“Let my people go,” rings in my ears to this day as I recall Charlton Heston portraying Moses in the 1956 film epic, “The Ten Commandments.” Most of us will be familiar with the Bible book of Exodus and the miraculous stories of God’s deliverance of Israel from Egyptian slavery. We enjoy reading the narrative accounts of the birth of Moses, the travails of Israel under Egyptian bondage, the plague...  Read More

The meek “do not accommodate to the powerful and influential, but ‘surrender their will to God so completely that God’s will becomes their will’ . . . They become God’s workhorses on earth” (Clarence Jordan, Sermon on the Mount, 24-25). Christian culture, when confronted with a call to become God’s workhorses, quite often responds with “Neigh!” (Sorry, I could not resist the pun). Jesus, however, ...  Read More

The evangelist Billy Sunday once said, “If you have no joy, there is a leak in your Christianity somewhere.” If you are like me, you have lost an important item on occasion and searched frantically to find it. Many believers are in a frantic search for an emotion that they do not need, happiness, when all along God has equipped them with the vehicle and virtue that is essential to a flourishing li...  Read More

“Now the Lord said” holds profound implications for the life of a man named Abram, and it bears that same significance for you and me (12:1). Genesis 12 represents a critical shift in focus from the human family to the family story of Israel’s patriarchs. The account begins with Abram (later called Abraham) and covers three more generations that followed after him. Faith required action, so Abram ...  Read More

“In the stars his handiwork I see . . .” were words from the 70s-era youth chorus, “Pass It On.” One wonders how many young people knew that they were heralding a specific worldview. Consider also the worldview declaration found in Genesis 1:1. Now, that small verse is laden with huge meaning. Indeed, the opening words of scripture are quite familiar to us, but we may not realize how they were mea...  Read More

‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house. . .” And, so begins the familiar Christmas poem. All inside were waiting anxiously for the next morning where they would receive gifts. We live in an age of unadulterated me-ism and consumerism, so calling attention to two powerful words, “Follow me,” may seem strangely out of place today (21:19b). The Apostle John’s parenthetical stateme...  Read More

It has been said, “In the old covenant the blessing was initiated by you; in the new covenant, the blessing is initiated by God” (Paul A. Adefarasin). Covenant! Yes, it represents the eternal bond between our God and our lives. It would be impossible in a few short paragraphs to encapsulate the aim of the new covenant in Christ but that should not prevent us from making an attempt (I’m laughing). ...  Read More

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “The only gift is a portion of thyself.” He surely could not have foreseen organ donation and transplantation when thinking of a gift, but the sentiment applies well to this pressing issue. There are 128,878 men, women and children currently on the transplant list awaiting an “organ gift,” and 22 people die daily while waiting for a transplant.An organ transplant is ...  Read More

Martin Luther once said, “The Christian shoemaker does his duty not by putting little crosses on the shoes, but by making good shoes, because God is interested in good craftsmanship.” The underlying message is that the Christian holds himself or herself to a standard of behavior that is grounded in a source of authority. Luther stood on the word of God, taught the word of God, and applied it to hi...  Read More

William Carey, prior to becoming a missionary, read and re-read Isaiah 54:5 which states, “For your husband is your Maker, Whose name is the Lord of Hosts; And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel, Who is called God of all the earth” (NASB). It affects me deeply to know that it was Carey’s study and application of the Word of God that led to his lasting global legacy. Let’s ponder how we may ex...  Read More

Dr.Tom Frieden, Director of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recently wrote, "We know of no other medication routinely used for a nonfatal condition that kills patients so frequently." He wrote concerning prescription opioids that are used to treat long-term pain management. Frieden also states that “One out of every 550 patients started on opioid therapy died of opioid-related causes a media...  Read More

Jesus’ words, “You will be sons of the Most High,” jumps off the page at me today. That is a lofty declaration when you pause to consider it. I believe that all of us w...  Read More