THE LOVE OF MONEY
As far back as antiquity, in man’s very earliest beginnings, there have always been systems for purchasing things and for measuring wealth, whether it was in such ways as, for example, trading goods (bartering), accumulation of possessions such as cattle and livestock, weighing precious metal coins, or using coins and paper currency. Another time-tested […]
THEY CAN’T BE BOTHERED
There are many people who are marginalized in society or are otherwise on the fringes, such as the homeless; the widowed; those in jails, prisons, and mental health institutions; people in nursing homes; even those who because of serious health issues spend a lot of time in the hospital. Here are several Scriptures to […]
LEST A WORSE THING COME UPON YOU
John 5:14: Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, “See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.” At the beginning of the fifth chapter of the Gospel of John, we see a pool in Jerusalem called Bethesda. The name Bethesda is […]
NO HUNGER FOR GOD
We live in a very busy age, in a world full of distractions. There are so many places to go and things to do, the allure of the internet and entertainment, and so forth. None of us is immune to distraction, which is why we have to make time for God and for the […]
EASTER: RESURRECTION DAY
Every year much of the world sees the observance of Easter, which is normally in April but sometimes falls in late March. The origins of the name “Easter” are much more obscure than many realize. According to a Got Questions article (retrieved 4/13/2022): “and paraphrased” [Bede, a monk and historian who lived in the […]
ABOUT THE INTERNET
Daniel 12:4: “But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.” These words were spoken by the angel Gabriel to Daniel, a Jewish man who lived most of his life in Babylon and then Persia, […]
FELLOWSHIP, ANYONE?
Acts 2:42-47: And they continued steadily in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, […]
HEAVY BURDENS
In my blog, “The Carnal Christian”, one of the Scriptures I shared was 1 Corinthians 10:13. Before proceeding into the subject matter in “Heavy Burdens,” it is necessary for me to revisit that Bible verse, but for a different reason: 1 Corinthians 10:13: No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common […]
THE CARNAL CHRISTIAN
There is a term we hear sometimes in Christian circles—lukewarm. That comes from what Jesus said to the church at Laodicea in Revelation 3:14-22. There is another term we may hear sometimes: the carnal Christian. For those of you who are not familiar with the Bible, yes, it’s in there: 1 Corinthians 3:1-4: […]
MUSIC IN THE HOUSE OF GOD
As in virtually every other detail of Christianity, there have been both controversy and conflict about music in the Church: What style, should we have instruments or should we sing a cappella, should there be music at all, do we need a choir or a band, and so forth. One thing some believers do, […]
HYPERSPIRITUALITY
At least some of you have heard this joke: “How many Pentecostals does it take to change a lightbulb? Ten—one to change it and nine to cast out the spirit of darkness.” First time I heard it I got a pretty good laugh out of it. What I have become aware of over the […]
KNOW YOUR ENEMY
Some time ago I wrote a three-part blog series on spiritual warfare. – (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3). This is not so much a revisiting of those blogs as it is a discussion of our enemy—really, enemies—in the spiritual realm. In this era of derailed Christianity we as believers must not only have […]
IDOLATRY IN THE HOUSE OF GOD
The kingdom of Israel had a golden age under Kings David and Solomon. However, when Solomon was old, he made a major excursion into idolatry (1 Kings 11:1-8). Solomon, a Jewish king, the builder of the first great temple in Jerusalem, in his backsliding erected high places for false gods! Thankfully he came to […]
THE CONSCIENCE
No matter what sort of person anyone becomes in life, all human beings are born with a conscience. We know of it as an innate ability to tell the difference between right and wrong. That sounds like a rather vague statement, and it is because alone it does not tell us what “right” and […]
WHEN TIME RUNS OUT
A young wife and mother gets into her car one sunny Saturday morning, intent on going to the grocery store. She has no idea that less than a mile away a drunk driver is also out on the road, and that the crash he would cause would take her life. The drunk driver would […]
INFIGHTING
Those who have read my blogs know that one theme which appears from time to time is disunity in the Church. I personally cannot see denominationalism and the associated lack of cohesiveness going away until Jesus Christ comes back, but I can see the potential for improvement in individual churches and among other, smaller […]
A WORD TO CONSERVATIVES
However things may be viewed in other countries, in the United States we have long had the viewpoint that there are conservatives, moderates, and liberals, the latter now calling themselves progressives. This is especially true in politics and has some usage in other areas of life. We certainly hear of it in churches, at […]
ANGER
Many of us have known someone who is easily angered. We may say they have a short fuse, or they are hotheaded, or things like that. There are others who store up anger to the point that when it is finally released it is as explosive as a volcanic eruption or a nuclear blast. […]
ABOUT ST. PATRICK’S DAY
Many people either celebrate St. Patrick’s Day or at least know about it. We have such things as green beer, rivers being dyed green, corned beef and cabbage, the wearing of something green, and pictures of shamrocks as well as comments about luck or the luck of the Irish. These multiple traditions have developed […]
THE REAL MISSING LINK
There are likely many people who have heard the phrase “the missing link.” Often it applies to evolutionary theory, particularly in the evolutionists’ search for an intermediate species bridging humans and apes, since they believe we are descended from those animals. Having been a Christian for almost half of my life and thus having […]