When I was a young Christian we used to crack jokes about 1 Timothy 4:8, thinking it was justification for not staying in good physical shape. Here’s how it reads in the KJV (the version we read back then): “For bodily exercise profiteth little, but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the [...]
Sometimes biblical statements astound me. Not just in the truth they express but the expanse of their application. Here’s one from 1 Corinthians 1:5: “In [Christ] you have been enriched in every way.” Can it be that every aspect of our lives is enriched … made better … when we belong to Jesus? Is He [...]
Do you like watching “Antiques Roadshow” on PBS? Me too. I’m always blown away by what the experts uncover. People bring in their family treasures to have them assessed and are sometimes dumbfounded – either because the item is worth less than they hoped or is so valuable they need to insure it. Often they’ve [...]
The setting where Jesus fought His greatest battle was fittingly an olive grove. As He knelt among the trees and prayed to His Father, He foreshadowed the process the olives around Him would soon undergo. On the tree they were safe and protected, but the time was coming when men would gather them for another [...]
“No man ever spoke like this man” … or prayed … or healed … or listened … or cared like this man. He could confront hypocrisy with perfect judgment yet offer love and forgiveness to the worst of sinners. No doubt about it: Jesus was (and is) in a class of His own. I sometimes [...]
In the frantic preparations for this holiday season and all the activities accompanying it, I hope you won’t lose sight of the big picture. When Jesus came, everything changed. Oh sure, to those who saw Him walking around it seemed nothing had changed. Rome was still oppressing them, preventing them from running their own country. [...]
Way back when I was in high school (I know, so long ago!) the Everly Brothers had a hit song called “Cathy’s Clown.” It was a sad tale about some guy who’d been played for a fool by his girlfriend. She’d run around on him and he’d been unaware of what was going on. Once [...]
“Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!” When the Holy Spirit was given at Pentecost, the disciples received power to be witnesses of Jesus (Acts 1:8). They went out declaring the good news that Jesus had risen from the dead. Soon everyone born of His Spirit – not just the apostles – was giving [...]
A brand new year! Spotless and full of promise at this point but also fraught with new challenges, maybe even danger. So how will we engage it? To boldly step out and face 2018 without fear won’t be easy for some of us. We’re struggling with health problems that could become serious in the months [...]
Nothing calms a sheep down better than the sudden appearance of the shepherd. Whether it’s busy butting other sheep in a power struggle, agitated by hunger or thirst, frightened by some danger (real or imagined), or is cast down, lying upside down in a helpless state with no hope of righting itself … whatever is [...]
Adventuring with God 