James 1:17; 1 Corinthians 4:7 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father… What do you have that you did not receive? Sunday was my daughter Katelyn’s ninth birthday. It was actually only the second birthday she’s ever celebrated. In the orphanage in China they never celebrated birthdays at all and she came to us not even knowing she had one. Most people are shocked when they hear this, but knowing the situation in China-…
Ascribe to the LORD, all you families of nations, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering and come into his courts. Psalm 96:7-8 Ok. I’ve been accused of using difficult and obscure language from time to time, I admit it. For example, a couple of months ago I used the word “salvific” in a message on Sunday morning and afterwards Paul Green came up to me laughing. “What…
Psalm 146:9 The LORD watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. Last night Josh and I went to the grocery store. We were picking up a couple of bags of chips and a jar of salsa because it was his week to bring snack for the SJHS Edge club. When I got to the checkout line, I had no cash on me, so I used my…
For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord… 2 Corinthians 4:5 Last week I wrote about the foundational declaration of the Old Testament- The LORD is our God, the LORD is one (Deuteronomy 6:4). In the ancient world where there were so many angry and vindictive gods, the concept of One God who lovingly shepherded his people was truly revolutionary. The Jewish people were a unique and shining light in a very dark culture. By the time…
Deuteronomy 6:4-5 Hear O Israel: The LORD [is] our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. The Shema (the passage/prayer found above) was the defining confession of the Jewish people. It was the core belief that set Judaism apart from all other religious philosophies of its day. It reminded the descendents of Abraham that of all the peoples of the world they were God’s precious and…
Mark 16:15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.” ~ How many believers were there in 100 AD? Answer: About 25,000 How many believers were there in 310 AD? Answer: 20,000,000 In other words, in a little over 200 years, Christianity grew from being a small religious sect in a backwater area of Palestine into the most significant force in the Roman Empire. In fact, Christians were so numerous that…
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see…. Hebrews 11:1 MANASSAS, VA, Friday, August 26 Today I prepared for a hurricane. It seemed kind of foolish. The sky was blue and there was a gentle breeze rustling the leaves. The sun was shining. It was a gorgeous evening. However, I didn’t dawdle. I mowed the lawn, cleaned out the rain gutters and stowed all of the children’s outside toys safely…
Luke 14:25 & 33 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said… [If] any of you does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple. Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (1874-1922) was an intrepid explorer of the early 20th century. He made multiple trips to the South Pole and fired the imagination of the world with tales of harrowing expeditions, shipwreck and dramatic rescues in Antarctica. A 2002 documentary entitled Ernest Shackleton and the Endurance…
And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward. Matthew 10:42 Tuesday, 1 PM: I just drove the Bali mission team to Dulles airport for the first leg of their 21 hour flight to Indonesia. Their first flight is 14 hours to Seoul, South Korea. They have a couple of hour layover and then a seven hour flight…
So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:36 In the 1994 critically acclaimed movie The Shawshank Redemption, the life of a young successful banker Andy Dufresne is forever altered when he is wrongly convicted of murdering his wife and sentenced to life imprisonment at Shawshank Prison. Over the course of the years he develops long term friendships with other lifers, including Brooks Hatlin, the prison librarian. Brooks has been in the prison for so…