MrsDrPoe: Noah's Ark

Since we painted virtually the entire house immediately after we bought it (and almost every room is a neutral color), we decided that we were tired of painting.  Our new girl would have a tan room with a Noah's Ark theme because that would be easy, fun, and based on the Bible.  To help decorate the walls, I asked my grandmother to paint some animals two-by-two for the room, and here's what she came up with:

camels, elephants, lions, zebras, giraffes, and doves (they're out of the picture).  How fun!  And they look so real!  The room is slowly coming together...yesterday I even put on the lovely Noah's Ark sheets that the Barclays gave us. 

MrsDrPoe: Jesus as a Role Model for Dads

For this Theology Thursday, I'd like to share with you a great lesson about Jesus from Mr. Maxson.  In honor of Father's Day last Sunday, he presented Jesus in a slightly different light- as a role model for dads- focusing on how He always put Himself second during His time on this earth.  Don't feel like there's no point in listening if you're not a dad though; since we're all called to be servants, this a great lesson for everyone.  You can find it online here.

MrsDrPoe: Paul Earnheart

It's another Theology Thursday on the blog, and today I'd like to invite you all to a very special weekend event here, our semi-annual youth forum.

Paul Earnheart will be speaking this year, and the setup is a bit different.  Friday night at 7:30, he will be giving a lesson to older folks about raising children.  Saturday there will be various lessons geared toward young people at 10, 11, 1:30, and 2:30.

I encourage everyone who can join us to do so, and if you can't, check here for a live broadcast or to listen after this weekend.

MrsDrPoe: A Lovely Tradition

Around this time every year, the graduating senior guys are asked to present a lesson to the congregation before they go off to college.  I think this is a fantastic tradition and that the guys this year had some fantastic thoughts.  So for this Theology Thursday, I invite you all to open up your Bibles with me and listen to lessons on Psalm 39, 32, 15, and 107 here.

MrsDrPoe: Acts 29, Part 4

It's the final Theology Thursday of the month, which means our study of Acts 29 is coming to a close.  Please open your Bibles and study Acts 29, Part 4 with me.  If you're not familiar with this series of lessons, check out Parts 1, 2, and 3 first. 

MrsDrPoe: Acts 29, Part 3

Continuing on with our series for this month's Theology Thursdays, please open your Bibles and join me in studying Acts 29, Part 3.  If you missed the earlier parts, you can find them here and here.

MrsDrPoe: Acts 29, Part 2

It's another Theology Thursday, and today we'll be continuing the series of lessons on "Acts 29" that we started last week.  As usual, I invite you to open your Bibles and to join me in studying Acts 29, Part 2.

MrsDrPoe: Acts 29, Part I

For this month's Theology Thursdays, I'd like to share with you a series of sermons on "Acts 29."  If you're familiar with the book of Acts, you probably recognize that there is no 29th chapter; however, this title was chosen to emphasize the fact that our lives today as disciples of Christ are actually a continuation of the church started in the book.

Please open your Bibles, and join me in studying Part 1 of Acts 29.

MrsDrPoe: A Leper Meets The Teacher

This Theology Thursday I have a special treat for you.  Instead of sharing some of my thoughts from recent Bible studies, I'd like to point you to a lesson from Mark that Mr. Poe presented several weeks ago.  You can listen online to this lesson here; the sermon title is the same as that of this post.  Enjoy!

MrsDrPoe: Seeing God Where He Isn't

Happy Theology Thursday here on the blog!  As always, I invite you to open up your Bibles with me as we look at another portion of God's  word.

As I've shared with you in earlier months, I was a class on the Judges last segment.  Toward the end of the book are a couple of stories that show us just how bad things had gotten in the kingdom of God because of sin.  In chapter 17, we open up on a man named Micah who had stolen some silver from his mother.  As the story plays out, we see that this man is also an idolater who has a shrine and idols in his household.  In verse 7, we are introduced to a young Levite on his way to find a place to stay.  This Levite comes across Micah's house, and Micah invites him to be the priest for his shrine.  The Levite agrees, and in verse 13, Micah says:

"Now I know that the LORD will be good to me, since I have a Levite as a priest!"


