Servanthood: What about Me?

Someone humorously noted that once man had rocketed to the moon and discovered that is was not made of cheese, he did not go back!

It seems that some people think about heaven in a similar way. They are interested in heaven only if it has things they like. They cannot imagine enjoying heaven without their spouse, or extended family, or a favorite pet, leisure activity, entertainment option, or...bacon. (Silly, right?)

Someone recently suggested that heaven might be boring if there is no sin. Someone else wondered if heaven would have the variety of life that so many are accustomed to experiencing on earth. Some people find is discouraging, or, at least, uninteresting, to read in Revelation about angels continually singing praises to God. And why? Singing is not their interest.

The ‘servant’ passages of Scripture also bother some people. Do you find it difficult to embrace the idea of being God’s slave and adopting His will?

In the last two blogs servanthood was considered. In the blog entitled “No Thanks” (7/12), a parable was considered in which Jesus noted that a servant has but one task, to serve his master. He does not expect thanks for his service. In the blog entitled “Accepted for What?” (7/19), the Parable of the Talents was considered. The two servants who carried out their master’s will received no thanks or payment. In fact, one received greater responsibility. And yet the master invited both, “Enter into the joy of your master.”

I think we sometimes wish God would hold an ‘open house’ so we could take a peek into heaven to see if it is all that we expect. (At least post pics!) Our limited human mind wants to know, “What’s in it for me?”

On one occasion Jesus used the servant-master relationship to illustrate readiness. He encouraged His followers to be like servants who were eagerly waiting for their master to return from a wedding feast so they could open the house to him. However, the picture described by Jesus was different than other servant-master illustrations/parables:

Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them.

--Luke 12:37

That was quite surprising. The master served the servants!

Parables and illustrations like this typically represent God or Jesus as the Master and the disciples of Jesus as the servants. The return of the Master most often represents a time of judgment and sometimes the end of time and final judgment with the afterlife to follow. The servant-master relationship is used to teach us something about the eternal kingdom of God.

Jesus revealed more about the faithful slave as He continued with the illustration. The faithful slave is the one who is watchful, prepared and ready. In other words, he is faithfully carrying out his master’s will. Jesus said of him, “Truly I say to you that he [master] will put him [slave] in charge of all his possessions.” (v. 44) I am not sure what the master’s possessions represent in this illustration. Yet, verse 44 is the second half of a beatitude that began in verse 43: So...blissful is that slave who is prepared.

Have we become so engorged on our wealthy lifestyle that we have lost our taste for heaven? Are we so spoiled that we think, “What’s in it for me?” Have we become accustomed to being our own master!? 

Have you ever wondered if Satan might be using ‘life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness’ to distract you from more important things?

It is blissful to be a faithful slave to Jesus because of our future hope.

Can your mind embrace that truth?

Mark Stinnett

July 26, 2026

Us vs Them: God's View

We live at a time when many people, religious people, are tired of the Bible and its message. They have grown weary of the ‘bloody’ message of the cross. They think doctrine promotes controversy. “Why can’t we all just get along and help others?”

That sounds nice...except there is a distinction, a kind of ‘Us’ and ‘Them.’ God views the two distinct groups in various ways in Scripture, such as those who are in the kingdom of God and those who are not. Also...

• The godly and the ungodly
• The righteous and the unrighteous
• The good and the evil/bad
• The saved and the lost
• The saints and the sinners

Perhaps the most important distinction is that of the living and the dead. The Apostle Paul wrote to Christians in Ephesus and informed them that they were formerly “dead in your trespasses and sins.” He went on to say that through God’s grace they had been saved. God “made us alive together with Christ….” (Ephesians 2)

It is easy to read passages of Scripture like that and think it is figurative. However, the distinction of the living and the dead goes back to the beginning of the Bible when everything that God had created was good. He had created mankind in His own image. Mankind enjoyed fellowship with God.

