God’s Severity Is for Our Good
“Therefore, this is what the LORD God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Listen! I am going to bring on Judah and on everyone living in Jerusalem every disaster I pronounced against them. I spoke to them, but they did not listen; I called to them, but they did not answer.’” -Jeremiah 35:17 It’s true that the God revealed in the Bible is the quintessence of love, loyalty, generosity, forgiveness, and longsuffering. Yet he can show a severe side that is designed
Despair: Bleached Bones in the Desert
O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath. 2 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing; heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled. 3 My soul also is greatly troubled. But you, O Lord—how long? 4 Turn, O Lord, deliver my life; save me for the sake of your steadfast love. 5 For in death there is no remembrance of you; in Sheol who will give you praise? 6 I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my
Just the Right Time
By Mike Page Have you had several things come together simultaneously so that without one, the other couldn't have happened or couldn't have been as successful? Science is good at this. Take a look at how Watson and Crick arrived at the final structure of DNA. In 1953, James Watson and Francis Crick published an article entitled "Molecular Structure of DNA." It was the very first time the classic double helix structure of DNA had been published. But you don't come up with
A Christian Life: Don’t Take It for Granted!
I hope you spent a wonderful Christmas day celebrating the joyful event of Jesus’ birth. Because of his birth, regardless of whatever situation we are currently facing, we can take Jesus’ promise to heart, “with God all things are possible.” On Christmas Eve, I turned on the faucet and was greeted with tepid water. This began a series of unfortunate events and made for spells of tremendous surprised yells and outbursts of laughter from my family. The water progressed from tepid
Your 100 Day Prayer: Day 43 – Live Forever
by TJ Bates Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. -Romans 10:13 Have you ever had to call a friend or 911 or yell to a lifeguard and ask them to save you? Isn't it mind-boggling to think that all we have to do to be saved for eternity is just to call upon the name of the Lord? "This and other simple straightforward statements end the debate on who will and can be saved for eternal life. Each
Dust in the Wind—Here Today, Gone Tomorrow
Perhaps you remember the old song, “Dust in the Wind” by Kansas. The point of it was that human beings are merely dust in the wind, nothing more—here today, gone tomorrow. And, when it’s all over, that’s about all there is to say: Same old song Just a drop of water in an endless sea All we do Crumbles to the ground, though we refuse to see Dust in the wind All we are is dust in the wind It’s pretty depressing, but there is some stark
Ash Wednesday: Mercy and Grace
The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him. -Daniel 9:9 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance? -Romans 2:4 There’s no other place except in God’s character where both perfect justice and perfect mercy are balanced. We can’t try to measure his grace and mercy, or any other part of his personality, by our standards or experience—there is no other example
From the Pastor: In 2020—Plan for Joy
We plan for everything in our lives: education, career, children, school, marriage, babies, taxes, and even death. The Westminster Catechism asks us: What is the chief end of man? The answer, of course, is: Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever. So do you plan for joy and enjoying God in your life? The article, Laughter is the Best Medicine: The Health Benefits of Humor and Laughter, points out the benefits of being joyful: Humor is
