What’s in a name? Take Andrew for example. The word means “man.” That’s it. There’s no larger metaphor attached to it. It’s as if his parents took a look at the boy child and suddenly were at a loss as to what to call him. So they took the easy...
The matter of our identity as people is addressed early in our Bibles. Genesis 1 and 2 define the essence of humanity in clear terms. The Lord made man from the dust of the earth, and man was made alive by a puff of His breath. The Creation account starts...
Before he was made a martyr, Stephen served and served well. He was first part of the solution for one of the initial church conflicts recorded in the book of Acts. We read of the trouble in Acts 6. The distribution of support for the widows of the congregation had...
Rise up, my love Immanuel awakens a listening ear. “Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.” “O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is...
All of us came from the boat. At least, that’s the message of the Bible. The Ark came to rest on Mount Ararat and Noah, his wife, his three sons and their wives emerged to set foot on dry ground for the first time in months. This father’s obedience to...
The elder brother could not share in his father's deep relief and joy, because although he had done all that was right in his father's eyes, he had not done so with a perfect heart, in response to his father's heart of love.
Martha deserves better. She’s taken a lot of hits from preachers and teachers over the centuries because of a small bit of Scripture in Luke: “But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to Him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to...
Christmas will not be the same “Cast down, but not destroyed.” Paul’s words to the Corinthian Church ring in our ears, but distress or despair wait to overtake us. Our family member has gone home to be with the Lord. It was just yesterday and now its holiday time — Christmas...
The wise men watched the skies. These men of night vision cataloged constellations and planets. The sighting of the “Star” must have been a moment unlike any other for them. Comets and asteroids came and went, but this Light was of another kind. It stood still, as if to show...
"The fear of the Lord", key in overcoming lying vanities and living in a redemptive revelation of God, simply means that we esteem Him His Word, His ways, more important and necessary than anything or anyone else in our lives.