However, when Adam and Eve sinned, it was more than the breaking of a rule. They literally separated themselves from God demanding their own independence. They wanted to think for themselves and make their own choices. It was not that God was opposed to them thinking and choosing. Rather, it was a matter of trust. Adam and Eve decided to trust in themselves and in doing so, broke fellowship with God. In that, they died.

So, in God’s view there is an ‘Us and Them.’ It is rooted in the distinction between God and man. Yet, before sin entered, there was only ‘Us.’ God did not change. Adam and Eve separated themselves from God and in doing so created an ‘Us and Them’ relationship. And from the beginning, the distinction was between the living and the dead: The Living God and man.

So, ultimately, God does not wish for the distinction. He is not in favor of ‘Us and Them.’ For that reason, from the beginning, He has been working out a plan of redemption, a plan that would give life to those who have separated themselves by sin and its consequence: death.

It is sometimes overlooked that there are consequences for choices and actions. For most people, the consequence of sin does not seem frightening. After all, people are not falling down dead when they get drunk, have an affair, lie, or gossip. However, the lack of immediate consequences does not mean that consequences do not exist.

The Bible teaches that Jesus will return to take the saints home with Him. It will be a time of separation in which God will make the ultimate and final distinction between the living and the dead. Those who have been born again, that is, made alive through the Holy Spirit will enjoy life eternal. All others will be forever separated from God and all that is good.

The Apostle John wrote a short letter (1 John) to Christians so they could KNOW that they possess eternal life. There IS a clear distinction: Those who have the Son of God have life; those who do not, have no life.

Do you have the Son of God?

Mark Stinnett

May 31, 2026

Instruction for Life

Not long ago I took a break for lunch at a favorite fast food restaurant. Seated directly behind me was a grandmother-granddaughter pair. I was not aware of the music coming over the speakers until Grandma informed her granddaughter: “This is not real country music. Real country music was sung by Johnny Cash.” She went on to name others of that era and continued, “Real country music makes you feel something.” (Long pause.) “It makes you think.” The lesson continued.

I call it a ‘lesson’ because Grandma was teaching the little girl (no more than three years old) the definition of good music and its value. I cannot help but think that there will be similar lessons to follow, lessons to reinforce the important truth taught that day. Grandma will someday pass from this earth and whether that little girl embraces real country music or she marches to her own drumbeat, I cannot predict. However, this lesson will undoubtedly be remembered as being of great importance to Grandma.

I cannot help but think that the grandmother practiced what she preached and listened to real country music. That would be another vitally important component of teaching:

1. Model the values, attitudes and behavior that you wish pass on.
2. Verbally express your values, attitudes and behaviors. After all, people, and especially kids, do not always understand your example.

Paul’s instruction, “whatever a man sows, this he will also reap” (Galatians 6:7), may be applied to teaching. It applies to both verbal instruction and the lessons one models through example.

In my opening illustration, grandma thought it important to teach her granddaughter about country music. I reflected on the content of the lessons that I had taught my children.

Paul’s instruction to fathers about the content of parental instruction is compact: “bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” (Ephesians 6:4) There are many valuable life lessons. Yet, many have value only in this life. They are not the specific content of “the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” They are more often based on one’s life experience and home-spun philosophy. That is not what Paul meant.

The entire Bible is filled with the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Instruction is the verbal/written aspect of teaching while discipline is the hand-on, practical application of God’s teaching. Throughout Scripture we receive instruction on honesty, integrity, faith, morality, self-control, godliness, generosity, service, love of God, love of others, and more.

The ‘stories’ in the Bible are also important. Noah teaches faithfulness, patience, and gratitude. David (and Goliath) teaches faith and courage. Ruth teaches faithfulness. Nebuchadnezzar teaches humility (in contrast to great pride). The stories teach us something about the character of man but also God’s expectation of good character. We need to tell the stories, but we must not forget the lessons taught by those important examples. At the same time, we must not forget how God’s interaction with people teaches valuable lessons about His divine character.

You might say that every person’s life declares, “This is how to live life.”

Eyes are watching; ears are listening.