The law of Moses clearly teaches that Jews should not be worshiping idols (or stealing for that matter), but that did not stop these men from doing so.  They were doing, as is said so often in the book of Judges, "what was right in their own eyes."  And Micah took it as a sign from God that he was doing right since a Levite had come to be his priest, as if God was pleased with his worship of idols.

While in this instance the error of their was seems obvious to us, we need to realize that often times we do the exact same thing in our own lives.  Too often we let our desires put words in God's mouth as if a bolt of lightning from heaven is the only way He would show His disapproval of something.  But "there is a way that seems right to a man, but it's end is the way of death." (Prov 14:12, 16:25)


We must remember that God speaks to us through His word, and only through study and prayer are we able to see what the will of the Lord is for us (keeping in mind that it's generally not as specific as "I should marry Bob Jones"). AND we must remember that Satan is out there too, stalking about like a lion, waiting to devour us.  Micah didn't blatantly forsake God- he thought he was serving Him!  We need to be careful not to make the same mistake or we'll be the people in Mat 7:22:


"Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?'  And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'"

MrsDrPoe: Spring 2012 Gospel Meeting

It's another Theology Thursday here on the blog!  Today I'd like to invite you all to our gospel meeting going on March 18-21.  If you can't come in person, feel free to listen live as our guest L.A. Stauffer brings lessons on:

The Way of Love (Sun 9:55 am)

The Way of Faith (Sun 6 pm)

The Way of Hope (Mon 7:30 pm)

The Way of Salvation (Tues 7:30 pm)

The Way of Prayer (Wed 7:30 pm)

Hope you can join us!

MrsDrPoe: Paradise

It's once again Theology Thursday, and as always, I invite you to open your Bibles with me as we look at another portion of God's word.

My thoughts today once again come from listening to the radio during this week's travels.  The Coldplay song, Paradise, was on, and Mr. Poe and I were singing along.  Several times in the lyrics, it's said that the girl who's the subject of the song is disappointed by the world and dreams of paradise every time she closes her eyes.  Thought I've listen to and sang the song numerous times, this time it made me think...what is the "paradise" I think of when I close my eyes?

In the New King James version of the Bible, heaven is referred to as "Paradise" 3 times (Luke 23:43, 2 Cor 12:4, and Rev 2:7).  No matter what the answer is when we ask ourselves about what we long for and dream about, as Christians this should be the paradise that we think of continually- especially when we're disappointed with the discouragement and sin in the world.

After thinking about these things, I decided that my goal this month will be to dwell more on heaven.  I hope you'll join me! 

MrsDrPoe: The Rich Young Ruler, Part 2

The week is almost out, which means another Theology Thursday is upon us!  Today we'll be continuing our discussion of the rich young ruler, so as always, I invite you to open your Bibles with me as we look at another portion of God's word.

If you remember, last week we looked at the story of the rich young ruler, how difficult Jesus said it is for the rich to enter into the kingdom of heaven, and that we too may need to get rid of our money and things if they are diminishing our trust in God.  Today we'll focus on the reminder of the passage, Luke 18:26-30.  

In verse 26, the disciples are taken aback by Jesus' teaching.  Then, like now, the rich were privileged, and if it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom, the disciples don't see how anyone can enter.  Jesus responds, "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God."  In this one statement, Jesus clarifies that while we cannot enter on our own accord, all men, no matter what their social status, can enter into the kingdom by the grace of God.

Another typical 'response' when studying this portion of the passage is simply to justify that we don't have to live in poverty to serve God and move on with our Bible study.  Again, this is true...but what should we be doing with our riches if they're not hindering our trust in God?  Here are some practical examples of how we can use our blessings to serve the kingdom.

- host a Bible study, prayer session, or gathering in your home (like Lydia!)
- use your projector/big screen to show music for a singing
- invite brethren in need to stay in your home
- offer to baby sit for free while a parent or other child is sick
- make a meal for a needy brother or sister
- go visit shut-in or hospitalized brethren
- loan a brother/sister in need your car or offer to drive him/her somewhere
- volunteer your time and/or tools to help someone complete a necessary project
- fund your own mission trip or support someone else's
- donate unused or slightly used clothing, food, furniture, etc.
- sell something and give the proceeds to needy brethren (like in Acts!)

