“And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” I Corinthians 2:1-2 When I was a young pastor, I became friends with an associate pastor of the “mega-church” in our town. This […]
“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good […]
“If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. For he who […]
“My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You […]
“If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” James 1:26-27 When I was a youth pastor, I was visiting […]
It may be months or years before we get definitive answers on why the gunman opened fire on former and potential future President Donald Trump. Like most of you, I was shocked and saddened by this horrific event. I am asking what motivated this young man to do it? Was he acting alone? How could a security failure of such […]
If you want to grow spiritually, if you want to be a mature Christian, you need to daily apply God’s word to your life consistently over months and years. When you do, you will experience the blessing of God.
Brothers and sisters, we are in the world, but we are not of the world. Let the words that come out of our mouths and the tone in our voice reflect something decidedly different from those around us who don’t know Jesus.
Often the first step is seeing how sinful our angry responses are then repenting of them and asking for forgiveness from God and the ones you have offended.
We know God is good when we make the team or experience personal success. But do we feel that God is good when we lose our job, or we don’t make the team? Do we feel that God is good when the diagnosis comes back positive, or we don’t get into the school we wanted?
