Articles

James wrote to the church, “You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God”, 4:4. How do Christians find themselves friends of the world and enemies of God? Choosing “good” things over the best things – Jesus said to seek the kingdom of God & his righteousness FIRST. Instea...

Apparently, we can know quite a bit according to John He wanted his readers (you and me included) to know that Jesus is reality. Speaking of the witnesses, he said they saw him with their own eyes, they touched him and they declare Jesus to us as the eternal life who was from the beginning (1st John 1:1-2). John was inspired to use two words that we aptly translate with the English word “know”. He...

Pacemakers, Post-it notes, YouTube, Listerine, and bubble wrap, what do these items have in common? They were all originally created for entirely different purposes. Pacemakers, for instance, were designed to record heartbeats, but a malfunction led to them being used to regulate heart rhythms. Similarly, Post-it notes came from a failed adhesive, bubble wrap from an error in making textured wallp...

On that notable Pentecost, a mere 3,000 of the many thousands came to believe that Jesus was the Messiah. This, even after his resurrection. Peter & John were arrested and thrown in jail for preaching the gospel after healing a man over 40 years old who had been crippled from birth. Apostles were again arrested, threatened and flogged because they continued preaching and teaching about Jesus. Step...

No one wants to die. This reticence is a natural human reaction to the suffering usually associated with dying more than the actual death itself. Believers and unbelievers are similar in this regard except for one difference – for believers, death is the end and for non-believers, death is the beginning. Let me explain. When Christians die, their death represents the end of sin since in death ther...

Social media presently abounds with references to a high-profile executive & his apparent girlfriend pictured embracing each other on a kiss-cam. This, while each of them were married to other people. Several observations can be made by anyone willing to pay attention. Observation #1 – Like Moses warned the tribes of Reuben & Gad (and likely the ½ tribe of Manasseh): “Be sure your sins will find y...

Solomon’s exhortation was for good reason. Truth is as vital to spiritual life as air is to physical. Many observations have been made about truth through the ages that attest to the above wisdom. “Truth lives in the cellar, error on the doorstep.” Austin O’Malley “Facts that are not frankly faced have a habit of stabbing us in the back.” Harold Bowden “There is no progress in fundamental truth – ...

About 3,000 years ago Solomon wrote: “A good name is better than a good ointment, and the day of one’s death is better than the day of one’s birth”, Ecclesiastes 7:1 What? The day I die will be a better day than the day I was born? How can that be? We get excited over everything about a baby being born and celebrate with balloons & parties. A new life has been conceived and promises to join us soo...

“At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: "Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.” Job 1:20-22 In Job 1, a man named Job has everything taken from him in a flash. Job ha...

“The eye is the lamp of the body; so then, if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. So if the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!” Matthew 6:22-23 It’s all about light. How do you get to be full of light? Jesus says you have to have a good eye. What does that mean? Are folks who wear glas...

In Genesis 18:22–33, we find a powerful moment where Abraham pleads with God to spare the city of Sodom from destruction. Beginning with a plea for mercy if fifty righteous people are found, Abraham negotiates down to just ten. The outcome reveals that even such a small number of righteous individuals could have delayed judgment. This passage offers profound insights into the nature of divine just...

Obligatory? Yes, But for the Best Possible Reason  Are preachers obliged to talk about motherhood on Mother’s Day and fatherhood on Father’s Day? While these holidays are bound in the Bible, the fact is, we don’t hear enough about the importance about honoring Fathers and Mothers or about the sacred work they do. As I write this, mobs are rioting in Los Angeles, California. I am not overstati...

Jesus said that there were two ways, one narrow and one wide. Few, he said, would find the narrow one that lead to life. But why? Doesn’t God want all men to be saved like Peter said,  “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance”, - 2nd Peter 3:9 Oh, there it is in black and wh...

On May 10th of 1940 Germany invaded the Netherlands. For the next four years the Dutch suffered under the weight of Nazi occupation. This occupation ended when allied troops liberated the nation in September of 1944. Pictured below is a 65-acre cemetery in the Netherlands where 8,301 U.S. servicemen are buried who died in the fighting there. The Dutch have given this land to the United States, but...

Young People in the Bible Who were some of them, and what did they do? Elihu – “I am young in years and you are old; therefore I was shy and afraid to tell you what I think”, Job 32:6. We can read Elihu’s story in the book of Job in chapters 32-37. Elihu’s example? He waited out of respect for his seniorsHe listened to what they had to sayHe spoke only in his turnHis words were full of wisdom Then...

Like so many women in the Biblical narrative, Hannah was unable to bear children. Her longing for a child, however, compelled her to go to God with a vow. If he would give her a son, she would give him back in his service. God granted her longing, and she kept her word (I Samuel 1). What can we learn from Hannah? She did not give up her hope but continued pursuing motherhood relentlessly. Do we gi...

They emanate from the soul In the deepest night Intricate patterns Light as snow If you reach out to touch By remembering They come apart to naught For you can only hear The prayers in the Spirit Speaking wonderous thoughts Of Him too high, too bold Truths beheld by angels That you a moment hold Offered once and not remembered Like a sacrifice of old Complete to God’s devotion Only once are told

It is a hard word, “dead”. We tend to shy away from it, even though every day of life teaches us its reality. The Pope is dead, and you and I will die, but God has done something about it. “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, so that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and free thos...

Their testimony was so close in time to the event itself that any number of witnesses could have denied their veracity. How could they hope to fake accounts of events that would have taken place in the most well-known and observed places? So much of Jesus’ ministry was in Jerusalem, at the temple, the marketplaces, pools, fountains, highways & byways of the people. He was tried in Jerusalem & cruc...

Conservative? Liberal? Fundamentalist? Evangelical? Legalist? If I am as conservative as God’s word demand I be, wouldn’t that also make me as liberal as his word allows? I don’t want to be so conservative minded that I stop short of what God wants... but I don’t want to be as liberal as I can get away with either. I just want to be a Christian. I want to be a true disciple, like Jesus himself sai...