There is a story among the Jews about a man who wanted to learn the entire Torah (the Law) while standing on one foot. He inquired of one rabbi, who chased him away with a stick. Finally he went to the rabbi Hillel, who told him, “What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor; this is the whole Torah. The rest is commentary. Now go and study.”

Whether or not that story is true, its point certainly is. Jesus summed up His teaching in the Sermon on the Mount…

            When David was younger, he had a joke book he kept in the van.  When we would be riding somewhere, he’d pick it up and start reading it out loud.  One of the jokes asked, “What is the sharpest tool in the Bible?”  The answer?  “The axe of the apostles.”

            Have you ever thought about how much we learn about the church from the Acts of the Apostles?  This is the record of the disciples carrying out the Great Commission, taking the gospel…

            When a friend, family member, or brother is facing some serious problem or stressful situation, we may tell them, “Just have faith. It will all work out.”  But what is faith?  How do we acquire it?  How does it work (within us)?

            In the New Testament, the word translated “faith” is the Greek work pistis.  Strong’s Expanded Dictionary of Bible Words says, “Faith means trust, confidence, assurance, and belief.”  It is the word used in Heb. 11:1, “Now faith (pistis) is the assurance…

The eye is one of the most complex parts of the human body, provides light to the rest of the body.

(Matthew 6:22) "The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.  (NAS95)

(Matthew 6:22) The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.  (KJV)

In the previous verses…

He Wasn’t Smart Enough Our cat Bosco was killed by an automobile on highway 8 in front of our house. We had Bosco for 4 ½ years, and are thankful for the time we had him. He enriched our lives … Read More →

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The entirety of Psalm 34 reassures God’s oppressed people that He can deliver them. No matter how poor, oppressed, or downtrodden His people are, God is the ultimate deliverer and provides a refuge liken none other. The psalmist does not assume peace would automatically be given, but that peace would come by action. Some of the action verbs in this psalm include magnify, seek, look, cry, fear, listen, desire, turn away, and take refuge. Paul wrote to Christians in Romans 14:19 telling them to “make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.” Now – in…

“Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace.”

This hymn, written by Helen Lemmel in 1922, was inspired by a tract written by Lilias Trotter. Trotter observed the difficulty of maintaining focus while living in a world that provides so many choices. Hebrews 12:1-2, “Let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith.”

God is so full of light John 1:5 says, “He IS Light.” He is not illuminated from…

A New and Precious Life Revealed To imagine what it would have been like for those who, in the first century, received the books of the New Testament which had just been written and sent to them is beyond comprehension. … Read More →

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            We tend to make the simple complex.  It makes us look smarter.  But that tendency does little to help anyone.  It takes longer to wade through even the simplest matters when they have been complicated in some way.  On the other hand, the most complex matters are easily dealt with when they have been simplified. 

            It may be that I am about to introduce the solution to a very complicated problem with a rather simplistic solution, but I don't think so.  The…

            A word is a wonderful thing.  Words are often aptly defined as vehicles of thought.  Technically, they are a speech sound which has meaning attached to it. So strong is the word attached to the thing it represents that the two cannot be separated.  Some have called words “signs of ideas”–and so they are.  They represent something.  They are not actually that thing, but they represent it so closely you cannot think of the thing without using the sign that represents it.

            Words…

Power of Positive Mom’s, Power of Positive Thinking, Learned Optimism, Blink: Positive Thinking; these are only a few of the hundreds of books on positive thinking. Most people don’t like to be around Debbie or Donald Downers. Negativity can suck the life out of an otherwise good day. Even the Bible speaks of positivity, “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones,” Prov. 17:22. But, have you ever wanted to shout, “I’m tired of being positive!” You smile when your thoughts are drawn to struggling family and friends. You say, “I’m fine,” when your…

Dallas, TX, January 1935, pp 526-28 - The following is an excerpt from gospel preacher W.L. Oliphant's last speech on the proposition The Scriptures Teach that a Child of God Who has Been Saved by the Blood of Christ Can So Sin as to be Finally Lost, and his last…

Like drowning swimmers, Christians are called to realize they cannot save themselves and instead must submit to God’s saving hand. This is done through humility of spirit. In speaking about humility, Peter told Christians to humble themselves “under God’s mighty hand.” This is another instance of anthropomorphism (i.e., the idea of ascribing physical qualities and characteristics to God). God’s mighty hand was a common metaphor used in the Old Testament (e.g., Exodus 13:3f; Deuteronomy 9:26f; Jeremiah 21:5). WE know pride is the opposite of humility, according to I Peter 5:5, so putting ourselves under God’s mighty hand is to ask…