Yes and here is the second article:

ALL LAND-DWELLING creatures were created on day six (Genesis 1:24-26)…
 
It is clear that on the sixth day God created all land-dwelling creatures and man: “Then God said, ‘Let the Earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping things and beast of the Earth, each according to its kind’; and it was so….And God saw that it was good.  Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image…'”  This creative history is emphasized again in Exodus 20:11 which states: “For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the Earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day.”  Clearly, everything–including man and dinosaurs–was created during the six days of creation.  (Brad Harrub, Think, Aug. ’07).
 
“For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the Earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day” (Exo. 20:11).  – Mike Benson

WHEN MOST PEOPLE first hear the suggestion that dinosaurs were on the ark they find this incomprehensible…
The visual image of dinosaurs walking up a ramp through the doorway of the ark is not a picture many have ever considered. Two mental stumbling blocks make it especially difficult for the average person to give any consideration to this suggestion: evolutionary teaching and their gigantic size. The mainstream media has done such an outstanding job of convincing the general population that dinosaurs lived millions of years ago that the idea of dinosaurs on the ark seems ludicrous. After all, they would have us believe that humans are separated from the dinosaurs by 65 million years.
The other stumbling block is the size of these great lizards. Oftentimes when we picture dinosaurs, we imagine massive Sauropod dinosaurs such as the Apatosaurus that easily weighed over 50 tons! How do you get such massive creatures on the ark–and once onboard, how do you feed such enormous creatures? Furthermore, how did Noah’s family and domestic creatures share living quarters with ferocious creatures such as the Tyrannosaurus rex?
In evaluating what animals were on the ark, it is important to consult God’s inspired Word for details. (Remember, this is the only inspired book.) (Brad Harrub, Think, Aug. 2007)
“And of every living thing of all flesh you shall bring two of every sort into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. Of the birds after their kind, of animals after their kind, and of every creeping thing of the earth after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive” (Genesis 6:19-20).
–Mike Benson

Are you looking for a “Bible commentary” or “commentary on the Bible” and do not know where to start?  One place that may help you is www.abiblecommentary.com, my main Bible commentary web site.  I also own and operate http://www.commentaryonthebible.com, a Bible commentary web site that actually lists some good one volume Bible commentaries, some good sets of Bible commentaries, information about Bible dictionaries, Bible encyclopedias, Greek Bible study tools, etc.

THERE IS OFTEN A VERY SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHAT A LAW SAYS OR REQUIRES AND WHAT PEOPLE BELIEVE OR HOW PEOPLE ACT.

a) For a while on Sunday mornings we want to explore and apply this single fact.
b) The Bible will be our “law” and we will contrast the scriptures with many popular beliefs.
c) Today’s information is designed to introduce this topic.

2) We want to establish that people often want to be a “law unto themselves.”
a) Suppose a driver does a “slow and go” and a stop sign and was seen by a police offer.
b) The officer pulls over the driver and the policeman immediately hears some excuses.
3) The driver might say, “I was late for an appointment and I didn’t have time to stop.”
4) Some might even say, “This is just the way I always drive and it has been working out fine.”
5) Let’s apply this to the spiritual realm.
a) There are people in the realm of religion who treat God’s law like a stop sign.
b) Some will obey it and this is the right choice.
c) Others will violate God’s law because they prefer to do things their way.
6) Someone might justify their refusal to abide by the scriptures by appealing to tradition.
a) A person might say, “My family has always worshipped in this way.”
b) For many, custom is the way to decide things when it comes to religious matters.
7) The Bible has some things to say about “custom” and “traditions.”
a) In 1 Cor. 11:2 Paul said he had delivered some “traditions” to the Corinthians.
b) Paul told the Corinthians to “hold fast” to these traditions.
c) In another letter (2 Thess. 2:15) we find this point being made once again.
8) The word translated “tradition” in 1 Cor. 11:2 ad 2 Thess. 2:15 is used elsewhere.
a) One of the other places where this term is found is Col. 2:8.
b) In many cases what people believe about religious matters is incorrect.
c) In Mt. 15:3 Jesus used the word translated “tradition” in 1 Cor. 11:2 and 2 Thess. 2:15.
d) He said manmade religious traditions (beliefs) cause people to “break God’s laws.”
e) The Bible is a bit like a driver’s license manual.
f) God has given us the rules and God has said we cannot try to re-writer His instruction book.
9) Human religious traditions will hurt and destroy people.
10) “I don’t see anything wrong with the way I am doing things.”
11) Acts 17:30
a) Ignorance is no longer an excuse.
b) A person may truly not see anything wrong with their religious choices.
c) God says that is not enough. We have received a book on how to live.
12) If tradition and ignorance are not used to set aside God’s will, there is the “I like it” argument.
a) Some of us have heard people say they worship in a certain way because that is their preference.
13) Col. 2:23 refers to “will-worship.” This is the type of worship that is based on what people want.
a) God has warned us that this argument carries no weight with Him.
14) A final argument is, “It is found in the Old Testament it must be okay.”
15) We are under the current laws, not the past.
a) This is also true in the area of religion – we are under a “new law.”
b) This law is the New Testament.

