What kind of church does God use? We read in Acts 11 about the church in Antioch! The founding and thriving of the church at Antioch was arguably one of the most significant events in the history of Western civilization. It led to the distinctiveness of the...
People are forgetful, and we need special things to jog our memories from time to time. In the Bible we find many such reminders. After God destroyed the world in a flood, He told Noah, “Whenever you see the rainbow, remember my promise that I will never destroy the...
Jesus declares in His famous Sermon on the Mount, “Every good tree bears good fruit” (Matthew 7:17, NIV). It is interesting to look at the way in which this sentence is written in the Greek, because there is a different word used for good – The first word for good,...
The Apostle Paul declares in 1 Timothy 1:14, “and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” The word for grace in this text is karis. Grace is used in the original Greek language to convey the idea of a free gift. It...
How would you define “merciful?” The story is told of a politician who, after receiving the proofs of a portrait, was very angry with the photographer. He stormed back to the photographer and told him, “This picture does not do me justice!” The photographer...
I read recently of two elderly women at a church in Kentucky were discussing the problems of growing older. One lady commented, “The worst thing is when your memory starts to go. I’ve known you all my life and I can’t think of your name. What is it?” The second...
Did you ever think about the battle that is being fought every day for your soul? There is actually a war going on every day that you and I must fight – for the core of who we are. There are SO many choices in our lives we have to make. So, Jesus teaches his...
Do you ever get so overly busy that you lose sight of what is of supreme importance? How easy it is for us to become so arrogant that we actually think we know what is best for us. The opposite of this arrogant, prideful attitude is humility, which is perfectly...
Most of us face obstacles in our lives – grief, illness, negative emotions, lack of faith – and the list goes on. What are the obstacles in your life? Or, reflecting on the Book of Joshua, what are the Jerichos in your life? Is it a struggle with doubt? Is it a...
The Apostle Peter shares the command in 2 Peter 3:18, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” The Greek word used here for grow means to cause to grow, to increase, to become greater. So, when we are challenged to grow in faith, we...