Have you ever done something without thinking about it first?  The obvious answer is that we all have.  Multiple times.  Of course, some things we just do automatically without giving it a single thought—like putting on our seatbelts.  Some things we do instinctively—like trying to catch someone who starts to fall in front of us.  There isn’t any forethought to actions like…

“Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go to wake him up” (John 11:11). You know this story and understand what Jesus meant, but His disciples failed to comprehend it. Lazarus was so sick that his sisters, Mary and Martha, sent word to Jesus. Judging by their words which both of them spoke—“Lord, if you had been here my brother would not have…

When we see God’s people coming back from Babylonian captivity, there are various ways that they manifest their emotions for the situation. In the days of Ezra, the foundation of the temple was built. People responded with singing and praising God (Ezra 3:11). Others, who had seen the original temple, wept (Ezra 3:12). It was said that you could not distinguish the…

How many friends have I had over the years who denied the essentiality of baptism for salvation by claiming that whoever “believes” has “everlasting life” in John 3:16, and baptism is not even mentioned?  Numerous.  And, on the one hand, such an argument may seem legitimate, as the verse certain says, “whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life,”…

The announcement that we will resume worshiping together in smaller groups at the building is so refreshing. I can hardly wait. We have not been together in our building for the past eight weeks. We have entered Phase One, allowing us to meet as long as we practice social distancing. Our auditorium will permit us to begin with four identical services this…

“Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15). When we read this we begin thinking, “What does this love include?” There are certainly things in this world that I love. How could God create a beautiful planet and tell us not to…

One of the most frustrating things about growing older is forgetting things!  If I don’t write a thought down quickly, it’s gone!  Do you suppose God has a hard time remembering things? When we think about God and His skills of remembering or forgetting things, one of our first thoughts is likely the comforting text quoted in Hebrews 8:12, “I will be…

So, who is the richest man in the world? The names of some of them are readily recognized in America—Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Mark Zuckerberg, Michael Bloomberg, the Koch brothers, the Walton family and the Mars Family. We may not know all of them, but who has not heard of Amazon, Microsoft, Walmart, Mars candy bars or Tesla? It is…