The story is told of a professor who stood before his class of 20 senior organic biology students, about to hand out the final exam.

“I want to say that it’s been a pleasure teaching you this semester. I know you’ve all worked extremely hard and many of you are off to medical school after summer. So that no one gets their GPA messed up because they might have been celebrating a bit too much this week, anyone who would like to opt out of the final exam today will receive a “B” for the course.”

There was much rejoicing amongst the class as students got up, passed by the professor to thank him and sign out on his offer. As the last taker left the room, the professor looked out over the handful of remaining students and asked, “Any one else? This is your last chance.” One final student rose up and took the offer.

The professor closed the door and took attendance of those students remaining. “I’m glad to see you believe in yourself.” he said. “You all have “A’s.”

Too often, we’re content to settle for second best. A lot of students would be thrilled to settle for a “B” (“That’s better than I usually get.” “That’s doing better than most of the others I know.”). And most students, I think, would rather get a “B” with little time spent studying, than to make the effort it takes to get an “A”.

A lot of us are content to settle for second best in our spiritual lives as well. We’re close to God (at least closer than many people we know), but we aren’t willing to take the time and the effort to have the kind of relationship we know God wants us to have.

The biggest problem with settling for second best is that we miss out on that which is best.

“As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, ‘Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!’ ‘Martha, Martha,’ the Lord answered, ‘you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.’ ” (Luke 10:42)

What Martha was doing was good (second best, even), but “Mary has chosen what is better.” May we always seek out and choose “what is better” in our relationship with God! — Alan Smith

Online Bible commentary web sites: One important Bible study tools is a good “Bible commentary.” Some Bible commentaries are free if they are on-line; other Bible commentaries are packaged with Bible software, and many are found in soft cover and hardback books. Hundreds and hundreds of Bible commentaries have been written and it is often difficult to separate the good commentaries from the bad. Now there is help! Through www.bumchecks.com you can find 20 buying tips to select the perfect Bible commentary to aid in your study of God’s word.

Bible commentary survey: A survey on Bible commentaries

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How often do you usually read it and how long do you normally read for at a single setting? Please take a moment to vote in this “Bible poll”:

1) In Jn. 17 we find that Jesus prayed that His people would be one.
2) The religious world as we know it is not “one” in any sense of the word.
a) People cannot agree on the day of worship.
b) People do not agree on the type of worship – “modern or contemporary.”
c) People do not agree on the acts of worship, or even believe the same things about God.
d) A lot of groups do not believe in Hell. Some think heaven is going to be here on earth.
e) Disunity reigns in the religion world and this wrong.

3) Paul showed that even on a congregational level God wants unity (1 Cor. 1:10).
4) Somewhere along the line people began to think that denominations can help us achieve unity.
a) If we have all kinds of differences, we can somehow all be one.
b) This is one of the strangest ideas I have ever heard.
c) If there has ever been a contradictory idea put forward, this is it.
d) The word “denomination” describes division and a lack of unity.
e) Denomination refers to dividing things into classes.

5) In the First Corinthian letter Paul said God has “called us to peace” (1 Cor. 7:15).
6) God wants us to have “peace among ourselves” (1 Thess. 5:13).
7) God says “glorify Christ with ‘one mouth’” and “one accord” (Rom. 15:6).

8) When people have different faiths, there is not peace and unity.
a) A long time ago the prophet Amos asked a question.
b) He said, “can two walk together if they do not agree” (Amos 3:3)?
c) The implied answer to this question is “No.”
d) God and the nation of Israel could not walk together if they did not agree.
e) Sin and righteousness could not coexist.

9) As long as the religious world refuses to follow only the Bible, there will be religious division.
10) If people will not all agree to follow the Bible and the Bible alone, there will never be harmony.
11) There have been cases where religious groups have acted a lot like a business.
a) Two businesses may have some mutual interests so they merge to form a new and third business.
b) This sometimes happens with religious groups.
12) Two denominations may merge together.
13) When this happens, nothing really changes.
14) A new religious group is formed, but the new group is still a denomination.

WHEN WE LOOK AT THE NEW TESTAMENT WE DO NOT FIND ANYTHING LIKE THE NUMEROUS DENOMINATIONS THAT LINE OUR NATION’S STREETS.

a) The church in the New Testament is pictured in a much different way.
b) In New Testament times the church was a unified body of people.
c) There are may have been some small variations in various congregations.
d) They may not have all sung the same number of songs, but each congregation was a singing church.

