Sermon: The King In My Place (Mark 15:1-15)
Snail Trail | Bible Gleanings – March 11-12, 2023
According to the Associated Press, Nigerian smugglers recently failed to conceal a clump of African snails that were being illegally shipped to a German market. Talk about snail mail! The article reports, “German customs officials say a trail of slime led them to a stash of almost 100 giant African land snails and other items hidden inside bags at Duesseldorf Airport this month.” You can’t hide snails; they’re too dirty. No matter how hard they try to stay hidden, they always leave behind a mucous trail that follows close behind.
Likewise, no matter how much we may attempt to hide our true character from others, the truth will eventually come out. As Jesus said, “Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known” (Luke 12:2). Our words and deeds always point straight to our hearts (Luke 6:45). Our actions speak volumes and they reveal who we truly are on the inside, despite the great lengths we may go to conceal it. You can’t smuggle your true self for long—your speech and conduct are a “snail trail” that always follows you.
Even if you manage to disguise your true character from some people, it will inevitably be brought to light in the judgment of God. One day, the Lord will uncover what is covered and expose what is hidden. As Solomon of old assured, “For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil” (Eccl. 12:14). Similarly, Paul promised: “Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God” (1 Cor. 4:5).
Therefore, it is best that you don’t have anything in your life worth hiding. The best way to live a life without fear of exposure is to focus on building an exemplary life of godliness by living according to God’s commands and biblical principles (cf. Titus 2:7-8). Leave a trail of Christlikeness behind! That is why the Proverbs say, “Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out” (Prov. 10:9).
What kind of “character trail” are you leaving behind?
Bible Gleanings is a widely-read weekend devotional column, written for the Murray Ledger & Times in Calloway County, Kentucky.
Brandon is the founder and main contributor to Brandon’s Desk, the blog with biblical resources from his ministry. He pastored the family of believers at Locust Grove Baptist Church in Murray, Kentucky for six years. He and his wife Dakota live there with their three dogs, Susie (Jack Russell), Aries (English Shepherd), and Dot (Bluetick Beagle).
For more devotional entries like this, check out Brandon’s latest book, Bible Gleanings Volume II, which features 100 daily devotionals gleaned from God’s word:
The Dangerous Christ | Bible Gleanings | March 4-5, 2023
In C. S. Lewis’ famous work, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, Mr. Beaver tells Susan that Aslan, the ruler of Narnia, is a great lion. Susan is naturally surprised because she imagined that Aslan was a man, not a beast. “I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion,” she tells Mr. Beaver. And then she asks if he is a safe lion, to which Mr. Beaver replies, “Safe? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King.”
The same is true of Jesus, the King of kings (Rev. 19:16). He is dangerously unsafe, especially to those who love their sin, because He calls sinners to forsake their sins and follow Him. Jesus is dangerous to sinners in the same way that a lifesaver is dangerous to a swimmer basking in the warm ocean while a life-threatening tsunami roars behind him—the lifesaver might ruin his good time, but it will save his life. So also, the gracious Lord rips sinners from sin’s warm and merry waters, but He saves them from the tsunami of God’s roaring wrath. He may be dangerous, but He is good.
Moreover, Jesus is not safe for those who prefer comfort over sacrifice. Following Him is not cheap. You will have to deny your sinful flesh daily (Luke 9:23). You will have to put your hand to the plow without looking back (Luke 9:62). You will have to carry your cross all the way to death (Luke 14:27).
Therefore, Jesus admonished all His would-be followers to count the great cost of following Him. He warned, “For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace” (Luke 14:28-32). Indeed, following Jesus is costly, but what a great gain it is! As Paul said, “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ” (Phil. 3:8).
Bible Gleanings is a widely-read weekend devotional column, written for the Murray Ledger & Times in Calloway County, Kentucky.
Brandon is the founder and main contributor to Brandon’s Desk, the blog with biblical resources from his ministry. He pastored the family of believers at Locust Grove Baptist Church in Murray, Kentucky for six years. He and his wife Dakota live there with their three dogs, Susie (Jack Russell), Aries (English Shepherd), and Dot (Bluetick Beagle).
