Few people realize that ideas have consequences. Sometimes, I hear Christian’s say “I don’t want to study doctrine, I want to study the things that I deal with in day to day living.” That sounds good but the fact is people live the way they think. It is not enough to merely talk about how we ought to act in this or that situation. We need to understand the underlying motives. If you look at the writings of Paul, you will see that he spent much of his time on doctrinal truths. Every doctrinal teaching has a “therefore” that applies directly to Christian living. But rob the house of its foundation and it soon falls: “Being good for goodness sake” may work around Christmas time, but if it is not bolstered by an understanding of what’s behind it, it will wear thin after awhile. It is not enough to know that racial prejudice is sinful. We should also understand that all men were created equal and that the reason for that is the Creator is just. Things are not right because we all agree that they are right; they right because they are right. This is Just-A-Minute with Ed Boggess
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Ed Boggess
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Ed Boggess
The nation’s oldest Pentecostal denomination is the Church of God based in Cleveland, TN. A few years ago it updated its church laws to say that movie-going and wearing jewelry are no longer dis¬pleasing to God. My friends, this illustrates the very thing wrong with creeds and codes. They have to be revised and changed, but the Word of God doesn’t change. So why not scrap the creeds and use the Bible alone. When creeds change, it makes it appear that God can’t make up his mind, but the truth is God’s word still reads the same. Moreover, conventions with clergyman voting to decide what the church believes smacks of Romanism. While the Pentecostals met in Cleveland to decide whether to watch movies, the Episcopals were gathered in Detroit to decide whether to recognize homosexual marriages. It seems to me if we would just speak where the Bible speaks and be silent where the Bible is silent, these matters would be already settled by God. This is Just-A-Minute with Ed Boggess
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Ken
Good and to the point. But I did notice your “tag” had “Pentacostal ” and the article correctly had the “e” version of Pentecostal! I teaches math and luv spelin. :)
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Ed Boggess
John Harrison advertised in the Knoxville Journal for a husband for his daughter. The ad said, “Needed: son-in-law. Hunting and fishing a must. Must be willing to wash dishes on hunting trips.” Harrison says his daughter was dating too many men who weren’t outdoorsy. For years many have thought that compatibility was the most important ingredient in a successful marriage. However recent studies show that commitment and communication are far more important. Commitment is the determination to make it work. And communication is the ability to understand another’s viewpoint. It is not fighting, nagging, insulting or arguing. At the root of communication is unselfishness. Real communication desires to understand what the other thinks and feels. Each should be seeking the happiness of the other. This is Just-A-Minute with Ed Boggess
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Ed Boggess
Marital conflict is a fact of life. Disagreement of one degree or another is sure to come. I once had a lady say, “We’ve been married 40 years and have never had a cross word.” I don’t trust a person like that. I figure if they lie about that, they’ll lie about other things too. Some marriages have occasional skirmishes, others have all-out-war. One man referred to his wife as “The War Department”. I’ve stood at the Southern tip of Illinois, and have watched the great Ohio and Mississippi rivers converge. Where they come together there is a lot of turbulence, but 20 miles downstream the two have become one. When two people marry, it takes a while to blend two wills into one. Conflict is sure to happen. The question is how to handle it? Is it resolved? or Is it kept and nursed until it explodes some day? Paul said, Be ye angry (that is express it) and sin not (that is control it) and let not the sun go down on your wrath (bury it). Express it, control it, and bury it. . This is “Just-a-Minute” with Ed Boggess
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Ed Boggess
Have you ever heard of a beef stew marriage? That’s a marriage where the wife is always “beefing” and the husband is always “stewed”. Too many marriages resemble a battlefield rather than a happy home. At many weddings the flower girl would do better dropping hand grenades than rose pedals. But why must this be? Every couple comes together expecting their marriage to be their dream come true. Why must it turn into their worst nightmare? The reason so many marriages end in divorce is one or both did not bring the right ingredients into the marriage and then work to make it work. The right ingredients are not sucker punches and rolling pens. The ingredients that make a happy home are a determination to make it work, a self-giving love that seeks to please the other in every way, a kind, pleasant and thoughtful disposition, and an open, honest communication. Marriage is never a 50-50 proposition. It is a whatever-it-takes proposition: 60-40, 70-30, whatever. This is “Just-a-Minute” with Ed Boggess
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Gary Greene
I believe most marriages have spells when the giving percentage needs to be 60-60! Both partners going more than halfway.