As we conclude our look at the rich young ruler, let's remember the end of the passage (Luke 18:29-30) where Jesus tells us that whatever we give up for the kingdom (family, possessions, etc.), we will receive many times more in this life and eternal life when our physical bodies die.  So, if we find our riches drawing us closer to the world and farther from Christ, we needn't be anxious about getting rid of them...trusting in the Lord affords us innumerable blessings through His body!


I hope this study has been as helpful for you as it has been for me.  Let us always remember that all that we have we have been given and that we should use everything in a way that best glorifies God!

MrsDrPoe: "You Will Obtain Your Goal If You Maintain Your Course"

It's another Theology Thursday here on the blog!  As always, I invite you to open up your Bibles with me as we look at a portion of God's Word.

The title for today's post came from an old fortune from a cookie that I noticed on my jewelry box window this morning..."you will obtain your goal if you maintain your course."  When I read it, I started thinking about goals and courses.

Spiritually speaking, there are only two "goals" or end-points in life: heaven or hell; although, very few people would admit that their goal in life is to go to hell.  So if there are only two "goals" that are by nature mutually exclusive (i.e. you can't go to both), then the course each of us is currently on must lead to one or the other.  This reminded me of Galatians 5:16-26, which contrasts the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit.

The works of the flesh (the course that leads to hell):

adultery

fornication

uncleanness

lewdness

idolatry

sorcery

hatred

contentions

jealousies

outbursts of wrath

selfish ambitions

dissensions

heresies

envy

murders

drunkenness

revelries

The fruit of the Spirit (the course that leads to heaven):

love

joy

peace

long-suffering

kindness

goodness

faithfulness

gentleness

self-control

After all these thoughts this morning, I asked myself a question that we all need to ask ourselves...regardless of what we say our goal is, what is the course that we are on?  Are we following the works of the flesh or growing in the fruit of the Spirit?  As the fortune cookie said, our course will take us to our true goal.

MrsDrPoe: Bible 101 Series

It's another Theology Thursday here on the blog!  As always, I invite you to open up your Bibles with me as we look at a small portion of God's Word.

As the book of Hebrews emphasizes, Christians are under a new covenant, superior to that associated with the Law of Moses.  Often since we are under this new covenant, we spend most of our time in Bible study in the New Testament or simply the gospels.  It is crucial to our spiritual walks that we read and understand the commands we should follow as partners in this new covenant; however, the Old Testament also offers us important information about God, His character, and His promises.  

If we examine the Old Testament, we can see that God had a plan from the very beginning...and that plan was Christ.  Jesus Himself said in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:17-18, "'Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.'"  But when we do realize the benefit from examining the Old Testament, we tend to get bogged down in all the details- the names, places, nations, and battles-  and "miss the forest for the trees" so to speak.

Last week, we started a Sunday morning series of lessons called "Bible 101."  Essentially these four lessons (each Sunday morning at 9:55 am EST in February) will focus on the "big picture" of the Old Testament and how the major events in this part of the Bible point to Christ and the need for His perfect sacrifice for us.  I invite you all to join us for the remainder of the series.  If you're in the metro Atlanta area, feel free to stop by; if you're not, you can listen live online here.  I hope you can join us!  


Note: If you're reading this post after Feb 2012, this series of lessons can be found here.

MrsDrPoe: A Psalm of Waiting

For this Theology Thursday on the blog, I'd like you to read Psalm 37 with me.  Lately I have been singing "Teach Me, Lord, to Wait," really praying that God would help me work on my patience and my short fuse.  Of course like all things we pray for, we must pray with an understanding that God might not help us exactly in the way we would prefer or that might be most convenient (i.e. I might be ok practicing patience by waiting on dinner another couple of hours, but God may teach me to wait with a flat on the interstate).  While I've found myself practicing patience in some unexpected ways lately, this Psalm is particularly comforting.  I hope it provides some comfort for you as well.

Do not fret because of evildoers, Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.  

For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, And wither as the green herb. 

Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. 

Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. 

Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring [it] to pass. 

He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday. 

Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. 

Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret--it only causes harm.  

For evildoers shall be cut off; But those who wait on the LORD, They shall inherit the earth.

For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; Indeed, you will look carefully for his place, But it shall be no more. 

