Blog

One of the most moving expressions of faith that soars with confidence when disaster strikes and the worse is still to come is found in the Old Testament book of Habakkuk. I heard, and my inner parts trembled; At the sound, my lips quivered. Decay enters my bones, And in my place I tremble; Because I must wait quietly for the day of distress, For the people to arise who will attack us. Even if the fig tree does not blossom, And there is no fruit on the vines, If the yield of the olive fails, And the fields produce no food, Even if the flock disappears from the…

Continue reading

Why are we here? Why is anything here? Right before Jesus suffered arrest, a sham trial, torture, and crucifixion, he prayed to God. The prayer is recorded in the New Testament in John chapter 17. The prayer includes these words, “And now You, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world existed.” (John 17:5 NAS) This verse shows Jesus existed with God before the world was created and that Jesus desired to return to…

Continue reading

We normally think of Jesus’s parables as teaching tools to help the hearers understand spiritual concepts. Yet, in Matthew 13 Jesus’s disciples ask why he speaks to the people in parables, and his answer is that he uses the figurative languages of parables so the people would not understand. Doesn’t that seem surprising? In some cases Jesus used parables to separate serious learners from casual listeners. See what he says in verses 13-15. Matthew 13:13-15  …

Continue reading

In the book of Deuteronomy Moses recounts to God’s people all that had happened during the previous forty years of their wandering in the wilderness. That time of suffering began when the adult generation that came out of Egyptian slavery failed to enter the Promised Land as God commanded. The sight of the tall, powerful inhabitants of Canaan filled the Israelites with the fear the Canaanites would kill them and take their children captive. God’s…

Continue reading

In my novel, True Status, one issue the characters grapple with is who gets to decide what is right and wrong.  In the real world, each individual has the God-given responsibility to make correct judgments about right and wrong. Does that mean each person gets to decide what is actually right and wrong for them? Yes and no. In Romans 14, the apostle Paul discusses disputable matters in which each person can decide for themselves…

Continue reading