So, what are you teaching by your example? What lessons will continue to ring in the ears of your children, grandchildren and those who knew you? Make sure that you are providing instruction of eternal value.

Mark Stinnett

August 10, 2025

You're Not Just a Clod

Have you ever thought about your value as a human being? 

We’re all just a bunch of clods...dirt clods.

Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground…. 

--Genesis 2:7

Even unbelieving evolutionists recognize that when a person dies their body decomposes and eventually becomes...dirt. Perhaps the difference is that the believer acknowledges that the body ‘returns’ to the dust of the ground from which it was 'created.'

Articles have been published in which the physical ingredients of an adult human body were catalogued and measured. They were then given an approximate value based on current prices for the separate components. The totals were always just a few dollars. 

Dirt clods.

So, what gives a person value?

There is one ingredient that scientists cannot measure; cannot calculate; cannot really comprehend scientifically. Science can tell us the various chemical components of our physical body, but they have never been able to come up with a recipe to mix all the dry ingredients together, add water, and then produce...life.

We can continue the cycle of reproduction that already exists, but we cannot create. The essence of life is not a dry ingredient that man can manipulate into life.

For that reason, life is valuable.

Long before the New Testament was recorded, before the Law of Moses was given, at the time of Noah, God commanded that man not eat anything with its blood in it. Why? 

Life is in the blood.

--Genesis 9:4; Leviticus 17:11

The penalty for killing another human was death. Why?

Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed,

For in the image of God He made man.

--Genesis 9:6

God did something quite wonderful when he formed man out of the dust of the ground:

Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

--Genesis 2:7

It is easy to take life for granted. It is easy to forget that people are not assigned value based on human perception. Value is assigned by God.

We recognize how often violent men display their lack of regard for life when someone is killed. Most of us would never think of murdering someone. However, do we ever treat people as insignificant or practically invisible? Do we devalue people on the basis of their politics, their religion, their personality, their perceptions of life, their sin? Are there people that we simply ‘write off’ because they are not worth the effort?

We are more than ‘dirt clods’ because God made each of us valuable when he gave us life. And then he did something unthinkable, something beyond imagination, something marvelous: He gave His only Son as a sacrifice for our sins so we could live with Him forever.

Your true value is not found in human accomplishments, material possessions, or your glowing personality. Your value has little to do with you. You are valuable...

     ...because God has made you in His image...

          ...because he has given you life...

               ...because He has offered life everlasting to your soul. 

Value life!

Mark Stinnett

June 29, 2025

Psalm 23: Why Keep Sheep?

When we read about the offering of lambs in the Old Testament, we probably do not think much about shepherds. We usually focus on some aspect of sacrifice and make connections to Jesus or to Christians. On the other hand, when we consider passages about shepherds and shepherding, we probably do not think much about altars and sacrifices. We tend to focus on the vulnerability of sheep and the role of the shepherd as it applies to our relationship with God. All of this is fine. It accords with scripture.

Isn’t it amazing that the shepherd knows his sheep, each one? That close relationship demands careful attention on the part of the shepherd.

The shepherd spends time with his sheep providing care and assistance. He recognizes and wards off potential trouble before it can become a serious threat. He spends his time away from the sheep in search of good pasture and clean water.

When a sheep wanders off, the shepherd leaves the flock to search for the lost sheep. The good shepherd cares deeply for his sheep. So...

Why Keep Sheep?

Have you ever thought about the connection between the shepherd and the sacrifice?

It would be easier if we simply considered the shepherd as a dealer in wool. Every season he would shear his sheep and sell the wool in order to make a living. However, this would leave an incomplete picture.

A shepherd eats his sheep. He also takes the best of his sheep to offer as a sacrifice to God. During the time of Jesus some shepherds would sell some of their sheep to provide Passover lambs for travelers who could not supply their own.

A cow is sold or slaughtered. It has value, but it is a cow. A sheep is sold or slaughtered or sacrificed but it has a name and is known by its shepherd. So...

Why keep sheep?