But the meek shall inherit the earth, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

The wicked plots against the just, And gnashes at him with his teeth.

The Lord laughs at him, For He sees that his day is coming.

 The wicked have drawn the sword And have bent their bow, To cast down the poor and needy, To slay those who are of upright conduct.

Their sword shall enter their own heart, And their bows shall be broken.  

A little that a righteous man has is better than the riches of many wicked. 

For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, But the LORD upholds the righteous.

The LORD knows the days of the upright, And their inheritance shall be forever. 

They shall not be ashamed in the evil time, And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. 

But the wicked shall perish; And the enemies of the LORD, Like the splendor of the meadows, shall vanish. Into smoke they shall vanish away.

The wicked borrows and does not repay, But the righteous shows mercy and gives.

 For those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth, But those cursed by Him shall be cut off. 

 The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, And He delights in his way. 

Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the LORD upholds him with His hand.  

I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread.

He is ever merciful, and lends; And his descendants are blessed.  

Depart from evil, and do good; And dwell forevermore.

 For the LORD loves justice, And does not forsake His saints; They are preserved forever, But the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off. 

 The righteous shall inherit the land, And dwell in it forever. 

 The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom, And his tongue talks of justice. 

 The law of his God is in his heart; None of his steps shall slide.

 The wicked watches the righteous, And seeks to slay him.

 The LORD will not leave him in his hand, Nor condemn him when he is judged. 

 Wait on the LORD, And keep His way, And He shall exalt you to inherit the land; When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it. 

I have seen the wicked in great power, And spreading himself like a native green tree.  

Yet he passed away, and behold, he was no more; Indeed I sought him, but he could not be found. 

Mark the blameless man, and observe the upright; For the future of that man is peace.  

But the transgressors shall be destroyed together; The future of the wicked shall be cut off. 

But the salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; He is their strength in the time of trouble.

And the LORD shall help them and deliver them; He shall deliver them from the wicked, And save them, Because they trust in Him.

MrsDrPoe: A Caricature of God

It's another Theology Thursday on the blog, and as always, I invite you to open your Bibles with me as we look at another portion of God's Word.

As I mentioned last week, I'm currently in a class on the Judges.  While studying about Gideon a few lessons ago, a verse in the sixth chapter of the book got me to thinking:

v.13 - Gideon said to Him, "O my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us?  And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, 'Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?' But now the LORD has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites."

In this verse (emphasis mine), it seems like the children of Israel were teaching their children something about the Lord, but it seems like they were only teaching of the Lord's power and might- of the plagues that allowed the nation to leave Egypt.  These parents have apparently neglected, however, to teach their children about the law of the Lord and the fact that He is a just God who judges righteously.  Hence they are in the situation they are in- under subjection to the Midianites because they neglected to follow the way of the Lord.


While it could be argued that 'something is better than nothing,' it is very important for us to not only have a full picture of God in our own minds but to also teach that full picture of God to our children.  God IS NOT the nice old grandfather who only loves and that sweeps all of our sins under the rug.  As we see from His dealings with the children of Israel, those who do not follow God's law will be punished in one way or another.  God IS loving and merciful; although the children of Israel don't 'deserve' it, He sends them deliverance when they repent.


We must avoid caricatures of God that emphasize one or more of His 'more desirable' qualities while neglecting the others; we must see and teach the full person of God, even if we can't understand how justice, righteousness, mercy, power, love, etc. can all perfectly coexist.

MrsDrPoe: The "S" Cycle of Apostasy

Another Thursday means another Theology Thursday here on the blog!  As always, I invite you to open up your Bibles with me as we look at another portion of God's word.

During this segment of Bible classes, I've been in the study the Judges.  One of our class objectives is to describe the recurring "S" cycle of Israel's apostasy, and our associated goal for the segment is to personally identify factors in our lives that can cause us to fall into this same cycle.

The cycle we see in the time of the judges is:

Sin - each of the children of Israel "did what was right in his own eyes," without regard to God's law
Servitude - as promised, the rampant sinning of Israel was punished by God through oppression by one or more of the surrounding nations
Supplication - after a certain period of time, the children of Israel cry out to God with repentant hearts
Salvation - being a merciful God, the Lord raises up a judge to (typically) militarily rescue Israel from its oppressors

Without fail, shortly after the lives of the children of Israel started going well again, they forsook the Lord and turned back to sin.

