If you would prefer to listen to this post as a podcast, CLICK HERE. * * * * * There is no such thing as a perfect church. That statement does not come as a shock to any of us, whether we are a part of a church … or not. However, i do believe that those of us inside the church often tend to want everyone to believe we have it all together. We have a tendency to hide the “real me” behind a mask and cover up the things, the hurts, the doubts, and the imperfections that we don’t want anyone else to see. (It’s similar to the way most of us – believers and non-believers alike – tend to portray ours ..read more

If you would prefer to listen to this post as a podcast, CLICK HERE. * * * * * We live in a day filled with upheaval, confusion, and uncertainty. It therefore comes as no surprise that the rates of depression, anxiety, and fearfulness about the future continue to reach new highs  among adults in the U. S. according to a Gallup poll published in May 2023.(1) But as followers of Christ, we can take heart that the perilous times in which we find ourselves are also indicative of the days to come that Jesus described two thousand years ago. We can embrace the hope we have through the promises ..read more

If you would prefer to listen to this post as a podcast, CLICK HERE. * * * * * The New King James translation of Luke 9:51 says “Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Jesus to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem.” The timeframe of this particular journey recorded in Luke 9(1) was well over a year before Jesus arrived in Jerusalem on what we call Palm Sunday. He still had much yet to do, messages yet to preach, and miracles yet to perform. But in this verse, Luke is reminding us that Jesus never lost sight of why the Father had sent Him. No matter what ..read more

If you would prefer to listen to this post as a podcast, CLICK HERE. * * * * * NOTE: This week, just like last week, as we prepare for Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday, i want us to look at the events leading up to those days through the eyes of the second of two of Jesus’s disciples. But in so doing, i want us to see how the sin they both harbored in their hearts kept them from seeing the truth of God in those events. Too often, the sin we harbor in our hearts keeps us from seeing God’s truth. Instead of confessing our sin, we justify it, and thus we fall headlong down the slippery slope ..read more

If you would prefer to listen to this post as a podcast, CLICK HERE. * * * * * NOTE: This week and next, as we prepare for Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday, i want us to look at the events leading up to those days through the eyes of two of Jesus’s disciples. But in so doing, i want us to see how the sin they both harbored in their hearts kept them from seeing the truth of God in those events. Too often, the sin we harbor in our hearts keeps us from seeing God’s truth. Instead of confessing our sin, we justify it, and thus we fall headlong down the slippery slope. Let’s see if we can learn ..read more

If you would prefer to listen to this post as a podcast, CLICK HERE. * * * * * The situation had changed, and Joshua and the Israelites had no idea. The memory was fresh of their absolute defeat of Jericho. The imposing walls of Jericho had proven to be no problem whatsoever! The men had just returned from spying out the city of Ai.(1) It was nowhere near as imposing as Jericho! Defeating Ai would be a piece of cake – it would not require any effort. And though the spies didn’t say this, the confidence in their remarks communicated – “we don’t even need God to defeat Ai! We can defeat them our ..read more

If you would prefer to listen to this post as a podcast, CLICK HERE. * * * * * We live in a culture that believes life centers around us. It is about “my” dreams, “my” ambitions, and “my” goals. Our fulfillment most often comes from our needs being met, our dreams being achieved, and our achievements being recognized. We’re striving for the “trophy,” even though it has taken on different forms and shapes as we’ve gotten older. It’s the lie that our culture feeds – that “it’s all about me.” In the Book of Exodus, we read that Aaron and his two eldest sons, Nadab and Abihu, together with seventy ..read more

If you would prefer to listen to this post as a podcast, CLICK HERE. * * * * * Early in their journey through the wilderness, God led His people to a fertile part of the peninsula called Rephidim, which means “places of rest or refreshment.”(1) But it turned out to be a place that didn’t quite live up to its name. They couldn’t find any water there to drink! Though they were apparently surrounded by luscious vegetation, just like they had seen in previous oases, there was no spring in Rephidim from which they could quench their thirst. And we read, “So once more the people grumbled and complai ..read more

If you would prefer to listen to this post as a podcast, CLICK HERE. * * * * * God was at work in a new way! Many of those who were alive during those days had been born during the latter part of the four hundred years of silence between the last prophet of the Old Testament – Malachi – and the arrival of John the Baptist. During those years the people had not heard a fresh word from God. Then God Himself showed up on the scene in the form of Jesus and the religious leaders rejected Him and crucified Him. When they should have been hungry to hear afresh from God, they had become quite content ..read more

If you would prefer to listen to this post as a podcast, CLICK HERE * * * * * It was the end of the third day of the week of Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Two nights hence, He would be betrayed and arrested. He had taken His disciples to the Mount of Olives that evening to spend the night. It was a place to which Jesus often retreated when He was in Jerusalem. It was a place where He could have long conversations with His Father in prayer. And it was a place that evening at which He chose to have a long conversation with four of His disciples – Peter, James, John, and Andrew. Earlier ..read more