New Approaches for an Old Denomination It’s a holiday weekend. Our son and daughter-in-law are out of town, so we’re free agents. A return trip to the Megachurch is in order, but our daughter invites us to go to a church she and her husband have visited the past couple of weeks. A friend from […]
Psalm 162 from Beyond Psalm 150 Though Samuel has already anointed David as king, Saul continues to rule. David could move to seize the throne, but instead he patiently waits for God’s timing. As he does, he respects Saul’s authority as the reigning king. David also forms a tight bond with Saul’s son Jonathan. When […]
To Deserve a Good Shepherd, We Must Be Good Sheep Zachariah isn’t one of the better-known Old Testament prophets, and we don’t often read his book in the Bible, but that doesn’t mean we should ignore it. A reoccurring theme in Zachariah’s writing is a shepherd and his sheep, about bad shepherds and bad flocks. […]
Today’s passage: John 20:19–31 Focus verse: Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28) The Bible writes that faith is having confidence in the things we hope for and assurance in what we don’t see (Hebrews 11:1). Today this definition of faith applies to us. We cannot see Jesus, so we must […]
We Glorify God and Serve as the Most Effective Witness When We Get Along I write a lot about the importance of Christian unity. This is because Jesus prayed that we would be one, and I embrace his request and vision as imperative. If we profess to following Jesus, we need to all get along. […]
From the Dear Theophilus Bible Study Series, Books 6, 8, and 9 The “disciple whom Jesus loved” wrote five New Testament books. His books of John and Revelation are two of the most read books in the Bible. And don’t overlook his three letters, though most people do. They are 1 John, 2 John, and […]
Navigating Big Our son and daughter-in-law’s Sunday plans change abruptly one Sunday morning. We scramble to find a church to visit. Not just any church—that would be easy—but a church fitting our search criteria. However, we’ve not yet given it much thought. With little time to plan and most services already in progress, we need […]
Psalm 161 from Beyond Psalm 150 Hannah lives a difficult life. First, she must share her husband’s affections with another woman. Second, Hannah is childless, while her husband’s other wife, Peninnah, isn’t. And Peninnah repeatedly mocks Hannah for her infertility. Despite his love for her, Hannah’s husband dismisses her pain over being childless. He doesn’t […]
My high school drafting teacher was a patient man—and my classmates sorely tested him in this. They had a perverse enjoyment in pushing him to his breaking point, because when he had enough, he exploded with a tirade of invective. The word patient occurs 27 times in the Bible, often referring to God’s patience with […]
Today’s passage: John 20:1–18 Focus verse: Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” (John 20:18) Although Mary Magdalene shows up in each of Jesus’s four biographies, we know little about her. What we learn from Scripture is that Jesus casts seven demons out of her. Though people debate […]