Satan was complaining to God about Job in the early verses of that book.  The Lord had praised Job, saying, “There is none like him on the earth” (Job 1:8).  But, Satan grumbled, “Have You not made a hedge around him…and around all that he has on every side?” (1:10).  Satan griped that he could not get to Job because of the…

The apostles are no longer living and no longer among us, but imagine for a moment that the apostle Peter or the apostle Paul came back for a brief visit to “see how things were going.”  How would you react if you met him?  How do you think the average “religious person” would react if they met face-to-face?  We do not have…

Directly across the road from the church building is a house that has been abandoned for years.  It looks horrible.  Vegetation has grown up all around it.  Yet, even in its deplorable condition, no rational person would ever contradict that the house was built by someone. Images from the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake show the “new homes” of thousands of Haitians,…

The English word “precious” is found 15 times in the New Testament, over half used by Peter. Peter used the word to describe the value of Jesus in our lives – “chosen by God and precious” (1 Pet. 2:4, 6); “to you who believe, He is precious” (1 Pet. 2:7). Peter used the word to describe the value of the blood of…

That’s an interesting question that Jesus asked His disciples.  In Mark 6, there were 5,000 men (plus women and children) who needed to eat.  Jesus asked His disciples, “How many loaves do you have?  Go and see” (6:38).  In Mark 8, there were 4,000 men (plus women and children) who were hungry.  Jesus asked His disciples, “How many loaves do you have?”…

God demonstrated His love for the whole world by sending His Son (John 3:16; Rom. 5:8; 1 John 4:9).  There is no doubt that He longs for all men to be saved (1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Pet. 3:9; John 3:17; Titus 2:11).  However, I determine His attitude toward me now by my own attitude. The faithful in Hebrews 11 lived, as “strangers…

With all the rain we’ve had in the last two days, there are “miniature lakes” in the swales along the interstate.  While driving this morning, I saw a guy (a true South Floridian!) with his fishing line dropped in one of these temporary ponds.  My first thought was, “What a dummy!  What does he possibly think he’s going to catch in there?” …

A four-year-old was talking to some friends (true story!), when she learned that her friend’s dad was a “preacher.”  “A preacher?  What’s a preacher?” she asked. “A preacher is someone who teaches people about Jesus,” her friend responded.  It was obvious that this four-year-old had heard two words that day that she had never heard before—one was “preacher.”  The other was revealed…