When Jesus was baptized by John, the Spirit of God visibly descended and remained on Him. It was a sign from God: The one on whom the Spirit descends and remains; this one is the Son of God. (John 1:29-33) God then announced Jesus as His Son, in whom He was well-pleased. (Matthew 3:17)

The next day John was with two of his disciples and he saw Jesus and said, “Look! The Lamb of God!” (John 1:34-35) “Lamb of God” is not a title or a name. It indicates a relationship. Jesus was the lamb that belonged to God; God’s lamb.

Not only was God the Shepherd for King David but also for Jesus of Nazareth.

There was a year in history that was different from all other years. That year, at the Jewish Passover, a most unique sacrifice was offered: The only Lamb of the Great Shepherd. God took his Lamb in whom He was so pleased, and He presented His Lamb as a sacrifice, not for His guilt, but for the sins of the world. His Lamb was not a dumb wooly animal, but His own Son who was devoted to the will of the Father. His Lamb did not go to the ‘altar of sacrifice’ (the cross) unwillingly, but yielded Himself to the Great Shepherd. In that way the Great Shepherd offered His only Lamb as the perfect and supreme sacrifice for all mankind for all ages.

It is amazing to think that The Shepherd is still in the sheep business. But that was the real reason for His sacrifice. He sacrificed His beloved Lamb for all those who were lost. The Great Shepherd loved the sheep in such a way that He gave up His one precious Lamb to go in search of the ninety-nine who were lost.

For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.

Mark Stinnett

December 8, 2024

Would You Like to Talk about Hell?

“No!”
That’s my answer to the title question: “Would you like to talk about Hell?”

I don’t want to talk about the reality of Hell. 

I don’t want to talk about the doctrine of Hell. 

I really don’t want to talk about Hell. 

And yet, when you read and study the Bible, the subject is inescapable. Hell is the place of eternal destruction and its existence brings in the foreground of the reality of divine judgment.

When the Apostle Paul went to Athens, he preached the gospel and concluded with a statement calling for repentance. Then, he added a statement of explanation:

Because He [God] has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness, through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead. 

—Acts 17:31

The idea of judgment indicates that people will be evaluated and then placed into categories. Paul revealed the basis for judgment: righteousness. The one to do the judging is the man that God raised from the dead, that is, Jesus the righteous one.

There are several terms used in the Bible to describe the groups of separation in judgment:

• Righteous/Unrighteous
• Godly/Ungodly
• Holy/Unholy
• Good/Evil
• Forgiven/sinner

All of these can be reduced to the comparison: those who are like God and those who are not. Those who are righteous (godly, holy, good, forgiven) have been born again and are alive in Christ. Yet, those who are unrighteous (ungodly, unholy, evil, sinful) are dead. Life and death are not to be understood in a physical sense, but in light of one’s relationship with God. Those who are living are alive spiritually. Those who are not, are dead spiritually.

God’s judgement is the separation of the living and the dead, again, those who are like God and those who are not.

The fact that there will be a day of judgment is very clear in Scripture. 

   Jesus Himself spoke about the day of judgment (Matthew 11:22; 12:36). 

   Peter and John also warned their readers of the day of judgment (2 Peter 2:9; 1 John 4:17). 

   It was prophesied in the Psalms (9:8; 96:13; 98:9). 

Numerous other passages mirror the same.

To the surprise of some, Jesus will be the judge. That was not His role when He came to earth the first time.

For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.

—John 3:17

However, His return will be different…

...when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord…. 

 —2 Thessalonians 1:7-9

I don’t want to dwell on the day of judgment and hell. Yet, this negativity is true. It is placed in the Bible as a warning because God loves you and wants you to know Him. He wants you to obey the gospel, live righteously...and LIVE!

So, perhaps 'hell' is a relevant topic. The things God has revealed in Scripture will inform us so that we will learn how to respond in order to avoid hell.

God loves you and doesn't want you kept in the dark.

Mark Stinnett

February 4, 2024

What's on Your Bucket List?

