"I will put animosity between you and the woman, and between your descendant and her descendant; he will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel.” (Genesis 3:15 CJB). "5 (6) For a child is born to us, a son is given to us; dominion will rest on his shoulders, and he will be... Continue Reading →
Stories of Heaven And Hell
Today, I saw a headline on Instagram; Woman dies from suffering a heart attack and claims she went to Heaven and met Jesus. I thought of the man in the Bible who begged for someone to be sent to his brothers to warn them of the afterlife. Accounts of visits to Heaven and hell abound... Continue Reading →
The Love of God in The Gospel
One day last week, I was thinking about the love of God, and it just hit me how incredible the love of God is. I hate to say this, but it’s easy for me to forget about God’s love. If we don’t fix our minds on the love of God, it is easy to take... Continue Reading →
The Trial And The Blessing
Much has been said and even speculated about the Book of Job. Some Christians sweep the complexities under the rug with statements like, “Job is the question, and Jesus is the answer.” Others who are bothered by the sovereignty of God point to Job, saying, “the thing I feared the most has come upon me,”... Continue Reading →
Scatterbrained Prayer
How many times have you started to pray and become distracted? You begin praying, and all of a sudden, a grocery list begins forming in your head, or you suddenly remember you forgot something three weeks ago. Over the last several years, a common prayer strategy has been to pray on your way to work.... Continue Reading →
Established in Genesis
Genesis is a book of beginnings. In it, we find the creation, humanity, the flood, the story of redemption begins to unfold, and the nation of people is promised to Abraham. God begins to set things in order very quickly, and certain things established in Genesis carry through the entirety of Scripture. For example, Malachi... Continue Reading →
Biblical Unity
Much has been said, and rightly so, concerning unity in the Church. But what does unity look like? Is it really about setting doctrine aside and accepting professions of faith at face value when there is no fruit behind the confession? Years ago, Catholics and Evangelicals Together came on the scene, declaring we’re all together.... Continue Reading →
Walking with Jesus
This morning my New Testament reading ended in an odd spot at Mark 14:26, so I kept reading and finished the gospel. I sat and pondered why the reading plan would stop at such a weird place but knew it was due to the number of verses in the New Testament being split over four... Continue Reading →
What it Means to be Pro-Life
Today is the 49th annual March for Life. This event for life has become increasingly political over the last several years. But unfortunately, with the hijacking of the term pro-life in recent years, much of the movement has given way to the industry. I am unashamedly pro-life, but I refuse to be holistically pro-life. Why?... Continue Reading →
DEVOTION: Loving God
There is an abundance of teaching on the love of God in the Church today, which is a good thing, after all, "for God so loved the word that He gave His only begotten son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life." God's love is a central topic of Scripture,... Continue Reading →
My Prayer for the Charismatic Movement
Yesterday I saw an ad on Facebook for an online discussion about if the prophetic is still for today. It had several well-known leaders in the prophetic movement listed to speak. I thought to myself; you're missing the point; charismatics aren't questioning if prophecy is for today; they're asking about the accuracy and legitimacy of... Continue Reading →
The Cultural Component of Bible Study
As Christians, we understand the importance of Bible reading and study. But inevitably, there will always be something that trips us up primarily because we don't understand the context of what is being said or happening in a story. We've all been there; we grab a commentary, look up a word, or search the internet... Continue Reading →
Bible Reading Encouragement
Many of us are on day four of a bible reading plan, and in a few weeks or months, some of us will ask the question, how can I keep the momentum going? Bible reading isn't a chore or a checklist (even though I check off as I read). Reading the Bible is how we... Continue Reading →
DEVOTION: Presumption
Faith in God is not presumption. What is presumption? “an idea that is taken to be true, and often used as the basis for other ideas, although it is not known for certain.” How do we presume upon God? By proclaiming instead of praying is one way we can presume upon God. Some see faith as... Continue Reading →
The Word is our Defense
"How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word.10 With all my heart I have sought You; Do not let me stray from Your commandments.11 Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You." These are the words of Psalm 119:9-11 (LSB).... Continue Reading →