2) They may not have all given their money in the same way.
3) Some congregations may have used a collection box; maybe another place passed a hat.
4) The way the Lord’s Supper was distributed may have varied from congregation to congregation.
a) There is no passage that says we must serve the Lord’s Supper in the way we do.
b) Our method is an expedient and convenient method, but it is not an inspired method.
c) We could have the elements on the table and everyone could come up and get their own.
d) This would be one way to observe the Lord’s Supper.
e) Some congregations in the past may have observed the communion in this way.
f) The sermons preachers have preached have been presented with some small differences.

5) Some have used visual aids; some have been hours long; some men have preached from wheel chairs.
6) Some men have used microphones.
7) There are some variations, but congregations were all doing the same kinds of things.
8) The place where Christians have met would have also buried.
9) Some met in homes; others met in caves; some even met in tombs (graveyards).
10) There was consistency in how people worshipped and what they believed.
a) These acts make Jesus’ church distinctive.
b) This distinctiveness is a way of saying that Jesus’ church is not a denomination.
c) Jesus’ church is a religious group that holds to the truth and follows it.
d) As stated in Acts 2:42, there is the “apostle’s doctrine” and that is what it follows.

11) In the denominational realm churches continue in other things; they do not cling to the apostle’s doctrine.
12) A group may continue with the directions that come from a place like New York, Rome, or Chicago.
13) It may continue what the local, regional, national or world wide board says.
14) It may continue with what the members of a religious group wants.

15) The church of the New Testament is completely distinct from any other religious group.
a) Consider very carefully what we find in Acts 2:41.
b) There were people who became Christians; these people were added to the church.
c) Before these things happened, there was a prerequisite.
d) Acts 2:41 – READ

16) Jesus’ church is accessed by “Receiving the word.”
a) Some say they “joined the church” and they know nothing about the Bible.
b) In this type of situation a person certainly did join a church.
c) The church they became affiliated with, however, was not Jesus’ church.
d) People who become a member of Christ’s church must first “receive the word.”

17) Others claim they have been members of many different churches over the years.
18) I do not doubt that those who make this statement are being absolutely accurate.

19) How many of those “different churches” belonged to Christ?
20) In some cases a person may be a member of several congregations, all of which are Jesus’ church.
21) Usually when a person says they have been “in several different churches” they mean many denominations.
a) We often pay attention to dates or we are interested in how old something is.
b) Some dates concern us because things expire.
c) We do not want meat that was set out for sale 10 years ago.
d) We do not want emergency backup batteries if they were manufactured in 1972 – that is too old.
e) In other cases something that is very old is quite valuable and exactly what we want.

22) When we look at the religious groups in our world, we need to consider their start date.
a) A lot of groups are not ashamed to tell us when they began.
b) One denomination down the way say they are pleased to announce their group is 100 years old.
c) Another group says its roots go all the way back to the 1800’s.
d) Another religious faith says it can trace its beginning back to the 1300’s and 1400’s.
e) Going back 600 or so years is a long, long time.

23) Another group might claim they can go back a lot further — 1,400 years.
24) All these religious groups, even one that is 1,400 years old, are too young.
25) They are not old enough to be the church where we need to be.
26) More than 2,000 years ago Jesus created His church, Mt. 16:18.
a) People were taught about this church and they were added to it, Acts 2.
b) People were not given the right to start up other religious groups in Jerusalem.
c) Other congregations of the one true could be started and they were started.
d) There were no denominations that we have because people realized this would be wrong.

27) Imagine if some believers went out and said, “We want to start our own religious group.”
28) Instead of having the Lord’s Supper every Sunday, we will do it once a month.”
29) “Rather than make music with singing, we are going to have instrumental music.”
30) “We want to have praise teams, women preachers, and Saturday worship.”
a) First century saints would have been shocked at this type of thing.
b) People would have said, “Jesus created His church and you are creating a counterfeit group.”
c) We can understand how wrong this would have been 2,000 years ago.
d) There is no question that God would not have welcomed this type of activity 2,00 years ago.

31) If we can understand this point…can we also not understand this same point for our day and time?
32) Creating rival groups 600, 1,400 and 1,900 years later is just as wrong.
33) People – maybe with good intentions – have created rival religious groups.
34) We now call these rival groups denominations.
35) Many like religious denominations because they give people a choice.
36) Is this choice from God or is it from the devil?
37) Christ built one church and He did that with His blood.
38) Jesus wants us to be a member of that church. Are we?