Before it was called a bucket list people would just say things like, “Before I die, I’d like to visit Rome,” or “I’ve dreamed of skydiving all my life.” I don’t know who came up with the expression or when, but it boils down to the list of things you’d like to do before you ‘kick the bucket’; your bucket list.

People put things on their bucket list that are often adventurous, exciting, unusual or extreme. Yet, they are things that are actually affordable and achievable. No one ever places on his bucket list, peace on earth or pay off the national debt of the U.S. Those are unachievable dreams. Rather, you might want to, wade the headwaters of the Mississippi River, hike in the Appalachian Mountains, ride in a gondola in Venice, or juggle bowling pins.

Some bucket list dreams might be more noble, but the things generally shared by people are personal and self-centered. I wonder if anyone in Bible times had a bucket list.

I read the following about Abraham:

By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

—Hebrews 11:9–10

King David had his eyes set on building a permanent dwelling for God to replace the tabernacle. Because of the blood on his hands, God would not allow it. So, David passed the task down to his son Solomon. (1 Chronicles 28)

The Apostle Paul had a keen focus:

More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. 

—Philippians 3:8–11

And then, of course, Jesus...

“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” 

—Luke 19:10

“I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” 

—John 10:10

“For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it up again.” 

—John 10:17

Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” 

—John 18:37

“For I have come down from heaven, not to do my will, but to do the will of him who sent me.” —John 6:38

The bucket list dreams of my friends and family pale in comparison to the visionary goals of these righteous men. Whether or not you have a bucket list is immaterial. All that really matters is whether you have your eyes set on obtaining eternal life. That is ALL that matters.

Mark Stinnett

January 22, 2023

'Caught Off Guard' Concerning Hope

For most people a weekly or monthly paycheck is a good illustration of hope. Often used today as a synonym for wish, hope really means expectation when it appears in the Bible. A person puts in a day’s work and expects to be paid. Yet, most employers make arrangements for workers to be paid on a schedule. So, for example, a worker begins the week working without pay, yet with the hope of being paid at the end of the week. He does not wish for a paycheck; he expects one. His expectation is based on an arrangement, or promise, made by the boss.

In the Bible you might read about believers placing their hope in someone like God or Jesus.

O Israel, hope in the Lord;

For with the Lord there is lovingkindness,

And with Him is abundant redemption.

—Psalm 130:7 (NASB95)

The Psalmist encouraged his people to place their hope in God. He wanted them to depend on God, and with good reason. God is full of lovingkindness. Other translations have expressions like mercy, loyal love, gracious love, or steadfast love instead of lovingkindness. The Hebrew term is an expression of love that is tied to a covenant, and covenant indicates promise.

So, the Psalmist was reminding Israel that they were in a covenant relationship with the God of heaven. For that reason they could depend on Him, or, they could hope in Him. They could depend on the fact that He had made covenant promises to them and that He would keep His word. In Psalm 130 the promises were about Israel’s forgiveness for sin and her redemption. So, Israel could have the expectation that God would keep His covenant promises concerning His forgiveness of their sins and their redemption. Israel could truly hope in God.

Sometimes we read in scripture about a specific hope. The Apostle Paul used the phrases hope of your calling, hope of the gospel, hope of glory, and hope of salvation in the same way he used the phrase hope of eternal life.

Unfortunately, some believers are being caught off guard by voices in religious circles telling them not to worry with questions about eternity. Rather, they should focus on more pressing matters like feeding and clothing the world and serving others. While noble and relevant…

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

—John 3:16 (NASB95)

He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

—Titus 3:5–7 (NASB95)

Based on these Scriptures, I must focus on eternal life because...

• Eternal life is real.
• Not everyone is guaranteed eternal life, only those who believe in Jesus.
• Eternal life is an inheritance.
• We are made heirs of this amazing promise by the mercy of God through Jesus Christ.

Don’t let anyone catch you off guard by telling you that eternal life is of lesser importance.

The best news is that if you are true Christian, then your hope IS eternal life.

Expect it because God has promised.

Mark Stinnett

July 25, 2021