Every Christmas, for as long as I can remember, stories in the media tell us about thieves that steal the baby Jesus at Nativity scenes. It has gotten to the place where I just expect it. It happened again just this week. While thinking about this, the thought that came to mind was, “Who do these people think they are accountable to?” I believe the majority does not think about that at all. Some do it to irritate while others might do it out of hate. There is a growing number of people in the United States that want Christians to be underground or at least out of the public square. Secularism ..read more

From time to time all of us wrestle with passages in the Bible. Things we read seem strange and we don’t always understand fully. A truth to remember in these times is very simple. What we don’t understand, we chalk up to our own limitations. It isn’t a problem with the Bible it is our finite minds. But the more we read and study the more these hard passages begin to unfold right before our very eyes. Exodus 4:24-26 is one of those passages for me. Exodus 4 is a chapter packed with excitement. A staff into a snake and back to a staff (4:1-5). Leprosy then no leprosy (4:6-9). Excuses from Mose ..read more

Jerusalem was electric when the Ark of the Covenant was being carried into the city. King David, along with the people, were dancing in the streets, playing musical instruments. David had wanted the Ark to be in the capital city, and he had prepared a special tent for it to sit. It had been a slow train coming but finally that special day had arrived. The celebration wasn’t without drama. David’s wife Michal, Saul’s daughter, despised her husband for his jumping and singing without the royal clothes and cavorting with the commoners. This whole story, celebration and drama, is found in two pla ..read more

Charles Spurgeon said of our Psalm today it is “one of the shortest to read and hardest to learn.” It is among a group of psalms that are called the “songs of ascent.” These psalms, Psalm 120-134, are mostly short with the exception of Psalm 132. Pilgrims would come to Jerusalem three times each year to worship. The first two are in the spring. They are Passover and Shavuot. The third is in the Fall and is called Sukkot. As they traveled, usually in groups, they would sing these little songs much like we Christians sing songs in a Sunday school class, in a youth meeting, or even singing with ..read more

Sunday nights we have been walking with Daniel verse by verse. No book in the Old Testament has a more prophetic theme than that of Daniel. The books of Daniel and Revelation go hand in hand because of the prophetic content and predictions. Recently, we began chapter 7 and one of the characters in the dream Daniel received was a “little horn.” This is the Anti-Christ. No one knows who the Anti-Christ is! No one! All through the ages, since the time of the early church, there have been men willing to take up that mantle. It is usually those men who are drunk with evil ambition, and they will m ..read more

Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. At least that’s what the song says. During this season, I find myself hearing a Christmas song or thinking of a song such as the one referenced above, and it is on my mind all day long. Just as we get a song in our heads, I want us to hold on to three ‘P’s about Christmas. Over and over, I want us to remember three words about Christmas, keeping in mind Christmas is about Christ. Our first word for today is Promise. Matthew 1:22 tells us, “Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying ..read more

Lamentations 3:27, “It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.” Most often when thinking about a yoke we think of it as a burden for the oxen wearing it. Often when I was a teen hearing preachers preach about yokes and crosses to carry, it seemed as though Jesus was putting a heavy load on the shoulders of those following him. It is amazing how assumptions are often wrong. I was assuming about the heaviness of what Jesus was asking. I was totally wrong. Jeremiah says, “It is good for a man that he bear the yoke…” If you think about it for a minute the yoke on the ox is ..read more

Rev. E. M. Bounds’ most well-known writings are about prayer. In his classic “Power through Prayer” he tells a fascinating story about Mr. Moody. The Moody church had burned to the ground in Chicago and D.L. Moody didn’t know what to do. Ivor Powell, the great preacher/writer in his own right that many of our own people have heard in person, also tells the same story from Rev. Bounds’ book about prayer in a sermon he preached about the “Windows of Heaven and Daniel.” I thought I’d share this with you today. Ivor Powell writes: “On page 148 Bounds writes, “When D. L. Moody’s church in Chicago ..read more

We hear this word changed used often at church, at work, in the media, and in our friendships. “I’ve changed, I don’t think like l used to think.” “I’ve changed, I don’t love you anymore.” “You’ve changed, we don’t even recognize who you have become.” Change can be a positive or a negative; it all depends on the direction of the change. We see change constantly in society and I certainly watch for it in bible teaching by popular teachers. It is a sign of the last days when culture changes the church. We are supposed to be salt which is a preservative against the decay of the world. Seeking re ..read more

Does just reading the Bible really do anything profitable for Christians? Really now, doesn’t a believer need to dig really deep to receive a benefit? Every Christian ought to read their Bible. We are told to “desire the sincere milk of the word that we may grow thereby.” If all a saved person does is read the Bible without any in-depth study, I contend that Christian would still be helped. Why do I believe this? Many verses in the Bible use the picture of God’s word as water. Ephesians 5:26; Ezekiel 36:25; John 4:10,14; Hebrews 10:22; Revelation 21:6; 22:1. What do we use water for in our da ..read more