“Make me know your ways, O Lord; Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.”
Psalms 25:4-5
When I read these verses, I am reminded of my own past. I thought I knew God and His word. I thought I was on God’s path to salvation, but it turned out that I was actually lost although I didn’t know it at the time.
Continue reading “Please Lead Me to You, God – The Psalms Series”
It’s morning and you go to the bathroom to check yourself in the mirror. Time to see what I look like…
Maybe you’re excited to see your appearance at the start of the day. Maybe you’re expecting the worst. Once we see something in the mirror that we don’t like about our appearance, we usually attempt to fix it before going out. But did you know that your spirit has a mirror too?
Continue reading “Have You Looked in the Mirror Lately?”
It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way.
Proverbs 19:2
Zeal is defined as enthusiasm, passion, eagerness in pursuit of something–fervor. Maybe you’re a Christian trying to share the gospel. Or rather, maybe you’re someone who wants to help the poor, or work for a world of justice. But if we do these things without sound knowledge of what we’re doing, it’s no good. We might even end up doing the opposite of what we intended, or missing the mark.
Continue reading “Zeal Without Knowledge…It’s Not Good – The Proverbs Series”
“I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm–neither hot nor cold–I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”
Revelation 3:15-16
To be spat out. Well, that’s serious business. When would one use such uncomfortable words? Wouldn’t it be when we’re disgusted by something? When we’re at a point when we can’t hold something any longer and have to get rid of it?
So why would these words come from Jesus? This warning of calling it quits, this threat to reject. What kind of people would make Jesus say this? From the verse above, we can see that it’s those who are lukewarm. Let’s see what this means.
Continue reading “Don’t Be Lukewarm! How To Not Get Spat Out By Jesus”
In today’s world, we are all about inclusivity. We don’t want to alienate people or make them feel left out or bad. That’s a great thing when dealing with people in our daily lives. We should be loving and accepting of others. We can share information and knowledge with people we meet and form relationships with them.
But if you had a deep secret, you wouldn’t want to tell just anybody, right? You would only tell the people you trust. If you told just anyone, that person could tell someone else and then your secret is no longer a secret. We all have things we would only tell to people we trust. God has those things, too.
Continue reading “Would Jesus Choose to Explain the Secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven to You?”
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
fools despise wisdom and instruction.”
Proverbs 1:7
What do you fear? The word “fear” can mean “scared” or “afraid”. Maybe you fear spiders or snakes, being attacked in the middle of the night; maybe you fear loneliness or isolation. There are many different things people are afraid of. I fear getting in a fight. I don’t want to get punched or hit. But when the Bible talks about “fearing the Lord”, is it referring to this same kind of fear?
Continue reading “What It Means to Have “The Fear of the Lord””
Why are so many people leaving church these days?
According to a recent Gallup poll, in 2020 less than 50% of (U.S.) adult Christians regularly attended church. Compare that to the 70% who said they attended a church in 1999. Over the recent decades, the general decline in church and religious affiliation has risen with adults under 40. What is the cause of this? Here are several reasons that can explain why.
Continue reading “People are Leaving the Church – But Why?”
I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.
Revelation 22:18-19
This passage comes as the very last warning written in the Bible. Scary, right?
The last thing God tells us is to not add or take away from His word, especially the prophecy of Revelation. If we take away from it, God will take away our place in the holy city, i.e. heaven, and if we add to it, He will add the plagues in the prophecy. Yikes.
Continue reading “The Danger of Adding Our Own Thoughts to the Bible”
The book of Revelation is usually in Bible reading plans. Maybe it’s a part of your “Read the whole Bible in a year” plan or something similar. But Revelation usually isn’t the first book most people choose to read. That’s because it often seems scary, or difficult to understand. Countless pastors and theologians have written their own thoughts and interpretations on what Revelation actually means. Some of the questions that come up are things like, ‘Are the events described in Revelation literal or figurative? When do they happen? Will we be alive to see them take place?’ and countless other points of discussion and speculation.
Continue reading “Is the Book of Revelation Literal or Figurative?”
If you’ve been around to many churches like me, you’ll know that every church has its own way of conducting worship. I’ve been to ‘hip’ churches for young college students that had a rotating roster of seven bands to fit everyone’s tastes. I’ve been to churches that share music from YouTube instead of having a live band. And I’ve been to churches where the congregation members speak in tongues and collapse in tears as the music hits its emotional peak. It seems as though Christianity is all over the board when it comes to worshiping God. And while we all want to worship God in the way we feel is best, let’s take a moment to consider what worship actually is and if we’re doing it according to the Bible.
Continue reading “How to Worship God According to the Bible”