The Culture of Hope Founded on Faith
Monthly Archives: June 2018
1 John, Part 1 – Jesus’ Commandments
Both Matthew 22:37-39 and Mark 13:34 record the scribe’s question, “What is the most important commandment?” Keep in mind that God’s commandments are to be obeyed: they are not suggestions. Jesus’ answer was, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind … And the second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”
As recorded by the…..
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God’s Promise of the Seasons
Yesterday our calendars marked the beginning of summer. I find it amazing that even after all this time since creation, the world still revolves and the seasons still change. Of course God did not just set things in motion at creation to walk away; He has continued to interact with our world and its people through the ages.
Living where I do, at the juxtaposition of two major mountain ranges and the high desert, the…..
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Fact, Not Feeling
When Jesus Christ promised “I am with you always, even unto the end of the world” in Matthew 28:20b, He didn’t qualify it with various circumstances under which He would not fulfill the promise. Likewise in Hebrews 13:5b, “for He has said, I will never leave you, nor forsake you”, there is no mitigating circumstance under which the promise will not be kept.
John 14:27 also gives us an unconditional promise: “Peace I leave with you, my…..
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Blessed Quietness
One of my favorite hymns growing up was “Blessed Quietness”. The lyrics reflect absolute trust in the fact of salvation, the presence of the Comforter (i.e., the Holy Spirit) making “the trusting heart His home”, and the resulting fruit of righteousness that grows in each believer. It is the third person of the Trinity (God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit) who indwells us at salvation, bringing the peace and joy promised in Scripture…..
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O Death, Where is Thy Sting?
There are times that Dan and I talk honestly and unafraid about death. One of those times was on September 29 when we received the call from Dan’s doctor telling him that five tumors were found in the PetCT scan done the day before. A later biopsy revealed them to be metastatic melanoma. Since November Dan has undergone bi-weekly immunotherapy infusions, the side-effects of which have become devastating. Frequent, unproductive coughing and digestive issues…..