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Ed Boggess
Recently, I heard of a fellow who was flying into Dallas. He couldn’t help but notice that the fellow seated next to him was wearing his wedding band on the wrong finger, his index finger. He thought that was just a bit unusual, so he remarked, “Friend, I notice you’re wearing your wedding band on the wrong finger.” The fellow replied, “Yeah, it’s to remind me I married the wrong woman!” A lot of people feel that way. Chances are if you asked his wife she’d say that she had married the wrong man. A long time ago, a wise man said, “More important than finding the right mate is being the right mate!” That is a truth many have yet to learn. You marry Cinderella, but she ends up the wicked witch of the West. Prince Charming and Snow White are fine for fairy tales, but marriage is no fairy-tale. Real marriages are made with real people. If you would “live happily ever after”, you’ve got to be willing to work at it. This is “Just-a-Minute” with Ed Boggess
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Eugene Adkins
Bulletin bound! :)
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Ed Boggess
A lot of people practice what I call “Google Christianity”. They browse the Bible like they browse the internet, picking and choosing what sites they like and rejecting those they don’t like. I was once talking to one fellow about his soul. I asked him how he expected to get to heaven if he refused to obey the gospel. He replied, “I’m going through the same door as the thief on the cross.” I’ve heard it often before. Let me tell you something folks, you are going to be sadly disappointed if you think you’re going to be saved as the thief was. It is a cop-out for disobedience. If you don’t want to do what Jesus commands, then be honest enough to say so. The thief would have done whatever Jesus commanded, had he been able. But he was nailed to a cross. He confessed. He did what he could. The only resemb¬lance between the thief and the one wanting to be saved like him is: both are thieves. The one on the cross gave up his stealing; the other is tries to steal salvation. This is Just-a-Minute with Ed Boggess
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Ed Boggess
Patrick Murphy of Sussex, Wisconsin, had a problem – his wife, Sharon, & his dog, Maddy, couldn’t get along. He decided one of them had to go. He put an ad in the local paper which read: “Wife or dog must go! Wife is good-looking, blonde, but impatient. Dog is German shorthair, 2 ½ year old, spayed female. Your choice, free.” Murphy said his ad produced more than 20 calls from people interested in the dog or eager to trade a little humor: however, Murphy insisted he was serious. This is just another sad commentary on our times: according to NationMaster, the US had the highest divorce rate per household in the world in 2011, 4.95 per 1000 couples. The destruction of home and marriage has become disas¬trously easy and common. With the trend, it shouldn’t be long until our local radio stations offer a “Swap & Shop” for marriage partners. Maybe preachers should change the marriage vow from “till death do us part” to “till I have a better offer.” This is Just-a-Minute with Ed Boggess
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Ed Boggess
Jesus replied to his disciples, “For you always have the poor with you” Mt 26:11. That certainly seems to be the case in America today. Although it could be argued that even the poorest in America is wealthy compared to others elsewhere, I choose to keep it within the confines of the USA. I just read that one out of five families owes more on credit cards, medical bills, student loans and unsecured debt than they have in savings coming out of the recent economic downturn. Nearly one in four families has no savings at all! This says to me that there are a lot of our fellow-citizens hurting financially. When Jesus made the statement referenced, he was not encouraging a baize attitude to those who are struggling. Compassion demands empathy and love calls for a helping hand. Jesus was shutting the mouths of those who murmured. Please don’t get the wrong idea. I am not arguing for supporting those who refuse to work. But I am encouraging that we have a sense of understanding for others who struggle, whether through no fault of their own or the result of poor choices (who hasn’t made many of whose?). Love demands no less.
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Ed Boggess
If I could speak with the tongues of men and of angels, I could not still express the influence of a mother. There is no goodness like the goodness of a good mother and there is no badness like the badness of a bad mother! Thomas Carlyle, historian and writer, and his wife Jane Welsh Carlyle had one of the rockiest and turbulent marriages ever. But when she died in 1866, Carlyle was haunted by memory of neglecting his wife. On Jane’s tombstone in Haddington, England Carlyle had these words inscribed: “40 years she was a true and loving helpmeet to her husband and worthily forwarded him as none else in all worthy he attempted. She died April 21, 1866, suddenly snatched from him and the light of his life is gone out.” In his Reminiscences of Jane Welsh Carlyle, he wrote: “Oh, that I had you yet for five minutes by my side that I might tell you all.” He had 40 years with the right woman, yet he did not use it wisely. Paul Rogers, over forty years the Centerville Church of Christ preacher, used this theme to introduce a lesson called “Forty Years With The Wrong Woman”. The text is 1 Kings 21:25 – “There was none who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the LORD like Ahab, whom Jezebel his wife incited.” Jezebel was married to Ahab 40 years!
