Blog
Scattered
Acts 8:1b (NIV) 1 On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. On the same day that Stephen was stoned, a huge persecution against the Church broke out in...
God Alone
"I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me." Exodus 20:2-3 (NIV) The Israelites, when the came out of Egypt, were not the monotheistic people that the patriarchs were. It had been 400...
Job’s Faithfulness
I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread. Job 23:12 (NIV) Job, as part of his defense against the accusations of sin by his friends, gives us this verse to show how truly he has followed the...
In the Beginning
Genesis 1:1 (NIV) 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The whole Bible begins with the simplest and yet most mind-blowing concept of all: An eternal God who created everything. These days a lot of people seem to have a harder time accepting...
The Tragedy of Bad Theology
John 9:24-34 (NIV) A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. "Give glory to God," they said. "We know this man is a sinner." He replied, "Whether he is a sinner or not, I don't know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!" Then...
Grieving
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (NIV) Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have...
Blinded
As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him. Luke 24:15-16 When I read this passage in my early days of Bible study I wondered what God gained by preventing these...
Funeral Musings
A week ago today I was privileged to conduct a funeral service for my grandmother, Charlotte Parker. She was 90 years old when she passed away on July 26. She was an amazing individual, as was clearly seen from all of the testimonies that were brought forward in...
Fruity Thoughts
Over the years I have asked a lot of people a simple question: What is an apple tree for? In other words, what is the purpose of an apple tree? Almost without exception, people respond, "To produce apples." But that is not the correct answer. The purpose for an...
Yahweh Rohi
Yahweh Rohi is translated "The Lord my Shepherd" in Psalm 23. David himself was a shepherd for the first several years of his life, so when he uses a shepherd as a picture of God, I figure that he knew exactly what he was talking about. So what does a shepherd do? He...