Posts by Cody Westbrook (Page 10)

Posts by Cody Westbrook (Page 10)

117 Billion Gallons

117 billion gallons. That number represents the total storage capacity of the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite National Park. It is also the total amount of alcohol that is consumed every year, globally. Put another way, the human body contains 5 liters of blood. 117 billion gallons is equal to the total bloodstream of 89 billion people, which is almost 10x the total world population. (Alcohol.org) Our world is drowning in an ocean of alcohol. Christians are to hate what…

The Problem With Complaining

If we are honest, we would all admit that we struggle with complaining from time to time. The bible identifies complaining as a worldly exercise and commands Christians to avoid it. Paul wrote, “Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world” (Phil. 2:14-15). The children of Israel stand as a perfect…

Bless the Lord!

Psalm 103:1 is an emphatic and imperative call to praise the Lord. The command implies affection and a sense of gratitude as well as effort and energy. To bless the Lord with all that is within me involves my entire being. Someone may casually remark that they do not get much out of worship. As this passage reveals, that is the case when one does not put enough into worship. The remainder of the psalm identifies a number of reasons…

Blessed Assurance

Many things in life are unsure. Few are guaranteed. Life can be difficult to manage with so many uncertainties, but Christians possess a precious blessing that those outside of Christ cannot have–assurance. Romans 5:1-5 Paul identifies 5 blessings of justification. Five blessings that belong only to those who have submitted themselves to the will of God and have been washed in the blood of Christ Jesus that they may stand holy in His sight. These blessings are given to point…

The Suffering Savior

In Acts chapter eight, we learn of the evangelist Philip’s interaction with an Ethiopian man whose curiosity was sparked by Isaiah’s writings about the silent sufferer in Isaiah 53. Beginning from this Scripture, Philip “preached unto him Jesus” (Acts 8:35). First, Isaiah revealed that the word that best describes the man of Isaiah 53 is “insignificant.” Humanity was unimpressed as they beheld this “tender plant,” “a root out of a dry ground,” one who had “no form or comeliness” and…

Some Reasons for Bible Study

In Psalm 119:33-40 the psalmist eloquently expresses his desire to learn more of God’s Word. Note the imperatives in each verse: teach me (33), give me (34), make me (35) incline (36), turn (37), establish (38), turn (39), and revive (40). While this section of scripture describes both the desire to learn and the reasons for learning, it is only one context which emphasizes these two points. As we reflect on Psalm 119:33-40, note some other passages of scripture which…

The High Price of a Bowl of Soup

One of Satan’s deadliest methods is convincing a person to be shortsighted. He dangles the “passing pleasures of sin” before us and convinces us to choose what feels good now at the expense of the pain to come later (Heb. 11:25). Esau fell into this trap. Genesis 25 records the occasion on which Esau begged Jacob for a bowl of stew. Jacob was willing but he drove a hard bargain. The price was Esau’s birthright, which he willingly paid–a decision…

Competing Voices

What should have been an overwhelming victory turned into a terrible tragedy. God’s command to king Saul was simple—“utterly destroy” the Amalekites (1 Sam. 15:1-3)—but he did not heed the voice of the Lord (1 Sam. 15:1; 19-20; 22). Instead, he listened to his own voice (1 Sam. 15:17), and that of the people (1 Sam. 15:24). He left king Agag alive, along with other spoils of war, which he claimed were to be sacrificed to the Lord (1 Sam.…

Nice Guys Don’t Finish Last

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Though society advances at a rapid pace, the fundamental issues of life are constant. Among those is the troubling phenomenon of the success of the wicked. From the beginning, God’s faithful have pondered this reality and asked God “why?”. Psalm 37 is David’s inspired account of pondering this difficulty. In a world where nice guys always finish last, what are the righteous to do? Psalm 37:1 commands, “Do not fret…

When in Rome… Do as Daniel!

No doubt you are familiar with the old phrase, “When in Rome, do as the Romans.” It suggests that when visiting a foreign locale, it is polite to abide by their customs. As it pertains to customary greetings, when to drink your coffee, or anything else that is harmless, surely there is some wisdom behind the thought. But, there is a boundary that cannot be crossed. That boundary is God’s will. Peter’s statement in Acts 5:29, that “we ought to…

The Church is the Called Out

Against the milieu of this world’s wickedness stands the church of Christ. God’s Eternal Purpose (Eph. 3:9-11) is the establishment of the body of Christ as an entity in which man is at peace with God and his fellow man (Eph. 2:14-18). He wills that Christians live holy lives (Eph. 1:4-6) of sacrifice to His cause (Rom. 12:1-2; 1 Pet. 2:9). The church of Christ is the body of people who have been called out of the world to meet…

An Overwhelming Success!

To say that the past 12 months have been challenging would be an understatement. Overwhelming would probably be more accurate. Arise! 2020 was an amazing success. In fact, we broke every attendance record up to that point. But just a few weeks afterward, COVID graced us with its presence. For a time, we didn’t know if there would be an Arise! 2021. But, thanks be to God that there was, and that it was perhaps the most successful year yet.…