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Ed Boggess
Professor Hans Jurgens asked 5,000 German husbands and wives how often they talked to each other. After two years of marriage, most of them managed 2 or 3 minutes of chat over breakfast, about 20 minutes at supper and a few more minutes before retiring. By the sixth year, it was down to 10 minutes a day. By the 8th year of marriage, a state of almost speechlessness was reached. Surely, this sad lack of communication contributes to the skyrocketing divorce rate. Marriage experts tell us that there are “three C’s” that are the keys to successful marriages: commitment, communication, and cohesion. When couples stop communicating, the marriage already has one strike against it. The other two usually come in short order. If you want to have a successful marriage, start by talking to each other; not shouting, not insulting, not nagging, sut simple communication. “What God hath joined together let not man put asunder.” This is Just-a-Minute with Ed Boggess
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Ed Boggess
In a Gallop Youth Survey, American teenagers, by a 2-to 1 ratio, believe that divorces in this country are too easy to obtain. By about the same margin, teens feel that most couples who get di¬vorced have not tried hard enough to save their marriages. Bernard Wiese, marriage specialist and therapist, has shown that every marriage goes through 5 stages: the honeymoon stage, a time of disillusionment, a misery stage, a time of awakening and finally the time of mature love. The trouble is, too often, the towel is thrown in before mature love is reached. Often, couples are never able to advance past the misery stage. Some will say they simply weren’t compatible. But compatibility is not something you begin with, it is something you work towards. It can only be achieved when each seeks to please their partner before they please themselves. By doing this, they awake from their misery and advance to mature love. This is Just-a-Minute with Ed Boggess
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Ed Boggess
It was some time back when I read the headline, “Assemblies of God revamp rules on sexual con¬duct.” I was reading the Clarion-Ledger, Jackson, MS (Aug 12, 1989). I wondered, “Why is a denomination revising and revamping it rules? The Bible hasn’t changed.” Indeed, scripture reads the same. What the Holy Spirit inspired never needs rewriting. But when men make rules and form a church based on those rules, then they are faced with the embarrassing prospect of making something right that was before wrong. Of course, nothing right ever becomes wrong or wrong right, but when man gets into the rule making business, he is bound to make mistakes. This is my chief com¬plaint about creeds, statements or articles of faith and such like; all in addition to the Bible, that regulate members. Why can’t we just use the Bible – it never needs revamping or rewriting. This is Just-a-Minute with Ed Boggess
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Ed Boggess
Doing the right thing – sometimes I have a hard time doing the right thing! Temptation finds its way into my heart and there you have it. I’d rather not have to face temptation at all! I like to pray “lead me not into temptation.” Nevertheless, it helps me to realize that even Jesus, at least once, did not want to do the right thing. In the Garden Jesus prayed “let this cup pass from me.” He didn’t want to deal with it, endure it, go through it. Yet He backed up that petition with a “may Your will be done.” So I guess that is where I am, trying to do the right thing even when I don’t want to.
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Ed Boggess
There is a slow, subtle, sinister brainwashing process going on and by it, society is gradually drifting further and further from God. Satan has sold our generation a bill of goods and many have bought it, hook, line, and sinker. Satan’s lie is this: “It doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you are sincere.” It has become popular to fraternize with unbelievers until false doctrine is no longer objectionable. Borderline sects and confirmed cults are slapped on the back and greeted as friends. Others find overtures from Rome attractive. Still others would make a crazy quilt of the world’s religions, choosing what they like of all faiths and dropping it all into a mixing bowl of ideas and popping it into a lukewarm oven of popular opinion. In short order these theological chefs come forth with religious “hash”. But some things do not mix with He who said, “I am the truth and no man goes to the Father but by me.” This is Just-a-Minute with Ed Boggess
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Ed Boggess
WORSHIP
I am sometimes ridiculed for insisting that assembly worship follow the example of the early church. But I make no apology – Jesus Himself says our worship “must be in spirit and in truth.” While I know there is some disagreement as to what that means, I hold to the traditional view that contextually the “in spirit” was directed towards the Jews who were generally lacking in that regard and the “in truth” was directed towards the Samaritans who were lacking in that area (See B. F. Westcott on John in Cook’s Commentary for more complete explanation). In view of this, what better means to discover the method of worshiping in truth is there than duplicating the worship that was introduced and taught by the apostles. Doing so I conclude that there were five elements involved: prayers, reading and exhortation, singing praise, communion and giving. Shortly after the death of the last apostles, around AD 150, Justin Martyr wrote in defense of the faith a description of early assembly worship. I believe it is significant to note that these same five elements are mentioned; whereas there is no mention of the exercise of any spiritual gifts, which had evidently faded from use by then. It is also significant that he points out that these things were those that Jesus taught his apostles to be passed on to the church. Here is what Justin wrote:
• Justin Martyr: “On the day called Sunday, all gather together and the memoirs of the apostles or the prophets are read, then the one presiding instructs and exhorts. Then we all pray. When our prayer is ended, bread and wine and water are brought, and the one presiding offers prayers and the people assent, saying Amen; and there is a distribution to each and to those who are absent a portion is sent by the deacons. They who are well to do, and willing, give what each thinks fit; and what is collected helps all who are in need. Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly, because Jesus Christ our Savior on the same day rose from the dead. Having appeared to His apostles and disciples, He taught them these things, which we have submitted to you.”Like this:
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Shirley
Sunday is NOT the day Yeshua rose on. I just get so …frustrated.. when I see all these churches going along with the day Constantine changed from the true Sabbath to sunday worship. He rose right before the Sabbath ended (Right before the dawning of the next day sunday)..good friday means nothing because according to the Bible Yeshua himself said he would be in the ground 3 days and 3 nights. That means he had to be , and was, crucified on Wednesday (around 3 pm). Laid in the tomb Wednesday evening til Thursday evening, day one, Thursday evening to Friday evening, day two, Friday evening to Sabbath evening, day three. I find it so sad that so many preacher’s say read your Bibles but then change it around to try and make it say something altogether different! Even Billy Graham said he knew about the real Sabbath but he also said if he changed to the correct day he would lose his following. The almighty dollar reigns. How sad ..how very sad. I ..we, my husband and I have no church. We worship at our home with like minded folks that come and share the Gospel . Every church we have attended… all ..have doctrines included that the Bible does not teach. I pray YahuWaH will open the eyes of the ones that are teaching interpretations that do not follow the Bible. I can certainly understand how Yeshua felt that day in the Temple when He went after the money changer’s because of what they were doing. I also believe that if Isaiah 66:23 is that important to the Elohim than it certainly should be that important to us also. And yes,… I fully expect to be castigated by this,..but if even only one person will see the truth and understand, than I feel I will have pleased my Father. All praise to Elohim!!
