[244 words] “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart” (Matthew 18:35). In this age of tolerance, it is so easy for us to define biblical terms in our own ways, ways that perhaps suit or justify what we’re already doing. But God is...
[284 words] Our answer to this question determines our approach to, and attitude toward those around us. It will either give us a sense of urgency or of complacency. The question is, “Who is lost?” During His days on earth, Jesus believed that some were lost, because He came to “Seek and to save that...
[259 words] 2 CORINTHIANS 7:6 “But God, who comforts the depressed, comforted us by the coming of Titus.” God usually works through people. The encouragement and love you receive through others, actually has its source in God. So as we show love and offer encouragement, we can be God’s mouth and hands extended to those...
[290 words] Knowles Shaw was born October 13, 1834 in Ohio to Alban and Huldah Griffeth Shaw. At the age of 13 his father passed away. His dying words to his son, “Prepare to meet thy God.” Around the age of 18, Knowles began to consider his father’s dying words. He met two men, Gabriel...
[232 words] …when the other fellow acts that way, he is ugly; when you do, it is nerves. …when others are set in their ways, they’re obstinate; when you are, it is firmness. …when your neighbor doesn’t like your friend, he is prejudiced; when you don’t like his, you are a good judge of human...
[202 words] Many times you will hear the argument given that Jesus never condemned homosexuality. That lack of condemnation is then skewed as acceptance. However, a closer look at scripture leads to a different conclusion. In Luke 10:12, Jesus is denouncing those that refused to believe the message about the kingdom of God when He...
[215 words] In the context of our congregation, the biblical teaching of baptism for the remission of sins is not a teaching that troubles any of us (at least, with regard to what I am aware). The other day I was talking to a Baptist preacher, a man with whom I am very impressed; he...
[271 words] “Life began with waking up and loving my mother’s face.” – George Eliot “The sweetest sounds to mortals given, Are heard in Mother, Home, and Heaven.” – William Goldsmith Brown “All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.” – Abraham Lincoln “When you look into your mother’s...
[286 words] The book The Kid Who Changed The World by Andy Andrews is based on the Butterfly Effect. The idea is that every time something happens, something else happens. When a butterfly flaps its wings, it moves tiny pieces of air, which then moves other tiny pieces of air. Essentially, every little thing you...
[262 words] An elderly woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole that she carried across her neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walks from the...
[236 words] “For whoever lacks these qualities (faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love) is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins” (2 Peter 1:9). Too many of us do not see what we need to see (cf. Jer. 5:21). While we might...
[238 words] On March 12, 2019, federal prosecutors disclosed a conspiracy to influence admissions decisions at several American research universities. A number of parents of college applicants are accused of paying large sums to misrepresent student test scores and bribe college officials to get their children into top tier universities. Accused of this crime are...
[241 words] “All the believers were one in heart and mind No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had“ (Acts 4:32). I have about fifty cards for various stores and clubs, so many that I keep them in an organizer m my car because they don’t...
[271 words] On October 16, 2007, one of the two remaining survivors of the Titanic sinking, died. Barbara West Dainton died at a nursing home in Camborne, England, at age 96. She was only a year old when the Titanic sank on April 15, 1912, after striking an iceberg, and taking about 1500 souls to...
[244 words] “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name...
[243 words] • Life is simpler when you plow around the stump. • Words that soak into your ears are whispered, not yelled. • Meanness don’t jes’ happen overnight. • Forgive your enemies; it messes up their heads. • It don’t take a very big person to carry a grudge. • You cannot unsay a...
[217 words] How many times have you attended a worship service? How many times have you attended when you felt like staying home? Have you ever wondered if there might be a different way to approach worship than to file into the church building three times a week, week after week after week? A lot...
[263 words] (Lyrics By: Stuart Townsend) How deep the Father’s love for us,How vast beyond all measureThat He should give His only SonTo make a wretch His treasure. How great the pain of searing loss;The Father turns His face awayAs wounds which mar the chosen One,Bring many sons to glory. Behold the Man upon a...
[260 words] Sin Has Created the Need “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.”...
[294 words] William Barclay, in his commentary on Thessalonians, states that during the period of the Roman Republic, the Romans had not a single divorce for a 520-year period. However, as they moved away from the Republic into more of a socialistic empire, things began to change. Although they had previously conquered the Greeks militarily,...
[249 words] Samson was a real-life superhero, an ancient Israelite Superman. Many people are familiar with his superhuman exploits, about how Samson killed a lion with his bare hands, single-handedly destroyed a thousand-man Philistine army with no weapon other than the jawbone of a donkey, and about how he was a one-man wrecking crew that...
