Tag: faithfulness

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Fear God and give him glory

Jon Galloway

“Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, and he had an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth – to every nation, tribe, language, and people. He declared in a loud voice: ‘Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has arrived, and worship the one who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water!’” (Revelation 14:6-7 NET).

John’s Revelation is not the most straightforward scripture. There are many explanations and interpretations, some of which have merit and some are more in the realms of fantasy. But whatever interpretation we want to place on it, there are some eternal truths that we can see in the word-pictures that John used to paint a picture for us. Continue reading “Fear God and give him glory”

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Hold true to God’s word

Jon Galloway

There is such a contrast between the two letters of Peter. The first letter was written to Christians beginning to go through persecution. It was a letter of encouragement, of hope. Despite what they were going through they needed to remember Jesus who endured suffering as well.

The second letter, written a couple of years later, was encouragement of a different type. This time, the encouragement was to remain true to God’s word and not to be led astray by false teachers. Continue reading “Hold true to God’s word”

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Like the top of a rock

Christine (Tina) Berglund

An arrangement of three large boulders is huddled among my Rudbeckias and Helianthus, their tops shining white in the morning sun. At summer’s end, gathering seeds from the flowers for next year, I found the middle stone to be a nice place to spread them out to dry.

It’s a cozy place to do some garden tasks, or just sit and reflect. I can’t imagine the east garden without them.

What if your home or city was spoken against, and you were warned that it would become a bare rock? A place where fishermen spread their nets to dry? Continue reading “Like the top of a rock”

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Show, don’t tell

J. Randal Matheny

“Show, don’t tell.” This basic principle rules the writing world. It makes life easier, also. To teach a man to fish, he must see you fishing. Personal-development guru Anthony Robbins wrote in his 1991 book, Awaken the Giant Within,

If you’re not sure how to get yourself out of pain and to feel pleasure as a replacement to your smoking, drinking, worrying, or other undesirable emotion or behavior, you can simply find the answers by modeling people who have turned things around for themselves. Find people who have made the lasting changes; I guarantee you’ll find that they had an alternative to replace the old behavior (p. 135).

The Bible both tells and shows. It communicates the message of truth and gives us visual lessons, both positive and negative, on how to be holy. Examples abound from beginning to end. All the great virtues shine in flesh-and-blood people throughout the pages of Scripture. Continue reading “Show, don’t tell”

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The land of rest

Jon Galloway

“And Aaron the priest went up Mount Hor at the command of the LORD and died there, in the fortieth year after the people of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, on the first day of the fifth month. And Aaron was 123 years old when he died on Mount Hor” (Numbers 33:38-39 ESV).

The Israelites had been without a home for years. Forty years earlier, on the fifteenth day of the first month (Numbers 33:3), they had left Egypt after the ten plagues had culminated with the Passover. They had been “on the road” since that time, in essence “living out of suitcases.” They had no home of their own and were living in tents. They were now into the fortieth year since leaving Egypt. Continue reading “The land of rest”

Articles, Final Phase4 Comments

Plodding or planing?

J. Randal Matheny

As I ended my day-long seminar last Saturday on the biblical model for the church, I felt my mind moving up into another level. The words came more easily, the phrases were more elegant, the ideas flowed almost flawlessly.

Such a shift into a higher plane of communication occurs rarely. Most times, my teaching plods along. Much mental effort is required to put the points across. Continue reading “Plodding or planing?”

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No Matter What Happens

J. Randal Matheny

Humans tend to justify their lack of faith in Christ or their obedience to God by blaming unfavorable circumstances. Sometimes, people may blame God himself. The one-talent man blamed his master for being hard and inflexible. Adam blamed Eve, whom God gave to him, and Eve blamed the serpent.

The mind works expertly to find reasons why faith isn’t viable or why obedience is too hard, complicated, or impossible.

The apostle Paul heads off this tendency when writing to the Philippians. He knows, like most good missionaries, that his absence might provide an excuse for the converts to let up on efforts to serve God. Continue reading “No Matter What Happens”

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Being an effective Christian

Jon Galloway

“For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:5-8 ESV).

As Christians, we should all want to be effective, productive and fruitful. Sometimes it seems this type of life is difficult and possibly beyond our grasp. But Peter, in quite simple language, explains what this type of life is all about. Continue reading “Being an effective Christian”

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Well supplied

Barry Newton

When Christopher Columbus finally set off on his first voyage with the Niña, Pinta and Santa Maria, ample funding backed the voyage.  Although it had required the influence of the courtier Luis de Santángel, Spain’s king and queen finally agreed to sponsor the expedition. Columbus was well supplied for the journey.

Like Columbus, Christians are on an expedition. Our journey involves living for God. Peter informs us that God has provided us with “everything we need for life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3). But how informed are we regarding how to draw upon the Lord’s resources?

Continue reading “Well supplied”