Have you ever been challenged by a teacher to put forth better effort to learn and apply your knowledge? The writer of Hebrews issued a similar challenge to the first readers of the book of Hebrews. He has focused his attention on the immaturity of the believers. Their spiritual childishness hindered their “usefulness and skillful performance for God” (Hebrews 5:12-13). The central warning was tha...  Read More

“I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart,” are the words to one verse in a familiar youth camp song that many of us sang when we were younger. Joy, a fruit of the Spirit and key virtue in Paul’s view, was not only to be felt in one’s heart but to overflow in one’s relationships. “Joy” would be the one-word theme I would place above the entire letter to the Philippians. Let’s see how we ma...  Read More

Sometimes it takes a storm to teach us about the peace that Christ provides. This section in Matthew’s gospel elevates divine awareness in both Jesus’ disciples and those who would later read the book. Jesus fed 5000 people, thus showing that He is the “Bread of Life,” and then He calms the wind and waves to show that He is Lord over all nature (15:13-32). Our minds may wonder where God might be a...  Read More

Our motivation for Christian service should be the love of Christ. Paul set this standard of living not based upon his lifestyle alone, but Christ’s. Now, that is a tall order, wouldn’t you say? The possessor of the life-changing gift of reconciliation with God will certainly find it a privilege to tell people about the gift of new life wherever we go. “Reconciliation is the removal of human enmit...  Read More

[Originally published Oct. 31, 2025] In the several hundred years leading up to 1517, life looked bleak in many ways for the poorest of the commoners across Europe. Ninety-five percent of them were illiterate and worked the land, while five percent, the noble and landed gentry, own the ground they lived upon. Living in squalor in rude huts, stone single-room cottages, with sleeping loft above and ...  Read More

Our beliefs about who we are as human beings, and where we find our place in this universe, shape how we make our moral decisions. Humankind's distinctness goes without question among most Christians, because we have been created in God's image and given a purpose in life (Genesis 1:26-27). Herbert Simon offers a contrasting view of human origins and worth when he writes,  "With Copernicus and Gal...  Read More

“The resurrection is the pivot on which all of Christianity turns and without which none of the other truths would much matter” (John MacArthur). Pastor MacArthur’s claim may seem to be rigid, especially in, what I call a “laissez faire age” for religious belief. You know, the mantra of this age is, “You believe what you want to believe, and I will believe what I choose to believe.” We sing about ...  Read More

We all make decisions. None of these choices, however, will be as significant as the one we make about Jesus. It shapes our entire worldview and determines our ultimate relationship with the Heavenly Father. This section of Mark’s gospel focuses on the judgment that people made for and against Jesus (14:1-15:47), and also the judgment God made for His Son (16:1-8). We dare not leave God’s judgment...  Read More

Do you pray in advance of taking a journey? Think of Psalm 121 as an early prayer for traveling mercies! My family, when I was a child, always prayed together before taking a journey. We asked God to provide His watch care over us as we traveled. It is a pattern that I have continued throughout my entire adult life. We are not alone in this regard. Pilgrims going to Jerusalem may have sung this pr...  Read More

Pastor and author, Tim Keller, once said, “Suffering is unbearable if you aren’t certain that God is for you and with you” (Walking with God Through Pain and Suffering, 58). Sometimes, we reach a breaking point when we suffer and begin to wonder if God really cares for us, and then we pour out our hot emotion. Job similarly vents his frustration over the pain and suffering he is experiencing, his ...  Read More

“Father, teach us all how to wait” (Murray, Waiting on God). Life’s most significant moments are quite often bracketed by periods of waiting before something happens, but many of us find waiting on the Lord to be our greatest challenge. Can I get a witness? One of the hardest things to do is to wait for God’s response to our question “Why?” whenever we suffer. So, what do we do “in the meantime”? ...  Read More

“A born-again person ought to possess unspeakable peace in the spirit”(Watchman Nee). However, many sincere Christians are nagged by overwhelming burdens in life, despite the call to cast all our cares upon the Lord (1 Peter 5:7). The psalmist knew how to find and hold onto the peace of the Lord. Such tranquility may be ours as well, so let’s examine closely this focal psalm today. The psalm’s gen...  Read More