arsenal of 12 gauge shells upon the gobbler that was closest to me. Three shells had been fired and the bird flew up in the air. Seconds later the bird began to flutter, he hit the ground and took to running once he hit the ground. Knowing I had hit the bird, we looked for him at the edge of the field. Seeing the bird, I proceeded to unload two more shells at him from a distance, and he crawled into the brush where Mom had to shoot one more time because I had run out of shells. The turkey was now down for the count.

What's the moral of the story? Even though the shots I made on that bird were not ideal, I was not going to give up the fight. The decision to use whatever legal means necessary to kill that bird had already been made. It didn't matter if it was two shells or six shells, I was going to give that gobbler what for. Did you know Satan is like that with us? He's going to use his full arsenal against us to try to get us to sin against God. In our passage today look at what Paul says about his attack.

Ephesians 6:16 says "In addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one." In this much needed reminder of the spiritual armor we must wear to protect us from the devil, Paul compares Satan's attacks to flaming arrows being shot at us. One of the important teachings in this text as paired with other Scriptures is that Satan is relentless in the pursuit of his prey in many different ways and at many different times. Just as Jesus was tempted in the wilderness and Satan "left Him until an opportune time" (Lk. 4:13), so he also continues his attacks on us to provoke us to sin.

Perhaps there is a television show that you don't need to watch, but Satan knows there will be multiple opportunities to get you to view it. Perhaps there is a woman at work you know you need to stay away from because she's married, but Satan will continue to try to convince you it won't hurt anything or anybody. Perhaps you bypass the alcoholic drinks at the convenience store, but Satan knows that for some of you the more times you see them on display the more tempting it becomes to buy one. Satan doesn't tempt us once then quit when we resist him. We are told to resist him in 1 Pet. 5:9, but we know he will come back to tempt again. Those flaming arrows are going to continue to be shot at us, so we need to be prepared to deflect them with our spiritual shield.

Don't be caught off guard like the turkey I shot on Friday. Without the shield of faith, those flaming arrows of Satan will spiritually destroy you. Have you been caught with your shield down lately?

Thank you for listening to this week's podcast, Relentless Pursuit. I look forward to being with you again next week for another edition of Biblically Speaking. Until then, I hope you have a marvelous day!

Podcast 7 - Children Are A Heritage from the Lord

It is time once again for Biblically Speaking, a podcast taking material from God's Word and making it relevant to those living in the world today. I am your speaker, Jeremy Butt and I look forward to making the journey with you from biblical learning to practical living. Today's podcast is entitled "Children are a heritage from the Lord." Open your Bibles to Psalm 127:3-5, and we will read the text in a few moments.

Don't you just love some of the conversations that kids come up with at times? On the way into school for the past two mornings, my oldest son, Conner has been enlightening me on the death of some of our presidents. Evidently there was a special on the National Geographic Channel this past Sunday that was centered around George Washington. Of course at the end of the program they discussed how he died, and that stuck with Conner. For some reason on the way to school he began to tell me the story of how Abraham Lincoln was shot while watching a "movie" (you've got to remember this is coming from the mind of a kindergartener). It got really interesting to hear about some of the details because in his version of the story John F. Kennedy was there to witness Lincoln's assassination. Some of the stories he comes up with amaze me!

Here I am today reflecting on our text for today as we now read Psalm 127:3-5. Indeed children are a heritage from the Lord. As a child, we look to our parents for guidance to instill in us spiritual values needed for our development. What a blessing it is to know that we continue a heritage as we grow up and establish families of our own. We then switch places to teach our own children about the Lord, and the heritage continues.

Solomon, perhaps the wisest person who ever lived, relays his deep understanding of what a blessing children are in this text. He compares them to arrows in the hands of a warrior. As someone who loves archery hunting, the statement about having a quiver full of children provides very vivid imagery. Having three children of my own, I can see why a multiplicity of children are such a blessing. Even as Solomon states, "the fruit of the womb a reward" (3).

There is an automobile commercial with numerous archers shooting arrows at a car. While the number of arrows shot at the car cannot be counted, it makes me think of the numerous blessings that children remind us of in our lives, as a reward from the Lord. While you may not want as many children as the Dugger family on television, be sure to thank the Lord for those you do have and consider them as arrows in the hands of a warrior. The next time one of your children reveals what's on their mind during a conversation, count your blessings for the heritage from the Lord. Remember that you too at one time had conversations like that with your parents!

Thank you for listening to today's podcast, "Children are a heritage from the Lord." I look forward to being with you again next week. Until then, I hope you have a marvelous day!