Imagine trying to get service from a business when the employees don’t really have any answers, don’t know the list of products or menu items they sell, don’t know where anything is in the store, are impatient with you while you try do describe a problem, or won’t pay any attention to you at all. That exercise probably didn’t take […]
Creeds have been written through the centuries to settle one side of arguments. Heresies are what they believe, creeds are what we believe. Modern versions try to be a bit more inclusive than just statements in opposition to heresies, and list all beliefs, and are sometimes called “statements of faith.” Catechisms are tests to uncover failure to memorize what “we” […]
At the end of the day, the cross was covered with the blood of One Who saw your life as worth the pain and shame that were the path He took to be the Passover Lamb without spot or wrinkle Who could take away your sin. Your life was purchased at an immeasurable price. The value that it can have […]
How much generosity is too much? What value does generosity have if it is not the byproduct of loving people? Even though we rarely hear public admonitions from 1 Corinthians 13 anytime other than weddings, and it preaches there well, it was written to instruct believers on the responsibilities believers have to each other and the strength the Spirit wants […]
On the last and most important day of the festival, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone is thirsty, he should come to Me and drink! The one who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him.” He said this about the Spirit, whom those who believed in […]
There is a dog standing at my back door, looking through the glass with a squeaky ball in her mouth. She has been standing there for quite a while. I am wondering what I need to learn about patience and faith from the scene. I am certain that I will see the Lord’s goodnessin the land of the living.Wait for […]
Somewhere between being “too heavenly minded to be any earthly good:” sitting at the bus stop waiting for the rapture, and being “too earthly minded to be any earthly good:” sitting in church hoping Jesus fixes everything and we can be safe and at peace again, is being “spiritually minded, which is life and peace:” standing in the presence of […]
As for man, his days are like grass—he blooms like a flower of the field;when the wind passes over it, it vanishes,and its place is no longer known.But from eternity to eternitythe Lord’s faithful love is toward those who fear Him,and His righteousness toward the grandchildrenof those who keep His covenant,who remember to observe His instructions.The Lord has established His […]
Our greatest purpose is the connected works of abiding in Christ and allowing Christ to be formed in us. The further purposes that flow out of hosting Messiah in our lives and homes and work and play will bring Him closer to other people and bring other people closer to Him. “I am the true vine, and My Father is […]
Yahweh told Samuel that David was a king. Those who thought they knew him best, though, had different opinions of him. His father pretended he didn’t exist when Samuel asked to see all his sons. His brothers called him arrogant and evil-hearted. When your friends and family assess your integrity or your value, do they reflect Yahweh’s perspective, or some […]