Psalm 80:9– You cleared the ground for it; it took deep root and filled the land. If you recall about a week ago we had some pretty severe winds (at least in Lacey). Where we live, our area is “lined” with trees that may have been planted a few years ago.  But the winds were […]

Believing in Jesus and doing good works are so closely related that the Bible often uses them interchangeably. So much so that it would not be wrong to think, “Christians are saved by good works.” What that means is not that Christians are saved because they have done good works, but because they have faith […]

I’m currently listening to an audio book by a woman who was an English professor (Syracuse University) and lesbian activist. She lived with a partner and was very active in promoting that lifestyle to the college students who were around her. And she was not at all sympathetic to the Christians. But through a faithful witness and […]

Luke 22:42-saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” Have you ever been motivated to do something for someone, and realizing the enormous sacrifice it took to do it, now you find yourself seeking for “compensation” or adoration from the person you sacrificed for?  It seems to be […]

Some years ago, when I said during a sermon, “We must be willing to give up our right if it will make a brother/sister fall,” I did not get a good reception. I could see the bewildered look on the congregation’s faces as if to say, “Why would I give up my right when it […]

1 John 5:19-21-We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.  And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. […]

Singleness is a gift. Don’t waste it! Being single is not being in a limbo until one gets married. Actually, being married is being in a limbo until one becomes unmarried. What I mean is that in our permanent state, we will not be married. That is, in heaven, we will no longer be married. […]

Not everything we do as Christians have equal weight to them. Some are more important and closer to the heart of God than others. For example, devoting ourselves to prayer and the word are more important than taking care of our family. I know that sounds very pastoral. “Of course you would say that since […]

1 John 4:18–There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. If you grew up where love was shown to you based on your accomplishments or “goodness”, than the perfect love of God maybe the hardest thing to conceive, […]

1 John 4:10-In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Knowing that I am the kind of person who “wears my emotions on my sleeve”, it is a necessary fight for me to give my heart to the Lord, that my […]