Devotionals, Bible studies and posts to deepen our faith in Christ. Also check out our self-published books.
Church Growth Tactics are Not Evangelism – Part 2
If you have not read Part 1, you should go back and read it before continuing here. Part 1 includes helpful background information necessary to understand this post. The tactics of the Church Growth Movement represent works. We cannot obtain acceptance before God...
Church Growth Tactics Are Not Evangelism, Part 1
The most amazing part about evangelism is that we have a Biblical blueprint for it in the book of Acts. There, we find the early church’s multiplication strategy, and they were focused on church planting, itinerant preaching (missionary endeavors), preaching the...
Teachings of Jesus – The Harvest is Plentiful
Matthew 9:37-10:42 There is more in this section that one post can cover, however, we’ll scratch the surface and summarize this teaching of Jesus. Although there are transitions from one concept to another, I believe this is one narrative or one teaching. That the...
Teachings of Jesus: Patching Old Garments and New Wine
In Matthew 9:15-17, we find several important teachings from Jesus Christ. In verse 15, Christ is admonishing those who criticize the disciples for spending their time following Christ rather than prayer and fasting. Christ provides two important answers to their...
Who Holds Fast of Whom?
Does God hold us fast or do we hold fast to God? Recently, I undertook a review of the Bible to try and answer this question. I found 52 verses among the King James Version of the Bible, New American Standard Bible, and English Standard Version (ESV). Of these, there...
Teachings of Jesus: Healing the Paralytic
Matthew 9:1-8 Getting into a boat, Jesus crossed over the sea and came to His own city. And they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, ‘Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.’ And some of the scribes said to...
I’m a good person …
It is increasingly common to hear someone say, in response to an invitation to accept Christ, that they are a good person. As a good person, they do not believe any punishment should be waiting for them. Of course, there are multiple questions which arise from such a...
Election
It is from Jesus in Matthew that we are first introduced to election in the New Testament. In Matthew chapters 22 through 25, Jesus refers to the elect as those who are to be spared from the coming judgment. However, I believe Jesus deals with election much earlier in...
Discipline … with a Measure of Mercy
In Matthew 18:15-20, Jesus teaches on the principles of church discipline. Unfortunately, the concept of discipline is sorely lacking in today’s churches. Recently, there have been grant and hurtful scenes unfolding in our churches were discipline could have prevented...
“Do not judge”
People today still quote John 3:16 and Psalm 23 from the Bible. Matthew 7:1 also ranks in the top 5 of the most quoted and memorized verses in the Bible. Matthew 7:1-5 contains the famous text, “Do not judge.” This passage is, however, also one of the most twisted out...
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BOOKS
Expository Bible study on Ephesians 5:22-33 on a Biblical marriage. Rather than a self-help resource, this book is aimed at deepening your relationship with Christ.
Catechism to help intentionally teach important concepts of Christianity to children and new believers. The focus is on tracing Christ throughout both the Old and New Testaments.
Devotional book for December 1st through December 25th. As we prepare our hearts during the traditional advent season, let us also prepare for the second coming of Christ.
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R. Joseph Ritter, Jr. CFP® EA is an independent tax professional, financial planner and owner of Somerset Tax Partners LLC. He is the founder and president of Zacchaeus Financial Counseling, Inc., a non-profit organization serving the financial planning and financial counseling needs of lower and middle income households. Joe is also a consecrated Conference Deacon in the New South Conference of the Free Methodist Church USA. Joe received his Master’s Degree in World Mission and Evangelism from Asbury Theological Seminary. His non-profit leadership and Christian ministry includes such past positions as Pastor, Director of Outreach, volunteer Chaplain with Transport for Christ International, co-founder of Community Chaplains Association, and Financial Aid Director at Kentucky Mountain Bible College. He is the author of Having An E5 Marriage; 25 Days of Christmas Devotional; Jacob’s Testimony: A Catechism Teaching the Praises, Strength and Wondrous Works of the Lord; and You’re Called to the Ministry. Now What?
Joe has been married for over 20 years and has four children. He enjoys writing as a hobby … as well as carpentry and automotive mechanics.