Even though I minored in Greek years ago and deeply appreciate this amazing language, I remember what my dad told me so often. “Dan, when you preach rarely use the Greek, for if you overdo it you will silently convince people that the Bible cannot be understood without being able to read the Greek.” Even though the Greek sometimes allows us to…

Hebrews chapter eleven is often described as the chapter listing the “Heroes of Faith.” It truly deserves this title and just to think of the lives of those who are listed there builds our faith. However, there may be some whose faith has been overlooked and whose lives we should also consider. One of these is a man who made such tragic…

There is a paragraph in Proverbs which every person should know. Listen to God as He tries to get our attention and says, “These six things the Lord hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him” (Prov. 6:16). We must never overlook what follows these words, for we must flee from all that God finds detestable. When we stand before God, we…

James describes the kind of heart we need in order to profit from studying the Bible. Read His words carefully. “Receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (Jas. 1:21-22). Every time we read the Bible, listen to Bible teaching or are studying the word,…

It was a very special family until the death of the most important member of the family. The circumstance surrounding his death was something that the family would never forget. They had shared a meal with him just hours before he died. They decided that they would continue a family practice which been part of their lives for so many years. They…

How the Holy Spirit changes us from our former life into a mirror image of Jesus is misunderstood by so many. The Bible nowhere teaches that the Spirit works directly on our hearts to make me a more spiritual person. The Spirit does change us, and the Bible clearly shows how this happens. It is true that the Spirit is part of…

The words of our eternal God are forever true. He cannot lie. Whenever He decrees a matter, no mortal can ever change it. David affirmed this truth when he said, “Forever, O Lord, Your word is firmly fixed in the heavens” (Psa. 119:98, ESV). We should not be surprised that the phrase “forever and ever” is found forty-seven times in the Bible.…

It is remarkable how often we use the same phrases as we pray. There is nothing wrong with repetition, as long as it is not vain repetition (Matt. 6:7). Over the years I have heard others pray that the preacher might “have a happy recollection of the things he has studied.” I heard it for years but was unable to know what…