The People of Israel Ask Samuel To Intercede for Them Throughout the Old Testament, the Philistines show up as a recurring nemesis for God’s chosen people, the nation of Israel. The Bible mentions the Philistines 191 times in seventeen of the Old Testament’s books. In most of these cases the Philistines are doing something to […]
God Promises to Go Before His People and Be Their Rear Guard In Isaiah’s lengthy prophecy, he tells God’s people in Jerusalem that they need to leave. However, they don’t need to leave in haste. This is because God will go before them and he will take up the rear. That means, God will pave […]
Exploring Christian Practices That Lack Biblical Support For years I’ve told people that I strive to write from a Christian worldview. That’s what I believed I was doing. I even regularly prayed that God would empower me to do so, that each word I wrote would embrace, support, and advance a Christian worldview. However, I […]
We walk into the church and receive an engaging welcome, as two greeters celebrate our presence. “If you’d only come in a couple weeks,” they playfully jest, “you’d be able to meet our new minister.” They’re most excited about her arrival, anxious for her time as their shepherd to begin. I tease that we could […]
Our Spiritual Health Should Be Our Most Important Healthcare Concern Many people today worry about their health. This can relate to their physical health, mental health, or emotional health. They have less concern, however, about their spiritual health—if they give it any consideration at all. But our spiritual health is the most critical of all […]
This Pentecostal church receives us warmly. The greeter is an amazing ambassador and will interact with us several more times throughout the morning. He introduces us to the pastor’s wife and it’s not long before her husband seeks us out. The pastor pointedly asks if we’ve ever been to a Pentecostal Church. When I say […]
I didn’t know this church existed until my wife stumbled onto this charismatic church during her online research for our adventure. Their Facebook page says they’re “a charismatic, faith-filled, and Bible-believing church.” I’ve never been to a charismatic church service. However, I have attended charismatic conferences, so I think I have a general idea of […]
Jesus Teaches Us to Keep Praying and to Not Stop Jesus gives us an object lesson (a parable) of a widow who keeps appearing before a judge to seek justice. A bad adjudicator, he cares nothing of her, of public opinion, or of God, but she wears him down with her continual plea. He eventually […]
God Won’t Strike Us Dead If We Question Him Many people in the Bible question God. These aren’t fringe malcontents. They’re some of our favorite Bible characters and, I suspect, some of God’s favorite people too. They include Job, Abraham, Moses, David, Mary, and even Jesus. I can’t recall a single verse where God strikes […]
The Bible reminds us to pray for those in authority, which includes our politicians In Paul’s first letter to his protégé Timothy, he adds an important command. We can likewise apply Paul’s wise instruction as something for us to follow today. He tells us we are to pray for those in authority. This includes our […]