"Watch your life and doctrine closely"
“Why am I doing this?” It’s a question I often ask myself mid-run. I was on mile eight and had about four more to go. My legs were already tight and the hill before me loomed large. As I made my way uphill my thighs screamed for more oxygen causing my heart to beat faster…
Lurking in the shadow of every good gift from God is a twisted perversion that seeks to imitate and destroy. These destructive copycats disguise themselves as good but are actually out to cause chaos and confusion. God creates healthy friendships as a gift, but sin turns them into something codependent or abusive. God blesses a…
My son walks around in a Jedi robe nearly 24 hours a day, and at any moment a lightsaber fight is likely to break out among my four children. Even as I type, I look on the table beside me and see a half-completed puzzle of Storm Troopers, Chewie, and Han Solo. The quarantine has…
It happens every year. In spite of my best efforts, it continues to show its ugly head. No matter how much I till, rake, mulch, or pull, the intrusive weed somehow finds a way into my garden. Almost mockingly, it maneuvers through layers of mulch and springs forth as the obnoxious, uninvited guest to a…
About 15 years ago, I spent some time in Russia doing mission work. While gathering with a Baptist church one Lord’s Day, I was speaking with a local who was fluent in English. We were discussing Easter Sunday and the difference in the way Russians and Americans celebrate. He informed me that due to the…
We are living in the last times. This isn’t some prediction based on current events, but a simple teaching of the Bible. The time between the first and second coming of Christ is referred to in the New Testament as the “last days.” Eschatology is the study of last things. When we think of end…
We all love to hear about a good miracle. We love to read the gospels and see all the times Jesus healed the blind man, caused the lame to walk, or raised the dead little girl back to life. It’s exciting to see God work in such a way, and we pray for Him to…
The past few weeks have been hard for our family. Death has struck a blow that seems too much to bear. My father-in-law passed away suddenly and unexpectedly and we are still dealing with both shock and grief. Death feels so final, and such finality often proves to be overwhelming. Good memories are a source…
As Ezekiel was led through a parched valley, he wondered how many lives had been lost. Everywhere he looked, there seemed to be endless piles of bones without any sign of life. A violent battle had taken place leaving many corpses behind, but decomposition and wild animals had taken their toll so that only dry…
At our family devotion, I was reading to our kids from “The Gospel Story Bible.” The story was about Moses and how his first few confrontations with Pharaoh didn’t seem to go well. The lesson concluded, “It may seem like things were not going well for Moses, but we can’t forget that God’s plan can…