The apostle John wrote about a person who (1) loved “to put himself first,” (2) rebelled against those in “authority,” (3) used “malicious words” against others, and (4) would not “welcome” others as equals. Do you know anyone like that? Or, maybe I should ask, how many people do you know like that? Our world is full of them! But, here’s the kicker—that man of whom…

Unless the hurricane is coming right for you, you’re not really concerned about it. Ask someone who lives in Wyoming if they get nervous about hurricanes in Florida. Ask someone in Maine if they get nervous about tornadoes in Oklahoma. Not my problem, right? I wonder if Christians might think about that when it comes to how much we focus on politics and worldly affairs. It…

We are all waiting for the votes to be counted. We are all waiting to find out what the result will be. We are all completely helpless to do anything about it. But, at some point, the votes will all be counted, the result will be made known, and then we will all get on with our lives. However, there is another election that is…

No matter what happens this week, God will still be God and we will still be His children. Thus, God expects us to do the same thing this week that we should be doing every other week!  Our God is a God of love (1 John 4:8) and expects us—His children—to love all people (Matt. 5:44). Our God is a God of peace (Rom.…

When you post something on Facebook, you have the option to choose who can see the post. The five options are: (1) Public: Anyone on or off Facebook. (2) Friends: Your friends on Facebook. (3) Friends except: All your friends except selected ones. (4) Specific friends: Only the friends you select. (5) Only me. Life is much the same way. When you act a certain way or use…

In the workplace, in the home, in the community, in the church…God’s child should be known for his strong work ethic! Think about this. The words “lazy” or “laziness” are used 15 times in the book of Proverbs and never, as you would expect, in a favorable light. God contrasts laziness in that book with being “diligent” (10:4; 12:24, 27; 13:4) and “upright” (15:19). Later in…

We face them all the time…sometimes daily…but to different levels or degrees. Car problems, unexpected home repairs, conflict at work, conflict at home, health issues, death, disappointments, mistreatment from others, broken friendship, loss of job, etc., etc. Bad things happen all the time. “Time and chance happen to [us] all” (Ecc. 9:11). (Easily remember where this verse is located by looking at the three numbers: 9-1-1.)…

God’s people faced severe opposition in the rebuilding of the wall around Jerusalem after returning from Babylonian captivity, which is probably why they had not completed the task in the 90 years before Nehemiah. And once they started the monumental task, their enemies (particularly Sanballat and Tobiah) countered them at every turn. Nevertheless, Nehemiah recorded, “So we built the wall” (Neh. 4:6). Underscore the word…