Oh, how simple! With less than a year to live, Jesus announced, “I will build My church” (Matt. 16:18). It was obviously not a denomination of some sort–it was His church! It was obviously not a man-made organization–it was His church! It was obviously not a tradition-entrenched  institution–it was His church! Now, that’s the church I’d like to see! As one reads…

Isn’t it interesting how we sometimes speak for someone else, when they are not even present with us? We can be engaged in a conversation about taking a possible action, and the person we’re talking to might say something like, “I don’t think your dad/mom/spouse/friend/boss would want you to do that.” While that third party is not physically present, it is conjectured…

Before entering the Promised Land (inhabited by pagan idolaters), the Jews were commanded, “You shall destroy their altars” (Ex. 34:13; Deut. 7:5; 12:3). In Judges 6, Gideon tore down his father’s altar of Baal (6:25-32). King Asa “removed the altars of the foreign gods” (2 Chron. 14:3). The Israelites, led by Jehoiada the priest, “went to the temple of Baal, and…broke in…

As with most professions, preachers are often asked, “What made you want to become a preacher?” To that question, I usually answer, “My grandfather,” which leads to a series of other questions. “Was he a preacher, too?” No. “Was he an elder?” No. “A deacon?” No. “Did he teach Bible classes or take a lead in worship services?” No, never. Totally perplexed,…

It is interesting to try to figure out where certain sayings and phrases originated. According to multiple sources, the famous proverb, “Honesty is the best policy,” was first stated by Sir Edwin Sandys in 1599. Sir Edwin Sandys was (get this!) an English politician and one of the founders of the first English settlements in Jamestown, Virginia. Kind of ironic (don’t you…

Have you ever heard a recording of your voice (maybe on a voicemail or a video) and thought, “That’s not how I sound…is it? Is that really how I sound to other people?” In our minds (and in our ears), we “hear ourselves” one way, but hearing a recording might sound more “pitchy” or nasal or strained or “throaty.” It can make…

Psalm 124 begins with these words, “If it had not been the Lord who was on our side” (Psa. 124:1). How bad would it have been? “If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, when men rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us alive…then the waters would have overwhelmed us” (124:2-4). Have you ever felt…

It can be easy to look at the Bible as only “a bunch of do’s and don’ts,” with God shaking His finger and telling us what to do and what we can’t do. However, is that the right approach? In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses was re-establishing God’s covenant with second-generation Israelites. Chapter 6 is a microcosm of the rest of the…