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Welcome to my blog where I will be posting previously written articles and new articles. There are many topics in my archives, that I look forward to sharing with you, that covers a broad spectrum of subjects. Feel free to share these writings with your friends and family using Facebook, Twitter, e-mail, etc. Feel free to reprint any of these articles in its entirety in bulletins and newsletters. When you do, please cite this website -http://bryanhodge.net. It is my hope that you will find these articles informative and encouraging. Check back often for new postings or, better yet, I invite you to subscribe to my blog. I would also appreciate your comments or emails.
Thank you for your visit!
~Bryan
Categories
Category Archives: Priorities
Spiritual Growth: (#2) Need/Opponents
The book of 2 Peter puts a premium on knowledge. The word knowledge appears in some form 16 times in this book. Why such an emphasis and value on knowledge? One source provides this answer, “Just as 1 Peter warned … Continue reading
Posted in Bible Study, christian growth, Christian Influence, Priorities, Textual study, Word Study
Tagged 1 John 4:1, 1 Kings 13, 1 Thessalonians 5:21, 1 Timothy 6:15, 2 Peter 1:20-21, 2 Peter 2:1, 2 Peter 2:10, 2 Peter 2:10-11, 2 Peter 2:15, 2 Peter 2:18, 2 Peter 2:19-21, 2 Peter2, 2 Thessalonians 2:9-11, 2 Timothy 4:1-5, 2 Timothy 4:3-4, 2Peter 2:3, Acts 17:11, allure through lewdness, authades, balaam, balak, being taught wrong is no excuse, book New Testament survey, covetousness, deceive heart of simple, desires, desires of ego, desires of flesh, desires of the ears, despise authority, Deuteronomy14:1-4, discern good and evil, don shackleford, Ephesians 4:14, Ephesians 4:19, Ezekiel 13:3, false prophets, false teachers, flatter to gain advantage, flattery, Galatians 2:20, Galatians 5:4, Galatians 5:7, Genesis 3, Guy N. Woods, harding university school of religion, Hebrews 5:14, Isaiah 30:10, Isaiah 9:15, itching ears, Jeremiah 14:14, Jeremiah 5:31, Jeremiah 6:13-14, Jeremiah 8:10-11, Jude 16, Jude 19, Jude 4, Jude 8-9, knowledge, Luke 12:15, Luke 22:42, Luke 9:23, lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, lusts, material possessions, Matthew 15:14, Matthew 23:15, need for spiritual growth, opponents of spiritual growth, opposition to spiritual growth, pareisago, Philippians 3:19, pleonexia, presumptuous, pride of life, Revelations 2:14, Romans 16:17, Romans 16:18, self-pleasing, self-will, speak smooth things, speaking evil of dignitaries, spiritual growth, strabo, Titus 1:11, tolmetes, tossed to and fro, turn grace of God into lewdness, vine's, whose god is their belly, Zechariah 13:4
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Christ is…
Paul, Silas, and Timothy evangelized Philippi, Macedonia in about 51 A.D., while on Paul’s second great missionary journey. Among the converts were Lydia and her household, and a Philippian jailer and his household (Acts 16). This began a long relationship … Continue reading
Posted in Example, Jesus, life, Meaning and Purpose, Priorities, Textual study
Tagged 1 Corinthians 10:31, 1 Corinthians 6:20, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, 51 ad, 61 or 62 ad, Acts 16, appeal for unity, can-do attitude, Christ is..., Christ prominent, Christ strenthens me, concern for others, count all things loss for Christ, death not loss for Christian, Ephesians 6:10-17, example, for me to live is Christ, glorify God, I can do all things, jim hill, John 15:13, letter of commendation, macedonia, magnify Christ, Matthew 20:26-28, pattern of life, paul, philippi, Philippians 1:20-21, Philippians 2:4, Philippians 2:5, Philippians 2:5-8, Philippians 3:14, Philippians 3:2-6, Philippians 3:8-9, Philippians 4:10-13, Philippians 4:13, power of life, press toward the mark, prize of life, purpose of book of philippians, purpose of life, r. h. cornelius, rubbish, second missionary journey, silas, song Oh I want to see Him, stay focused, stay positive, support letter, the Christian life is not impossible, the example of Christ, the mind of Christ, third missionary journey, to die is gain
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Determining God’s Will
How does one determine God’s will for one’s life? Many are looking for subtle signs. Consider: (1) I once heard of someone who was trying to decide which church to attend. One day, while driving through town, the person noticed … Continue reading
Posted in God's Providence, Priorities, truth
Tagged 1 Thessalonians 4:3-4, 1 Thessalonians 5:11-22, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, close doors, determining God's will, discerning God's will, Ecclesiastes 12:13, Ezra 7:10, God's Providence, hobby, James 1:22, local church, Matthew 7:24-27, Micah 6:8, nature, open doors, priorities, rainbow, signs, signs from above, subtle signs, unwarranted conclusions, wishful thinking
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What’s Your Cause?
