I think every preacher has been there. Unfortunately, it happens to this preacher too often—most recently saying that a certain church family had requested, “No prayers,” instead of saying that they had requested, “No visitors.” Big difference. Big mistake. Aren’t you glad (and abundantly encouraged) that our God never (not even once) had a brain misfire, a tongue misfire or a deed misfire!? Folks will sometimes…

These may be the very words that you need to hear today. It may be that you didn’t sleep well last night, or maybe not at all. Have there been some circumstances, health issues or relationships that have deteriorated so drastically in recent days that your heart is aching, your mind is numb, and you feel like you don’t know what to do? Read…

Whenever someone tries to convince you that “the God of the Old Testament” (which are words they use but the Bible does not!) was an angry, vengeful, merciless God, and that He was so different from “the God of the New Testament,” do NOT believe them! When Nehemiah rehearsed the history of Israel to God, he admitted that God’s people “were disobedient…

As God begins to warn Judah through the prophet Isaiah and plea for them to remain faithful to Him, He makes this familiar statement, “Come now, and let us reason together” (Isa. 1:18). God makes His “reasoned” case through Isaiah and expected the people to understand and reason correctly back into a right relationship with Him.  While many today suggest that truth is…

The short Jewish hymn of Psalm 100 is filled with ever-flowing joy and goodness. The psalmist bids the worshiper to “make a joyful shout to the Lord,” to “serve the Lord with gladness,” to “come before” Him “with singing,” to “enter His gates with thanksgiving” and “with praise.”  There are an infinite number of reasons that we should do this, but the psalmist…

In Joshua 2, the Bible reader is introduced to a character named Rahab. The uniqueness of her name may be part of the reason that we automatically identify her with her past livelihood—she was a harlot. Of the eight times her name appears in Scripture, five of those times she is called “the harlot.” Why is this Old Testament character mentioned with favor in the…

From inside the belly of a great fish, “Jonah prayed to the Lord” (Jonah 2:1). Wouldn’t you? As he “cried out to the Lord” (2:2), Jonah realized, “I have been cast out of Your sight” (2:4). Why? What could have happened to lead Jonah out of God’s sight? Back up into the first chapter. When God commanded Jonah to “go to Nineveh” (1:2), “Jonah arose to flee…

If you had seen Jesus multiply five loaves and two fish to feed over 5,000 people, what would you do? Would you tell others about it? If you had seen Jesus heal a man born blind, what would you do? Would you tell others about it? If you had seen Jesus raise someone from the dead, what would you do? Would you tell others about it? I dare…