We read in Ephesians 4:24: “ . . . put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” What are your habits? Our character is basically the sum of our habits. Earlier we read that we are to put off our old self, which belongs...
We read in Colossians 2:6-7, “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.” Just as a tree is “rooted,” we are to be grounded in the soil...
We read in John 11:38-44 the incredible story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. Imagine with me, a huge crowd witnessing this overwhelming miracle of the raising of Lazarus – curiosity seekers, mourners, bystanders – there they all are gathered, watching this...
How many of you have ever spent any time in caves or caverns? Any spelunkers? Perhaps some of you have taken a tour of one of the many caverns in our area – Grand Caverns . . . Luray Caverns. I can remember going to Mammoth Cave in Kentucky as a boy. When we were...
When we hear stories of personal failure like the story of Governor Andrew Cuomo recently, we have a variety of feelings. How could that person do such a thing? What were they thinking? But, when we examine our own lives carefully, we recognize our brokenness – our...
Have you ever been tempted to compromise your faith? Maybe you’ve said something like, “That’s not so bad!” Or, maybe you have said, “But everyone’s doing it.” Or, maybe you have thought, “God loves me, and He will forgive me.” We all struggle with temptations to...
How do you respond to suffering and trials in your life? One wonderful example of a response to suffering is Stephen, one of the seven men chosen to serve tables in Acts 6. We read in Acts 7:55, “But [Stephen], full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the...
Many Christians suffer from what might be called spiritual schizophrenia. They know about the soul – but in practice they live soulless lives. In Matthew 16:24-25, Jesus said to his disciples: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his...
Perhaps, as you read this post, you are going through a particularly challenging season in your life. But there is good news in the midst of those hard seasons of life. God promises to be with us at our deepest point of need. What is your valley now? Maybe you are...
As we read the accounts of Abraham, we learn that God had richly blessed him. And God gave him the ultimate promise of a son, and not just a son, but a great nation through that son. But after having that promised son, God tested Abraham. He tests his allegiance by...