I’ll be celebrating my 63rd Christmas this month. I’m feeling that qualifies me as a Christmas expert. I approach this season with great hope and renewed expectations. I’ve never been the type to dread holidays. In fact, I seek to prolong them. As the kids (and now grandkids) dive under the tree to sort gifts,…
Read moreBe Attitude
My men’s Bible study has been reading Isaiah for the last several weeks. It is a collection of prophesies made by this prominent spokesman of behalf of the Creator of the Universe. God is not happy with his people’s behavior and tells of a time in the future when they will be made to suffer…
Read moreA nation divided…
In 1858, Abraham Lincoln lifted and used a verse from the Bible in a memorable speech, not given as President, but as a candidate for the US Senate (*spoiler* he did not win). In the run up to the presidential election, the airwaves are filled with pundits quoting poles that not only show which candidate…
Read moreJesus for President
I admit I consider myself a political pacifist but a spiritual activist. As a citizen, I read the propositions and candidate backgrounds and cast my votes, but then I rest on the comfort that “in all things, God works for the good of those who love him.” I trust in the outcome of God’s plan…
Read morePeople went to heaven before Jesus
The empty tomb and the hundreds of eye witnesses to Jesus walking the earth for 40 days after coming back from the dead testify to his overcoming death. His accession to heaven shows Jesus returned to whence he came (yes, I said whence!) Blinding Saul on the road to Damascus shows Jesus can act upon…
Read moreCan there be salvation without God taking the Initiative?
After the encounter with the rich young ruler in Matt 19:25, Jesus’ disciples ask “Who then can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” John 6:44 says it is completely out of our hands as Jesus says “No one can come to…
Read moreCall him Yeshua (or perhaps “Yeh-Soos”)
You know the name Jesus the Christ, the anointed one, the chosen one, the Messiah, whose name literally means “the Lord is Salvation” and “Yahweh Saves”. But did you know since the letter J was not part of any language until the 1500’s? How his name was pronounced then may be different than you’ve learned…
Read moreJesus was not the first nor the only person raised from the Dead
The New Testament story of Lazarus falling ill, dying, and laying in the tomb for four days is fairly well known. This story contains the verse we all volunteered to memorize in Sunday school since it was the shortest verse in the Bible; “Jesus wept”. John recounts the action in Chapter 11. Scoffers doubt Jesus’…
Read moreBeyond the Golden Rule
Sharing, compassion, and just plain getting along with others is something that must be learned. As a father and grandfather I can testify to seeing at least two generations of toddlers snatch a toy away from another child while growling “mine!” They are born seeming to care only about themselves. It’s only through years of…
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