Sorted by date Results 51 - 75 of 136
In the gospel of Matthew, chapter 5, Jesus begins an incredible presentation we call the “Sermon on the Mount.” Verse two of this chapter begins by stating that Jesus sat down, his disciples came to him and “he opened his mouth and began to teach them.” What came next was nine verses of some of the most powerful instructions we have in the New Testament. I will be taking these verses one by one and expanding on them as they were, are, and will be powerful principal teachings of our Lord that we really need to put into practice. Verse three o...
What is our worth? I mean, are we really worthy of anything? There is an old saying about people we consider to be not worthy of much, it goes something like “they aren’t worth a plug nickel.” In the New Testament scriptures, the word “worthy” comes up a lot. Several of the Greek words used for the word “worthy” are defined as weight of value, or being sufficient, and being judged worthy. Now, the question sometimes comes up as Christians, “Are we worthy of Jesus Christ?” To this question, the answer is no, but Christ makes us worthy if we w...
I really wish that my life would go better. I wish I had a better job, I wish my car would run better, I wish my family would be healthier, I wish I could leap tall buildings with a single bound, I wish, I wish, I wish! We certainly wish for a lot of things, but do we ever wish we could know God better, and have a stronger relationship with Him? As humans, we do spend a lot of time thinking about ourselves and our own desires, but do we spend much time thinking and dwelling upon what God desires? God certainly spends a lot of time thinking...
Oh, it’s that time of the year again, yes, the very first of what we hope will be a fantastic one. Most of us have made plans or some kind of resolutions for the year 2024 that we are so excited to fulfill. Well, if you’re like me, sometimes those plans and resolutions start out gangbusters, but then something seems to derail those plans. I call this situation the “Blurp!” It’s like when you’re playing a paintball game. You’ve planned your strategy to outflank your opponent, you’ve snuck up on your enemy and you’re ready to give the kill shot,...
What is the most valuable item in this world today? Is it gold, silver or some precious stone? Maybe it’s a valuable piece of artwork or sports memorabilia, or a strategic parcel of land. There are a lot of highly intelligent people on this earth who own one or more of the afore mentioned things, but are they wise? I am reading the Book of Job in the Old Testament, and I was struck in awe by Chapter 28. Job describes how mankind goes searching far and wide for the things he considers valuable: gold, silver, ore, copper and all kinds of precious...
As we continue to offer information on the events happening in Israel, please remember this is a short abbreviated biblical historical retelling of these events. After the Israelites were given the Land of Canaan by the Lord, they were supposed to totally destroy all of the inhabitants so that they wouldn’t be influenced to worship false gods and their idols. Deuteronomy 7:1-2 says, “When the LORD your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations – the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaa...
The war going on in Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank is having a ripple effect around the world. This ripple has come to the United States and has made many Jews afraid of being persecuted as well as it has many people protesting, not only against the Jews here in the US, but especially the Jews in Israel. It seems to be a battle of land occupation with some people believing that the land belongs to people now called Palestinians and others believing it should belong to the Jews. This article is not written to change minds but to educate on the...
How many of us go camping, tent or trailer, it doesn’t matter? We enjoy the outdoors and love sitting around a campfire roasting hotdogs and marshmallows, telling tall tale fishing stories, and talking with friends and family. If you’re like me, you could sit and watch the flames of the fire all night long as they seem to dance for you, and the feeling of pure peace comes over your soul. Strange thing about a fire though, it continually needs more wood to continue producing the brilliant flames that we enjoy watching. If we don’t keep the f...
When I was growing up, I made some bad choices and then blamed that choice on my friends by saying, “Johnny did it, too.” My parents would always come back with the line, “if Johnny jumped off a cliff, would you do that too?” They would then sit me down, and the teaching drilled into my head was that I needed to be careful when picking my friends because they could lead me down a wrong path that would end in trouble. I didn’t have to go very far to know just where they got their information. I Corinthians 15:33 says, “Do not be misled: “Ba...
Something that is easier said than done is to love one another. Loving someone you like or already love is easy, but loving someone that you don’t know or even don’t like, is another story altogether! Our lives as Christians are a little more detailed than just showing up to church service on Sundays, singing a few songs, partaking of the Lord’s Supper, and listening to a motivational speaker that may or may not inspire you. No, Christianity is living a life that is mimicking the life of our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ! That life shoul...
This last week at our NWOSU Student Ministry Lunch, I addressed a very interesting question, “What will our bodies look like in heaven?” I like to quote a lot of scripture of God’s Word, because it always tells us the answers, and that’s one of the principles I try and pass on to the students who attend our lunches. In Philippians 3:20-21 it says, “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly...
Do we ever think about how much we influence other people that we interact with, either on a day-to-day basis or meet for the first time? Do we think about how our actions and words could influence someone else? I mean, we might say or do something that could lift the spirits of someone who is depressed or hurting and brighten their day and possibly turn their lives from failure to success in an instant. Let the reader be encouraged to think about how we can be a positive influence on other people’s lives whether we know them or not. E...