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Eugene Adkins
Hello Shirley,
Here are some scriptures that should clear up the confusion about what day Jesus rose on.
“…So they said to Him, “The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him. 21 But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, TODAY is the THIRD DAY since these things happened.” (Luke 24:19-21)
Now, what “today” was the “third day” since those things that they were talking about happened??? Look at the beginning of the chapter and you’ll get your answer.
“Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning…” (Luke 24:1) The conversation on the road to Emmaus did not happen on Saturday – it happened on Sunday, the first day of the week, the third day since Jesus’ death and burial.
It doesn’t get any easier than that. Jesus rose on the first day of the week. Let God’s word give you the answer instead of relying on a “mathematical formula.” These verses are too simple and too plain to not understand unless someone is willingly misunderstanding them.
I wouldn’t call this a “castigation” but I would call it a “correction.” Thanks for visiting.
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Shirley
> You might be interested in this site (http://www.biblestudymanuals.net/last_week_of_Jesus_life4.htm ). It explains it quite thoroughly. As to being “corrected” I beg to differ with you and or anyone else about this matter., I prefer to count days and nights the same as the Bible where it says a day is twelve hours and a night is twelve hours. And remember, most importantly, during that time the dawning of another day was at 6:30PM and sunset at 6:30 PM. Not AM time as we record it today. So, if Yeshua died at or around 3PM, counting 3 twenty four hour days brings us to late on the Sabbath. That is why when Mary went to the tomb He was already risen.
(In the New Testament, the expression “three days and three nights” The Greek words (Gr. τρεῖς ἡμέρας καὶ τρεῖς νύκτας, Gtr. treis hemeras kai treis nuktas) (Matthew 12:40) is in the accusative case, the accusative case denotes a complete period of time. It does not normally mean “a time during which”, that would be the genitive case, or “a point in that period of time”, that would have to be the dative case. The Greek is scriptural proof that Jesus was literally three days and three nights in the grave. So we can take this period of time to be at least 72 hours, counting 12 hours in each day (John 11:9), and 12 hours in each night. This is literally three periods of darkness, and three periods of light as we can see what God said in the beginning, “And God called the light day, and the darkness he called night.” (Genesis 1:5). This was not the time between his death and resurrection, but the time that he was “in the heart of the earth”, that is, the time between his burial in the tomb, and his resurrection.)
Have a Blessed Day! -
Eugene Adkins
Hello again Shirley,
Jesus said he would rise again on the third day multiple times over. Luke 24 plainly teaches that the first day of the week was the third since Jesus’ trial, death and burial.
If you want to debate someone on what day Jesus died, then debate someone else – but there’s no debating what day Jesus rose on. Luke 24 is too plain. That’s why adventists don’t even try to argue that Jesus rose on the Sabbath because they know the scriptures plainly teach that Jesus arose on the first day like Luke 24 teaches.
If Jesus literally spent 72 hours in the grave then there’s no way that Jesus could have risen ON the the third day.
“and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again.” (Matthew 20:19)
“and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.” (Mark 10:34)
“They will scourge Him and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.” (Luke 18:33)
Even the angels at the tomb said, “‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’” (Luke 24:47)
Do you understand? If Jesus literally stayed in the tomb for 72 hours then Jesus would have risen on the fourth day. 72 hours and one second would have meant the 4th day, but Jesus said, and everyone knew it including his enemies it, that he would arise on the third day.
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Shirley
Lets not forget Matthew 12:40
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Eugene Adkins
Who’s forgetting it? You must understand it in light of everything else that is said about Jesus’ resurrection.
I have just showed you with the scriptures why what you’re teaching and believing is wrong.
One: If Jesus was literally in the tomb for 72 hours then he could not have risen the third day like he said he was going to. Do the math…it’s impossible. Jesus did not say that he would rise the fourth day.
Two: Luke 24, plain as the third day he rose on, shows that he rose again on the first day of the week.
In light of your response I could easily say, lets not forget Luke 24:1, 19-21; Matthew 20:19; Mark 10:34; Luke 18:33.
Chose the whole of scripture or try to find a hole in scripture. It’s up to you.
God bless in your studies.
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Shirley
I can’t help but chuckle a bit because I am not disagreeing with you at all. He did rise on the third day. Wednesday. He was put in tomb,,Wednesday to Thursday was the f
irst day and night, again Thursday to Friday, second day & night and that brings us to Friday into Saturday is the third day. If you add Sunday THAT makes it the fourth day. And thanks back at you. Good debate! Blessings… -
Eugene Adkins
I’ll reply one more time and leave it that.
Yes, Jesus rose again the third day according to the scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:4).
No, the third wasn’t the Sabbath. The third day was the first day of the week, and not the seventh.
““…So they said to Him, “The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him. 21 But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, TODAY is the THIRD DAY since these things happened.” (Luke 24:19-21)
The third day that the disciples were talking about was the third day that began their day – the first day of the week (Luke 24:1).
Listen to what the scriptures plainly say about the day Jesus arose instead of trying to come up with something to make the scriptures say something that they don’t. If you must start with the day the scriptures give without a doubt and then move backwards instead of starting on a day you choose so you can end up on another day you choose.
