Is It Time to Fast? In Isaiah’s day, the people were doing a lot of fasting and praying, but they lamented that God had taken no notice (Isaiah 58:1-3a). The reason? Their many fasts and prayers were hollow, ostentatious bargaining chips, used in trying to negotiate with God. The fast that the Lord accepts is described in great detail: “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to…Keep Reading

Romans 8:18 “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” Romans 8:18 “What do I preach?” The young preacher asked. He had been appointed to a congregation of people who intimidated him because they were seasoned professionals and he was green on the vine. The older minister answered, “Preach the Gospel, tell them…Keep Reading

When People Lie About Us When People Lie About Us David said, “Be not silent, O God of my praise! For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me, speaking against me with lying tongues. They encircle me with words of hate, and attack me without cause. In return for my love they accuse me, but I give myself to prayer. So they reward me evil for good, and hatred…Keep Reading

God Does Not Keep a Balance Sheet Because the Scripture says, “The law came by Moses, but grace and truth by Jesus Christ” (John 1:17), some believe that there was no grace under the Law and that there is no law under grace. No so: “If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared” (Psalms130:3-4, ESV)….Keep Reading

Exodus 2-3 “But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile.” Noah was directed by God on how to build the Ark. He was told to coat it inside and outside with tar and pitch. The basket that…Keep Reading

Fixing Our Eyes on Jesus “O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise, even with my glory” (Psa 108:1, KJV). Several translations have “my heart is steadfast.” Fixed is defined as “set or intent on something; steadily directed.” David’s heart was steadfast or steadily directed toward God. Our hearts must be fixed “on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith” as we run with endurance…Keep Reading

Psalm 137:1-4 “By the rivers of Babylon—there we sat down and there we wept when we remembered Zion. On the willows there we hung up our harps. For there our captors asked us for songs, and our tormentors asked for mirth, saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” How could we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?” Psalm 137:1-4 Living by Faith is alive and strong,…Keep Reading

God Loves Those Who Love Jesus Jesus had been preparing his disciples for his departure, the coming of the Spirit, and the tribulations to follow. He then said, “In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came…Keep Reading

2 Kings 6:5 “…Oh, my master, it was borrowed!” It is a good time to remember that God is very much involved in the daily activities of our ordinary life. I have chopped a fair amount of wood in times past. Sometimes an axe-head won’t stay on the handle. Such was the case in today’s text. Some poor guy in the Bible had borrowed an axe to cut down trees….Keep Reading

Love is Not God An admitted adulteress once told me and my elders that because she loved the man she was committing adultery with, she knew that God approved, because God is love and wanted her to be happy. The same basic premise is used to “sanctify” homosexual unions. “If two people of the same sex love each other and are willing to stay faithful for life, why shouldn’t they…Keep Reading

2 Kings 19:14 “After Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it, he went up to the LORD’s Temple and spread it out before the LORD.” 2 Kings 19:14 What have you brought to spread out before the Lord in prayer? Have you ever received troubling mail and showed it to the Savior? Hezekiah received a blasphemous letter from the king of Assyria demanding him to surrender Jerusalem…Keep Reading

Fixing America After all is said and done, more seems to have been said than done: The New Deal, the Great Society, the War on Drugs, the Defense of Marriage Act, and other attempts to fix what is wrong with America, were noble in intent; but we were treating the symptoms, which is necessary for the comfort of the patient, but does not attack the disease at its source. The…Keep Reading