Archives for August 2023

Read Slowly

August 14, 2023 by Tim Sherfy

The more I study the Bible, the more I recognize when it comes to God’s Word, we should read slowly. Scripture is replete with admonitions to meditate on the words of God. Meditating and delighting on God’s instruction is a regular theme throughout the book of Psalms (Psalm 1:1-2, Psalm 19:7-14, Psalm 77:12, Psalm 119:15, Psalm 119:23, Psalm 119:27, Psalm 119:48, Psalm 119:78, Psalm 119:97, Psalm 119:99, Psalm 119:148, Psalm 143:5)

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and many other places throughout scripture (Joshua 1:8, Jeremiah 15:16, Nehemiah 8:1-3, Matthew 7:24-25, James 1:22-25, Philippians 4:8, Colossians 3:16). The Bible is not a book meant to be read like other books. We don’t read God’s Word to get through it, but to let it marinade our souls. When we read too quickly, we often miss the details and subtle nuances. There is no part of scripture we can afford to miss or gloss over (2 Timothy 3:16).

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What are You Afraid of?

August 10, 2023 by Tim Sherfy

What are you afraid of? There are a multitude of things in this world that make us fearful. Natural disasters, violence, death, tragedy, injustice, job loss, lack of food or shelter… the number of things we could list is almost endless. The more pervasive sin becomes, the scarier and riskier this world appears.

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No one is safe from the depravity of man, but Christians have historically been singled out for some of the worst abuses this world dishes out. While many minority groups have experienced long periods of horrific mistreatment, it is Christians who have most consistently been persecuted for the past two thousand years. This is because Satan’s war is against anyone who calls on the name of Jesus.

The Hard Road

August 7, 2023 by Tim Sherfy

J. C. Ryle once said, “The true Christian is called to be a soldier and must behave as such; he is not meant to live a life of religious ease, indolence, and security. He must never imagine for a moment that he can sleep and doze along the way to heaven, like one traveling in an easy carriage.” That’s the exact opposite of how many Christians live today. Bad theology and teaching have created a generation of believers who lack an understanding of what it means to follow Christ.

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Never in history have those most devoted to Jesus lived a life of ease. Why would we think anything has changed? As long as God allows Satan to roam the earth, the devil will make sure followers of Jesus will be harassed, hated, and persecuted (John 15:18-20; John 16:33). The narrow path is the hard road (Matthew 7:13-14).

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We Don’t Pray as We Should

August 3, 2023 by Tim Sherfy

I’m embarking on a new book project examining the prayers of the Bible. Inspired by hearing a preacher state that our prayers are vastly different from those found in God’s Word, I began looking into it. While only in the early stages of my project, the evidence is already overwhelming that we don’t pray as we should. We know humans are prideful and selfish, but nowhere is that more obvious than in the content of our prayers.

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This is especially true in the Western world, but I fear it is becoming more widespread as the teachings of Western Christianity spread throughout the globe. Knowing prayer is fundamental to our growth in Christ, we will do well to revisit the examples of prayer given by those who have gone before us.