Have you ever been talking to someone about something and then you get on your phone and there is an ad for the very thing you were just talking about? Have you ever looked something up online and then the next time you got on your phone there was an ad for it? Advertisers are very good at writing algorithms to put in front…

Elisha built a close relationship with a couple in Shunem who cared for him, and he interceded to God on their behalf to miraculously have a child (2 Kgs. 4:8-17). Some years later, the child died at a young age, which threw the “soul” of the mother into “deep distress” (4:18-27). But when her husband spoke with her, she said, “It is well” (4:23). When…

Memory loss is a sad and devastating reality that affects many people who we know and love. Unfortunately, while it is easy to identify in others, it is not so easy to identify in ourselves, especially when it comes to things that really matter. When Moses was delivering his final messages to Israel in the book of Deuteronomy, he frequently emphasized their need…

Sometimes Christians allow other people to affect their service TO the Lord and FOR the Lord. Sometimes Christians get frustrated with a preacher or with the elders, so they disconnect from the local congregation and stop serving in the church. Sometimes Christians get hurt by a fellow Christian, so they disconnect from the local congregation and stop being involved.  The nature of human relationships…

Do you ever get emotionally overloaded with the trials and hardships of life? Then, do you ever get emotionally over-overloaded when you look around at the dismal condition of the sin-filled world around us? Then, do you ever get emotionally over-over-overloaded when unexpected challenges face your family? Then do you ever get emotionally over-over-over-overloaded when friends or family unload their troubles and…

We used to joke around as kids about putting the school textbook under our pillow at night and learning what we needed to know for the next day’s test by osmosis. Well, it doesn’t take a genius to know that didn’t work. Being in the proximity of the book that has information doesn’t actually convey the information.  The same ought to be obvious to…

With 24-hour news today and immediate information available on every possible desired detail of any event, we quickly get absorbed (if we so desire) into current events, especially when it involves war (or war-like activity). It becomes all we can think about, talk about, pray about, etc.  What’s interesting is that as spectators, none of us is privy to all the reasons or…

To say that I have spoken to hundreds of people about their marriage situation is not an overstatement. It is almost a weekly occurrence to receive an email or a phone call with questions about marriage, divorce and remarriage. My heart aches for every single one of them. But here is something I have noticed. Every person who has contacted me can fit into one of…