For more devotional entries like this, check out Brandon’s latest book, Bible Gleanings Volume II, which features 100 daily devotionals gleaned from God’s word:
Real Repentance | Bible Gleanings – Feb 25-26, 2023
The satanically-inspired music, obscene video games, and t-shirts with lewd designs were all burned without a shred of regret. I was a new believer, and I had just read the words of Jesus, where He requires repentance from all who wish to follow Him: “So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:33). Therefore, I incinerated the emblems of my former life because God had stoked the flames of true repentance in my heart. I knew that such things couldn’t come along in my new Christian pilgrimage—they had to be left behind for Christ. And that is what real repentance is all about.
Repentance is more than regret or remorse (cf. 2 Cor. 7:10-11). Repentance is not when you cry—it’s when you change. It involves a deliberate rejection and renunciation of sin. It is a holy determination that says, “I am done with sin and I am abandoning it for the Savior.” Repentance is letting go of your sins and taking hold of Christ (cf. Luke 9:23-27; 18:18-30).
Real repentance entails divorcing sin and “marrying” Jesus, no matter the cost. It is what the practitioners of black magic exhibited in Acts 19, which says, “Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices. And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver” (vv. 18-19). The loss of their valuable magic books didn’t matter when they were gaining Christ (cf. Phil. 3:7-11).
Have you genuinely repented of your sin and surrendered to Christ? Have you laid aside all the weights of iniquity that would keep you from following Christ (Heb. 12:1)? If so, repentance is something you should still practice as a believer. After all, the Lord calls even His children to repent (cf. 2 Chron. 7:14; Rev. 2:5, 16, 21-22; 3:3, 19). As the reformer John Calvin once said, “Repentance is not merely the start of the Christian life; it is the Christian life.”
Believer, sing the words of I Am Resolved in your heart and life as you continue to repent of sin:
“I am resolved no longer to linger,
charmed by the world’s delight;
things that are higher, things that are nobler,
these have allured my sight.
I will hasten to Him,
hasten so glad and free;
Jesus, greatest, highest,
I will come to Thee.
I am resolved to go to the Savior,
leaving my sin and strife;
He is the true one, He is the just one,
He has the words of life.”
— Palmer Hartsough (1844-1932)
Bible Gleanings is a widely-read weekend devotional column, written for the Murray Ledger & Times in Calloway County, Kentucky.
Brandon is the founder and main contributor to Brandon’s Desk, the blog with biblical resources from his ministry. He pastored the family of believers at Locust Grove Baptist Church in Murray, Kentucky for six years. He and his wife Dakota live there with their three dogs, Susie (Jack Russell), Aries (English Shepherd), and Dot (Bluetick Beagle).
For more devotional entries like this, check out Brandon’s latest book, Bible Gleanings Volume II, which features 100 daily devotionals gleaned from God’s word:
Sermon: The Battle of Armageddon, Part 1 (Revelation 16:12-16)
Higher Ground | Bible Gleanings – February 25-26, 2023
Everything seemed so small from such a high vantage point. We were transported by a lift to a mountaintop 1,800 feet above sea level at the SkyLift in Gatlinburg. And at such a great height, even the tallest towers in town appeared smaller than a child’s plastic building blocks. The lights that blazed below seemed to flicker like a match from high above. Everything that was mighty and remarkable became puny and small simply because of a change in perspective.
Likewise, the frivolous cares of this world may seem enormous when we are earthly-minded. Making headway in this world, achieving ambitious goals, and fattening our bank account all seem like towering buildings worth beautifying when our head is stuck below the clouds. However, the Lord calls us to scale higher ground. We need to become heavenly-minded, and stand atop Scripture’s mountain of truth in order to see earthly things as they truly are: puny. As Paul commanded, “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Col. 3:1-2).
The value of man’s verdicts and opinions shrinks when you climb the mountain of biblical truth on the subject of judgment, for you will realize that the only judgment that counts is God’s: “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Rom. 14:12). The merit of “living life to the fullest” shrivels when you ascend the hill of the Bible’s teaching on eternity, because it teaches that soul-preparation is what ultimately matters. As Jesus said, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” (Matt. 16:26). The profit of amassing wealth and possessions wanes when you journey to the summit of the Bible’s warnings about temporal things, because it says, “For we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world” (1 Tim. 6:7). Even your greatest tribulations will deflate when you reach the pinnacle of the Scripture’s promises about heavenly rest, one of which says, “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Cor. 4:17).
How would climbing “higher ground” affect your perspective of earthly things?
“I’m pressing on the upward way,
New heights I’m gaining ev’ry day;
Still praying as I’m onward bound,
“Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.”
