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…