In the Holy Scriptures, in the book of II Chronicles chapters 24 and 35, we read about a little boy king named Josiah, who did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. He tore down altars to foreign gods, purged Israel of the high places, Asherah poles, and all the carved idols. He gave money to restore the temple and the worship of God. While the work was going on, the book of the Law of Moses was found, and was read to the King. He tore his robes and cried before the Lord because the people of Israel were not worshipping God at all as He had...
A phrase we used to say a lot when I was a kid was, “when I grow up, I want to be like ____,” and we filled in the blank with someone’s name. It could have been a superhero, it could have been our favorite athlete, or it could have been anyone that we looked up to as a role model. Whoever it was, influenced our thinking and our actions. One of my favorite people when I was growing up was a daredevil named Evel Knievel who jumped over many different kinds of vehicles with a motorcycle. My mother even made me a suit just like his for Hallo...
Everyone these days is paying a lot of attention to the war going on in the Israel and the Gaza Strip area. It seems we all get excited when war breaks out in what we consider the Middle East region. There have been several Arab/Israeli conflicts in the last 75 years that have grabbed the Christians' attention. A major reason we do this is because we want to start attaching it to the Battle of Armageddon in the book of Revelation Chapter 16. But if we read chapter 16 where God is pouring out the Seven Bowls of Wrath, we see that God is calling...
Do you know lazy people? Those people who do absolutely nothing to contribute to the betterment and building up of society? We as Christians can fall into the same rut if we don’t show our faith to God and the world by our actions! We can become lazy if we don’t focus on the work God has for us. In the book of James, the Lord’s brother, James warns us about the lazy condition of our faith. James 2:14-17 says, “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother...
There is an old hymn we sing titled “Are You Sowing the Seed?” in which we are encouraged to share Jesus to the world around us. Many of us may wonder what sowing the seeds of the kingdom really looks like. Surely, we can’t just go down to the feed store and buy these kingdom seeds and go broadcasting them everywhere expecting them to grow the church. Sowing the seeds of the kingdom is a little more involved than that. Most of us know the parable that Jesus told, about the Sower who went out to sow and the kingdom seeds fell on four diffe...
The end is near, so says the sign that the man is wearing in several movies we have seen. Well, it’s really true, the end is near and we, the body of Christ, are warned of the end so we will be ready! I Peter 4:7 says, “The end of all things is near. Therefore, be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray.” The book of Revelation is a very powerful book written by the apostle John. God inspired him to write it in such a way that every generation since the last days believe that the Lord Jesus will return during their lifetime. We might...
This phrase, “the word of the Lord,” is used many times in the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament as it refers to God communicating with the Patriarchs, Prophets, Priests and Kings. God sometimes came to these leaders by a loud or soft voice, a dream or vision, or simply by being written in the Law of Moses. God used His word in order to direct His people on how to carry out His plans at any given time. In God’s plan, He has desired to have a relationship with mankind from the beginning. The Apostle Paul explains this to the meeting of philo...
What exactly is hope? Why do we desperately cling to it? Hope, according to Desmond Tutu (South African Anglican Bishop and Theologian) is “being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” This statement is so true in today’s world. It seems that darkness is all around us and closing in fast. We want and need to have hope of something better and our Lord Jesus Christ gives us that hope! Titus 2:11-14 in the Holy Scriptures says, “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No...
It seems that there are laws for everything in this life. Laws for driving a car, laws for hunting, laws for the treatment of others, and the list goes on. It also seems that when people don’t agree with certain laws, they find a way to break them. People sometimes ignore laws or flat out oppose them in a more dramatic way. When someone breaks the law, they are usually caught and given a fine, or actually placed in jail for a predetermined time as punishment. In today’s crazy world, people are being let out of jail as soon as they are pla...
When we walk with the Lord, in the light of His word, what a glory He sheds on our way. While we do His good will, He abides with us still, and with all who will trust and obey.” These are the powerful words to the song “Trust and Obey.” This song is such a beautiful, sweet song talking about walking with God. Adam and Eve both walked with God until the time they both sinned and discovered their own nakedness. What does “Walking with God” really mean? The words to the song give us much insight into the answer to that question. The phrase, ...
How good are we at waiting patiently for some event to occur, such as Christmas or a birthday? How patient are we to see someone we haven’t seen in a long time? Patience is a virtue according to Galatians 5:22 that we should be developing. When we hope for something or to see someone, we must be patient until the time is right for those things to be delivered. Hope is something that can keep a person strong when waiting on something or someone. As Christians, we hope for the eternal life that is promised to us by our Lord Jesus the Christ. T...
School is starting up again and our schedules are getting busier and busier. It’s very hard to balance our secular and spiritual lives. When do we have time to work for the kingdom of our Lord? One of the tasks that our Lord Jesus put us in charge of is sharing his gospel with others. We all know the great commission in Matthew 28 and Mark 16 where Jesus basically says to take the gospel into the entire world and make disciples of those that will follow him. We might be a little hesitant to do this in today’s social climate because it see...
I recently stopped into a Quick Stop gas station to purchase a few items and happened upon an older gentleman who was talking with the attendant. As I stood in line behind him listening, he seemed to be a very interesting fellow. When he had finished his purchase, I began a conversation with him and learned we had common friends who live in this area. The conversation turned to the state of this great nation we live in, and we both agreed that if something doesn’t change, we are headed for some very hard times in the near future. We d...