In class we've discussed several of the reasons for the continuation of this cycle:

-General Disobedience to God
*Not driving out the inhabitants of the land
*Not destroying the Idols in the land
*Doing what was right in their own eyes

-Evil Associations
*Made covenants with enemies
*Intermarried with the inhabitants of the land

-Poor Leadership
*At the national level (general slacking of priests and tribal leaders)
*At the family level (not teaching children about the Lord)

Since we are given the Old Testament as a selective, redemptive history, it is essential that we examine the text with the intent to make application to our lives.  In the case of the "S" cycle, as our class goal suggests, we need to identify things in our own lives that can cause us to enter this downward spiral:

-General Disobedience to God
*Are we studying the Word of God daily?
*Are we applying the teaching of Jesus in our lives?
*Do we base ALL of our decisions of what God considers to be right?

-Evil Associations
*Are our closest friends trying to get to heaven or doing what's right in their own eyes?
*Are our significant others desiring a God-centered relationship with us?
*What are our hobbies/favorite TV shows/etc.?
*Where can we be found on a Friday/Saturday night?

-Poor Leadership
*Are our husbands leading the family in a Godly direction?
*Are we bringing up our children in the fear and admonition of the Lord?


At the beginning of every new year come new resolutions.  I would encourage you to join me in being resolved to no longer be "charmed by the world's delights" but to instead seek to identify and eliminate the things in my life that cause me to seek the way of the world instead of the way of the Lord.

MrsDrPoe: The Cost of Discipleship, Part II

Welcome to this Theology Thursday on the blog!  As always, I invite you to open your Bibles with me as we look at another passage on the cost of discipleship.

In Mark 6:7-34, the gospel writer employs one of his favorite literary techniques to emphasize what it means to be a disciple of Christ.  In this 'sandwich' or story-within-a-story, Mark tells us about the sending out and return of the 12 apostles and the beheading of John the Baptist.

While the two stories in this sandwich are connected by the idea of teaching everyone- the apostles are going out to the surrounding country to proclaim repentance, and John is killed because he taught King Herod that his marriage was unlawful in God's eyes- they also emphasize that the cost of discipleship is everything.  

Throughout John's ministry, it is obviously that he has given his life for the Lord (dwelling in the wilderness, teaching the Word, dressed in camels' hair, eating locusts and wild honey, etc.), and at the end of his life on this earth, his martyrdom reiterates that he had indeed put to death his old man daily.

The apostles are just beginning their ministry when they are sent out two by two with nothing but the gospel and their trust and faith in the Lord to aid them in their journey.  As they return at the end of this passage to tell Jesus of their travels, Christ again shows them by forfeiting His own rest to show compassion on those in the multitude who are like sheep without a shepherd that being like the Lord means daily self sacrifice to His work!

As we saw in Luke passage last week, Christianity only leads to daily death on the cross, and we must be willing to pay this price to truly follow the Lord.

MrsDrPoe: The Cost of Discipleship, Part I

Once again Theology Thursday is upon us here at the blog!  Today I'll begin a two-part series on the cost of discipleship looking at some passages from Mark and Luke.  As always, I invite you to open up your Bibles with me as we look at these portions of God's Word.

Luke 9:23-27 says:

Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?  For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels.  But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God."

The first verse in this passage is pretty well-known and often taken out of context and misapplied.  People say that an illness, a financial burden, or even a mother-in-law is their 'cross to bear,' but that is not what the cross is in this passage.  The cross leads to death (picture a modern day electric chair), which is obvious from the next few verses: we must loose our lives to Christ to save them.

Colossians 3:1-11 talks about the need to put to death the "old man with his deeds" in order that we may live as a "new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him."  Thus our commitment to Jesus is denying our fleshly desires, daily taking up the cross to put to death our old self who was slave to sin, and following Jesus in His actions and teachings.  The fact that Luke includes the word "daily" in his account of this teaching of Jesus is significant because it tells us that we must be ever watchful of the old man and the old desires and temptations that will try to sneak back into our lives.  We must die daily to serve the Lord.


Next week we'll look at another passage that exemplifies death as the cost of discipleship.