The church is not in the banking business.  Or is it?  Having spent the last several years in fund raising for evangelistic works, one of the greatest frustrations I have met is congregations who are sitting on tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars that they are not using.  Certainly every missionary and/or fundraiser would like to see congregations support “his” work, but it’s understood that that’s at the discretion of the local eldership.  God’s plan is that each congregation be autonomous, and therefore no eldership is obligated to support any specific work.  On the other hand, they are obligated to support some work.

One is reminded of the parable of the talents.  Though this parable is often used to illustrate the need to use our abilities in God’s service, the “talent” in the text is a unit of money.  The one talent man in the parable is faulted because he dug a hole and buried the money that he should have been using for his master.  The reason he gave for his negligence was fear (Mt. 25:25).  His master attributed it to laziness (vs. 26).  The master then commanded that he be cast into the outer darkness because he failed to use that which was laid at his charge.

Could it be that we have a real parallel in the Lord’s church today?  It is certainly understandable that a congregation would want to have a reserve for cases of emergency. But what could motivate a congregation to stockpile $50,000 or $100,000?  Some elderships have said, “Well, you never know when the roof will blow off of the church building.”  That’s what insurance is for.  And how many souls will die lost over the next twenty years, while we wait for the roof to blow off?  Some elderships sit on money because they have a fear of the unknown.  Was that not the problem of the one talent man?  It’s true that tragic and costly events do sometimes occur.  I am intimately familiar with one congregation which was hit with a financial crisis.  The elders of that good church had set aside only a very small reserve.  The rest of their money was being used for the Lord’s work.  What did they do?  They made an appeal to the congregation.  The brethren gave generously, and the problem was fixed.  In fact, they gave in excess of the need.  The elders then took the excess and immediately spent it on the Lord’s work.

Over the years, I have many times heard a prayer led before the contribution in which the brother leading would say, “Lord, may these funds be used in your service.”  But all too often that is not what happens.  All too often, the funds sit in a bank “just in case” something tragic happens.  Brethren, what could be more tragic than souls dying lost when we could have taken the gospel to them?  What could be more tragic than to have missionaries who want to go, but who don’t have the funding?  What could be more tragic than for us to have the resources to “go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” but not use them?  One can hardly imagine that God will be pleased on the Day of Judgment with elders who have tens of thousands of dollars in the bank “just in case.”– Don Blackwell

If you want to be distressed, LOOK WITHIN.
If you want to be defeated, LOOK BACK.
If you want to be distracted, LOOK AROUND.
If you want to be dismayed, LOOK AHEAD.

If you want to be disappointed, LOOK TO MAN.
If you want to be delivered, LOOK TO CHRIST.
If you want to be delighted, LOOK UP.

In the 1980’s a retired couple was alarmed by the threat of nuclear war so they undertook a serious study of all the inhabited places in the world. They wanted to figure out the least likely place in the world to be affected by nuclear war – a place of peace and security. They studied and traveled, traveled and studied. They finally found THE PLACE and sent a card to their friends from their new home in the Falkland Islands.

Unfortunately, their ultimate place of peace was soon a literal war zone as Britain and Argentina fought over those islands in what history books now called the Falklands War. *

There is not a place in the world where one may find perfect peace.  Jesus warned His disciples: “In the world you will have tribulation” (John 16:33).  One may find a place where a country is not (at least currently) involved in a war, but there is also the matter of conflicts with others on a relational level as well as inner conflict with the individual.

When Jesus warned His disciples that “in the world you will have tribulation,” He also comforted them by saying: “In Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

The peace that Jesus promises is NOT the absence of conflict on the outside, but an inner calm within the individual – a peace in the midst of the storm!
 It is based on trust in a God who cares and provides for His children (Luke 12:22-31). 

A “perfect peace” that is ours NOT because of the absence of trouble, but because of the presence of God! This peace is found in a relationship with God through His Son, Jesus, that sustains His children even in difficult circumstances.

Jesus Christ died on the cross so that YOU and I might have THAT peace. Through His death, burial, and resurrection, Jesus conquered the number one problem that keeps us from having peace: SIN. His death served as payment for the sins of those who will submit their lives to Him: believing in and trusting Him (Acts 16:31), repenting of sin (2 Corinthians 7:9-10), confession that He is the Son of God (Romans 10:9-10), and being baptized (immersed) for the forgiveness of sin (Acts 2:38). The “peace of God which surpasses all understanding” will CONTINUE to “guard” the hearts and minds of those who CONTINUE to walk with God obediently (Philippians 4:6-7).

Through Jesus, WE may have peace with God, peace with others, and peace with ourselves – even in a troubled world!

Do YOU have that peace?

David A. Sargent, Minister

Welcome to my new Bible blog – the old Bible commentary link was here: – http://abiblecommentary.blogspot.com/.