[202 words] Humpback whales are about 40 feet long at maturity and weigh about one ton per foot. They carry a thousand pounds of barnacles, and when they jump, or breach, they extend themselves totally in the air, and then free-fall back into the ocean. You can see the splash five miles away. Humpback whales...
[275 words] It seems that as mankind has achieved greater levels of technological sophistication, the more he has worried about the end of the world. This is almost certainly because we have achieved the ability to completely wipe out life on earth. If war ever broke out, even a limited exchange consisting of a tiny...
[295 words] Many times we hear people today say, “We are all headed for the same place, we are just going in different ways.” In a sense this is true in that we are all headed first to the Judgment. The Bible says, “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after...
[272 words] Psalm 119:161 I am impressed with the following seven wonders of the Word. The wonder of its INSPIRATION! Not just part of it, not just the thoughts of it, but “all scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2 Tim. 3:16). To the very jot (tiniest letter) and tittle (tiniest projection which distinguishes...
[269 words] What spells security for you? A substantial bank account? Good insurance? Tenure? An alarm system? A strong military? Reliable leadership? A storm shelter? Obviously the idea of security has many applications in a variety of circumstances. Have you ever associated security with a peg? Probably not. But that is precisely what Ezra does....
[277 words] “The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me. For I have kept the ways of the Lord, And have not wickedly departed from my God. For all His ordinances were before me, And I did not put away His statutes from...
[232 words] Someone once noted that there are two kinds of people in this world: those who say “whatever” and those who say, “whatever it takes.” “Whatever” is the response of the shrug. It is a “who cares?” attitude, one of indifference and apathy. “Whatever it takes” is the response of the committed. It is...
[215 words] “On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God” (Acts 4:23-24). Prayer is in everything that the people of God do. We are commanded...
[202 words] We strive to avoid forgetting to make memories with family vacations, with having over friends, with watching our children grow older by going to their school and extra-curricular activities and seeing them graduate and succeed on various levels. But while we strive to avoid forgetting to make these memories, are we forgetting the...
[262 words] David sings and prays to the Lord. The book of Psalms is full of how to praise God and how God looks upon His children. “Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him” (Psalm 33:8). The Lord expects awe and fear, but...
[289 words] In November our country had its mid-term elections. This article was written on election day. In our great representative republic, every legal citizen is free to participate in the process of choosing who will represent them in our government and what issues will pass or fail. The place for voting is set by...
[228 words] A tourist wanted to visit a beautiful monastery. The problem was, it was located 3,000 feet up a cliff. The only way to reach it was by a terrifying ride in a basket with several men pulling it up with a single rope. Reluctantly, the tourist and a monk climbed into the basket....
[203 words] What if by some happenstance you were the only member of the Church left in your town? Does that seem farfetched? In some places in some cities you might be in that circumstance. If you were to find yourself in this situation, what would you do? Would you simply give up and stay...
[236 words] Even the most influential and powerful person in the world can only be in one place at one time. But that ‘is not true of God. Jehovah is an omnipresent being, i.e., His presence is in all places at all times. In Jeremiah 23:24, we read, ‘”Can anyone hide himself in secret places,...
[228 words] Reading God ‘s word is exciting. It seems that every time I read it I notice something I had missed in earlier readings. In the past I had noticed the oft repeated phrase (about 56 times), “Then they shall know that I am the Lord (Jehovah) God.” This time I noticed the tragedy...
[224 words] When Jesus began His ministry, He began with a fish story (of sorts). Not really a fish story, but an occasion where experienced fishermen worked all night and were preparing to return, having caught nothing. Jesus sees the men returning and they were somewhat downcast as a result of an empty night. The...
[291 words] At the beginning, the church’s foremost focus was upon God, not man (Acts 5:29; Galatians 1:10); upon heaven, not earth (Colossians 3:1,2); upon the spirit, not the flesh. (Romans 8:6; 1 Timothy 4:8.) And in spite of severe persecution and constant privations, the church thrived, turning the ancient world “upside down” with the...
[243 words] Joshua, the great leader of Israel, said, “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve” (Joshua 24:15). It has always been up to man to choose his own path. Truth and error is ever present. The sad part is that men often choose to follow the wrong way. The tendency is to...
[249 words] “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against your soul” (1 Pet. 2:11). I’m often amazed at just how many people there are, both within and without the church, who live as though this life is all there is and will ever be. Their affections...
