A twelve-year-old boy became a Christian during a revival. The following week at school, his friends questioned him about his experience. “Did you see a vision?” one friend asked. “Did you hear God speak?” asked another. The young boy answered no to all their questions. “Well, how did you know you were saved?” they asked.…
Architect Frank Lloyd Wright once told of an incident that may have seemed insignificant at the time, but it had a profound influence on his life. The winter he was nine, he went walking across a snow-covered field with his reserved, no-nonsense uncle. As the two of them reached the far end of the field,…
In my preaching and teaching, I have frequently said the Bible is a book about Jesus. If you remove Jesus from the pages of the Bible, you are left with a vast emptiness. It would be like plucking the stars from the heavens. I want to expand that a wee bit and say it like…
Life seems to have gotten much more complicated than it was when I was a child. I have fond recollections of the weather being cool, with maybe a little snow, a warm fire, and more food than we could possibly eat. It was family time as we gathered around a table to partake of the…
Psalms 27:5, “For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock.” As I was reading this verse from the Book of Psalms early one morning, I remembered a scripture I have preached…
I often have conversations with people who struggle with their past. They can’t forgive themselves, and this carries over into their doubt that God has forgiven them. Paul addresses a great truth in Romans 5: the subject of justification. Understanding this will make a difference in our lives. Romans 5:1-2, “Therefore, having been justified by…
Even before Jesus left, people wanted to know when He would return. That included the Pharisees, but they phrased their question, ”The Coming of the Kingdom.” In Luke 17, Jesus gave two defining characteristics of what it would be like when He returns. Verse 26, “As it was in the days of Noah.” Verse 28,…
Job 38:4-7, “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone, When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of…
Tough love is described as the act of treating a person sternly with the intent of helping them in the long run. After a brief greeting, listen to what Paul told the church in Galatia. I will use the Message translation. Galatians 1:6-7, “I can’t believe how you waver, how easily you have turned traitor…
There’s something wonderfully magical about childhood. Can you remember when the world still seemed fresh and new, and learning new things often left you bug-eyed, exclaiming, “Did that really happen?” The story of Saul’s conversion in Acts 9 caused a lot of people to ask, “Are you serious? Did that really happen?” Saul had become…