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A brilliant and accomplished Bible translator and scholar had been presenting a series of lectures and studies at a very large church. After completing several sections of a presentation which was designed to continue for several months, he revealed a basic change in his format. Henceforth there would be an extended teaching and discussion after each study with the title: “Application”. For many months he had been given much knowledge of the Scriptures. However, someone now had asked him an all important question - how do we APPLY what we have been taught?

This indeed…  ( Click for more )

In the course of daily living it is sometimes astounding as well as disheartening to see the almost universal disregard of God by the world. Truly sheep without a shepherd, in a darkness unknown to them, and yet it is known. The darkness seems like light, and the light of God appears as darkness. Most are oblivious to any awareness that they are only a “heartbeat away from eternity”. The things of God, in whatever context God can be considered, as the Apostle Paul said “are foolishness to him” (1Corinthian 3:19). There are many reasons for this - the blinding…  ( Click for more )

Shortly following WW2 the Chaplain of the United States Senate said during a prayer before the opening session: "Lord...help us to turn - for we are hard to turn..."

The memory of the horrors of that war must have been fresh on his mind, as the U. S. and the world set out to learn from it and, where necessary "to turn...". However, he must have sensed how extremely difficult and daunting it was going to be to learn from the mistakes of the past, and to turn from them to a better way. History since then has spoken - were we turned? Has the world been turned?…  ( Click for more )

"A man is as good as his word; as good as his word is he. If man is as good as his word, he's good enough for me. A solemn promise he's bound to keep; or else he never could fall asleep. He'll keep his promise as best he knows; and what he sows, so shall he reap." - Sound Track, movie "Comanche"

Whoever wrote these words had at least a passing acquaintance with the Bible (Galatians 6:7). In this we should rejoice, whoever it was. As was said of one of Russia's leaders under communism years ago when he did something which seemed out of character and rather…  ( Click for more )

God’s written Word - the Bible - has been given through the Holy Spirit, as "light" to all mankind. It is the living Word of Jesus, who IS the light of all the world, as we saw in part one last week. It is THE "lighthouse" for the stormy and frightening sea of this world - the only way to the shore for safety.. It is the compass, the point of reference for all humanity. So many analogies could be made, and still not remotely express the importance of the Bible. It is the only way home (John 1:1,9-11)...

True Christians, as God’s children, are to…  ( Click for more )

"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it". (Amos 8:11-12)

This prophecy is understood by some to be duel in application. This occured to Israel, but also presents a type of a greater fulfilment in the future. What if there were NO Word of God? What if it could not be found? What if there was…  ( Click for more )

It is difficult to imagine going through a day using or hearing the English word "time", or one of it forms.It is even more universal in usage that the word "fix’, which has come to have double or triple meanings or applications for many Americans. It is truly amazing how a word which is an intangible, has come to be applied to so many tangibles. Reference to time ranges from every day communication to eloquent quotations by leaders, kings, and statesmen throughout history. From the ringing of an alarm clock with its "time to get up" exclamation, to…  ( Click for more )

There is a proverb from long ago (not from the Bible) which goes something like this: "The more things change, the more they stay the same". It seems self-contradictory. Essentially, the sweep of history comes down to today with the same of almost everything, only recast into another form that magnifies, expands, and intensifies the original - or something similar thereto. This would seem to agree in principle with the book of Ecclesiastes (Ecclesiastes 1:9-10).

There is something afoot today that certainly seems new in many ways, but as noted above it is not really…  ( Click for more )

Many have wondered when reading the biblical record of God’s dealings with nations, kings, individuals - and especially Israel -why did He use one nation or tribe after another to punish Israel, and then use a different nation to punish the punisher. Decades or centuries later, God then used Israel in turn to punish and utterly destroy the same nation that punished Israel. There seems to be a continuous cycle of nations of the world rising and then falling. Some rise again, only to fall again - usually by the attacks from other nations that previously rose and then fell and…  ( Click for more )

To stumble is almost as common as breathing. For the young, for those who are elderly, and those in between - all have or probably will, stumble. It is interesting that most stumbling seems to occur within the two "bookend" groups. The young and the elderly are either end. Those in the in-between category are more agile, alert, and experienced in avoiding stumbling. And, that over which they stumble can take an almost endless form. So we have the coined phrase "stumbling block" which is used to cover it all. Children almost always stumble learning to walk. Horses…  ( Click for more )

There is someone - at this very moment - who is struggling for something. It is not a struggle for more money, a better job, a better automobile, a more ostentatious home, more things, more friends (or fewer enemies), happiness, a higher high, more intense thrills, more fun. It is not a struggle to loose weight, to gain weight, to have fewer wrinkles, to have more hair (in the right places), look younger, be more admired and popular, or to receive praise. This struggle is for (if I may borrow a line from a recent movie), "just one thing"...

Life...