My heart has no desire to stay
Where doubts arise and fears dismay;
Though some may dwell where these abound,
My prayer, my aim, is higher ground.
Lord, lift me up, and let me stand
By faith, on heaven’s tableland;
A higher plane than I have found,Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.” —Johnson Oatman Jr. (1856-1922), “Higher Ground.”
Bible Gleanings is a widely-read weekend devotional column, written for the Murray Ledger & Times in Calloway County, Kentucky.
Brandon is the founder and main contributor to Brandon’s Desk, the blog with biblical resources from his ministry. He pastored the family of believers at Locust Grove Baptist Church in Murray, Kentucky for six years. He and his wife Dakota live there with their three dogs, Susie (Jack Russell), Aries (English Shepherd), and Dot (Bluetick Beagle).
For more devotional entries like this, check out Brandon’s latest book, Bible Gleanings Volume II, which features 100 daily devotionals gleaned from God’s word:
From Slavery to Slavery | Bible Gleanings – February 18-19, 2023
If you will not let go of sin, sin will not let go of you. Jesus even said that sin will make you its slave: “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin” (John 8:34, NKJV). According to Christ, sin imprisons its perpetrators. Sin incarcerates the will so securely that you can’t help but obey its every order. It whips you with oppressive power, forcing you to toil in the field of wickedness and pick bitter grapes of disgrace among the thorns of corruption.
Worst of all, you will believe that you are actually free while serving sin. Sin convinces its bondservants that God’s holy commandments are stifling rather than saving—killjoys instead of guardrails intended to protect and preserve. Sin poisons the minds of its servants into thinking that the gospel is a poison to be evaded rather than a remedy to be embraced. Sin persuades its slaves with sophistry, making their prison cell appear to be a mansion. But sin’s deceptions are nothing more than make-believe—false fantasies of freedom.
True freedom is being liberated from captivity to sin by Jesus Christ, the Redeemer. Jesus alone wields the sword of redemption with which He cuts the chains of iniquity to set captives free. He will release you from the slave-house of evil and place you in the safe-house of grace. Christ will bail you out with His blood (1 Peter 1:18-19). And He does so when you hear and believe the truth of the gospel: “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).
If you have been set free from sin, you are not your own master. All those who are freed from slavery to sin become slaves of God:
“Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness” (Romans 6:16-18).
And true freedom is slavery to God. Emancipation from the strangling cords of worldly pleasures is real liberation. Release from the power and penalty of sin is true deliverance. It’s no wonder that Jesus said, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed (John 8:36, emphasis mine).
“Make me a captive, Lord,
And then I shall be free.
Force me to render up my sword
And I shall conqueror be.
I sink in life’s alarms
When by myself I stand;
Imprison me within thine arms,
And strong shall be my hand.” — George Matheson (1842-1906), “Make Me a Captive, Lord.”
Bible Gleanings is a widely-read weekend devotional column, written for the Murray Ledger & Times in Calloway County, Kentucky.
Brandon is the founder and main contributor to Brandon’s Desk, the blog with biblical resources from his ministry. He pastored the family of believers at Locust Grove Baptist Church in Murray, Kentucky for six years. He and his wife Dakota live there with their three dogs, Susie (Jack Russell), Aries (English Shepherd), and Dot (Bluetick Beagle).
For more devotional entries like this, check out Brandon’s latest book, Bible Gleanings Volume II, which features 100 daily devotionals gleaned from God’s word:
The End of the End | Bible Gleanings – February 4-5, 2023
The world is coming to an end, and this causes some to panic like there is no tomorrow. Scientists today say that the cosmic catastrophic threats of climate change, asteroid collisions, and super volcanoes are always on the rise. They speculate that the earth could likely be incinerated by fire from the heavens above or molten fire from within earth’s core. However, according to the God who rules tomorrow, the earth will not annihilate itself. Instead, the One who created the world in the beginning will bring it to an end in one sweep (Col. 1:16).
The blanket of the heavens above will be peeled back and the earth below will dissolve like snow when the Ruler of creation returns to make “all things new” (Rev. 21:5; cf. Rev. 6:12-17). The incredible appearance of the Lord Jesus will mean the irrevocable disappearance of this present world. The apostle Peter assured us of this when he said,
“But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:10-13).
