Kevin Davis

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Knowing Jesus - Seven Signs (Sign 3)

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“Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (John 20:30-31)

In the 20th chapter of John’s gospel, the Apostle gives us the reason for why he wrote. John writes that Jesus performed many other signs while he was here. He even goes so far at the end of the gospel to say that had every one of the things that Jesus did been written down, the world would not have enough room to contain all of the books that were written.

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Knowing Jesus - Seven Signs (Sign 2)

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“Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (John 20:30-31)

In the 20th chapter of John’s gospel, the Apostle gives us the reason for why he wrote. John writes that Jesus performed many other signs while he was here. He even goes so far at the end of the gospel to say that had every one of the things that Jesus did been written down, the world would not have enough room to contain all of the books that were written.

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Knowing Jesus - Seven Signs (Sign 1)

,

“Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (John 20:30-31)

In the 20th chapter of John’s gospel, the Apostle gives us the reason for why he wrote. John writes that Jesus performed many other signs while he was here. He even goes so far at the end of the gospel to say that had every one of the things that Jesus did been written down, the world would not have enough room to contain all of the books that were written.

Fruit and Repentance

Fruit and Repentance

“Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.” (Matthew 3:8, NIV)

There is a way for a person to show oneself to be as one who has never repented (turned from that which is far from God and moved towards God). This type of person was written about by the Apostle John in 1 John 2:18-19. This (false repentance) happens to be the same reality that John the Baptist is warning against in his call to the Pharisees and Sadducees when he called them to produce fruit in keeping with repentance.

Why Read the Old Testament?

Why Read the Old Testament?

At least two-thirds of the Bible is Old Testament, which means that, if you are participating in The Bible Project Reading plan or if you are working your way through the Bible on your own, you will be spending a good amount of the year in the Old Testament. If you are using The Bible Project Reading plan you will be in the Old Testament until the end of August. The question that usually arises for most people when they are working through reading the entire Bible is, “If Christians are focused on Jesus, why read the Old Testament?”

The Truth about Bible Reading Plans

The Truth about Bible Reading Plans

The anticipation and beginning of a new year brings with it hope. Hope that this new year will be better than the year before; hope that you can succeed in trying something you haven’t tried before; hope that you can overcome what once held you down. And, for those of us who trust the Bible, a new year often brings with it the hope to do the one thing we have all tried to do—read the entire Bible. This year I’m going to make it past that third book!

The Joy of a Disciple

The Joy of a Disciple

"You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.' The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, I must decrease." (John 3:28-30, ESV)

It takes but a moment in reading the Apostle John's gospel account to get a sense of what motivated John the Baptist - to get a sense of this man's heart. In John 3 we read of John the Baptist making his mission crystal clear. He understands his life's calling to be one that testifies to Jesus. His was born to show the world who Jesus is and why he has come.

A LIGHT GIVEN TO SEE GLORY

A LIGHT GIVEN TO SEE GLORY

“For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6)

Prior to coming to verse 6 in 2 Corinthians 4 there is verse 5, which reads, “For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.” Paul is writing that we – those who believed, at that time, in Jesus Christ – were not proclaiming themselves as Lord but they were proclaiming Jesus as Lord. Apparently there was some discussion going around that these Christians were usurping the Lordship of Jesus in favor of elevating themselves among other people. Paul destroys this falsity as he writes that they are proclaiming Jesus as Lord and, as for the Christian’s status among other people, they are placed rightly as servants for everyone for the sake of Jesus.

Moving on from verse 5 one can see that Paul is continuing his line of thinking from verse 5 into verse 6 because of his use of the word for.

Be Transformed in 2016

Be Transformed in 2016

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect" (Romans 12:1).

I am inviting you to be transformed in 2016. Specifically, to be transformed by the renewal of your mind. I invite you to join with me in having our minds repaired, fixed-up, polished, and even made new in 2016. Then, because of the renewal of our minds, to be transformed. I invite you to join me in heeding what Paul has himself invited his readers to do in Romans 12:1. Be transformed. Renew your mind. Know the will of God!

The question then is, "Well, how do I renew my mind and be transformed?" 

In order that…

“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” (Romans 8:29).

Why did God foreknow and predestine some to be conformed to the image of his Son? The answer is not found in us but in God. Romans 8:29 tells us that those who have been predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son were conformed in order that Jesus might be the firstborn among many brothers. Jesus is the point even in our being conformed by God to Jesus. As much as it grinds against our natural disposition to assume that we are the point of all that God does we must press on to know the Lord (Hosea 6:3) and not ourselves if we are in search for the truth.

Psalm 23 also shows us that our being led in the paths of righteousness – or being conformed to the image of Jesus, as it says in Romans 8:29 – is for God’s name’s sake (Psalm 23:3). The main reason that God is pleased to lead us in paths of righteousness or to conform us to the image of his Son is not so that we can be better disciples or even that we can grow in sanctification (although those are often some of the glorious results). The main reason that God leads and conforms us is God. He is concerned mainly with his own glory. And this is good news for those who trust in the Lord because for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).

As theologian and author, J. I. Packer, once said, “The subject of the old gospel was God and his ways with men; the subject of the new is man and the help God gives him. There is a world of difference.” It was J. I. Packer’s urging in his writing and the urging of this brief blog post that we remember our relation to God and the gospel.