You might…  ( Click for more )

It is said that one of the most striking phenomenon of outer space is silence - an almost unbearable SILENCE... of all the limitless expanse of space, with an endless array of galaxies and other elements being created and form, always moving at unimaginable speed - with all of this, there is just - silence! Without an atmosphere to conduct what humans call "sound" - it is just silence. Often I have gazed up at a silent sky on a clear night, and could hear my own heart beat - even with some minimal background sounds. It can be very moving, even to tears in praise and worship…  ( Click for more )

We hear (and see) much about "law" today. This is an enigma in a sense because there seems to be so much lack of lawfulness. One would think that with so many allusions and so much exposure to the word, there would be lawfulness Unfortunately this is not the case. The law seems powerless to make society lawful.

With all law there is a flaw (no pun or poetry intended)! The evidence for this is overwhelming!

There is an great deal in the Bible about law - especially in the Old Testament, and in reference to Israel in particular. Most Christians are at least generally…  ( Click for more )

“For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, because they are understood through what has been made. So people are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20 NET) Someone is our Maker. There cannot be something that exist without a first cause, regardless of attempts of some to wiggle around it. That first cause is an almighty God. Because He is our Maker, he loves what He has made. We as the pinnacle of what He has made are His primary interest, but He has filled His Word with assurances that He loves,…  ( Click for more )

During some recent conversations, comments seemed to drift toward the past. The drifts were similar - a kind of reflective remembering, even a melancholy longing for past years, events, and times. Whether the past was primarily positive or negative, we still lingered on the past. Some felt they were loosing their grip on the present. Perhaps the past was better. Perhaps they could even to return to there past. But if we get to the past, we may find that there may be no one there.

Long after Israel had been delivered from Egyptian bondage, God over and over commanded them to focus…  ( Click for more )

Why - and how - is love the fulfilling of the Law? Some have tried to live as though the Law fulfills love, which will utterly fail to fulfill the genuine love of God (Romans 13:8-10).

The answer lies in what love really is (to be a little redundant), and what the love of God does. If we possess the love of God, we do not have to struggle to perform works of the Law. Obeying God's laws will become automatic - because that is what Love does. If we attempt to fulfill love by focusing only on the Law, we will miss love. This becomes, in the final result, legalism. However, we cannot…  ( Click for more )

We have heard about “third world” countries - those supposedly not as modern, or economically on a par with larger and more prosperous nations. Supposedly, other countries or peoples are occupants of some other world, either a “first’ or a “second” world. There is coming a kind of third world that is almost unimaginable, and an eternity away from today’s worlds. How ironic that the “third world” that Jesus Christ will create will be diametrically the opposite - in every sense of the word! But the other “Third World”…  ( Click for more )

Decades ago, a very popular song of the time included the refrain "What a wonderful world!". It was and still is in many ways a wonderful world - sunsets, mountains, rivers, and shining seas. It is part of God's creation. After creating it, He states that it was "very good!" But, of course, it has changed. It did not change on its own. Mankind changed in its midst, when it truly was a wonderful world. It is no longer as beautiful as it was to Adam and Eve, or even when it was considered by many to still be "a wonderful world"

When mankind changed,…  ( Click for more )

"The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you. For who hath despised the day of small things?" (Zechariah 4:9-10 KJV).

Almost nothing gets as little attention today as small things. Small things - almost anything - gets small press! How many times have we heard "think BIG!" and "BIGGER is better", and similar phrases. Contrary to the warning in the scripture above, many do not hesitate at all to make light of small beginnings ("small…  ( Click for more )

"Teach and urge these things. If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the…  ( Click for more )

Do you pray for others - that God will intervene in their lives, according to a perceived need? Sometimes we assume that when we pray for someone, that GOD will intervene in some way and answer our prayer for them.

But could you be the answer to your own prayer for them?

Or, could you be the messenger?

God may directly intervene by a miracle, or in circumstances in order to answer our prayer for another, but most of the time God works through His children - who have been positioned to be instruments of His love, compassion, and mercy. God may use someone or something other…  ( Click for more )

Recently someone very close to me was complimented concerning their past relationship. The relationship was not always pleasant or agreeable - often very stressful. However, this person said of the one close to me that they had always "taken the high road", and that it was appreciated and admired now - after interaction with each other was no longer required. A veiled admission that the one had only taken the low road.

Do we always take the high road - or do we sometimes settle for the low road?.

If we take the low road, it is often easier traveling, more comfortable,…  ( Click for more )

Someone once closed a TV show by singing the phrase "thanks for the memory...". Are we thankful for all our memories - good and bad?

Our memories are the produce of sowing and reaping. Not only do we reap what we sow in present tense, but we also continue to reap from the same sowing in the past tense - our memory continues to stick our sowing to us like glue. If we sow wrong seed, we can be forgiven for eternity. However, we do reap what we sow - in this life, even if in memory. The sharp edge memories may, with time, be dulled. But the memory of what we sowed that constituted…  ( Click for more )

There is a much different world coming - one developing out of this present world that we all know - a world like no one has ever seen before, or will ever be seen again.

One that is not expected, except perhaps by those who are striving to bring it about. However they may see what they do not expect to see or envision. It will be ruled by a one world government; one religion; one world economy. Government, Economics, and Religion. These three aspects of the "new world order", are even now slowly becoming a reality, and beginning to position themselves, eventually to…  ( Click for more )