Floyd Kaiser

Truth Shapes Conscience

[448 words] Paul, looking intently at the Council, said, “Brethren, I have lived my life with a perfectly good conscience before God up to this day” (Acts 23:1). In the Bible’s account of his life, Paul—earlier known as Saul—is as close to “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” as anyone you will find. The evil Mr.…

Faith: How Important?

[482 words] “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). Christians, in some ways, are like anyone else. We all have a tendency to become lax about matters that should be basic and indispensable. It is like eating well. Anyone can learn how proper nutrition works and can even…

Evil Exists

[411 words] “I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men” (Revelation 2:2). Modern philosophy suggests that there is something good in everyone. Thoroughly “bad” or “evil” persons are not even considered to exist. Everyone who commits particularly heinous deeds do so because they are innocent products of…

Getting What You Want

[394 words] Two little teardrops were floating down the river of life. One teardrop asked the other, “Who are you?” “I’m a teardrop from a girl who loved a man and lost him. But who are you?” The first teardrop replied, “I’m a teardrop from the girl who got him.” Life is like that. We…

Tithing?

[425 words] ”Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say,’How have we robbed You? In tithes and offerings” (Malachi 3:8). Regarding the giving of one’s material blessings to God, the teachings of both Testaments bear out a common encouragement, it should be done generously. In the above text, not giving…

Church Shopping

[421 words] “… the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15). It seems that more people today are challenging traditional affiliations. For instance, a 2013 Gallup Poll has determined that 42% of American voters consider themselves to be Independent (www.gallup.com). This is the highest number ever of…

Let Us Pray

  [373 words] How many times have we heard this expression as a prelude to a collective journey of the brethren into the presence of God? I wonder, is it used so much that we forget its importance? Here are some instances of corporate prayers found in the New Testament. In Matthew 26 and its…

I Am God’s Project

[415 words] “For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). There are benefits to an extended, do-it-yourself project, like painting a house, building a model or even assembling a 1,000 piece puzzle. For one thing, it teaches patience. Large projects are…

The Coming Disaster

[389 words] The internet buzzes with sensational predictions of looming disaster. Titles read, “Collapse of the Dollar,” “Food Shortages Ahead,” “Polar Icecaps Melting,” Hyperinflation on the Horizon,” “Terrorism on the Rise” and so on. YouTube especially has numerous videos telling how to prepare for the imminent and abrupt end to life as we know it…

Faith Comes by Hearing

“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). Pertaining to personal salvation, there is no subject more necessary than faith. In Hebrews 11:6 it is written, “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He…

Jesus, the Answer

[446 words] The young lady could not have been too much over sixteen years old. She came to the office in an old pickup with two men who stayed outside in the cab. Before she was finished filling out a benevolence form, they left and she went outside to wait on the steps going up…