We read in 1 Timothy 6:3-4a, “If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing.” False teachers impart a...
This Week at Hope
Zealous for God
Halford Luccock (a Methodist pastor and former professor of preaching at Yale Divinity School) commented, “I was impressed several years ago when I read that Eugene Ormandy dislocated a shoulder while directing the Philadelphia Orchestra. I do not know what they were...
Choosing to Obey
We will experience genuine blessing and fulfillment in life when we choose to obey the Lord and fully follow Him. We have to decide in life, will we obey and follow the Lord – no matter what? At a meeting of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Bobby Richardson,...
Independence Day
Today is July 4th! We celebrate the 248th birthday of freedom for our country. Independence Day commemorates the independence we have as a nation. On July 4, 1776, we claimed our independence from England, and the United States of America was born. Every day...
Life-giving Water
Did you ever consider that when we respond to others, we are responding to Christ? Dietrich Bonhoeffer said it well in his book, The Cost of Discipleship: “The bearers of Jesus’ word receive a final word of promise for their work. They are now Christ’s fellow...
Put Off . . . Put On
The Apostle Paul calls us “to put off [our] old self, which belongs to [our] former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires (Ephesians 4:22) . . . and then he counsels us “to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness...
Grace Alone
The Apostle Paul declared in Ephesians 2:8, “For by GRACE you have been saved.” This means that we did NOTHING to earn or deserve our salvation. A more literal rendering of this phrase “for by grace” is “by the grace”. “For” is a term of explanation, which always...
Memories
I pride myself on having a good memory of dates and numbers. I can tell you the dates of all of my family’s birthdays and anniversaries. I can remember the dates members of my family have died, and many other significant dates. Memories are important. What are...
Following the Light
Did you ever wonder why people reject Jesus? The foundational reason people reject Jesus is that they are in spiritual darkness. As Jesus is in conversation with Nicodemus, as recorded in John’s gospel, he declares in John 3:19, “And this is the judgment: the light...
What Really Matters?
We begin a new series this week on 1 John. John, the apostle, devoted his life to telling others about God’s love. He did that for 40 to 60 years. Finally, at age 65 or 75 years old, John wrote to a group of people that mattered deeply to him. In this little...