Ryan Spesard

Christ comes first, then all else falls in place.

[Ryan Spesard @rye_bread24]

@TrueGameData There is still time my man! 😁👍

[Chad Bird @birdchadlouis]

Every time I want to pat myself on the back for not caving in to temptation, for standing firm against sin’s allurement, I eat some humble pie alongside Abimelech.

We read about Abimelech in Genesis 20, one of the chapters we covered today if you are doing Bible in One Year with me (https://t.co/XxNvEtNH7e). When Abraham and Sarah were living in Gerar, this local chieftain took Sarah into his house. If you are experiencing biblical deja vu, yes, this twin scenario happened much earlier, when Pharaoh took Sarah (Gen. 12).

Old Abe was at his old, lying habits again, telling people Sarah was his sister (OK, she was his half-sister) but concealing that she was also his wife.

A half-lie is still fully evil.

God came to Abimelech in a dream, saying, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife” (20:3). Abimelech protested his innocence, “Lord, will you kill an innocent people? Did he not himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this” (20:4-6).

Then, God speaks this memorable line: “Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her” (20:6).

It was I who kept you from sinning.
I did not let you touch her.

Those are the words that echo in my mind every time I have a close encounter with evil and walk away. It was not because of my willpower, my stellar spirituality, or my robust prayer life that I avoided entanglement in some wickedness. No, Christ kept me from sinning. All glory goes to him, none to me.

Thanks be to God that he keeps us from sinning. And if anyone does sin, “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9) because “we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous (2:1).

[Andrew Hébert @drandrewhebert]

I saw this on @hbcharlesjr Facebook page. So good.

Questions for the new year from Donald Whitney:

[Chad Bird @birdchadlouis]

God, I Thank You that I Am Not Like Other Men

When we read the Bible today, we think of the Pharisees as the “bad guys.” Full of themselves. Impressed with their own righteousness. Hypocrites.

Nobody wants to be a Pharisee.

If we were Jews living in the 1st century, however, we would not think that way. The Pharisees were the good guys, the religious cream of the crop. They went above and beyond the Law.

Many Jewish mommas probably wanted their babies to grow up and be Pharisees.

Once we get this understanding of the Pharisees fixed in our minds, parables such as the one that Jesus told in Luke 18 take on a whole new light—and reveal just how controversial Jesus was.

In this story, two men went up to the temple to pray: one a highly respected man (the Pharisee) and one a highly hated man (the tax collector). The first was looked up to, the second looked down on. When the Pharisee thanked God that he was not like other men, such as extortioners or adulterers, or even like that tax collector, no doubt many people would have said a hearty Amen. They would have agreed that if anyone was in good with God, it was this man, this Pharisee, who crossed his righteous T’s and dotted his holy I’s.

So, when Jesus commended the tax collector, who beat his breast and would not even lift up his eyes, but prayed, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” then his hearers would have been aghast: “What? That scoundrel? That good-for-nothing traitor to our nation?”

Yes, that man who humbled himself and prayed that God would forgive him, he went down to his house justified, not the Pharisee.

The Pharisee and the tax collector, although different outwardly, were the same men before God: both sinners in need of atonement. One believed this, one did not.

Let us, my fellow sinners, give heed and pray, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” And our Father will, for the sake of Christ, who came as our atonement.

[Chad Bird @birdchadlouis]

Christ’s Solidarity with the Ostracized

When you consider the Jewish world of Jesus, what he did in Luke 5 is quite shocking. I suspect his disciples, if they had known what he was about to do, would have stepped in and tried to stop him. Even the person that Jesus did this to must have been left speechless.

What did Jesus do? He touched a man with a skin disease (traditionally translated as "leprosy"). Not only did that disease make the man ritually unclean, but it would have made anyone who touched such a person unclean also. In the Jewish world of the first century, it was one of those things “not to be done.”

Yet Jesus did it, unhesitatingly, unapologetically.

Our Lord did not flinch when it came to showing solidarity with the ostracized, the impure, the unclean. He touched before he spoke. He made sure this poor man had tactile contact with a fellow human being and felt a touch of compassion before he took the disease away.

