James 3:12–Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.      One of the things that make us fascinating as people, is our ability and struggle to be consistent from our “hearts and mouths”.  That what we talk about to others can be […]

Are you feeling the post-holiday blues? I know I am… On my drive to school this morning, I couldn’t believe it was already Monday. Even when I got there, I didn’t want to do anything! And the teacher  next door to me, which is Spanish, felt the same. She was making Mexican popcorn and hot chocolate […]

Have you ever thanked God for what you DON’T have? We know how to give thanks to God for the good things God has given to us – family, shelter, job, friends, church, etc. But we are not apt to give thanks to God for the absence of things. For example, have you thanked God […]

Numbers 20:5-6–And why have you made us come up out of Egypt to bring us to this evil place? It is no place for grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, and there is no water to drink.” 6 Then Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the entrance of the tent […]

It is a great feeling to be a conduit for God’s provision for someone else. This doesn’t happen too often, but from time to time, God would use me as a mouthpiece or an answer to somebody’s prayer. And usually this starts as a thought of that person in my head or something that will link […]

James 2:24–You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. It has never been more clear to me, that as a Christian, husband, father, and pastor, that having confidence that I am a positive influence more than a negative one is crucial to me feeling useful.  Of course that doesn’t […]

If by winning the argument, you would lose the person, would you still try to win it? In so many of our arguments, simply trying to make the other person see our point of view breaks the relationship, which is the very thing we are trying to avoid. Stop and think about why we argue. […]

If we have a simplistic view of how God works – such as if it is God’s will then we will succeed and if it is not, then we won’t – we didn’t get that from the Bible. You probably got that idea from a preacher or a book that didn’t really delve deep into the Bible. The […]

Matthew 16:26-27–For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what shall a man give in return for his life?  This past week some of the people I grew up with were remembering a young man we all liked and admired who was killed for allegedly […]

Have you ever prayed for the right thing for the wrong reason? Would God still give it to you? The Israelites ask God for a king. In 1 Samuel 8, the people of Israel ask Samuel, who had been their judge and leader, for a king. Now, this request is not wrong. It was God’s […]