This week, we’ve discussed several reasons for God’s thundering silence in our lives. Sometimes God’s silence is the result of unconfessed sin that has created a barrier between God and us. Sometimes it’s the result of uncontrolled emotions, such as fear, that drown out God’s voice in our lives. Sometimes it’s the result of unpredictable timing because God’s timetable is different from ours
Read MoreA young man and a young woman had pledged to each other and were looking forward to a near wedding day when the young man was suddenly called to service. From the warfare field, letters regularly came and went, and love shone brightly in all of them. Then, letters from the young man abruptly ceased.
Read MoreThe classic hymn by Robert Lowry says, “What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. O precious is the flow that makes me white as snow; no other fount I know; nothing but the blood of Jesus.”
Read Morethe Bible tells us that God is love. The apostle John writes, "He who does not love does not know God, for God is love" (1 John 4:8). He reiterates this truth a few sentences later. "God is love, and he who abides in love, abides in God, and God in him" (1 John 4:16).
Read MoreWhen Jesus rebuked the disciples in Matthew 8 for having "little faith," Jesus wasn't talking about saving faith but rather daily living faith (see Matthew 8:23-27). Our saving faith remains constant, but our daily living faith rises and falls according to the strength of our relationship with God. When we are not in constant intimacy with God, the first storm that hits will create fear and panic.
Read More“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” It’s hard to imagine how controversial that one little command would have been when Jesus first spoke it. We saw in a previous post that the Jews in the first century had twisted God’s Word to justify their hatred for the gentiles—even to the point of letting gentiles drown instead of helping them.
Read MoreWhen someone says to me, “Chuck . . . I got a lot out of the message,” I usually try to respond in a way that allows him or her to be more specific.
Read MoreThis week, we’re going to discover five principles that Abraham’s servant Eliezer exercised in finding the right mate for Abraham’s son Isaac. These principles can help you, your children, and your grandchildren not only to find a mate but also to know God’s will for any area of life.
Read MoreThere are times in our lives when we may experience moments of doubt (this is a major issue because of James 1:6-8). Times when sickness persists, financial pressures are overwhelming, the political climate of our country is polarizing, job environments unchanging, and marriages highly emotionally challenging.
Read MoreIn the 1960s, a deviant religious group called, among other things, the Children of God emerged from California. The group’s declaration was essentially this: “We are revolutionary Christian nomads, bypassing the hopeless, unresponsive older generation and churchy people and bringing new-time religion to a new-time generation.”
Read More