3 Ways the Holy Spirit Works in Your Life Today
In Acts 2 on the Day of the Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended upon the people gathered in Jerusalem, and the miracle of languages took place. The Bible says the people were amazed: And they all continued in amazement and great perplexity, saying to one another,...
Balaam’s Failure and the Nicolaitans
King Balak feared that the Israelites would overwhelm his nation. He had good reason to feel afraid; the book of Numbers tells us that the children of Israel had already defeated several neighboring countries when they reached Balak's kingdom. The news of their...
God’s Divine Ethics: What You Need to Know
The hymn writer has rightly said that "Grace is greater than all our sin." When we look at the fact that God’s grace is more abundantly powerful than our capacity to turn away from Him, we sometimes conclude--wrongly--that we are therefore free to live in any way we...
5 Powerful Ways to Describe Your Faith
The Christian faith can be described using five distinct labels: Historical theology Eschatology Religious experience A mission An ethic The Christian Faith is a Historical Theology On the one hand, the Christian faith is a historical theology; that is, it points to...
Godspeed, HBU Graduates
I wish our world were such that we could speak in a light and breezy tone about the future to our graduates, but, of course, that’s not the kind of world in which we live. The Psalmist reminds us that the Lord prepares a table for us in the presence of our enemies....
Dizzy Dean and the Faithfulness of Jesus Christ
When I was a youngster, I used to love it when my dad would tell me stories about Dizzy Dean. Dizzy Dean was a character. He was full of baloney and malarkey, but when it came to his own baseball skills, he was such a good pitcher that he could pull off almost...
How to Handle Conflict: The Sermon on the Mount
Sue and I were on the Island of Patmos years ago, at the Grotto of St. John where, according to tradition, John was given the visions that make up our book of Revelation. You might think that the secluded monastery in that place would be peaceful, but we had to laugh...
Hebrews: Why You Should Grow in Your Faith
Some folks think Christian maturity comes in one dose. It can be easy for those of us who come from denominations with a certain kind of experiential emphasis to think that somehow we'll have a dramatic experience that will put us on a higher plain. People look for...
3 Big Reasons to Reread the Sermon on the Mount
I once heard a very famous Baptist preacher refer to the Sermon on the Mount as a list of God's suggestions for our lives. He wasn't alone. Some commentators, particularly the dispensationalists of previous generations, have argued that Jesus' teachings in the Sermon...