The spiritual condition in Judah at the time was so bad that the temple was in gross disrepair and the Word of God had been lost potentially for fifty-seven years, which was the combined reign of the previous two wicked kings. Judah needed a spiritual revival. So, in the eighteenth year of his reign, Josiah... Continue Reading

What can explain such rage and fury against One so good, so holy, so righteous, so kind, so powerful, and so benevolent?   When we read the four Gospel accounts (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), we are astounded at the vast numbers of human beings that our blessed Lord Jesus Christ cured (of every kind... Continue Reading

I was 18 and home, face planted in the pillows strewn about my bed. My Bible lay open next to me, each verse a reminder that I’d lost God’s favor. Each kind promise reassured me that it wasn’t mine.     For many years, I lived in a world where failure cordoned off God’s presence,... Continue Reading

When the church in Jerusalem was struggling to minister to the widows in Acts 6, the answer was to find godly men to address the problem. The situation was volatile. Some women were being overlooked in the daily distribution, and the oversight looked like ethnic prejudice to boot (v. 1). The apostles knew they couldn’t... Continue Reading

“God only is the saint’s treasure and chief good; he lays up treasure in heaven and this treasure is God.”    What is it that we, as Christians, long for? What is it that we crave? What is it that will quiet our restless hearts? We want forgiveness, for we know our rebellion. We want... Continue Reading

“For how can a man have this true faith, this sure trust and confidence in God, that by the merits of Christ, his sins be forgiven, and be reconciled to the favor of God, and to be partaker of the kingdom of heaven by Christ, when he lives ungodly, and denieth Christ in his deeds?”... Continue Reading

The Lord does not call you to pretend tomorrow is safe. He calls you to live as though He is faithful in every season of your life.   Coming out of a very painful winter season of unrelenting, intrusive, fearful thoughts, I recently made the mistake of oversharing some of my experience with someone who... Continue Reading

Trees bring life. Trees bring a curse. Trees provide protection and cleansing. Trees are where you meet with God. All of this is picked up in the New Testament assertion that Jesus died on a tree (Galatians 3).   The Bible is dominated by stories and symbols. Those symbols are embedded in story, they don’t... Continue Reading

Jesus, speaking of the rich young ruler to His disciples, tells us that when we care for the world, we won’t get the world. But if we pursue the Kingdom of God, we get the earth, too. Pursue the earth’s riches, and they die with you. Pursue Heaven’s Redeemer, and you get Him who died... Continue Reading

Jesus expected His followers to care for others, and to do what they could to help them. He did NOT expect them to remain callous, indifferent, and focused solely on themselves. Claiming that ‘I am not on anyone’s side—I am just on God’s side’ [doesn’t] cut it.   If there is one theme that arises... Continue Reading