Dear Ones: For seventy years Israel was in exile, having been taken there by the Babylonians. The Psalmist would write of that time: “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yes, we wept, when we remembered Zion. For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that…
Dear Ones: I was once working at a conference center in France, and enjoying a little time off. Seated on the side of a hill, I noticed a small group of sheep on the slope across the small valley. There was one little lamb which seemed oblivious of all the other sheep, and consequently, began…
Dear Ones: At the end of the day concerning the Kingdom of God, that which matters is the will of the King…the knowing and doing of the will of God. We are so apt to be distracted by a myriad of occupations and preoccupations without and within, that we can neglect, even forget, that Jesus…
Dear Ones: It was a remarkable day when Jesus came walking on the water in the midst of a storm, the disciples huddled in their boat, afraid. It became even more remarkable when Peter was ordered by the Lord Jesus to “Come…,” (Matt. 14:29) and walk on the water also. In that moment, the impossible…
Dear Ones: Many are the extraordinary truths, and thus, realities, revealed to us in the Bible. But none is perhaps so personal, and enriching, as the fact that our Creator, the Eternal God, IS our Father. How many lives have been revolutionized because they have come to understand something of this relationship, and the richness…
Dear Ones: The atheist is truly, as Scripture declares, “…a fool.” Now, he may be such because of his obstinacy, or maybe, simply because of his ignorance. But what makes the matter of such enormous importance is the fact that he is turning away, consciously or not, from the ONLY hope for mercy that he,…
Dear Ones: When Israel returned to the land of promise after the exile in Babylon, she was given the task of rebuilding the temple. Scripture tells us that when the older men, who had seen the temple of Solomon in all of its glory, saw the people rejoicing in the foundations of the new temple…
Dear Ones: Jesus spoke of “the hand on the plow,” with regard to following Him. “No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62) Who then is “fit” for the kingdom? There is none…and as Paul put it, “…no, not one.” What then…
Dear Ones: The Apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15:17, made a most demonstrative, and radical statement: “…and if Christ is not raised (from the dead), your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.” What is he saying? Again, it is very simple. There is a God, who has testified by nature, history, and…
Dear Ones: The Bible is filled with the “impossible.” The reason is simple: “The things that are impossible with men, (…and they are many), are possible with God. The question is, how does the impossible become actual, and realized? Perhaps Nehemiah can shed some light on the matter. The first thing you notice in the…