“God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him” (Genesis 1:27).

Michael Medved tells of a Jewish rabbi who made a trip to Israel with his teenage grandson. On the plane, these two deeply religious people happened to be seated next to a prominent Israeli socialist leader who was an outspoken atheist. Medved writes:

On the flight, the cynical atheist traveler couldn’t help noticing the way the teenage boy attended to the needs of his aged, bearded grandfather. He got up to get the…

In Galatians chapter 5, the apostle Paul draws a contrast between the “works of the flesh” and the “fruit of the Spirit.” Here, “fruit” — used figuratively — means actions, qualities, or results as the visible expression of that which produces them. The text highlights what is produced in the life of a person who is led by the Spirit of God (in contrast to what results from following one’s own desires — “the flesh”).

In verses 22-23, Paul lists nine things as fruit of the Spirit (though he could have listed others),…

Galatians 5:22-23 describes the “fruit of the Spirit” — the qualities that come from following the direction of the Spirit of God. Today let’s think about joy.

Abraham Lincoln quipped, “Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” He recognized that happiness is not a state that you achieve, but a state of mind that you choose. Real joy is not dic­tated by circumstances, but by choice.

Sure, good circumstances make it easier to be joyful. But reflect for a minute and you’ll…

Acts 17 includes a brief account of Paul’s preaching in the Jewish synagogue at Thessalonica. The text tells us that he “reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead.” The result: “Some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large number of the God-fearing Greeks and a number of the leading women” (Acts 17:2-4).

Take a moment to notice the verbs that are used here:

• “Reasoned” means to engage in discourse or…

    Jesus concludes the portion of His Sermon on the Mount on anxiety with the following from Matthew 6:33-34, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” These words are among the most comforting, yet most challenging words that Jesus spoke. He was speaking to people that were concerned about the base necessities of life and directed them to a higher purpose, to seek first the kingdom…

In the Time in Which the Judges Ruled

The time in which the judges ruled was not a good time for God’s people.  A study through the book of Judges is a discouraging study.  For much of the period, Israel was mired in idolatry and subject to the ravages of the surrounding pagans.  When they turned back to God and He gave them judges who led them to military victories, these leaders were often deeply flawed.  Things get so bad that one tribe is almost obliterated by the others, and then reconstituted in a deeply immoral way (Judges 20, 21).  Among…

Bible Accuracy

One of the truly amazing facts about Bible history is the phenomenal accuracy that characterizes the text.  Take, for example, Luke’s two New Testament documents, Luke and Acts.  These books combined constitute more than a quarter of the bulk of the New Testament. Within these narratives the author is very specific with reference to historical data including persons, places, and titles. 

In the book of Acts, Luke mentions 32 countries, 54 cities, and 9 Mediterranean islands.  He also lists 95 people by name, 62 of which are not named elsewhere in the New Testament (Bruce Metzger, The New Testament: Its…

    In one of my all-time favorite novels, Jayber Crow, the title character believes he’s received the lofty call to preach the Gospel. Unfortunately, Jayber’s idea of preaching is limited to “spending a lot of time reading and living in a town with shady streets and being well-loved and admired by the congregation.” When he inevitably finds out how flawed his conception of preaching is, he quits his ministry before it even begins and pivots to a career in barbering.

    I think Jayber’s initial conception of preaching, while almost laughably shallow, might be the dominant one in our culture. Many…

The Sixth Commandment

“Thou shalt not kill.”  Exodus 20:13 is often cited as a prohibition of homicide in all circumstances, which is patently absurd given the multiple crimes with mandatory death penalties under the Law of Moses.  In fact, this is sometimes pointed to by skeptics as a “contradiction” in the Bible.  So what does this passage actually mean?  What is being prohibited, why is it wrong, and what broader principles are there here for us to learn?

As we have previously noted, this passage may not be read as a prohibition of the taking of human life in all cases, because…

The Best is Yet to Come

There was a young woman who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and had been given three months to live. So, as she was getting her things in order, she contacted her pastor and had him come to her house to discuss certain aspects of her final wishes. She told him which songs she wanted sung at the service, which scriptures she would like read, and which outfit she wanted to be buried in. Everything was in order and the pastor was preparing to leave when the young woman suddenly remembered something very important…