For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many. - 1 Corinthians 12:12-14     I never expected to witness the deliberate quest for personal expression that I have seen in the last sixty-years. Sure, it all started innocently enough with the delusional basket-weaving, incense burning, flower children. ‘Flower power ..read more

And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed ...” - Luke 2:34     The account of Simeon’s prophecy is one of the clearest statements on predestination ever recorded in the Bible. It also predicts the reaction of the unsaved to Christ’s revelations.     The ‘fall’ of many refers us directly to those predestined for hopeless eternal damnation. Scripture is replete with passages describing unrepentant sinners and what they are to expect at the hands o ..read more

You are my friends if you do what I command you. - John 15:14     In recent times, there has been growing failure to rightly exegete the Bible in a God-honoring way. What I mean by that is many people, non-Christians and nominal Christians, skew the words of Scripture to support their erroneous declarations about what God’s words actually mean; or should I say what God’s words mean to them? We cannot deviate from God’s word nor negotiate our way around its true meaning. “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turnin ..read more

Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land. - Psalm 37:8-9     Other than the very words of Jesus Christ, these words from Psalm 37 are perhaps the most convicting of any when referring to our anger getting us into more trouble that it was worth. The psalmist isn’t warning us about protecting human life; he’s telling us we should not turn our anger into active wrath. There is no mention of the fear for our lives or the lives of innocents.  &nb ..read more

If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. - Psalm 66:18     There is a constant hum among unbelievers, near-believers, and weak believers about the efficacy of prayer. We hear how these people have prayed and yet God has ignored their desires. In their minds, it is always God that has somehow failed to come through. Seldom do they ever consider that it might be their fault that God has seen fit to ignore their prayers. “Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have ..read more

Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. - Matthew 25:34     There are only two ways one can obtain an inheritance: by birth or by adoption. No one else is entitled to my inheritance, as it has been reserved for me through one or the other of these ways. The neighbor’s kids can’t receive it. A distant cousin cannot receive it. A perfect stranger cannot receive it. It is reserved for me and legally bequeathed to me by the grace of the testator. “Blessed be the ..read more

Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Let him be crucified!” - Matthew 27:22     The question is simple enough. I don’t mean bleeding in the sense of injuring oneself on the job we do to feed our families, nor do I mean sacrificing oneself for a nation during times of war or in law enforcement. Bleeding and dying in those instances isn’t the goal. It is incidental to the goal. No, I mean for whom have we deliberately bled our own precious blood. “For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the ..read more

We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error. - 1 John 4:6     I drive an hour plus each way to the church service I attend on Sunday and any other event that may be featured during the year. That’s better than a two-hour drive to attend church. Many people ask me why I don’t elect to attend a church closer to me. I’m not sure they understand why I do so, even after I’ve tried to explain.     In my lifetime, I have attended so many different churches ..read more

    So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven. - Matthew 10:32-33.     There are many people who have a difficult time sharing the Gospel with family members and friends. It’s easy from a worldly point of view to understand this hesitancy by some brethren. It’s not a matter of avoiding religion or politics among polite company. Often, it comes down to the fear that sharing the word of God forthrightly will offend the f ..read more

But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” - Romans 9:20     It is incumbent upon all true Christians to speak out boldly against the madness that now permeates both our culture, our society, and even many churches. From media pundits to celebrities to athletes to government lawmakers, this festering insanity runs amuck in our towns and cities, in our books, television programing, movies, in our sports complexes, schools and libraries. Even the halls of our government and law drip with this patholog ..read more