The Barnabas Blog

Song of Solomon 2:15 KJV   Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes. SPIRITUAL APATHY General Quotes Anonymous —Apathy is the glove in which evil slips its hand. Elie Wiesel —The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, its indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, its indifference and the opposite of life is not death, its indifference. Martin Niemoller —First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a communist;   Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist;   Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist;   Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew;   Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak out for me. G. Bowes —One apathetic Christian may do untold harm to a whole chu

                 Thirty Sins of the Tongue to Avoid As a conclusion to this part about the little fox of sinful speech, I discovered the old Puritan Richard Baxter wrote a book that was primarily intended for the people in the church he pastored in Kidderminster in the 1600’s.   He called it A Christian Directory and he noted that there were thirty sins of the tongue to avoid. Understand and remember what the sins of the tongue to be avoided are.    And they are very many, and many of them very great: the most observable are these: 1.   The first among all sins of commission is that of blasphemy, which is the reproaching of God:   to speak contemptuously of God, or to vilify him, or dishonor him, by the denying of his perfections, and to debase him, by false titles, doctrines, images, resemblances, as likening him to man in any of our imperfections; anything that is a reproaching of God is blasphemy. 2. Another sin of the tongue is, false doctrine, or tea

EPHESIANS 4:29—DON’T LET UNWHOLESOME WORDS EXIT YOUR MOUTH The words that are spoken give great revelation to the state of the heart.  Sinful speech can fall into disgraces against God and those against man.  Those against God can be rash swearing in the name of God, irreverence toward God in light conversation, using Scripture in a jesting or scoffing manner, mocking the church and those who are serious about their walk with God, reasoning against the doctrines of the church to defend sinful practices or opinions, and murmuring and complaining.  Speech against man can fall into areas such as idle speaking with words that add no value, coarse jesting that has worldly undertones or innuendo, lying, wounding the reputation of others even if the words may be true, slander or spiteful speech that raises a false report.  Our speech needs to affirm both God and man.  Most likely when you read the title of the lesson about sinful speech, your mind probably went immediately to a co

Sinful Speech Song of Solomon 2:15 KJV   Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes. Ephesians 4:29 KJV   Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. Ephesians 4:29 ESV   Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. Ephesians 4:29 MSG   Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift. Ephesians 4:29 NASB   Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. Ephesians 4:29 Moffatt NT   Let no bad word pass your lips, but only such speech as is good for edification, as occasion may require, words that are gracio

The Control of Weeds The keeper of the vineyard also has to keep a watchful eye for those weeds, thistles, nettles, briars, and scrub trees that will exploit his soil.  These kinds of things take the plant food and the water and consume them at the expense of the vines.  All of these things have to be entirely removed from the vineyard or else.  Cultivation is the most effective way to accomplish this as it stirs the soil and shaves off the roots just below the surface of the ground.  Cultivation also works as a deterrent against various forms of fungus and bacteria that will deform the vines. In the parable of the soils, we are told that some of the seed fell to the ground among the thorns (Mark 4:7, 18-19).  We are told that the thorns are the cares of this world.  It is those worries about secular things instead of the sacred things.  Some of the cares of this life are the necessary things that relate to our survival on the earth.  Food, clothing, work and other matters

Song of Solomon 1:6 KJV   . . . they made me the keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard have I not kept. The utterance of the Shulamite in this verse proves to us the perils that exist in the confines of the Christian life.   There are responsibilities that we have but often do not live up to them because of neglect.   Neglected vineyards makes for a wearying journey that is filled with doubt, discouragement, and a knowledge that our spiritual walk could be on a much higher plain.   This vineyard keeper is voicing a sorrowful confession of how things really are as she looks about the disarray of the vineyard.      How many times on our knees in prayer have we confessed the very same thing to the Lord?   We have confessed about the faulty, shoddy spiritual work that has been accomplished because of the condition of our own soul.   We know what it is like to have wanted to speak words of faith and hope into someone’s torn up life only to discover the emptiness

 Every person has a vineyard.  We may not perceive that we are keepers of vineyards but there are responsibilities that we all have for our vineyards.  First, we have the personal vineyard of our own soul.  It is perhaps the most important vineyard of all that we are to take the most care of.  Our soul is the most valuable possession that we have according to the Word of the Lord (Matthew 16:26; 10:28; Ecclesiastes 12:7).  The care of the soul is a very tedious and challenging process.  It involves the careful work of plowing, planting, cultivating, weeding, watering, and harvesting.  Just as a farmer is in a joint venture with God, to care for our soul will have to be a joint venture with God.  We cannot do it all alone!  We must have God to intervene with Spirit and Word to accomplish His will for us.     The care of the soul is not something that will be accomplished with a single attempt but rather it is an ongoing process that takes years of constant devotion and care.