Tag Archives: advance yeoman

God Finishes What He Starts | Bible Gleanings | June 8-9, 2024

An artist may have half-completed paintings in his studio for lack of time and inspiration. A woodworker may have half-built bookcases and desks in his shop because of a shortage of labor and supplies. A mechanic may have half-finished project cars in his garage due to preoccupation with other pressing matters. A tailor may have half-completed garments in their sewing room due to scarce materials. But there are no half-Christians in the workshop of salvation because God always finishes what He starts. 

The apostle Paul promised, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6, KJV). And the point is clear: God makes whole Christians out of unholy sinners and He will sustain them wholly by His grace until Christ Jesus returns. God cannot lie and He has sworn in the testimony of Scripture that if He saved you, He will keep you. It is more probable for the oceans to dry, the sun to cease shining, and God to no longer be God, than for you to lose your salvation. There is no “undo” button for conversion. 

You will never fall off of the potter’s wheel as clay being conformed to Christ (Rom. 8:29). You can never evict the Holy Spirit from the home of your heart (Eph. 1:13). You can never erase your name from Lamb’s Book of Life (Rev. 3:5). You cannot loosen God’s saving grip on your soul (1 Pet. 1:5). You cannot renounce your citizenship in heaven (Phil. 3:20).

The Lord Jesus promised as much in the Gospel of John when he said, “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day” (John 6:37-39). He likewise assured in John 10, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:27-28).

And God will keep you saved until the end of history and the beginning of eternity. When Christ returns bodily and triumphantly, you will be a finished product. Paul said it best in Romans 8: “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified” (Romans 8:29-30).

Brandon is the pastor of Bandana Baptist Church in Bandana, Kentucky, where he lives with his wife, Dakota, and their three dogs. Brandon and Dakota previously served as foster parents through Sunrise Children’s Services of Kentucky. Brandon is also a published author and his Bible Gleanings columns are featured in over sixteen publications throughout Kentucky, Illinois, Tennessee, and Indiana. He is also a devotional contributor for Kentucky Today, a news publication of the Kentucky Baptist Convention, and an editor at Reforming the Heart.

Open Doors | Bible Gleanings | June 1-2, 2024

Open doors for gospel proclamation are all around us—we just have to walk through them. Our day-to-day lives are like long corridors with doors flung wide-open that we often pass by (1 Cor. 16:9; 2 Cor. 2:12). And as much as we should pray for such opportunities to present themselves, it is equally important to pray for the courage and strength to seize them. The same apostle who said, “Pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ” (Col. 4:3), also said, “[Pray] that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel” (Eph. 6:19). But be warned: be careful what you pray for—you might just receive it!

The Lord has answered this prayer in my life many times, but one occasion stands out. I was out of town for a ministry training, and I stopped in the local Waffle House to have some breakfast for dinner. And I overheard one of the other servers talking about “being spiritual” and watching witchcraft videos on TikTok. Initially, I didn’t give it a second thought. I went about my business, finished my meal, and left a gospel tract with the tip for my waitress. The Lord had opened a door for the gospel, but I passed it by.

I went to my car and saw the waiter in my side mirror as he scrolled on his phone. I felt compelled to go back in and have a gospel conversation. “I don’t want to start an argument,” I wrestled internally. “It will probably seem offensive anyway.” Then I remembered that this is a man for whom Christ died, who will face Him on the day of judgment, and I can tell him how to be forgiven and redeemed. And then it hit me: I had been praying for open doors and boldness to walk through them—and God put the answer to my prayer right in front of me.

Thus, I went back inside and said, “Hey there, I couldn’t help but overhear you talking about witchcraft,” I remarked. And a short gospel conversation ensued, but he was not offended at all. He was very courteous, thankful, and open-minded. And now, I am praying that the Lord will open the door of his heart so that he can believe the gospel (Acts 16:14). 

What open doors has God placed in your life? It could be a conversation with a coworker, a moment of vulnerability with a friend, or even a chance meeting with a Waffle House waiter. Will you step through those open doors with gospel courage?

Brandon is the pastor of Bandana Baptist Church in Bandana, Kentucky, where he lives with his wife, Dakota, and their three dogs. Brandon and Dakota previously served as foster parents through Sunrise Children’s Services of Kentucky. Brandon is also a published author and his Bible Gleanings columns are featured in over sixteen publications throughout Kentucky, Illinois, Tennessee, and Indiana. He is also a devotional contributor for Kentucky Today, a news publication of the Kentucky Baptist Convention, and an editor at Reforming the Heart.

The Trouble with Tattle-Taling | Bible Gleanings – May 25-26, 2024

Many aptly describe it as, “the season of the snitch.” Tattle-taling was at an all time high during the coronavirus pandemic. It was a time of social surveillance and “corona-shaming,” when blabbermouths and gossip-mongers dished the dirt on their own neighbors and coworkers who did not abide by strict health department guidelines. In February of 2021, the New York Times ran a story which suitably summarized the situation: “Snitching offered people a way to feel as if they were doing something good, at the expense of anyone who seemed to be doing something wrong.” The article concluded that blowing the whistle is part of the “ecosystem” of our society and is built into us as human beings. Therefore, the pandemic simply exposed who we really are: squealers who like to spill the beans on others so the beans aren’t spilled about us. 

Those well-versed in the Bible should not be surprised to hear this, since the Lord Jesus warned us about our tendency to be tattle-talers long before the pandemic occurred. Christ once cautioned, “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye” (Matt. 7:1-5).

It is written within our spiritual DNA to focus on the speck in our brother’s eye rather than the plank in our own. Our sinful heart shouts for joy when we hold up a mirror to others, and it shrieks in fear when we look in the mirror ourselves. And you can thank your first parents for this. When Adam and Eve sinned in Eden, they blamed everyone but themselves—Adam pointed his finger at God and Eve pointed hers at Satan (Gen. 3:12-13). Thus, like the first sinners, we judge others and dwell on their deficiencies in order to vainly put ourselves in the clear.

Fortunately, if you know Jesus, God is purging you of tattle-taling and replacing it with a love that covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8). And naturally, such sin-covering love uncovers a multitude of good and fixates upon what others are doing well (Phil. 4:8). As Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13:6a, such Christlike love “rejoiceth not in iniquity.” In other words, this kind of love “doesn’t keep score of the sins of others” (1 Cor. 13:6a, MSG). Tattle-taling is not a Christian virtue—it is an unholy vice. That’s the word on the street, anyway.

Brandon is the pastor of Bandana Baptist Church in Bandana, Kentucky, where he lives with his wife, Dakota, and their three dogs. Brandon and Dakota previously served as foster parents through Sunrise Children’s Services of Kentucky. Brandon is also a published author and his Bible Gleanings columns are featured in over sixteen publications throughout Kentucky, Illinois, Tennessee, and Indiana. He is also a devotional contributor for Kentucky Today, a news publication of the Kentucky Baptist Convention, and an editor at Reforming the Heart.