When you set out to resolve a conflict with a brother or sister in Christ (i.e., to be “reconciled,” as Jesus instructed in Matthew 5:23-24), you should have a clear goal in mind and even seek to communicate that goal. The goal should not be oriented toward “selfish ambition” (Phil. 2:3), but it should be focused on the health of long-term Christian relationships…

The Lord sent the sheepbreeder Amos to warn the northern kingdom of Israel of their impending captivity. Israel had long been in rebellion against their Lord, and the consequences were nigh. Still, in a “lamentation” against them, Jehovah pleads with them to return. It’s not too late, if they will come back. Three times in chapter 5, the Lord pleads through Amos with these parallel…

When “the wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,” they asked for the location of the “King of the Jews” (Matt. 2:2). When Pilate had Jesus crucified, he “put up over His head the accusation written against Him: THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS” (Matt. 27:37). Was Jesus “the King of the Jews”? Well, yes. But so much more! In the grand scheme,…

Has someone ever started telling you something and you either (1) thought you knew what they were going to say or (2) hoped they were going to say something, but then (3) they said something completely different? Did you try to change what they actually said into what you thought or hoped they would say? Or did you just accept what they said? So…

Do you have some good friends? Do you have the kind of friend that you can call or text any time and you know you’ll get a quick response? Someone you pretty much can reach out to any time of the day or night? But, even that friend has other things to do—right? There are times that he/she needs to focus on “his/her own things”—right? And, you…

Picture the comic strip detective holding his magnifying glass, hunched over, following the clues. Picture the hunter in the thick brush with his hound trailing the scent of some wild game. In both of those illustrations, there is something that is trackable, in order to reach the end of locating and securing that which has been tracked, so that the tracking is completed. In…

A screwdriver is created for a specific purpose. That’s not hard to figure out. A flashlight is also created for a purpose. A screwdriver cannot fulfill the flashlight’s purpose, nor vice versa. If the shaft of a screwdriver breaks or the batteries in a flashlight die, those devices cannot fulfill their intended purpose. Fellow Christian, we have each been created for a specific purpose. We have been…

Forty-five years after the twelve spies returned from spying out the Promised Land and the people of Israel believed and followed the pessimistic perspective of the ten spies, Caleb recalled the effect of that faithless report. This faithful spy, in his old age, said, “My brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt” (Josh. 14:8). This same evaluation…