"Watch your life and doctrine closely"
By this time of the year, many well-meaning New Year’s resolutions to read through the Bible in a year have derailed. Most make it through the familiar stories in Genesis. The miracles and sheer power of God on display makes reading through Exodus a breeze. However, many would-be travelers have fallen off the reading wagon…
It’s been nearly a year since my last conversation with Granny, but her final words still haven’t left me. Last summer, after a long battle with her sickness, her health began rapidly declining. What I least wanted to happen was near, so I dialed the phone knowing it would be our last conversation. As we…
If faith is the conviction of something we can’t see (Hebrews 11), doubt seems contrary to faith. Yet, doubt is something most believers can relate to. Not necessarily doubting the existence of God, though for some this might be the case, but doubting whether or not God sees us, cares about us, or continues to…
“I don’t need to go to a building to meet with God.” “I can read my Bible and pray anywhere.” “I love Jesus, but I’m against organized religion.” I hear these types of statements often, usually as a justification to skip out on the weekly gathering of God’s people (church). It’s true that we can…
“I know it hurts, but you gotta do it.” I could relate to what the man on the Youtube video said. His video taught how to nurture a peach tree to get the biggest and sweetest fruit. This time of the year my peach tree is filled with hundreds of dime-sized peaches, but the secret…
Last year, a video went viral that rightly sparked outrage. A man brutally attacked a 65-year-old woman in Manhattan in broad daylight while the attacker shouted out racial insults. The video shows three men watching from the nearby lobby, one of them the building’s security guard. None of the three men did anything to help…
I’m currently in the “last days” of teaching a bible study on the book of Revelation. I started the study somewhat hesitantly knowing there are so many wild interpretations of difficult passages. However, throughout the study I’ve been constantly encouraged and blessed by the truths of God’s Word. Many believers avoid Revelation because they find…
Fear does its best work in the night. I wake up at 3am struck by a terrible thought stirred by a bad dream. Some fearful situation enters my mind and I wonder how I would handle it. What if something were to happen to one of my kids? What if I lost someone I love?…
You are praying, but even as you do so there are doubts. You’ve proven sinful yet again and go to the Lord asking for mercy, but it seems there’s no way he’ll grant it this time. Surely, you’ve worn out your welcome…surely he’s tired of forgiving someone who can’t seem to get it right over…
It should have been an easy victory. So easy, in fact, Israel decided not to send their whole army. Instead, they sent a meager 3,000 troops who, they felt, could easily defeat Ai. But that’s not what happened. What should have been an easy victory turned into an embarrassing defeat and the loss of thirty-six…