Is your storage room at home or your utility room or your garage like mine? Do you have a bunch of tools in it? Maybe some new ones and definitely some old ones? Maybe even some that you don’t know exactly what they do, but you have them? Yet, if you don’t use the tools, they cannot benefit…
When God brought Israel out of the bondage of Egypt, they were not just one nation among many. They were, to God, “a special treasure…above all people” (Ex. 19:5). Forty years later, He said it again: “…the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples…
While sitting in a waiting room, I overheard two ladies speaking about their weekend plans. One lady talked about going to church on Sunday, but the other lady said, “I work six days a week. Sunday is my only day off. I need a day for me. So, I haven’t gone to church in years.” The first lady started to…
When it comes to dealing with temptation and sin, Jesus does not approach it lightly or use gentle language. Jesus taught that even looking at a woman to lust for her is adultery in the heart (Matt. 5:28). Then, Jesus commands to take aggressive, severe, unyielding measures to eradicate sin and temptation from one’s life. “If your…
Circled up in a moment of celebration following a young man’s baptism, some older (than him) Christians offered quick advice on living the Christian life. Several themes ran through their wise counsel including, “Don’t try to do the Christian life on your own. You’ve got a great Christian family who loves you.” I wondered how many “older”…
It is amazing how often a passage is misunderstood and misused, and yet equally amazing how simple that same passage really is. Such is the case with 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. These verses are often used to teach that Jesus will return and the church will be “caught up” (or “raptured”) to Him, and then either 1,000 years later or 1,007 years later,…
In school, we were not allowed to use calculators on our math tests. Those great little tools would have made those math questions so much easier, with just the punch of a few buttons! So why couldn’t we use them? Because the teacher wanted us to learn to think for ourselves. Today, those little calculators have become giant…
A man of God went from Judah to Bethel in 1 Kings 13, as instructed by the Lord. Part of the commandment from the Lord included, “You shall not eat bread nor drink water there, nor return by going the way you came” (13:17). Pretty simple! However, an old prophet found him and told him, “I too am…