This will be my last reply as I cannot, nor do the scriptures, put it plainer than what has been given. I will leave any other replies up to Ed. Take care, Shirley.
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Ed Boggess
“Do Bible things in Bible ways”.
“Why don’t you folks have an organ. You surely can afford it.” That was the question I was asked by a university student that had been attending our services. The fact is some churches of Christ have added an instrument in their worship and a branch of our conservative restoration brethren have used one for years. To some it seems a making a molehill into a mountain. But to explain it simply it follows the slogan that stands at the top of this post. I believe Bible things ought to be done in Bible ways. There is no safer course! When we realize that apostolic supervision ordered the NT church practices and that such respect was given to their direction that the scripture describes brethren as “fearing” the apostles (Acts 2:42, 43 & 5:12, 13), then doing Bible (NT) things in Bible (NT) ways makes perfectly good sense. In the NT assembly worship was always singing without accompaniment. Why not be satisfied with doing it the way they did it in the NT? Who is right and who is wrong? That is not my call; the Lord will settle such things. But I know what the scripture reports and am confident that if I do what the early Christians did, I will be pleasing to God.
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Ed Boggess
No more dramatic tale is told than the story of the deliverance of the children of Israel from Egypt. Movies have been made, books have been written and songs have been composed about it. For sheer drama, neither history nor fiction can surpass the tug-of-war between the two heavy-weights that took place long ago. If you had read the Goshen Gazette or the Cairo Chronicle the week before, they would have called it a mismatch. After all, here comes Pharaoh swaggering in with all the might and power of Egypt. Then, there is the underdog Moses with his rag-tag band of slaves. But shortly after, it was another story. The headlines cried in bold print – “Stunning Upset.” They forgot to include God in the equation. Moses walked with his face to the wind, paddled against the current, swam against the tide but Moses succeeded because he was decided – “he esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches than all the treasures of Egypt” (Heb 11:26) This is Just-a-Minute with Ed Boggess
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Ed Boggess
Nobody saw anything wrong with religion at Dan or Bethel until Amos came to town. Nobody saw what ailed Judaism until Jesus walked in Jerusalem. It takes a prophet to show up religion when it becomes a farce instead of a force. Every street corner has a church and every church has a different gospel. But Paul said there is only one gospel. He said that if anyone preached any other message than that which had been given from God, both the deceiver & the deceived would be destroyed, accursed, and anathema. Was Paul right or was he just blowing smoke? I believe Paul knew what he was talking about! He was right; in fact, his message was inspired of the Holy Spirit. There is a broad way & a narrow way – the many take the one & the few the other. As for me and my family, I desire to walk the way of the few. It may not be popular but it is safe. This is Just-a-Minute with Ed Boggess
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Ed Boggess
War is all around us. Names like Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Caucasus, Nepal, Syria and Yemen, to name a few, remind us that we live in a world full of wars and rumors of wars. All over the world, there are battles & skirmishes & conflicts & fighting insurgencies and civil disturbances & combat and wars both hot and cold. This is the day of atomic bombs and nuclear warheads. We live every hour of every day on the brink of destruction and on the edge of world-wide devastation. But frankly, the principles of peace do not rest upon disarming the superpowers. The principle of peace rests on changing people’s hearts. We could sink every battleship, blow up every powder factory and junk every warhead, and still men would go at each others throats, with their bare hands if necessary, so long as greed, and hate, and lust, and malice, and bitterness fill the hearts of mankind. This is Just-a-Minute with Ed Boggess
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Ed Boggess
The Tennessean carried a picture of Managua, Nicaraguan peasants combing through tons of trash and garbage trying to find a lost lottery ticket. It is worth 6 million cordobas, about $1300. A restaurant worker threw away his ticket thinking it was out of date, but it wasn’t. It was later drawn. There seems to be no limit to what some folk will do for money. The amount of the money doesn’t seem to make much difference. Some have been shot down in cold blood for as little as pocket change. Satan’s lie that the key to happiness is a fat billfold continues to enjoy success. They think that if they can just “get ahead”, then they can kick back and enjoy life. So they work two or three jobs for a few more dollars. But often what they sacrifice in loss of intimacy in their marriage or time with their children is not worth what is gained. The best is traded away for the good. This is Just-a-Minute with Ed Boggess
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Ed Boggess
Challenge to a fellow preacher of a denomination: “You require more of a person than the Lord requires!”
“No, we don’t. I don’t believe it!”
“Well, suppose a man does everything the Lord requires in response to the gospel. Is he saved?”
“Of course, he is.”
“Is he a Christian?”
“Yes.”
“Is he a member of your denomination yet?”
“Well, not yet. He will have to join.”
“So I have proved my point. You require more than the Lord requires!”
