Daily Devotional

Sermon from January 28 Morning Worship service "God Surpasses All!" - 1 Corinthians 8:1-13 First Baptist Church, Carney, OK Bro. Dan Calkins Here's the link:    January 28, 2024 Sermon - FBC Carney

Sermon from January 21 Morning Worship service "Be Free in Christ" - 1 Corinthians 7:17-40 First Baptist Church, Carney, OK Bro. Dan Calkins Here's the link:  January 21 Sermon on 1 Corinthians 7:17-40  

  Ecclesiastes 7:1-2 A good name  is  better than precious ointment, And the day of death than the day of one’s birth; 2  Better to go to the house of mourning Than to go to the house of feasting, For that  is  the end of all men; And the living will take  it  to heart. Another way to verbalize verse 1: A good name is better than fine wine, or the fanciest of mink coats, or a grade-A, 20-ounce porterhouse steak! As true as this may be, how does one receive that good name? For if this good person observes the day of his funeral better than the day of his birth, he doesn’t necessarily need to be all that good. A bunch of people are called good people at their funeral; even complete scoundrels are often called good after they’re dead! Have you ever been to a funeral where the dead guy is “preached into Heaven?” It’s incredibly easy to do for someone who was considered an upstanding business leader, acquainted with high socie...

Sermon Link for January 14, 2024 First Baptist Church, Carney, OK "God's Design for Marriage" 1 Corinthians 7:8-16

  Ecclesiastes 6:10-12 - part 2 of 2 10  Whatever one is, he has been named already, For it is known that he  is  man; And he cannot contend with Him who is mightier than he. 11  Since there are many things that increase vanity, How  is  man the better? 12  For who knows what  is  good for man in life,  all the days of his  vain life which he passes like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will happen after him under the sun? Is it possible that, for our free will to truly be free, it will rest under the protection of God’s sovereign will? Is it also possible that the only people who truly have this kind of freedom are those who choose to serve their Master and Lord, Jesus Christ? See Galatians 5:1 – “ Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” Also con sider John 8:36 – “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall...

  Ecclesiastes 6:10-12 (part 1 of 2) 10  Whatever one is, he has been named already, For it is known that he  is  man; And he cannot contend with Him who is mightier than he. 11  Since there are many things that increase vanity, How  is  man the better? 12  For who knows what  is  good for man in life,  all the days of his  vain life which he passes like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will happen after him under the sun? The Sovereignty of God and the Free Will of Man; where does one end and the other begin? While this may be confusing to us, and will remain hotly debated and never fully understood this side of Heaven, God knows how these Biblical issues correlate. Yesterday, we saw the truth that what we already see and possess is better than what we desire. The simple reason why: we do not know what the future will hold. God is in control of all things, knowing and ordering everything past, present...

Ecclesiastes 6:7-9 7  All the labor of man  is  for his mouth, And yet the soul is not satisfied. 8  For what more has the wise  man  than the fool? What does the poor man have, Who knows  how  to walk before the living? 9  Better  is   the sight of the eyes than the wandering of  desire. This also  is  vanity and grasping for the wind. Is it worthwhile to strive to live up to the commandment “Love your neighbor as yourself” whenever you gain nothing in this world? What if you get zero credit for respecting others, or even lose for giving deference to others not as valuable or dependable as yourself? In the mid-19 th century novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, the titular character knew how to live in both of his worlds: the world of the free man and the world of the slaves. He loved his first master, Mr. Shelby, and his family, and they loved and respected him for his devotion and integrity. He was also well-kn...

Ecclesiastes 6:3-6 3  If a man begets a hundred  children  and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not satisfied with goodness, or indeed he has no burial, I say  that  a  stillborn child  is  better than he—  4  for it comes in vanity and departs in darkness, and its name is covered with darkness.  5  Though it has not seen the sun or known  anything,  this has more rest than that man,  6  even if he lives a thousand years twice—but has not seen goodness. Do not all go to one place? In the beginning, God created mankind in His image, urging them to have lots of babies and be stewards of the earth He created. Ideally, man would live in perfect harmony with God in his perfect Garden without tasting death. Sin crept into the world, and man now faces banishment from the Garden into a difficult Earth. Mankind also faces death. In Genesis chapter 5, we see the l...