In so doing, Jesus left us an unforgettable example of the kind of love that compels him. It is not a love that says, “Clean yourself up, and then I will accept you.” Or, “Get your life straightened out first, and then you can apply for the possibility of my forgiveness.”

Our Lord touches the unclean, while they’re still unclean.

What’s more, and what’s better, Jesus did not become unclean by this contact: he destroyed the impurity. It became like a wadded-up piece of dirty trash thrown into the blazing fire of his holiness. Gone. Incinerated.

So it is with us. Jesus comes to us who are by nature sinful and unclean, who have sinned in thought, word, and deed. By the bad we’ve done and the good we’ve left undone. He touches us. He forgives us. He casts all our sins into the flames of his crucifixion love.

That solidarity with the unclean and that cleansing power—that is still the way Jesus is.

Thanks be to God for that.

[Madison | Suop @suuuoppp]

anyone else grappling with the realization that life is fleeting and you’ll never be able to become a prodigy at every single thing you want to pursue and it’s impossible to accomplish everything you want because you have less than 5000 weeks on this planet…. Or is that just me?

[Purdue Mechanical Engineering @PurdueME]

⛳️BRING THE LUMBER: Congratulations to Andrew Eigner (BSME '17), who won the @WorldLongDrive amateur championship with a 384 yard drive! Andrew, who was a @PurdueMensGolf manager as a student, plans to turn pro in long drive this fall: https://t.co/0bHF43bDjA

[Washington Commanders @Commanders]

DILLY DILLY!

📺 #CINvsWAS | NBC-4 | @B_Dillon44

[Ryan Spesard @rye_bread24]

@spesard4

[Chandler @_chandler_____]

We’re about 2 weeks away from every dad in America saying “big third down here” in unison.

And it’s always a big third down.

[Rich Villodas @richvillodas]

If the greatest commandment in Scripture is rooted in love, the greatest sin (or the very essence of sin) must be a failure to love.

[hbcharlesjr @hbcharlesjr]

Remember - the purpose of a Bible reading plan is not to keep you on schedule but to keep you in the Word. If you miss a meal, it’s foolish to give up eating. - Keith Plummer

[Daniel Darling @dandarling]

This is absolutely true. I’ve unfortunately seen it up close. Leaders: bring people into your inner circle who can raise questions. Not cynics who are against you, but wise people who might offer a different perspective. You’ll be healthier for it.

[Rev. Benjamin Cremer @Brcremer]

Christianity in the United States doesn’t need more political power.

It doesn’t need more authority or influence.

It doesn’t need more money or resources

Christianity in the United States needs more humility, listening, compassion, and a willingness to share power with others.

[Journal & Courier @jconline]

Lafayette Journal & Courier's Male Student-Athlete of the Year: Carroll's Owen Duff https://t.co/82bIMhwJSr

[Andrew Hébert @drandrewhebert]

Packer is on to something here. The focus on ‘authority’ in pastoral leadership is misdirected. As pastors, we are entrusted with oversight and steward influence but the authority belongs to Christ and is mediated by Scripture. To teach the Bible is not to exercise authority but rather to point to the one who has all authority in heaven and earth.

[Courtney Ellis 🎈 @courtneyellis]

Half a decade ago, a faith leader asked our church, “What would happen in your community if your church shut down tomorrow? Would anything change for them?”

We didn’t have a good answer.

We’ve been pondering the question ever since.

It’s transforming almost everything for us.

[Carroll Boys Basketball @CarrollCougsBBB]

We also want to congratulate @owen_duff22 for being named the J & C Small-School Player of the year!

Owen, you’ve made a tremendous impact on our program the last four years. A well-deserved recognition for all of your accomplishments!

https://t.co/ri7S48NCnp

[Greg Stier @gregstier]

Dogs are gonna bark.

Sinners are gonna sin.

Secular companies are going to cave to cultural norms.

But are saints going to shine?

Are believers going to speak the truth in love?

Is the church going to share the Gospel with boldness and compassion in the midst of the mayhem?

[Ryan Spesard @rye_bread24]

@TrueTonyData @yashbharij Hey we conquered together my man. Iron sharpens iron 💪 you’re just a helpful and considerate person by nature and it feels like the opposite when you have to ask someone else for help