Pious Bob

By Robert Halsey Pine “Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me. The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!” (Luke 10:16-17 NRSV). One of the greatest feelings that a person can have

By Robert Halsey Pine “Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable one. So I do not run aimlessly, nor do I box as though beating the air; but I punish my body and enslave it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should

By Robert Halsey Pine “Praise the LORD! How good it is to sing praises to our God; for he is gracious, and a song of praise is fitting.” (Psalm 147 NRSV). We expect a lot from God. He watches over us, He heals our broken hearts and His power and understanding is awesome. This psalm

“Then Paul answered, ‘What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.’” (Acts 21:1-14 NRSV). As a Warrior for God, Paul makes General Patton look like a sissy. Paul has his critics both

By Robert Halsey Pine “Then all the city was aroused, and the people rushed together. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple, and immediately the doors were shut.” (Acts 21:27-36 NRSV). Paul was committed to preach the Gospel in the temples no matter how much he was rejected and no matter how

By Robert Halsey Pine “What then should we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet, if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet”…So the law is

By Robert Halsey Pine “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God–not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand

By Robert Halsey Pine “We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.” (Romans 14:5-12 NRSV). Most of us live too much

By Robert Halsey Pine “Jesus said to them, ‘The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. If you walk in the darkness, you do not know where you are going. While you have the light, believe in the light, so that

By Robert Halsey Pine “Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before him whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Beloved, if

By Robert Halsey Pine “Immediately she rushed back to the king and requested, ‘I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.’ The king was deeply grieved; yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he did not want to refuse her. Immediately the king

By Robert Halsey Pine “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. We love because he first loved us. Those who say, “I love God,” and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who

By Robert Halsey Pine “For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, but no one can tame the tongue–a restless evil, full of deadly poison.” (James 3:1-12 NRSV). The tongue may be the greatest repository of sin in man. It is

By Robert Halsey Pine “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. Therefore I tell you, people will be forgiven for every sin and blasphemy, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.” (Matthew 12:22-32 NRSV). They brought to Jesus a man possessed of the devil who

By Robert Halsey Pine “Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:51-58 NRSV). St. Paul ends his long discussion about life after death with these words of guidance and encouragement to the Corinthians.

By Robert Halsey Pine “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and through grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope, comfort your hearts and strengthen them in every good work and word…May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.”

By Robert Halsey Pine “He said to them, ‘Because of your little faith. For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to the mountain, Move from here to there, and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.’” (Matthew 17:14-21 NRSV). Jesus shouted out

By Robert Halsey Pine “You have dealt well with your servant, O LORD, according to your word. Teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I believe in your commandments. Before I was humbled I went astray, but now I keep your word. You are good and do good; teach me your statutes…The law of your

By Robert Halsey Pine “Now faith is the assurance of things not seen. Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.” (Hebrews 11:1-12 NRSV). Faith is our confidence in

By Robert Halsey Pine “Then one of the seven angels…came and said to me, ‘Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.’” (Revelation 21:9-21 NRSV). We all belong to The First United Wife of the Lamb Church. The angel showed John the radiant “holy city of Jerusalem coming down out of heaven

By Robert Halsey Pine “…For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Luke 18:9-14 NRSV). The tax collector in this parable prays, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” The Pharisee, of course, builds himself up, as he prays to God. Being humble before God is where we

By Robert Halsey Pine “So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I

By Robert Halsey Pine “And he said, ‘I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim before you the name, The LORD…But,’ he said, ‘you cannot see my face; for no one shall see me and live.’ And the LORD continued, ‘See, there is a place by me where you shall stand on

By Robert Halsey Pine “An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he

By Robert Halsey Pine “You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my

By Robert Halsey Pine “But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 3:17 – 4:7 NRSV). Tell it like it is, Paul! Does anyone really believe that his or her citizenship is in heaven? If our citizenship is in heaven, why are

By Robert Halsey Pine “And I said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, ‘The work is great and widely spread out, and we are separated far from one another on the wall. Rally to us wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet. Our God will fight for us.” (Nehemiah 4:1-23

By Robert Halsey Pine “Those who bring thanksgiving as their sacrifice honor me; to those who go the right way I will show the salvation of God.” (Psalm 50 NRSV). We have so much to be thankful for. You say, “I don’t have anything to be thankful for. Everywhere that I turn, I am a victim.”

By Robert Halsey Pine “Oh, how I love your law! It is my meditation all day long. Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is always with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your decrees are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, for I keep your precepts.

By Robert Halsey Pine “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Matthew 6:7-15 NRSV). Forgiveness is at the center of everything. Our Christian heritage comes out of the forgiveness of our sins through the death