Some years ago my lovely wife received “The Busy Mom’s Cookbook” as a gift. At the bottom of each page, there’s an interesting tidbit. One anecdote tells the story of James Barry. He had a distinguished 40-year career in the British military, holding an office equivalent to major general. He fought in a duel. He…

The Bible tells the church to give an offering “on the first day of every week” (1 Cor. 16:2). Why? Does God need our money? No. The Lord owns everything. He says that “every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the hills, and…

When you think about the reality of Noah’s Ark, you might have questions about its size, its construction, or its cargo. You have probably seen the cartoon-like Ark pictures showing a quaint little boat, a pudgy little man and a handful of animals packed in and even hanging over its sides. These caricature-style pictures are…

Christians often hear assurances that “God doesn’t expect us to be perfect.” Of course, we must repent and humbly confess our failures. But the Bible says that God “does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so…

 Watching our nation’s rapid moral and spiritual decline is disheartening. Every day it becomes easier to sympathize with the prophet Jeremiah, who grieved over the downfall of Judah: “They refused to take correction. They have made their faces harder than rock; they have refused to repent. […] They have spoken falsely of the Lord and…

One time I received an interesting email forwarded by my good friend Dwight. It suggested that without God the days of our week would be Sinday, Mournday, Tearsday, Wasteday, Thirstday, Fightday, and Shatterday. Good point. I’ve often wondered why anyone would want to live even one day without God! In his letter to the Ephesians,…

When the Jerusalem council on circumcision ended, Paul and Barnabas returned to Syrian Antioch. After a time Paul proposed that they make a second missionary trip together: “Let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are” (Acts 15:36). Barnabas agreed to…

The individual follower of Jesus is biblically known as a disciple, believer, saint, or Christian. Collectively, believers are called the church, the body, the bride, and so on. Each of these descriptions emphasizes a different aspect of our relationship with Jesus. Church of Christ. The Greek word translated “church” means “assembly.” While someone may say…

Elisha’s young servant was in a panic. His mouth was dry, his hands were sweaty, and his heart was threatening to pound out of his chest. The prophet Elisha had repeatedly interfered with the Arameans’ military plans against Israel, and now a great army sent by the king of Aram was at Dothan to seize…

Christians tend to separate sins into two categories: “big sins” and “little sins.” It’s sometimes said that little wrongs are mine and big transgressions are yours. Perhaps it’s just as common for the church to think that big sins are only the transgressions associated with social disgrace. For example, a man sins big if he…