Paul said, “For freedom Christ has set us free” (Gal. 5:1). We have a lot of freedom in Christ: We are free to choose where we would like to worship and serve the Lord.  There is no “Jerusalem” or “Mecca” for the Christian.  As long as you are worshiping with a faithful congregation, the Lord… [Read More]

Christians often refer to themselves as “servants of the Lord” (1 Cor. 3:5; 2 Cor. 6:4; Phil. 1:1; James 1:1).  Many times the word used is doulos, meaning “slave” or “bondservant.” Slavery was common in the first century.  Paul’s letters to the Ephesians, Colossians, to Titus and Philemon all have advice for people who played… [Read More]

No matter how many times I study the life of Elijah, I just can’t fully understand what happens in 1 Kings 19.  In chapter 17, Elijah prays that no rain will fall until he asks for it – and no rain fell for the next 3 and a half years (James 5:17-18)!  Later in the… [Read More]

Since the monumental Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision, 55 million children have been legally aborted in this country, an average of more than 1.3 million a year.  Twenty-two percent of pregnancies end in abortion in this country.  According to the Centers for Disease Control, the annual number of legal induced abortions in the United… [Read More]

For many people, correcting others can be uncomfortable and/or tedious.  Sometimes it seems much easier to just let someone continue in their error instead of getting involved and trying to correct the problem. Golf is a great example.  Odds are you aren’t interested in breaking down your buddy’s swing and starting a 6-week training course… [Read More]

You have heard of phantom pains.  Some people, after having a leg or an arm removed, will complain of severe pain in the limb that has been removed.  It’s impossible for the amputated limb to hurt, of course—it has been removed.  But the pain is still real to the one who received the amputation. This… [Read More]

Take a look Zephaniah’s words in Zephaniah 3:6 – 7 (ESV): I have cut off nations;     their battlements are in ruins; I have laid waste their streets     so that no one walks in them; their cities have been made desolate,     without a man, without an inhabitant. I said, ‘Surely you will fear me;     you will accept… [Read More]

The church has a responsibility to the world.  That responsibility was outlined by Christ prior to his ascension in Matthew 28:19-20: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded… [Read More]

A quotation attributed to Albert Einstein reads, “Everyone is a genius.  But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it is stupid.” Have you ever felt like a failure because you tried something and it didn’t work?  Everyone feels that way sometimes, but… [Read More]

John Wooden believed that all effective teachers need a good hat rack, one with plenty of hooks. Wooden wrote that, “I eventually became adept at wearing many different hats: teacher, of course, but also disciplinarian, demonstrator, counselor, role model, psychologist, motivator, timekeeper, quality control expert, talent judge, referee, organizer, and more… In the process you’ll… [Read More]