This is Just-A-Minute.Like this:
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Ed Boggess
A Proverb says, “He who digs a pit will fall into it and a stone will come back upon him who starts it rolling”. Around 1830 the Potts operated a tavern on the Ohio River known as Potts Inn. These were rough and rugged times in frontier Kentucky and Illinois. The Potts earned a reputation of taking advantage of unsuspecting travelers. After getting a traveler tipsy, Potts would lead him to the spring where he was promptly stabbed to death and the body dumped into an abandoned well. With this kind of rearing Billy Potts Jr. joined the outlaws at nearby Cave-In-Rock. A reward was placed on his head and so he went into hiding. A few years later, having added weight and a beard, Billy returned to home to Potts Inn. He didn’t identify himself, wanting to surprise them. But he did flash a big roll of bills. His parents got him drunk, led him to the spring, promptly murdered and robbed him and dumped the body into the old well The next day a neighbor asked how they enjoyed having Billy at home. This is Just-a-Minute with Ed Boggess
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Ed Boggess
. Two of the most notorious outlaws of early American history were the Harpe brothers, Big Harpe, Micaijah, and Little Harpe, Wiley, were responsible for the murders of over 50 men, women and children. A posse caught Big Harpe but Little Harpe escaped, changed his name to John Seton, moved south and joined two other outlaws: Samuel Mason and James May. Together they became the scourge of the Natchez Trace, known then as “the Devil’s backbone.” When a reward was placed on Mason, dead or alive. Harpe killed him in his sleep with a tomahawk and he and Mays carried the corpse to Natchez, hoping to collect the reward. However, Harpe was recognized, both were hanged and their heads staked on the Trace to warn other highwaymen. This gruesome bit of Americana should cause us to pause and consider Obadiah’s words, “as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee; thy reward shall return upon thy head.” This is Just-a-Minute with Ed Boggess
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J. Randal Matheny
When I first saw the opening, I thought you’d accidently reposted the first installment of this story. Then I read further and found a blessing. :) Thanks!
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Ed Boggess
Two of the most notorious outlaws of early American history were the Harpe brothers, Big Harpe, Micaijah, and Little Harpe: Wiley, were responsible for the murders of over 50 men, women and children. For a time they operated out of Cave-In-Rock on the Ohio River, a den of thieves and pirates, but these two proved even too vile for them and were made to move on. After one of their raids, a posse finally captured Big Harpe. Without a trial, they hanged him on the spot and then his head left stuck on a stake along the road as a warning to other outlaws. This road still bears the name Harpe’s Head Road, just north of Dixon, Kentucky. This gruesome bit of Americana should cause us to pause and consider Obadiah’s words, “as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee; thy reward shall return upon thy head.” And as Jesus declared: “the measure you give is the measure you will receive.” This is Just-a-Minute with Ed Boggess
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J. Randal Matheny
What happened to Little Harpe?
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Don Ruhl
Good question, Randal.
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Don Ruhl
Ed, this is good. I am going to put it in our bulletin. Be sure to let us know about Little Harpe. I guess I could research, but I like you doing the work instead! Hahahaha
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Ed Boggess
DISGUSTED! I enjoy viewing the entertaining TV series “Harry’s Law”. The lead actress, Kathy Bates, plays Harry Corn, a Defense attorney, who fights for the downtrodden and unfortunate. It airs on Wednesday on NBC. It is produced by David Kelley. I don’t know who the writers are, but one thing has become clear week after week: they are woefully biased! Last night I watched a taped show that first aired in mid-March. One sub-plot involved an assistant DA who was called “Choir Boy” because he was both religious and eagerly pursued morals convictions. Harry’s firm defended a prostitute Choir Boy was prosecuting. The show is entertaining. That is why I watch. But here is what I protest: the script writers subtly insert their personal prejudices so as to spread their bias. The prostitute was characterized sympathetically as defenseless and persecuted by Choir Boy. Choir Boy was exposed as a hypocritical secret John. Then to top it off, Choir Boy was given a Southern accent, this in Cincinnati and the only character with one!
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Ed Boggess
Many years ago in Siam (Thailand of today) when the king wanted to bring down someone in his kingdom, he had a shrewd method of accomplishing his aim. He would give his enemy a gift. It was not an ordinary gift. It was a gift of a white elephant. Since a white elephant was considered sacred, it was expected to receive only the best of care and the finest of feed. It could not be given away or sold since it was a gift from the king. The care of the animal eventually impoverished the king’s enemy. So it is with the gifts of the devil. Satan gives to us something very exciting and alluring but once we have receive it, it is almost impossible to get rid of and eventually it brings us to our ruin. So it is with addictions: drug, alcohol, gambling, sexual, perversion, on and on. This is Just-a-Minute with Ed Boggess
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Eugene Adkins
Excellent!
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Ed Boggess
In John 3:16 Jesus said it is “whosoever believes”. In the Revelation it is “whosoever wills”. Whosoever is a big, big word. It includes you and me and all of Tennessee. Whosoever includes President Obama, Putin in Russia, Castro in Cuba, Kim Jong in North Korea and Akmadinejad of Iran. It includes George Washington and George Washington Carver, Martin Luther and Martin Luther King. It includes black men, red, yellow, white and brown. It includes Asians, Africans, Americans and Europeans. It includes young and old, educated and uneducated, rich and poor, male and female. It includes mom and pop and boys and girls. It includes everyone, everywhere, every time, anytime, anywhere, anyone, all-the-time and every place. Jesus died for all. The tragedy is that for every whosoever will, there are many more whosoever won’ts. Which are you? This is Just-a-Minute with Ed Boggess
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Eugene Adkins
Very well said, Ed. I’m going to use this in the congregation’s bulletin.