Everything under the clouds will return to dust when Jesus is escorted to earth on a white cloud (Rev. 14:14; cf. Acts 1:11). All of the world’s soaring skyscrapers, embellished empires, and notable nations will be zapped to ash by the refulgent presence of the exalted Lord. Every possession man has ever cherished and every dime stored in all the banks of the world will melt like wax. As Isaiah preached,
“Behold, the LORD will empty the earth and make it desolate, and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants. And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the slave, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the creditor, so with the debtor. The earth shall be utterly empty and utterly plundered, for the LORD has spoken this word” (Isaiah 24:1-3).
The Lord will do this to make way for another world: a new heaven and a new earth. The apostle John saw this magnificent day in the near future and said, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more” (Rev. 21:1). This sin-cursed world will be gone, and in its place will be a world where sin is no more. God will wipe the slate clean and clear the plot. As God Himself said, “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind” (Isaiah 65:17).
Hence, it only makes sense to live for the world to come if this world is passing away (cf. 1 John 2:15-17). The chief end of knowing the end is near is to prepare for the end! Therefore, lay up for yourself treasures in heaven (Matt. 6:19-21). Work for the kingdom that shall never perish (Dan. 7:14). Don’t settle for the “fool’s gold” of the world; instead, wait with faith for the coming of the New Jerusalem, where the city streets are paved with gold (Rev. 21:21).
“This world is not my home, I’m just a passing through
My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue;
The angels beckon me from heaven’s open door,
And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.
O Lord, you know I have no friend like you,
If heaven’s not my home, then Lord what will I do?
The angels beckon me from heaven’s open door,
And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.” — This World Is Not My Home, A. P. Carter (1891-1960)
Bible Gleanings is a widely-read weekend devotional column, written for the Murray Ledger & Times in Calloway County, Kentucky.
Brandon is the founder and main contributor to Brandon’s Desk, the blog with biblical resources from his ministry. He pastored the family of believers at Locust Grove Baptist Church in Murray, Kentucky for six years. He and his wife Dakota live there with their three dogs, Susie (Jack Russell), Aries (English Shepherd), and Dot (Bluetick Beagle).
If God Wills | Bible Gleanings – January 28-29, 2023
He didn’t receive a miracle, but his friend did. His friend was delivered from death, but he wasn’t. The Bible says that the suffering experienced by the disciples James and Peter ended quite differently. James was martyred by Herod, but Peter was miraculously freed from prison by a heavenly angel (Acts 12:1-19). Considering that there wasn’t a hair’s difference between them, why was James allowed to die while Peter was granted freedom?
Because sometimes God wills to deliver His people and sometimes He doesn’t. God did not love Peter more than James. Peter had not prayed more fervently or with more faith than his colleague. Peter was not a better follower of Jesus than James. It was simply the sovereign will of God to grant Peter deliverance while withholding it from James.
God may also deliver you from your suffering and trials, or He may allow them to persist. The sun of His providence may dry up the clouds of trouble, or it might hide behind them for a torrential season. You can petition the Lord to end your afflictions (cf. Psalm 13:1), and He may will them to cease today or to last for a thousand tomorrows. God may allow you to keep your thorn in the flesh, or He may gracefully remove it (2 Cor. 12:7-10). God may deliver you from the fiery furnace, or He may deliver you over to fiery afflictions such as those endured by Job (Job 1:6-22; Dan. 3:24-27).
You cannot know what the sovereign will of the Lord is. He has written a novel for your life that only He may read. As Moses said, “The secret things belong to the LORD our God” (Deut. 29:29). However, you can be certain that whatever God wills for His children is good. Paul declared, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28; cf. Ezra 8:22).
“My Jesus, as Thou wilt:
O may Thy will be mine!
Into Thy hand of love
I would my all resign.
Through sorrow or thro’ joy,
Conduct me as Thine own,
And help me still to say,
“My Lord, Thy will be done.”
Bible Gleanings is a widely-read weekend devotional column, written for the Murray Ledger & Times in Calloway County, Kentucky.
Brandon is the founder and main contributor to Brandon’s Desk, the blog with biblical resources from his ministry. He pastored the family of believers at Locust Grove Baptist Church in Murray, Kentucky for six years. He and his wife Dakota live there with their three dogs, Susie (Jack Russell), Aries (English Shepherd), and Dot (Bluetick Beagle).
Sermon: A Fishy Prayer (Jonah 1:17-2:10)
Brandon's Desk 