By what are you led?
We can be led by our emotions, following the dictates of the ebbs and flows of our passions. We can be led by our opinions, moving swiftly from one unstable presumption to another. We can be led by tradition, adhering to the conventions of generations past, wise or foolish. We can reject tradition and be led instead by the whims of culture.
Or we can be led by the immutable, omniscient, and transcendent Holy Spirit. Continue reading “Led by what?”
The various accounts of the Great Commission offer so many rich perspectives and principles that they deserve frequent study and reflection. One phrase of one verse of in Matthew’s narrative stands out, including what it says about the Holy Spirit.
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Matthew 28.19.
Continue reading “‘Into the name:’ good doctrine, if not good English”
The disciples of Jesus often allowed themselves to have discussions of little importance. For example, they talked a great deal about food.
After Jesus fed the 4,000 and spoke with the Pharisees in Mark 8, Jesus and his disciples got back into their boat to cross the Sea of Galilee. The disciples had forgotten to procure bread for themselves. In the middle of their discussion about where to get bread, Jesus said, “Watch out! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod!” Continue reading “Life is short, death is sure”
“And we are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him” (Acts 5:32 ESV).
Few Biblical subjects are as complex or controversial as is that of the Holy Spirit. One fact which is indisputable is that there is some kind of relationship between Christians and the Holy Spirit. That God has promised to “give” the Spirit to those who obey him is clearly and repetitively stated in the New Testament. Exactly what this means and the nature and extent of the relationship is much contested, but to deny that a relationship exists is to deny God’s inspired Word. Continue reading “Our Holy Spirit”
Some regard the church as a mere human construct. Scripture presents a different view. A story spanning centuries unfolds from the Old and New Testaments containing the fingerprints of God. Continue reading “Not made by human hands”
The number one reason to start a flower garden is the joy it can bring. Not many gardeners bring many flowers inside as cut flowers in vases, myself included; although that is certainly a joyful activity. During the blazing heat of summer, the daylilies, gladiolus, and crinums seem to make the flowerbeds sing!
Day by day new blooms — even the ones we forgot we planted — unfold and make the heart skip a beat. It is so reminiscent of God’s daily blessings of both physical and spiritual nature that we are naturally prompted to whisper a prayer of thanks to our Father. Continue reading “Singing in the beds!”
Leslie H. Sabo Jr. was born and raised in Youngstown, Ohio. He graduated from high school in 1966 and his life was not unusual until 1970.
On May 10, 1970, Sabo was a rifleman in Company B, 3rd Battalion, 506th Infantry of the 101st Airborne Division of the U.S. Army. On that date, Sabo was in a battle in Cambodia. This Youngstown boy whose life was otherwise unremarkable defended his fellow soldiers at the cost of his own life in the Vietnam War. Continue reading “Is not this the carpenter?”
How often do we want to blame what happens to us on someone else? It isn’t our fault that this happened! Growing up in the United States this was called “passing the buck”; we wanted to blame someone – or something – for our predicament. It surely couldn’t be us!
This seems to have been going on since God created humans. Even Adam in the garden blamed Eve, who in turn blamed the serpent when they sinned. But it isn’t a matter of assigning blame; it is about what we do and changing our lives. The Israelites at the time of Ezekiel had the same problem. Continue reading “It is about how we live”
“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2).
Life is hard. We were not meant to go it alone. God made a community, a group of people pulled out of the world to be united together. We are the body of Christ (Colossians 1:24), and we are to encourage and build each other up (1 Thessalonians 5:11).
A few years ago we began meeting together on Tuesdays for a meal. We called it TNT. I first wrote about it here. Though interrupted for a time, we are coming together and eating together again. Continue reading “Blessings of the body”
How much do we value freedom? Some people demonstrate in public for it. Others move to a different country in order to enjoy it. But how many would give up their present freedom to have it forever?
Jude reminds us that hell will be a place where freedom, among so many other good gifts from God, will be lost. Continue reading “Kept in eternal chains”