After Jesus died on the cross, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body, but Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus was already dead, so he asked the centurion if Jesus was dead. After verifying the fact, Pilate released the body to Joseph. Joseph, a secret disciple of Jesus, was also member of the Jewish ruling council, but he had not consented to executing Jesus. With the help of Nicodemus, Joseph took Jesus’ body…
Today, I heard an Alicia Keys song entitled “Pawn It All”. In the chorus, she said she would pawn a watch, chain, diamond ring, everything just to start over again. How many people wish they could start over again, but are afraid the cost would be too high? I have no idea if Alicia Keys had a spiritual or biblical intent when she wrote that song, but it made me think of Jesus’ words in…
If you didn’t read “Frankie was a thief – Part 1”, stop, go and read Part 1 first. It is the previous post. Frankie was a thief – Part 2 (One year later.) You receive an e-mail from Joe Aniskusko. Joe is an elder at a congregation in Schenectady, NY. You and Joe once worked together and became really close friends. In fact, Joe is the one who led you to Christ. Over the years…
If you’re a Bible teacher, you may want to develop problems and scenarios that help your students understand spiritual concepts or identify with biblical situations. I wrote this fictional story several years ago to introduce a young-adult class to a certain book of the Bible. It’s written in the second person point of view so you, the reader, are a character in the story. Following the story are some discussion questions I used with my…
One of the mysteries about God is how God maintains sovereignty over everything in the universe and still allows for human free will and responsibility. For example, God inspired the writing of the scriptures, but he allowed people to be involved in the process. This is what the apostle Peter wrote. 2 Peter 1:20-21 20 But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, 21 for…
The man who forgot about God started off as a good and godly man. His name was Asa, king of Judah. Idol worship was rampant in the land and Asa worked hard to stop false worship. He removed many places of worship to false gods. He even removed his grandmother, Maacah, from her positon as Queen mother because she worshipped idols. It’s hard for me to imagine going against your mother or grandmother, but King…
Recently, a friend of mine commented on the fact that a character in one of my stories referred to God in the plural. My friend said some people would consider such a reference as blasphemy, because it implied polytheism, the worship of many gods. As Christians, we believe in one God who exists as three unified, but distinct persons each of whom equally possesses all the qualities of Godhood. This is one of several truths…
God demonstrated his love for every human being by sending Jesus to die in our place while we were his enemies. Jesus paid the price required to redeem us, so we could be restored back to a right relationship with God. Even though the redemption price has been paid, you are not redeemed just because you exist. You cannot remain an enemy of Jesus and expect redemption. We all have to repent of our sins,…
Have you ever thought about what kind of world we would have today if Adam and Eve had not sinned? I have been thinking about that for a while, because that subject will be the focus of my next novel. My working title is A Better Place. I think it will take me a long time to write, since it is so hard to imagine a world in which sin does not dominant. What do…
Ruby’s birthday and Valentine’s Day are approaching fast. Ruby has been known to stretch these events into extra days of special treatment. It could be a weekend, a week, or even a month, so I am under a lot of pressure right now. However, don’t worry too much about me, because my birthday is coming up in March, and I’ll be sure to get my fair share of extra attention. You see, in marriage you…