When king Solomon died, his son Rehoboam was set to take the throne of Israel. The people, even under wise Solomon’s rule, had endured the burdens of living in a monarchy (just as God had warned— see 1 Samuel 8:11ff). But now, sensing an opportunity for change, they asked Rehoboam to lighten those burdens (1 Kings 12).

Before answering the people, Rehoboam consulted the older men who had served his father. Their good counsel was this: “If you will be a servant to this people today, and will serve them and grant…

At some point in each of our lives we will face a point of uncertainty, a point of confusion and a point in which we’re not sure that things will get better. It is at this point in time I have been reminded of Isaiah 40 verses 30 through 31 which says, “Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be…

Steps are interesting things. Often, the process of how things work in our lives are divided into steps, steps we have to follow in order to succeed. All of us have stories of past experiences that demonstrate to us that missing a step, even a small one, can ruin a project. Maybe we didn't follow the step of stirring our paint thoroughly before applying it to our walls, and therefore the color didn't spread evenly. Perhaps missing a step while building our Ikea bookcase eventually caused those shelves to collapse and books to fall to the floor. In building a…

Jesus' disciples were on the sea, being tossed about by a violent storm, and Jesus rebukes them for being afraid, saying "O you of little faith."  The disciples find themselves unable to cast out a demon, and Jesus attributes their ineffectiveness to their "little" faith.  The disciples fail to understand Jesus' teachings and again he says "O you of little faith."  Even though these disciples were often criticized for their little faith, it's hard to see men like Peter, James, and John in that light.  Didn't they leave everything behind to follow Jesus?  Didn't…

My wife and I are not coffee drinkers, so we don’t get into Starbucks very often. But one visit a couple of years ago made a distinct impression on me. Our first granddaughter had just been born, and on our way to the hospital we stopped at Starbucks to grab some coffee for our son.

The thing that struck me was what we saw when we first got out of the car. Parked in front of the store were a bicycle and push cart that belonged to a pair of homeless people.…

Today is San Jacinto Day!  If you are a transplant to Texas, that may not mean much to you.  But to my fellow natives, it is the commemoration of a battle fought 188 years ago today, not far from where you are reading these words.  The San Jacinto Monument marks the spot of a conflict that lasted just 18 minutes but secured the independence of Texas from Mexico.

The Bible also speaks about freedom.  The Israelites were freed from Egyptian bondage, the exiles returned after 70 years of captivity in Babylon, and people in the First Century were set free from…

I suppose we can all think of times when an innocent young child has said something that struck us as being rather profound.  Let me tell you about one that I will always cherish.  A grandfather was playing a game with one of his grandchildren.  It would have been easy for the old man to completely dominate the game, but he carefully arranged for it to end in a tie.  “Well,” he said to the youngster, “looks like we just tied.”

“No, Pepa, we both won !” …

Recently my wife and I were re-watching the classic 1960 western The Magnificent Seven. If you’re not familiar with it, the movie is about seven tough guys who are hired by a poor farming village to fight off a marauding gang of bandits. The cast includes screen legends Yul Brynner, James Coburn, Steve McQueen, and Charles Bronson.

As we watched, I was struck by one scene in particular. Several of the village boys have taken a liking to one of the gunfighters, Bernardo O’Reilly (played by Bronson), and want to be like…

This week we celebrate our national Thanksgiving holiday. The holiday got its “official” start in 1863, when President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation inviting Americans to set aside the last Thursday in November “as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens.” Thanksgiving’s traditional origin dates much earlier, to a harvest feast celebrated in 1621 by the recently-arrived Plymouth colonists and local natives. Some date it even earlier, to a service of praise and thanksgiving held in 1579 during English captain Martin Frobisher’s expedition to the New World…

The unique expression of John is recorded in Revelation 1:10, “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day.”  Of what other day could John be speaking than the first day of the week?  The first day is still a most significant day to the Lord’s people.

Each of the four narratives of Jesus’ life directs our attention to the day (Matt. 28:1; Mark 16:2; Luke 24:1; John 20:1).  We should be careful not to overlook a fact so strongly emphasized – the day of Jesus’ dramatic resurrection.  The great day of Pentecost follows (Acts 2), a feast day that always…

To answer that question, we first need to define what a church is. If you are like most people when you hear the word church, you think of the first Merriam-Webster definition; a building for public and especially Christian worship. But in the Bible, the Greek word for church, ekklésia, means an assembly or congregation. When Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1:2 “to the church of God that is in Corinth,” he was not describing a building, but a congregation of believers. Acts 2:47 shows us that after being saved through baptism, “the Lord added to their number day by…

It is saddening that many children grow up with little or no knowledge of the word of God.  If “righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people,” a knowledge of the scriptures will encourage the one and discourage the other (Prov. 14:34).

In the very nature of the case, parents are responsible for the children they bring into the world.  An infant needs to grow morally and spiritually as well as physically and mentally.  But parents who are diligent in training the bodies and minds of their children often are unconcerned about their spiritual development. 

God has always…