The Culture of Hope Founded on Faith
The Anchor of Our Souls
As we move into 2020, it’s hard not to bemoan how fast the opportunities of 2019 have slipped past us. At the same time, our culture demonstrates an ever-increasing deterioration, leaving many hopeless and without anything solid to hold onto. Hebrews 6:17-20 gives me comfort because it reminds me of the firm foundation on which my life stands anchored in Christ:
“…God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the…..
The Rest of the Christmas Story
When we think of priests, we generally have in mind either a cassocked representative of the Catholic Church or a Sunday school picture of priests overseeing daily sacrifices in the Old Testament Tabernacle. But we, as Christians, are also called priests (and kings) according to Revelation. 1:5b-6: “Unto Him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and has made us kings and priests unto God and His Father;…..
A Coming-Alongside Love
During a recent conversation about the function of God’s people within the Church, the topic of forgiving others when they confess sin that shocks us was discussed. But we are not called to forgive when someone confesses to us. According to 1 John 1: 9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”, God has already forgiven each of us when we repent…..
The God of All Comfort
The Bible reveals many character-reflective titles for God. Among my favorite and most used is found in 2 Corinthians 1:3-5. Paul declares “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. For as…..
Gifted By the Will of God
2 Timothy begins with these words: “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus, to Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord” (2 Tim. 1-2).
God’s will is expressed in two ways. First, Scripture is very clear about how we all should live Christ into the ungodly culture of…..
Thanksgiving, Part 2
The holiday we call Thanksgiving was proclaimed a national holiday by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. It is said to have begun in 1621 when the Pilgrims enjoyed a harvest of vegetables after a drought left them in doubt of food for the winter. They had fasted and prayed for rain during the summer and God granted their request. The harvest was celebrated by a feast which included the Indians who had taught the Pilgrims to grow…..
Thanksgiving, Part 1
I recently started collecting what I call “Ho-Hum News”. On a slow news day you sometimes find odd and seemingly unimportant news headlines, like this one: “Bear sneaks into California Vineyard for late-night snack of Pinot Noir grapes, surveillance footage shows”.
If the vintner who owns that vineyard is a follower of Christ, it is God’s will, according to Scripture, that he thank God for his loss of high-end grapes to that bear. Recently I forgot this…..
Praying For Those In Crisis
The past two years seem to have been medical crisis piled on top of medical crisis for us. I was reminded the other day about how people have been and are praying for us. Generic “God bless them” prayers are not the kind of prayer God is looking for from us, His children. Yet when it comes to praying for those who are experiencing hardship, we are sometimes at a loss to know how to…..
Perspective
Do you know anyone who has had the exact same experiences as yourself throughout your life? I don’t believe that is possible. Like fingerprints, each one’s set of life experiences is unique to each individual. Just as God created us unique human beings to begin with, our paths through life are also unique. The way we view life, God, even Jesus, is determined by a complex set of variants such as personality, physical characteristics, settings, and relationships. I’ll save…..
Colossians 1:12-29 gives an amazing description of our Lord Jesus Christ and of our relationship with Him. I find this a particularly encouraging section of Scripture in an era gone berserk over power and politics. First is a list of some of the attributes of Jesus Christ, then is a list of some of the benefits of our relationship with Jesus Christ, followed by a list of some of the results of those benefits in our lives, and all from this one passage of Scripture.