Was the cross a surprise to Jesus?  Did He know that was coming?  Some have suggested that the cross was “Satan’s plan” and was “not in God’s plan” or part of “God’s will.”  They suggest that God had “an altar” in mind but “crucifixion” was Satan’s idea.  Does Scripture support that conclusion? First, there is the reality that Jesus was crucified by…

Images from space have continued to wow from various exploration probes and the new telescope. These new images come with new discoveries about God’s creation. One such discovery involves the planet Pluto. In 2006, the space probe New Horizons was launched with the primary mission of observing Pluto. It arrived in 2015 and sent back remarkable photos of Pluto and its moons.…

At some point, you’ve probably asked yourself, “Where am I going?” Many of us have faced this question when looking at our lives. Our lives are full of big decisions and many of us have doubts about the directions we’ve taken. We need to be concerned with the paths we take. However, if we focus on “how” we walk, the “where” will…

There were several times in Paul’s letters that he had to defend his apostleship and authenticity. On one such occasion he wrote, “For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ” (Gal. 1:10). This raises a…

Has your spirit ever churned within you?  You know what I mean, right?  You see something or hear something that really bothers you, and you can almost feel your stomach and/or your chest just start to twist.  Your body is reacting physically to something that is trying your spirit.  Two Bible characters experienced something like that.  Consider what we can learn from…

There were several times in Paul’s letters that he had to defend his apostleship and authenticity. On one such occasion he wrote, “For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ” (Gal. 1:10). This raises a…

Unity in messaging matters. If you look at statements or press releases from any political party, you will notice that they always have a unified message. Great amounts of time and money are spent in getting their message right and making sure everyone is on board. A unified message drives policy and can even win elections. As Christians, we also need to…

The parallel between the demise of the Jewish nation as they headed for captivity and the demise in our land is so striking. We know specifically that God had chosen the nation of Israel and brought them into a land flowing with milk and honey. The remarkable history of America and its elevation to being a world power in it such a…