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Ed Boggess
If you were to pick out the most wicked city ever, you might likely say, “Sodom”. After all, Sodom and Gomorrah were so wicked that God wiped them off the face of the earth. He rained down fire and brimstone to destroy them. Moreover, to call a man a Sodomite is one of the greatest insults you can use and the word Sodomy is synonymous with perversion and homosexuality. Can you imagine a people worse than Sodom? Well, God’s prophet, Ezekiel tells us that Judah was worse than Sodom. Everyone agrees that Judah was sinful and that was the reason they were carried captive into Babylon, but worse than Sodom? How can it be? The answer is in the principle – the more you know, the more you owe. Sodom never had the long line of God’s prophets revealing God’s will and warning against sin, but Judah did and committed abominations in spite of it. Here’s a sobering thought – no one is more blessed than we. Could it be that God considers us worse than Sodom? This is Just-a-Minute with Ed Boggess
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Ed Boggess
. The mystics of early days tried to make themselves holier by withdrawing from society and living the life of a recluse or a monk. But living in a hole does not make one holier. Some of the greatest names in religious history were hermits, which when translated means desert-dwellers: Basil, Jerome, Benedict. It was believed that this was the key to exceptional holiness and spirituality. One such mystic, Simon Stylites lived 40 years on top of a 45 ft. high, 6 foot in diameter inaccessible column on a Syrian mountain. His food was lifted to him by rope and basket. But Jesus was no hermit and he didn’t tell us to be. In fact, Jesus went to weddings and dinner parties and Jesus was called the friend of sinners and publicans. When he was criticized for hanging out with the riff-raff of Jerusalem, he told them that healthy people don’t need a doctor; sick people do. And he was a soul doctor and came to heal the sick and save the lost. This is Just-a-Minute with Ed Boggess
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Ed Boggess
Intruders broke into a department store one night and mixed up the price tags on much of the merchandise. Undetected, the store opened the next day for business as usual. Customers found some expensive items with laughably low prices and cheap goods with outrageously high prices. It was nearly four hours into the day before they discovered the truth. Well, the same thing has happened in the modern world. Satan broke in when no one was watching and swapped all the price tags. In our generation cheap goods command top dollar while the truly valuable things are treated like dirt. You ask: how so? Why is it a man who hits home runs counts his salary by millions while teachers who shape and mold the minds of our children go begging? Why is it you can be thrown in jail for killing an unhatched baby eagle but the government funds the killing of unborn baby boys and girls? Why is it America prides itself on its work ethic, then pays able-bodied people to dawdle idly? This is Just-a-Minute with Ed Boggess
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Mike Riley
I’ve asked the same questions, Bro. Ed. The only answer I can come up with is that folks have skewed priorities (cf. Matthew 6:33).
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Ed Boggess
Satan has sold us a bill of goods. He has managed to convince us that human worth ought to be gauged on appearance or productivity. If you can hit a home run, hang a PHD on the end of your name, drive a fancy sports car or command a six-figure salary, then you are somebody. That’s what counts isn’t it? If that is the bottom line, then a lot of us are left discounted and cheap. But where does that leave the aged? the handicapped? the uneducated? What about the unborn baby? They don’t stack up so well, do they? But Jesus came to set things straight. Jesus came to reaffirm the value of every human being and to tell us that value is not based on good looks or great performance. It is inborn. I count and you count because we both are made in the image of God. That is why Jesus singled out those Satan had hung bargain-basement price tags on and reaffirmed their worth. We all count with God. This is Just-a-Minute with Ed Boggess
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Ed Boggess
Dr. J. B. Chapman once said, “it is better to build a fence around the top of a cliff than a hospital at the bottom.” We’ve all heard the same truth a thousand times expressed in an American proverb – “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Nevertheless, it seems that what we do in practice, falls far short of what we say in principle. While our prisons are overcrowded we see to it a New Testament is provided to every inmate on death row, but it is illegal to hand them out to elementary school children. Does that make any sense to you? It doesn’t to me. America is stumbling about in a spiritual fog and moral twilight. Traditional religious and moral values that have provided safeguards and prevention for generations have been shredded and tossed to the four winds. The result is we are reaping the rotten fruit of trees gone bad – AID’s, pedophilia, divorce, teen pregnancy, crowded prisons, pornography, drugs, abandoned children and much more. It is the direct result of saying one thing and doing another. Fence in the cliff and after awhile you can shut down the hospital. This is Just-a-Minute with Ed Boggess
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Ed Boggess
Is there any sense to our values? We count sacred the life of the snail darter, baby seals, and the whooping crane, yet we legalize and even subsidize the slaughtering of innocent unborn babies. We endorse a 55-MPH speed limit on our highways because it saves lives, yet we guarantee the rights to make, sell, and consume alcohol which accounts for over 50% of all highway deaths. We work hard to clean up the air we breathe and water we drink, yet allow movies, television, and magazines to pollute our minds and destroy our morals. Prayer is legally eliminated from our schools, but atheists and skeptics are allowed to spread their ideologies that destroy our freedoms and are made professors at our universities to brainwash our children and we are taxed to pay their salaries. Is there any sense to it all? There is no sense whatsoever, unless it is nonsense! This is Just-a-Minute with Ed Boggess
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Ed Boggess
