‘Tis the season for giving.  My family and I have always celebrated this time of year as a family holiday, not a religious holy day.  I enjoy the decorations, the weather, and the music of this season.  But I especially enjoy the gifts.

            Somewhere along the way, probably about the time my children were born, I started to learn why it is more blessed to give than to receive.  There is something special about watching someone open a gift that you…

If you're thankful, show it
Luke 17:11-18

If you love someone, tell them
John 15:12

If you're wrong, fess up
James 5:12

If you're confused, ask questions
James 1:5

If you learn something, teach others
Colassians 3:16

If you're stuck, ask for help
Matthew 7:7

If you make a mistake, apologize
Matthew 5:23-24

If you trip, get back up
Psalms 37: 23-24

If someone needs help, help them
Galatians 6:2

If you see wrong, take a stance
Ephesians 6:14

Holding Coats or Showing Love by Offense? We have grossly distorted the meaning of love. Our modern day expression of “showing someone love” means there should never be any reproof, rebuking, or criticism. If someone preaches a “strong” lesson, elders … Read More →

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    When we read the New Testament epistles it is obvious they are written in a completely different style than the Law of Moses as revealed in Exodus through Deuteronomy. For example, I know of no New Testament letter that can compare in style to Leviticus 18-20, but that doesn’t mean they don’t contain law and commandments. As Paul was addressing some things corrupting the assemblies at Corinth, he challenged all to see the authority behind the message.

SEGUIDORES DEL DIABLO Parte 2 PASO 3 SIN EVIDENCIAS V.46                   Y porque yo digo verdad, no me creéis—no aunque “digo verdad”, sino porque, por la razón dada en el versículo anterior. Si hubiera sido él menos verdadero, le habrían aclamado más pronto. ¿Quién de vosotros me redarguye … Read More →

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    When we read about people in the Bible, it is easy to explain away their story by saying, “But that was Moses or David or Elijah.”  We are not expected to follow their examples because they possess qualities that we could never have. 

    Yet, according to James 5:17, “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours.”  The NIV translates that “Elijah was a man just like us.”  He had a special calling from God, no doubt.  But he was a man.  He had ups and downs, times of joy and sorrow, periods of prosperity and adversity.  Just like…

Bear One Another’s Burdens To what extent are we to “bear one another’s burdens” (Gal. 6:2)?  Does this verse teach humility (v. 3)?  Does this verse teach us to still bear others’ burdens when they are the result of the … Read More →

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The account of Israel’s devastating loss at Ai due to Achan’s error is one that bears repeating.  Not only was the army defeated easily by a small force from a small town, but about 36 soldiers died, and it felt as though God had abandoned the people.  After Joshua addressed the sin in the camp, and the people were prepared to follow God completely, He gave them a specific battle plan.  They were to leverage the pride of the people of Ai, luring them out into the open and then attack from the rear, then attack from the rear flanks,…

One of the benefits of reading books like Leviticus is understanding the high requirements God put in place for Him to remain with His people.  If they were to be able to keep fellowship with Him, they needed to retain His presence with sacrifices to remove sin, and also to maintain peace.

Those sacrifices, however, had to meet a certain standard to be effective.  All of the sin offerings, and guilt offers for the people, and the priests had to be perfect, or unblemished. (Leviticus 1:3, 10; 3:1, 6; 4:3, 23, 28, 32; 5:15-18; 6:6; 9:2-3; 14:10)  Even the offerings that…

If there is any one issue that I hear complaints about from young married couples more than any other, it is the issue of communication.  It is not always the failure of one sex over the other, but young men are often quite unprepared to speak to their wives in a ways that demonstrates patience toward the "weaker vessel." (II Peter 3:7)  This is made especially difficult if there is an emotional component.

What is amazing is that the bible provides several opportunities to learn how to speak to people, even women, in a way that communicates dignity and respect.  Many…

Right now, there is a lot of discussion going on in this country about the qualities that a person must possess to be an effective arbiter of justice.  Looking at a person’s past, and prognosticating what their future character might be, weighing those things next to the benefit of age and experience, all help us to decide how they might exercise their ordained authority.

Whether or not we approve of the manner in which these discussions are happening, the discussions themselves are vitally important, if we believe that God’s ways are truly better for all humans.  Furthermore, they should encourage us…

When God delivered His will to His people, He warned them not to obsess over all the details He had not revealed, but to be diligent to focus on what He had.  “The secret things belong to YHWH our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law.” (Deuteronomy 29:29)  However, since then, people have obsessed over the things that the bible does not reveal, and have continued to show a morbid interest into the things God chose to keep secret.  As we look at the…

It is amazing how often children, when being chided or reprimanded, will point to the actions or the errors of another child for justification of their behavior.  Somehow, in their mind, their guilt is lessened by someone else doing something just as bad or worse.  Perhaps this shouldn’t be a surprise to us, as we so often do the same.

David was certainly a man after God’s own heart (I Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22), and he was the standard by which all subsequent kings of Judah were compared (I Kings 3:3; 15:3; II Kings 22:2; II Chronicles 34:2), but he was…