Paul Spent Time with God in the Spiritual Realm and So Can We In Paul’s second letter to the church in Corinth he makes a cryptic statement about going to the third heaven. He doesn’t know if it’s an out of body experience or not (2 Corinthians 12:2). This is the only verse in the […]
God Is Always Just a Prayer Away Prayer is part of my daily spiritual journey—at least most of the time. Each day. before I climb out of bed, I seek God’s blessings for my day. I ask that I will write well, he will grant me favor, and he will provide what I need. Some […]
Praying to the Godhead Last week we looked at God as Trinity and used the image of a tripod to illustrate how one God can exist in three parts: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Now we’ll build upon that understanding and use it to inform us so that we can better pray to the Trinity. […]
Jesus Expects Us to Fast, but Do We? Jesus fasted (Luke 4:1-2). Should we follow his example? Though his disciples didn’t fast (Matthew 9:14), he said when he returned to heaven, the time for fasting would resume (Luke 5:34-35). In his well-known Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches about fasting. He says, “when you fast […]
May This Year Be Your Best Year Yet As we move from one year to the next, may we put behind us the challenges, fear, and uncertainty of the past year and move into the new one with expectation. Here is my New Year’s blessing for you: May it be so. Receive this New Year’s […]
God Grants Jabez’s Request My favorite verse in the Bible is about an honorable man. His name is Jabez. What did he do? He prayed. That’s it. Does that sound boring? It could be, except for the outcome. The result is profound. After Jabez prays, the Bible says that “God granted his request.” How reassuring […]
Three significant actions stand out from church today: 1. Here’s What to Expect “Let me tell you what to expect in our service.” A lady takes time to explain their worship style and reveals they take communion every week. “It’s an open communion.” I nod, glad to know. I ponder this question every time a […]
The letter to Philemon ends with a list of supporting players who send their greetings and implicitly endorse Paul’s missive of reconciliation. First up is Epaphras, who by being singled out, stands alone in noteworthy acclaim. Simply and succinctly, Paul notes that Epaphras is “my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus.” The Bible only contains two […]
Once Reserved for Prophets, Now All People Can Have Visions from God A friend asked me about hearing from God and of visions from God. I often think about hearing from the Holy Spirit, but I infrequently consider visions, even though visions are one way that God communicates with us. Visions in the Bible Mentions […]
It’s a quintessential country church and our third Baptist congregation in six weeks. With no online presence, what we know is from their sign out front: its name and service time. The sanctuary is smaller than I expected. One lady greets us warmly and another scurries to fetch us a bulletin. We fill out the […]