A study resulting from interviews with 240 editors and reporters of the nation’s leading news magazines and television networks revealed these startling figures: 8% of those interviewed attended church weekly compared to 41% of the American public. 54% of the media staff did not regard adultery as wrong. 90% favored abortion and 75% saw nothing wrong with homosexuality, whereas 85% of the public considers adultery immoral, 65% abortion as immoral and 71% homosexuality as immoral. This means that the nation’s trend-setters and thought-leaders are far to the left of the general public. Is it any wonder that old-fashioned virtue and morality are regularly held up to ridicule in magazines and on television networks? It seems to me that they have enlisted in Satan’s army and will march with him to Armageddon. The devils and demons surely rejoice. This is Just-a-Minute with Ed Boggess
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Ed Boggess
Psychologists tell us that when one expects to hear a voice from within, the odds are good that he will and that the voice will tend to say whatever the hearer wants to hear. This is true whether one is a Buddhist monk from Thailand, a Hindu pandit from India, an Islamic Imam from Arabia, a Jewish Rabbi from Israel or a churchman from the United States. These inner voices have been justification for all kinds of behavior. Sister Marie Louise, a cloistered nun, claimed the Holy Spirit told her which teams to pick in a pick the NFL weekly winners contest. She picked 11 out of 14 correctly. Not a bad average but if that voice was the Holy Spirit, I’d like to know why he missed three. If you want to know what the Holy Spirit has to say, don’t listen for some inner voice, go to the Bible. How firm a foundation ye saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith in his excellent Word. This is Just-a-Minute with Ed Boggess.
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Ed Boggess
When money becomes the number one factor in deciding what is and isn’t televised, it is not surprising to see sex and violence dominating the offerings. Alfred Schneider, one-time Vice-President of ABC told a group of Florida college students that violence was profitable and that ABC had no intention of changing their practice. In fact regarding violence there seems to be a contest to see who can more graphically portray the blood and guts of brutality and the more degraded the nature of the crime the better. Moreover, regarding sex, it is simply “no bars held”. The envelope has been pushed until the contents are openly displayed. Lucille Ball, the former queen of decent and clean comedy, said, “They don’t care how dirty it gets, as long as it makes money.” What they call the profit factor, the Lord calls greed. What they call a business decision is actually a moral decision. This is Just-a-Minute with Ed Boggess
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Ed Boggess
Jesus prophesied that “the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give light and the stars will fall from heaven”. A cursory reading leads many to conclude he must be speaking of the 2nd Coming and end of the world. However, careful Bible students learn that such language was commonly used by prophets to describe the fall of a nation or city. So then, reading the context of Jesus’ statement, the thoughtful reader discovers that it falls in the middle of verses foretelling the fall of Jerusalem, which was fulfilled forty years later in AD 70. The terminology originated from conquerors setting fire to the defeated city so that the thick smoke darkens the sun and at night it is as if the moon has no light and the stars have fallen from heaven. It certainly isn’t a sign of the 2nd Coming, for it is to come as “a thief in the night”, that is, with no advance warning and no precise signs. This is Just-a-Minute with Ed Boggess
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J. Randal Matheny
Very good, Ed, thanks.
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Eugene Adkins
Very well said in such a short amount of words! I may “borrow” this for our congregational bulletin :)
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Ed Boggess
A letter was sent to the church and when I opened it, I saw it was hand printed. Then, scanning, I saw the words in bold caps: “solar eclipse and blood moons”. It was only a page and though it had no signature, I decided to read it. Its author warned of a major event in 2014 and 2015 and spoke of coming eclipses and the moon turning to blood. Of course, I recognized immediately the biblical allusion. Such terminology was prophetically used for the downfall of Babylon, Egypt and Jerusalem. But don’t get too excited. There have been plenty of eclipses and blood moons with no consequences. What makes a natural event significant is not its normal occurrence, but that it is used by a prophet to declare God’s judgment against a people or city. Even then, the prophecy must be fulfilled. This is Just-a-Minute with Ed Boggess
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Ed Boggess
Are “Generation X” slackers? That is the rumor that’s become popular. “Generation X” are the 84 million Americans born from 1961 to 1981. They are now 30 to 50. A generation of slackers? Not so! A new study says the generation, once nicknamed “the slacker generation” are today just as hardworking and family-oriented as other generations. Gen X is growing up. Once they were predicted to be disconnected and isolated, but the prophecies failed and the prophets shamed. Study author Jon Miller says, “On the whole they are a pretty resilient group.” They “tweet”, text message and post online. 68% are married; 71% have children at home; 33% are active members of a church and the number is increasing as more turn to faith to anchor their life. This is Just-a-Minute with Ed Boggess
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Rick
As a bit of a cusp Gen-X/Gen Y (’77), I loved this. We, like our hippie parents, just took a little more time growing up. :)
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Gary Greene is discussing. 
Shirley are discussing. 
Rick is discussing. 
Don Ruhl 9:57 am on June 1, 2012 Permalink |
I like the part where you say, “people live the way they think.” Jesus said, “…out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matt 12.34). Later, He said, “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man” (Matt 15.18). And Solomon declared centuries before, ” Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life” (Pro 4.23).
Therefore, you are correct that doctrine matters!