Articles

We hear almost weekly of some one being a victim of "road rage" on our streets and highways. Don't get me wrong, a driver who becomes angry and then turns their anger on another driver is not the "road rage" I condone nor endorse. It's unacceptable in any case. But there is an acceptable road rage for Christians. Anger against sin which would try to hinder us on the "road to heaven". Our pilgrim p...

Tim Furrow said to fathers: “Live so that your son, when people tell him that he reminds them of you, will stick out his chest, not his tongue.”¹ The sobering influence of a father on his child was written by Herbert Parker: “To get his good night kiss he stood beside my chair one night, And raised an eager face to me, A face with love alight. And as I gathered in my arms the son God gave to ...

Jesus prayed for his apostles, but also for all of his disciples, “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth……. I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in you…..”, John 17:16-17 & 20-21 Jesus is affirming tha...

Below is some century old advice that is just as current as it could be. It was written originally by a preacher for preachers, but the principles are applicable to any Christian working in any vocation. “Keep about your work! Do not flinch because the lion roars, do not stop to stone the devil’s dogs, do not fool away your time chasing the devil’s rabbits; do your work! Win souls to Christ! ...

One of the most difficult trials I have faced was seeing my mother lose her memory. “She is not who she once was”, I would say, and no one ever asked me to explain what I meant. They knew. Without our memory, we lose track of our identity. Our memory helps us carry along our experiences in life, our responses to them and especially our relationships to others and everything else that makes us...

Jefferson created two collections of excerpts from the scriptures that have been called "versions" of the Bible. His purpose for each has been misinterpreted and maligned. Jefferson wrote letters explaining the reasoning behind the "Bibles" he created. Sadly, his writings are seldom used to explain his works. Instead, we often hear that his personal views on the Bible cast doubts on it's legi...

Every life can be criticized. Yours will be; but probably more by yourself than anyone else. In any case, avoiding criticism is not the point of life. The point of life is to honor God in what we do each day of our lives, Ecclesiastes 12:13. Remember that no one honored God more than Jesus, and he was crucified for it. We can accomplish “things” in life, but accomplishments are not the point ...

Balaam, a prophet of God, being tempted with cold hard cash from Israel’s enemies, came up with the idea of leading Israel into fornication and idolatrous worship with “the daughters of Moab”. You can read about this whole sordid affair in the book of Numbers 22-25, 2nd Peter 2:15-16 & Jude 11. God instructed Moses to execute those who had lead Israel to do so. When a man came brazenly amongs...

I recently saw where a fellow claimed that Jesus only commissioned the apostles to spread the gospel, arguing that such was not the responsibility of individual saints. Really? Is he kidding? Was disciple making to end once the apostles died? I seriously doubt that was Jesus’ intention. If so, why then did the Holy Spirit inspire Luke to tell us of so many who were not apostles, but who ...

If you read Mark’s gospel, you will be able to see that he records nine times when Jesus told the apostles very clearly that he would be arrested, tried, crucified and then three days later, be resurrected from the dead (8:27-33, 9:1-13, 9:30-32, 10:32-34, 10:35-45, 12:1-11, 14:3-9, 14:17-25 & 14:26-31).Mark, however, does not record the time that Jesus said, “…….for just as Jonah was three days a...

Many of you may have seen this quote on Facebook: "The tongue has no bones but it can break hearts." I thought this was a great statement and helps remind us to be careful what we say. It is so easy to let our brains slip out of gear while engaging our tongues. A tongue, without cerebral guidance, is a vehicle out of control. Someone is most likely to get hurt. The scriptures have m...

“You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” …….. Jesus, from the gospel of John the apostle, 8:44 Who does not value truth? The best liars want to know th...

Why did God record his reasons for choosing Abraham? For I have chosen him, so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken about him”, - Genesis 18:19 I confess that there was a time when I wanted the above passage to say that God chose Abraham becau...

Larry Jon Wilson, singer and song writer in the 70’s, wrote a song titled "Through the Eyes of Little Children". It was a poignant reminder that children are observing our behavior, and most likely will develop much of their own ways by patterning ours. In March, the elders began encouraging us as parents and grandparents to read & study the scriptures with our kids and grandkids, and to pray...

We’ve been told over and over that the last living dinosaur lived millions of years ago. If that’s so, I have some questions. First, why are there accounts of human encounters with dragons (“dinosaur” was not coined until 1841) from nearly every ancient culture on the planet? England, Italy, France, Greece, Israel, Nepal, Russia, China, Japan, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, Ethiopia, Egypt, P...

Some years ago, I recall visiting with some friends. I don’t remember any part of our visit except one statement they made. They said they did not want to influence their children in matters of religion. They wanted their children to grow up and make their own choices and decisions about the subject. Needless to say, I was stunned at such a strategy for raising children. I’ve always thought it was...

When brethren assemble to sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs (acappella), varied stages, levels and responses as to worship may unfold. Sister Silence may not sing at all, nor does she open the song book to gain the richness, benefits and responsibilities the message of the song offers. Brother Bewildered, who has only been “in Christ” for two months, may properly mouth the words, but he has ...

In John 9:20-22 we can read of Jesus giving sight to a man who had been blind all of his life. The man’s parents knew Jesus had done this for their son, but refused to publicly acknowledge him because they feared they would be put out of the synagogue for admitting that it was so. In John 12:42-43 we are told that among those in authority in Jerusalem, many believed in Jesus. These, however, ...

Jesus said, “If I be lifted up, I will draw all men to myself”. This truthful claim of his is why I believe he commissioned the church to preach the gospel of his death, burial and resurrection to the whole world. Jesus taught us to do good works that God may be glorified, and to impact the world like salt & light according to Matthew 5:13-16. Doing good lifts up Jesus to the world today.&nbs...

Each day reminds me that I'm one year closer to my time to die. That's not meant to be morbid nor sad, but it is reality. I have thought about this for many years and have concluded that I am (we are), "living the dream". We go to sleep, dream for a short while, and we wake up to continue with whatever life deals us. Our dreams are short compared to our daily lives. But dreams aren't reality....