God chose many people that were not always enthusiastic to carry out His plans. Often these doubters failed to see His design for them because they believed more in their own shortcomings or decisions than in His great power. But God, in His time, showed all of them His way. That lead to their eventual willingness to place all trust in God, birthing their significant roles in the history of Christ. Continue reading
Simon, also known as Peter, is noted in the Bible as the first disciple Jesus called to follow Him.
Mark 1:16-17 As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” Continue reading
James, the author of the Book of James, is the half brother of Jesus Christ. Although the Bible does not give us much information about James being intricately involved with Jesus before the crucifixion, we easily find that after the resurrection James clearly becomes a leading figure in the early church.
James, Cephas and John, those esteemed as pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised. Galatians 2:9 (emphasis added) Continue reading
The following is an excerpt from chapter four of my book: Lift Him Up don’t Pull Him Down – The eternal importance of never momentarily taking our Lord’s name in vain.
The chapter is titled Worth Repeating, and includes twelve different Bible versions of our Lord’s third commandment followed by a short commentary/story. Continue reading
Revelation 1:3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.
Our world is continually consumed with trying to find “today’s answer” to living the ever unattainable utopian lifestyle:
Sometimes telling/asking someone to change their bad habit to a good habit is simply not enough motive. People want facts/explanations as to why a change is considered necessary. Perhaps that is why the bad habit of texting OMG, spewing Oh My G**! or vomiting J**** C****! is not always understood as wrong. When using those names as exclamations, many do not understand why they are breaking the third commandment. Continue reading
The new church was quick to expand after Jesus Christ resurrected. His new followers, called Christians, had the mission of spreading the Good News: Jesus has authority over death! Their greeting to each other reflected this truth.
When two Christians would meet, one would say: “He is risen.” And the other would respond with: “He is risen, indeed!” Today, that exchange is often carried out by pastor and congregation in church services throughout the world. What a beautiful public acknowledgment: we believe in the hope He promised us. Continue reading
While Jesus, the Son of God, was out teaching the Jewish people about love, a rebel named Barabbas lead a group of political insurgents in a rebellion against Rome. Barabbas was a murderer who hated paying taxes to Rome and was aggressively trying to end all Roman authority. His group of insurrectionists started an uprising and because of this they were thrown into prison. Continue reading
Lift Him Up 