Posts from 2023
Spiritual Eye Glasses
About the time I was in the fourth grade, I noticed that my vision was not as it should be. I couldn’t see the white board at the front of the classroom very clearly, and it was becoming more difficult to dodge the dodge ball in P.E. class. When I put on my first pair of glasses, the difference between what I saw before and my new perception was astounding. I could see the teacher’s handwriting from the back of…
Don’t Lose Heart
One of my favorite passages in the Bible is 2 Corinthians 4:16-18: “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that…
The One Who is Blessed
Rev. 1:3 … “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.” To most people the Book of Revelation is a very mysterious volume, full of cryptic passages. Some despair of understanding it, and consequently seldom read it. Others, however, look upon this terminal portion of the Bible as the key to understanding all the rest. Among these students one finds…
The Heart of Idolatry
Two notable Jewish philosophers who knew the Old Testament very well once concluded, “The central principle of the Bible is the rejection of idolatry.” As we read the narrative of the Bible from Genesis to Malachi, we will see that this is certainly true. Israel was charged to reject all counterfeit gods that competed with Yahweh for the people’s complete allegiance, reliance, and trust. The major conflict we see in the Old Testament was Israel’s rebellion against Yahweh, and choice…
The Open Door of Opportunity
Rev. 3:8b … “Behold, have put before you an open door, which no one can shut.” This statement of the Lord to the church in the city of Philadelphia in Asia Minor is perhaps the origin of the expression, “an open door of opportunity.” Observing that the Christians who composed this congregation possessed “a little power,” the Lord extended to them the opportunity to use it, though the text does not specify its nature. It suggests, however, that at least…
Love is Patient
“This world would be such a better place if it lacked those people.” This is the way I’m tempted to feel when I’m interrupted, when I sense that another person loves themselves just a little too much, when one’s personality clashes with my own, or when someone’s mistake inconveniences me in some way. When my patience is tested by the unpleasantness of those around me, it irks me, and makes me want to just avoid them. However, during these times,…