Posts by Andy Baker

“Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a bad tooth and a foot out of joint” (Proverbs 25:19). Observations about this guy: 1) He Causes Unexpected and Lasting Pain. One who has ever tried to chew food and discovered the shooting sting associated with a broken tooth knows that it is painfully unexpected. Because the unfaithful Christian may talk a good game and look like they are solid, this person can cause a great deal of…

For weeks they were advertising it. For weeks they were warning about it. This past Wednesday, October 4, at 2:20pm all cellular devices, all TVs, and all radios blared a sound similar to an Amber Alert as a test of the Wireless Emergency Alert was conducted. This affected people whether in a busy office, in a sports arena, in a serious meeting, in their cars, in their homes, and in their schools. Virtually anyone anywhere within the sound of a…

I am amused and baffled by what amuses and baffles our culture. Trends rise and fall and what is new today is despised and forgotten tomorrow. A video trend today is to ask men how often they think about the Roman Empire. Apparently, it’s a thing now to be amused at (particularly men) who think of the Roman Empire daily or weekly (I know, I don’t understand it either). If you are in the New Testament at all in daily…

There is apparently a new trend on TikTok (one of the popular social media apps of our day) called “silent walking.” The trend goes that a person just gets outside and takes a walk with no phone, no earbuds, no electronic distractions of any kind and just walks, listening to nature and being silent. Incredible! Revolutionary! Why didn’t anyone else ever think of such a thing? Just walking… The roots of this claim Buddhist philosophy, but respectfully, it is from…

“Oh, there’s just one more thing…” There are few things more frustrating than thinking that everything is understood and then there is an addition to the instructions. In the book of Colossians, Paul is addressing a people who have been told, “you have Christ and that’s great…oh yeah, but there’s one more thing you need….” What Paul writes to them is that if they have Jesus, they have it all they need to be fully assured in the faith! They…

Pro 22:24-25 – Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man, lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare. Nathaniel Philbrick wrote a book called, The Last Stand, in which he described George Custer with the following words: “Custer did not drink; he didn’t have to. His emotional effusions [outbursts] unhinged his judgment in ways that went far beyond alcohol’s ability to interfere with clear thinking.” Imagine following a man…

When I visited Ukraine several years ago, I was impressed how beautiful everyone looked on the street and in the community. Men were wearing their finest suits and polished shoes, and women were wearing their most beautiful dresses, designer heels, and name-brand accessories. When I asked one of my Ukrainian companions about their wealth and how everyone looked so stylish, he mentioned to me, “It’s all a show. These people have only a few sticks of furniture in their houses…

God told Moses to tell the priests how to bless God’s people in Numbers 6:23-27. The blessing we know, “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; The Lord lift His countenance upon you, and give you peace.” The Jewish commentary says that the priests performed this blessing daily in the temple. The blessing was the priest performing it (v. 23), but it was God who was…

This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath. – James 1:19 It is amazing how many people get this verse so wrong. Stephen, often regarded as the first Christian to die for his faith concluded his sermon about the hardness of hearts of the Jews. Just before they stoned him, the Bible says they “cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with…

There will always be a pull on Christians to compromise the truth of the gospel for what may be more pleasing to me (or men), for what may seem to be “wise,” or for what may be easy. Paul said in Galatians 1:10, “For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.” How important it is to hold onto the…

Hebrews reads to a people who have taken their eyes off of the prize. The writer threw them a lifeline with this book as an exhortation to remain faithful, to hang in there. The sum way they accomplish this is by keeping their eyes focused on Jesus, listening intently to His message from the Father (Heb. 1:1-4; 12:1-3). At the last chapter of the book, the writer gives some very practical commands for these people to keep their eyes on…

Mark Twain observes a truth through his character, Huck Finn: “human beings can be awfully cruel to one another!” to which I add a hearty, “amen.” Jesus bore the whole of man’s cruelty towards Him, when He above all others, was righteous and powerful to stop it in its tracks. Sadly, there was no distinction between the Gentile world which carried out the punishment, and the people of God who demanded punishment. Yet, Jesus carried the cross of pain cruelly…