It is normal for one to want a cause in life. By “cause,” I mean: “a goal or principle served with dedication and zeal” (yourdictionary.com). A person desires meaning and purpose in life. A Christian has a cause. Jesus taught, … Continue reading
Posted in Abortion, culture, Ethics, evangelism, History, Priorities, Soul Winning, Stats, stewardship, Technology
Tagged 1 Corinthians 10:31, 1 Corinthians 6:20, 1 Corinthians 9:27, 1 Peter 2:12, 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22, 1845, 1860, 1900, 1920, 2 Corinthians 13:5, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2020, Abortion, activist for cause of Christ, activist for Jesus, Acts 8:4, amazing grace, angus reed, angus reed 2020 poll, angus reed institute, animal rights, apocalypse now, bbc, black or white, california, california bans plastic bags, canada, cause, civil rights, coal, cotton bag, Deuteronomy 22:4, distraction, environment, evangelism, examine yourself, feminism, forests, fossil fuels, gas guzzling, Genesis 1:27-30, Genesis 2:15, glorify God, gospel, great commission, human fallibility, lgbtq, Luke 13:15-16, Luke 14:1-5, Luke 14:5, Luke 15:1-7, Luke 19:10, magnify Christ, marxism, Matthew 10:29-31, Matthew 12:11-12, Matthew 18:12-14, Matthew 28:19, Matthew 5:16, Matthew 6:26, michael rosen, michael shellenberg, national geographics, npr, oil, paper bags, paper or plastic, Philippians 1:20-21, plastic bags, plastic straws, politics, priorities, Proverbs 12:10, Proverbs 16:32, purpose, reusable bags, reuseable bags, sarah mclachlan, silent night, social activism, social issues, Soul Winning, SPCA, stewards, suicide, suv, test all things, the american interest, tom edington, trade offs, trees, united kingdom, whales, which bag is best, woke, yourdictionary
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Serving Only When it is Convenient
What would happen if the man-in-need scenario from the parable of the Good Samaritan were recreated? How many would stop to help? John Darley and Daniel Batson, two Princeton University psychologists, conducted a study, in the early 1970’s. Princeton Theological … Continue reading
Posted in Dedication, Love, Parables, Preachers, Preaching, Priorities, Time
Tagged 1970s experiment at princeton, benevolence, book the tipping point, daniel batson, doers of word, doing good to others, family brethren and others, God over people, helping others, Jesus had time for others, john darley, kindness, love, malcolm gladwell, mercy over sacrifice, opportunities to do good, people over animals, preaching and praticing, princeton, princeton psychologists experiment, princeton seminary, serving, serving when convenient, stats, the good samaritan, time, too busy, too hurried, urent needs, urgent needs
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The Investment of Time
Have you head of the “10,000 hour rule”? The theory is that to excel in a thing (e.g. sports, music, technology, business, etc.) 10,000 hours need to be invested in that thing (e.g. study, experimentation, practice). This theory was popularized … Continue reading
Posted in Bible Study, christian growth, evangelism, Priorities, Soul Winning, stewardship, Time
Tagged 1 Peter 2:9, 10000 hour rule, 2 Peter 3:18, Acts 8:4, berlin's academy of music, bill gates, bill joy, book outliers, business, Colossians 4:5, engineers, Ephesians 5:16, grow in grace and knowledge, Hebrews 5:12, investing time, John 9:4, johnny ramsey, k. anders ericsson, lawyers, malcolm gladwell, Matthew 5:13-16, mozart, music, physicians, pratice makes perfect, redeem time, salt and light, specialists, sports, SWAT team, technology, the beatles, time, veternarians
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Thoughts From The Prophets: Rend Your Heart
“‘Now, therefore,’ says the LORD, ‘turn to Me with all your heart’… rend your heart, and not your garments” (Joel 2:12-13). The rending (tearing) of garments was a common practice among people in the Bible lands. It was done in … Continue reading
Bryan Hodge 
Sacrificing The Abomination
“Then Pharoah called for Moses and Aaron, and said, ‘Go sacrifice to your God in the land.’ “And Moses said, “It is not right to do so, for we would be sacrificing the abomination of the Egyptians to the LORD … Continue reading →