True or false? If God is absolutely for you, your children will turn out good. False! There was a time when I was a youth pastor, I judged the parents of some of the rebellious teenagers as ungodly or incompetent. I thought, naively and wrongly, that if parents were godly and raised up their children properly, […]
Would you let your parents choose a mate for you? I know it is laughable, but in biblical times, that is often how a mate was chosen. The times that a young man chose his own mate, he usually chose wrong. When Isaac was of marrigeable age, his father, Abraham, chooses his wife for him (Gen. […]
I don’t know how many times I’ve read it, but I’m still shocked that God has asked Abraham to sacrifice his precious son in Genesis 22! Knowing that Isaac mattered to him more than anything else, God asks him to sacrifice him…!As a pastor, I’m always careful asking people for money because I know money […]
I must confess that it is easy to throw mud at America for all its failures. Not only what she does to herself, but also how she influences (badly) the rest of the world. However, I must ask how often we pray on behalf of our country, standing between her and God’s wrath… Abraham stands between […]
I have several roles I’m fulfilling, two of which are teacher and son. I am a math teacher at a high school. I am also a son to my parents. However, those two roles are very different. Namely, one is conditional, and the other is not. My being a teacher is conditional upon my performance. I […]
These are some dark days. How are you doing? If I’m struggling, you must be as well… I read these encouraging words this morning: “Do not be afraid, Abram.I am your shield;your reward will be very great.”Genesis 15:1-3At first, I thought, “But those are words to Abraham and not me!” But I thought about why these words […]
That which we want more than anything, God makes us wait for. Why? Because God is more interested in us trusting Him than giving us our desire. God is more interested in what kind of person we become than our getting what we want. One thing that Abraham wanted more than anything else was a […]
Not all gatherings are equally good. Some gatherings are encouraged and will be encouraging to those who gather – such as a gathering of the people of God for worship. However, some gatherings are harmful, and will harm those who gather as well as those outside of that gathering. We saw a mob take over the […]
Something I knew would eventually happen in the U.S. is happening right now. A mob trying to overthrow the government! Some say they never thought this would happen in the U.S. They say something like this only happens in a third world country, but not here in the U.S. that is built upon democracy! But I […]
What if this world wasn’t created but just sprang up out of a big bang? What if there is no God? What if there is no after-life? What if our lives have no purpose or meaning? What if after we die, there’s nothing? Would that free us to truly live? Now that we don’t have to […]