Romans 4.18-25

"Though it seemed impossible, Abraham trusted His God, that He would fulfill His promise that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars. Because of that faith, God gave Abraham sons and daughters, for it had been told to him long ago, "So shall your descendants be." Though His body was decaying, and Sarah's womb was lifeless, his faith did not waiver in God's promise. Instead, he glorified God, knowing that He had power over the impossible. By this faith, Abraham was deemed righteous; but it is not only to be said of Abraham to be justified by faith, but also for us, for we are also imputed righteousness by our faith; that is our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and in Him who raised Him from the dead. Who was destroyed for our own iniquity, and was also raised from the dead, that we may believe and be counted as righteous."


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Matthew 13.1-9

"In the midst of a boat, along the shore, Jesus addressed each listener. He began to teach them: 'a farmer went out to his fields, spreading around seeds to be cultivated and harvest. Some fell by the roads, and were eaten by birds before they could even begin to grow. Some fell on soil that appeared good, but was really thin, and underlayered by rock, which did not allow for the roots to reach proper nourishment. Yes, they sprouted, but quickly perished by the heat of the sun without water and nourishment. Still other seeds fell amongst the thorns and weeds, which choked the life from those tender shoots. Then there was the seed that fell upon good soil, and from these sprung life, yielding 30, 60, even 100 times the crop. Oh, if only you would truely hear these things!'"

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Job 42.1-6

"Job replied to the Lord God, saying 'Nothing is outside of your abilities, and that you are Sovereign. Who could somehow mess up your Will? No one. You asked me 'Who is this that gives advice without wisdom?' Oh, Lord, it was me! I confess that I attempted to define your sovereignty with the wisdom of man. Again You said, 'Listen to Me. I will question you, and you will answer Me' I have heard of You for so long, and now that I have seen You, I see your holiness. Forgive me, oh Lord!'"



















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Merry Christmas

Today, many of us gathered with friends and family, sharing and giving gifts in rememberance of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. The Bible speaks of many gifts, some implicitly, some explicitly. 1 Corinthians 12 details for us several gifts that are given to the church for ministry and edification. Love, faith, and hope are numbered upon the many things the apostle Paul mentions. More importantly, salvation and the subsequent eternal life and sanctification is offered freely to those who will believe in Jesus, an eternal gift. These and more are all indeed gifts, and they are indeed good. But salvation, sanctification, are these gifts ends? Or are they means to an end? John Piper once asked, "If you could have Heaven, with no sickness, all leisure, all natural beauty you have saw, all physical pleasures you've ever tasted, no tragedy, could you be satisfied in Heaven, if Christ was not there?" The Gospel means "good news," but what is it that makes it good? A ticket out of Hell? A changed person? These are indeed good things, but are they ends of themself? Justification is good, only in that it justifies us before God. Sanctification is good, only in that it conforms us to the image of Christ. Eternal life is good, only in that it unites us with Christ...forever! Could we, or should we be satisfied to have all these gifts if it Christ was not there? Emphatically, No! Brothers and Sisters, to borrow the title from John Piper's book, God IS the Gospel! Christ IS the good news! Tongues and prophecy will cease, but the word of the Lord lives forever! All gifts given to us in the Bible are good, but they are only good in that they point to the ultimate Gift, that is Christ Himself! Cherish the greatest gift ever given today, as we remember the birth of Christ, and as importantly if not more so, His death and resurrection.

"By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." 1 John 3:16

Amos 5.21-24

"Remove far away from Me your meaningless, empty religious tradition. Your feasts, your assemblies, they are dead works. Your burnt offerings and grain offerings...they are mere motions and I refuse them without contrite hearts. Take away from Me your man centered worship. In it's place, I want justice flowing from the heart, and true worship pouring from your hearts."











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Job 36.13-15

"When those who claim Him as God, but do not truly know Him, face chastisement from Him, they do not seek His face or make their needs known to Him. They drift on, trying to find answers and help in the pleasure of the world, which brings not life but death. Those who are righteous and learn from His chastisement, suffering in their afflictions, those He delivers. He makes them see the truth through adversity."


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Romans 8.28-29

"Everything, that is all things that appear good and appear bad, will become known to you in My timing that they were all indeed good for those who love Me and that I have called to Myself, according to my plan, which is the bearing of His likeness in those whom I knew from the beginning."

Verses

Verse Index

Old Testament
Job
36.13-15, 42.1-6

Amos
5.21-24

New Testament
Matthew
13.1-9

Romans
4.18-25, 8.28-29

About the Artists

The Writer

Bryan is a 22 year old senior at West Virginia Univeristy, majoring in Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Resources. After graduation, Bryan plans on either attending seminary or working for the CCO. He currently attends the Christian & Missionary Alliance Church in Morgantown, WV where he also helps out with the college church ministry. Bryan started this site as a way to reach and help a often overlooked culture in Christianity: The Artistic. Bryan studies theology and Biblical history in his spare time, and is influenced by the works of John Piper, A.W. Tozer, R.C. Sproul, Jonathan Edwards, and others.

The Artist

nothing yet

About This Site

Welcome to "In my own Words..."
by Bryan

When you see most devotionals, you find a verse or block of verses from some modern translation of the bible, where some encouraging exegesis is written out for you by the author. What I aim to do in this site is to place the devotional text within the verse(s). This ongoing project of mine has two main functions: 1) it allows me to gain more from my own Bible reading and 2) will hopefully allow you to gain more as well. I encourage you to post in each entry's comments the same verse in your own words as well.

Remember, this site is not a scholarbased site, but more of an artistic project.

Warnings

I do not claim that any of these entries are in any way inspired by God as are the original autographs (the first writings). Do not use this in place of your normal Bible reading, instead, use it as you would a normal devotional or entertainment. These are not translations, and are only interpretations in the very loosest definition.

When commenting, I hold the right to delete any post for any reason. Mostly, I will only delete posts if they are an obvious trolling attempt, contain any sort of discrimination, or contain profanity. If your comment is deleted, it is final. All of this is to promote a positive atmosphere in which readers can feel comfortable.

Any posts directed toward someone's comments that is argumenitive due to theology will be deleted. This includes but is not limited to attacks on Arminianism or Calvinism, Cessationist verses Charismatic, etc.

A word about my theological background

I include this section so that you are fully aware of where I am coming from. If you do not agree with what I believe in my theology, please do not feel like you shouldn't/can't contribute. While I believe my theology to be true, it is still a human interpretation, and I gladly welcome the contribution of any Christian theology. As stated earlier, any arguing based on difference of opinion on the noncore elements of Christianity (see Warnings) will not be tolerated.

My Theological background is:
Reformed
Noncessationist (though with a different view than most charismatic churches)
Baptist (in way of certain elements, i.e. separation of church and state and baptism)
Post Tribulational (Historic Premillenial)

These are my views, and do not necessarily stand for Sarah. I wanted to inlcude my views specifically since I would be putting the scripture into words, which may reflect the above.