One of the great expectations of the Christian life rests on the truth that what began at the Ascension of Christ will be completed upon his glorious return. In the meantime, we have an assignment from him (Acts 1:8). Please bear with me because this devotional is desperately needed in our current day. Gratefully, we have been left with a wonderful account of the early church in the Book of Acts t...  Read More

“Science tells us that when you tell someone they’re wrong, they’re more likely to dig in than to experience a change of heart.” (1) Such a claim applies to other areas beyond science and holds broad moral implications since the statement was first directed toward those who oppose childhood vaccinations. Similar resistance has surfaced with the advent of COVID-19 vaccinations, and is reflected in ...  Read More

The power of all false gods is illusory, while the strength of the Lord our God is real and eternal. Ahh! Of course, knowing this fact with our minds does not integrate immediately into life practice. We will see this truth played out in the exodus of Israel from Egypt where they had spent four centuries exposed to polytheism. It continued to influence their faith practices through the centuries.S...  Read More

A popular adage reminds us of the importance of foundational commitments: “If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything.” In other words, core values are the foundation of how you and everyone around you conduct themselves. Christians are to make sure that the worship of the Father is the supreme value in their lives. It will show in how they conduct themselves.The collection of sa...  Read More

The heart of Luke 8 may be found in a single question that Luke presents to us on the lips of the disciples. The question is: “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?” I believe that this query rests on the foundational principle of Jesus’ Divine sovereignty. Luke writes to show people that Jesus is Lord over nature, the demonic, and over sickness and death; the...  Read More

It seems very likely that Genesis 1-11 represents one of the most familiar portions of the Bible. Nearly all people have heard about Adam and Eve, the temptation and fall into sin, the Flood, and the tower of Babel. Familiarity with this part of the Bible certainly does not equate to unity among people as to how we should approach it and apply it to our lives! Some dismiss these chapters as little...  Read More

It has been said, “It is best to be with those in time that we hope to be with in eternity.” Christian friendships are the best, aren’t they? Shawna and I have a close friend who has often invited us into her home for meals and fellowship. It is a lovely place, and we have enjoyed much laughter and a few tears, as well as joys and sorrows in that place. I am certain that you, too, have friends suc...  Read More

Some of the most unsettling moments in my ministry occurred throughout a two-year period when I, as a young pastor, served as an “on-call” (PRN) chaplain for the V.A. hospital in Big Spring, Texas. I made dozens of visits each week, but the most difficult encounters to process were the ones on a special unit for ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) patients. What hope is there for such life circumstances? I...  Read More

George Muller, the man of great faith, once wrote, “. . .Through prayer to God, the study of the Word, and reflection, I come to a deliberate judgment according to the best of my ability. . .” the will of God. He always began by setting his heart in such a way that he had not a will of his own in regard to a given concern. He had learned that a person must be willing to do the Lord’s will regardle...  Read More

Pastor Jack Wellman writes, “The Bible mentions prayer a lot, but prayer is much more than simply repeating words or wishful thinking. Prayer is talking and listening to God. Prayer, like a conversation, can be done at any time, anywhere – because God is always with us and is always listening.” It has been said that the entire letter of Ephesians was written with an attitude of prayer! We have bef...  Read More

Lillian Hunt Trasher was born on 27 September 1887 in Jacksonville, Florida, and was reared in Georgia. Early in her life she put her faith in Jesus Christ and determined to live for Him, moving from her Roman Catholicism to a Pentecostal-Holiness tradition. She attended Bible college for a term, worked in an orphanage under the supervision of Miss Mattie Perry in North Carolina, and was soon enga...  Read More

Little Adeyemi was born in 1888 into a family who worshiped Orisa-oko, the god of harvest of the rural province of Oloisaoke, near Ogbomoso, in the Oyo State of Nigeria. The family worshiped and displayed the python snake prominently as a part of this worship and, as a child, Adeyemi was dedicated to marry a priest of Orisa-oko someday. As a young girl, she became an ambassador for the worship of ...  Read More