Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it. (James 4:17 NLT) Statistics reveal that forty-one percent of evangelical Christians do not vote. If this is not a sin, it may be close to it. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German Pastor and theologian, tried to get the pastors in […]
We went ashore, found the local believers, and stayed with them a week. These believers prophesied through the Holy Spirit that Paul should not go on to Jerusalem. (Acts 21:4 NLT It is possible to hear from God but not hear clearly. Our love and concern for the one we speak to often cloud our […]
My Boys Are Good Boys The mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee, respectfully approached Jesus. She had what she thought was a small request. “In your kingdom, please let my two sons sit in places of honor next to you, one on the right and the other on the left” (Matt. 20:21 […]
None of them could stand against the wisdom and the Spirit with which Stephen spoke. So they persuaded some men to lie about Stephen, saying, “We heard him blaspheme Moses, and even God.” (Acts 6:10-11 NLT) Cancel culture, a concept often heard in modern society, was present even in the 1st-century Church. It’s a struggle that […]
Then the Lord said to Moses, “This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have now allowed you to see it with your own eyes, but you will not enter the land.” (Deuteronomy 34:4 NLT) Incomplete obedience is always […]
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ (Matthew 4:4 NIV) Life has a way of detouring us on our spiritual journey. Fasting is a reset of our spiritual priorities. My church often has some form of fasting at the start […]
May God be merciful and bless us. May his face shine with favor upon us. Interlude Psalms 67:1 (NLT) We often pray, God bless me, Lord give me your favor. This is so close in how we should pray, yet, it misses the mark by miles. Often, there is too much of me and not […]
Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, (2 Peter 1:5 NASB) Knowledge without moral excellence is a train ride to disaster. I was a public school teacher for many years. On the walls of the hallways in one of the […]
Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love. (Jonah 2: 8 ESV) Vain idols always lie to us. They tell us that we know better than God what is best for us. Early in my missionary career, I was working in Hawaii. I was doing what I wanted and […]
“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!” (Acts 1:11 NASB) In numerous places in the Old and New Testament, it is prophesied that Jesus Christ will […]