Dec 15, 2014 | Family, The Bible
Years ago when our youngest son Paul was about 4 ½ years old, he decided to count down the days to Christmas. He had just enough memory and cognizance to realize that Christmas was an exciting time. For weeks he asked us over and over—“When’s Christmas? When’s...
Dec 10, 2014 | Christian Living, Church History, The Bible
Herod, the King of Judea when Jesus was born, was a remarkable madman. He is remembered for his cruelty, and not only because of the famous “slaughter of the innocents” described in Matthew 2:16-18: When Herod saw that he had been tricked… he became very enraged, and...
Dec 8, 2014 | Christian Living, Family, The Bible
Christmas is coming. Are you ready? It’s important that we not miss the heart of Christmas—what it’s all about. Don’t miss Christmas by being so loud and frenetic that you don’t have the opportunity to hear the Lord speaking to you. He longs to speak to you and to...
Dec 3, 2014 | Christian Living, Family
What might change in your life if you lived every moment as if Heaven were real? A Tragic Accident I recall realizing, a number of years ago, that the notion of a resurrection hope had not yet fully taken hold of my life. I was certainly devoted to Jesus Christ, but...
Dec 1, 2014 | Christian Living, The Bible
Colossians 1:3-8 reveals to us some interesting historical, spiritual, and even psychological insights into why the Colossians believed in Jesus. What was it that motivated them to turn in trust to the crucified and risen Jesus? I’ll answer that question in a...
Nov 26, 2014 | Christian Living, Psalms, Romans, The Bible
Thankfulness is part and parcel of the Christian faith. We can see this in the Psalms, where thanksgiving is found in virtually every Psalm. The Psalmist reacted with gratitude and exuberance whenever he realized that God had delivered him and his people. That’s...
Nov 24, 2014 | Christian Living, Culture
Some time ago I did a funeral and was saddened to realize that I was dealing with a family that had no tradition of Christian faith. The patriarch of this family had passed away in his early 60s, and his daughter wanted me to do his funeral. The family had no...
Nov 19, 2014 | Christian Living, Theology
Revelation 5 tells us that the One seated upon the throne has, in His right hand, a book. Just as the prophet Daniel longed to see thrones established and the books opened (Daniel 7), Revelation 5 focuses on this single book. If only this book can be opened, John...
Nov 17, 2014 | Christian Living, Culture, Romans, The Bible
We live with a terrible myth in our culture: the myth that somehow I have made myself. It is the lie that somehow I can shape my own destiny; that everyone is free to do whatever he or she wants to do. We ought to be thankful for the marvelous freedoms in our...
Nov 12, 2014 | Christian Living, The Bible
It can be easy for us to think that, when we attend church, we do our congregations and our communities a favor. Don’t be deceived–we worship God because we owe Him our worship. He is the creator God, and it is good and right for His creatures to give Him...