  Ecclesiastes 6:1-2 6  There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it  is  common among men:  2  A man to whom God has given riches and wealth and honor, so that he lacks nothing for himself of all he desires; yet God does not give him power to eat of it, but a foreigner consumes it. This  is  vanity, and it  is  an evil affliction. Today and tomorrow, the text will be covering the idea of owning immense riches, but being unable to enjoy them. In these two verses, a “foreigner” is enjoying the wealth. Foreigner, in this passage (also translated “stranger”), means someone who would not legally inherit the man’s God-given “riches and wealth and honor.” This could be due to theft, much like the things (and children) taken from Job (Job ch. 1). Also, your property and possessions could be casualties of war, violence, or another senseless act of injustice. This could also be due to lack of an heir, such as Abra...

Ecclesiastes 5:18-20 18  Here is what I have seen:  It is  good and fitting  for one  to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; for it  is  his heritage.  19  As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labor—this  is  the gift of God.  20  For he will not dwell unduly on the days of his life, because God keeps  him  busy with the joy of his heart. As the old saying goes: “ I’ve been rich and I’ve been poor. And, believe me, rich is better. ” Tevye, the main character of the musical “Fiddler on the Roof,” would agree with this saying if only he’d ever been rich! He contemplates on how he would live his life if God would find a way to bestow on him a small fortune. In his soliloquy , he dreams about not having to ...

  Ecclesiastes 5:13-17 13  There is a severe evil  which  I have seen under the sun: Riches kept for their owner to his hurt. 14  But those riches perish through misfortune; When he begets a son,  there is  nothing in his hand. 15  As he came from his mother’s womb, naked shall he return, To go as he came; And he shall take nothing from his labor Which he may carry away in his hand. 16  And this also  is  a severe evil— Just exactly as he came, so shall he go. And what profit has he who has labored for the wind? 17  All his days he also eats in darkness, And  he has  much sorrow and sickness and anger. This passage carries similar themes that have been discussed in a previous devotions (link here and here ). In 1922, British archaeologist Howard Carter discovered the impressive tomb of the pharaoh who became known as King Tut. The tomb was about the size of a Brooklyn apartment, filled...

  Ecclesiastes 5:8-12 8  If you see the oppression of the poor, and the violent perversion of justice and righteousness in a province, do not marvel at the matter; for high official watches over high official, and higher officials are over them. 9  Moreover the profit of the land is for all;  even  the king is served from the field. 10  He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; Nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also  is  vanity. 11  When goods increase, They increase who eat them; So what profit have the owners Except to see  them  with their eyes? 12  The sleep of a laboring man  is  sweet, Whether he eats little or much; But the abundance of the rich will not permit him to sleep. In 2009, I had the opportunity to visit coffee bean farms in El Salvador as a part of a mission trip. The typical worker earned $1.00 for every bag of beans they picked, thus living in...

Ecclesiastes 5:4-7 4  When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it; For  He has  no pleasure in fools. Pay what you have vowed— 5  Better not to vow than to vow and not pay. 6  Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin, nor say before the messenger  of God  that it  was  an error. Why should God be angry at your excuse and destroy the work of your hands?  7  For in the multitude of dreams and many words  there is  also vanity. But fear God. I’m not a fan of commercials on Christian radio stations, but I’ve found the typical alternative to be considerably worse. Listener-supported stations have pledge drives, full of emotional, guilt-ridden appeals for you to give “as the Lord leads” so the freezing orphans on the street can be warmed by listening to the good news through positive and encouraging music (assuming they have a way to listen and power). Of course, they need the money to stay...

Ecclesiastes 5:1-3 1  Walk prudently when you go to the house of God; and draw near to hear rather than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they do evil. 2  Do not be rash with your mouth, And let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God  is  in heaven, and you on earth; Therefore let your words be few. 3  For a dream comes through much activity, And a fool’s voice  is known  by  his  many words. Jesus reveals a provoking parable about two men who approached God in prayer (recorded in Luke 18:9-14). One, a Pharisee, boisterously “thanks” God for not being like men beneath him (especially the tax collector in the temple with him). The tax collector’s prayer sounds considerably different: a repentant, desperate cry for mercy. Christ obviously points out who returned to his house truly justified. When it comes to worshipping the Lord, we better not be taking it lightly. W...