At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” … – Matthew 18:1 (ESV) Jesus’ disciples seemed to have an obsession with whoever was the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. They wanted to know which man would have the most honor. Hopefully it would be one of them. But Jesus first spoke not of who would be the greatest in the kingdom, but of the requirements of just entering the kingdom… … And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles …Continue reading →
… [Jacob] loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years. Yahweh saw that Leah was hated, and he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. Leah conceived, and bore a son, and she named him Reuben. For she said, “Because Yahweh has looked at my affliction. For now my husband will love me.” She conceived again, and bore a son, and said, “Because Yahweh has heard that I am hated, he has therefore given me this son also.” She named him Simeon. She conceived again, and bore a son. Said, “Now this time will my husband be joined to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore was his name called Levi. She …Continue reading →
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. – Luke 1:26-27 (AKJV) Why was it necessary for Mary to conceive while she was betrothed to Joseph and cause a scandal that hasn’t ended among the Jews even today? (Jesus was called Joseph’s son in Matthew 13:55, Luke 3:23, 4:22, and John 1:45, 6:24.) On the one hand, God did not chose an already married couple, for Jesus had to be conceived of a virgin to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14. On the other hand, God didn’t think …Continue reading →
The economy, terrorism, crime, immorality… it seems all the news lately is bad. The general trend seems that things are careening from bad to worse. It’s uncertain times like these that are a great help in revealing what I think is most important in my life and where my trust really is. I want to see good: a steady source of income, a home, a full refrigerator, plenty of warm clothes, with no fear of crime or violence. Do I worry when it appears I could lose these things? My head says “no” and quotes scripture… … You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound. In peace I will both lie …Continue reading →
If you’ve had a relationship with Jesus for any length of time, you can probably recall Him speaking to you personally. He may have told you to talk to a friend about their need for Him. He may have encouraged you from a Bible verse you had read many times before, but this time, it came with special force as if spoken directly to your heart. I don’t know how many times you’ve read John 17, but I’ve read it many times. It was the night Jesus was arrested before He was tried, tortured and crucified. He was in the upper room sharing His last Passover meal with His disciples. In this most intimate setting, He washed His disciples’ feet, …Continue reading →
There was a lot of anxiety in the 1950’s, at the height of the cold war. The USSR had the bomb, and it seemed only a matter of time before they would launch their nuclear missiles at us, and we would launch ours at them, and the world as we know it would cease to exist. How many of you remember when bomb shelters were popular? Americans bought bomb shelters for $100 to $5000 each and Wall Street predicted the bomb shelter market would reach $20 billion. General Foods and General Mills sold dry-packaged meals as underground rations. School children learned “Duck and Cover” from a Burt the Turtle cartoon and practiced periodic air raid drills. Nuclear holocaust: That is …Continue reading →
Assurance of Salvation Summary “How I can know I am saved when I put my trust in Jesus Christ to save me.” The Word Of God Eternal life is not just something to look forward to; it is a present reality once you place your faith in Jesus to save you. (John 3:36, 1 John 5:11-13). You have forgiveness of all of your sins (Acts 10:43, Colossians 2:13). You will not be condemned (John 5:24, Romans 8:1). You have been justified (declared righteous – not guilty) before God ( Romans 4:1-6, 25, 5:1). You have already been saved (Ephesians 2:8-9). You are called a child of God (John 1:12, Romans 8:14-17). The Work Of Christ Salvation is not by your …Continue reading →
All believers have a limited idea of what God is capable of doing. We may say He can do anything, but we still have unspoken reservations in some areas. Yes, God can heal the sick and raise the dead. He can part the seas and move mountains. He not only created the sun, which is incomparably more powerful than our biggest nuclear bomb, He filled the universe with hundreds of trillions of suns, all without breaking a sweat. His power is truly incomprehensible. And yet, when it comes to His work in our lives, there are some things we think He must have a difficult time doing. His purpose is to transform us into the image of His Son, Jesus …Continue reading →
You just found out someone has been spreading untrue and damaging rumors about you to all your friends, and now you know why most of them have been avoiding you. What conditions need to be met in order for you to forgive that person who has done serious and maybe permanent damage to your reputation? Questions about forgiveness seem to have different answers in Sunday School than they do in real life. it’s easy to say we need to forgive freely as a hypothetical situation when things are going our way, but let someone step on our toes, really stomp on them hard, over and over again… with a smile on their face, and the concept of freely forgiving goes …Continue reading →
We’ve all experienced what we call hunger to some degree or the other. Sometimes I’ll have only a banana for breakfast, or maybe just a hot cup of tea, and later on, as lunch gets closer, my stomach lets me know it wants some food. I’ll be at work, trying to do my job, and my stomach will interrupt whatever thought processes may be going on and say “A nice, thick, juicy steak would be just fine right about now”, or “Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!” And no matter how much I try to keep focused on the job at hand, I have no peace until I get some food in my belly. While we speak of being hungry at times, most …Continue reading →
