The Gospel is such a befuddling concept that it could never have been made up. No one would teach such a concept to start a religion if it weren’t true. Think of how non-common sensical it is. If I were starting a religion and I wanted everyone to behave a certain way, I would never […]
What we primarily pray for says volumes about what our primary concerns are. We pray for “important” things. I don’t want to be disrespectful. We pray for our financial needs, health, safety, acceptance into a program… In general, we pray that things will go our way. But when I read what the Apostle Paul prayed […]
1 Peter 3:9- Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. Have you ever wondered how it is possible to walk in love with your enemies, or with people you love, who offend you repeatedly? Naturally we don’t think of […]
Are we telling the truth to our children when we tell them if they trust God, God will guard and protect them? When I was younger, the thought of the Almighty God protecting me from all harm comforted me a great deal. I thought, “Even though bad things happen to other people, it won’t happen […]
Jeremiah 15:17-I did not sit in the company of revelers, nor did I rejoice; I sat alone, because your hand was upon me, for you had filled me with indignation. A “healthy” human nature has no desire to be completely isolated from the acceptance and appreciation of people. Especially when it comes to the people […]
I’ll admit something to you… I did not get to have my devotional this morning. I woke up late… I stayed up late yesterday watching several episodes of Ken Burn’s The Vietnam War and snoozed through the alarm, and by the time I got out of bed, I had to get ready for school. My spirit […]
I would venture to say that most of our sins are what we would consider unintentional and even inadvertent. When we commit these types of sins, if we were asked whether we thought we were rebelling against God by doing them, we would vehemently deny. We might even say and believe that we were doing […]
God’s absolute control includes our “free” choice, meaning that what God has willed, we will willingly help it come true even if it is against us. In other words, God does not override our choice in order to make His will come true. Rather, His will includes our choice in fulfilling it, so that we have […]
Judges 1:28-When Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not drive them out completely. Most of our teaching ideally should come when we are younger, dependent, and unable to understand some of the things we are going to face in life. God also commands us in the Bible to “train […]
I think there is a limit to how much of Jesus we can know and love in our current conditions. The worse and more dire our conditions, the more intensely we would know and love Jesus. My condition (perhaps not yours) can hardly be considered dire. I am a middle class American with a wife […]