Just as Fall and Winter bring the dropping of leaves, leaving the branches to look disheveled and scrawny, Christians can also enter dark periods of their lives. They can feel confused, weak, depressed, discouraged, unenthusiastic, emotionally scrawny and scraggly. I wouldn’t say it’s normal, but every Christian I know has faced times like this. Fortunately, […]
God would make a great florist. He designed among flowers a variety of shapes, fragrances, and various colors. He made them fragile enough to be crushed with a boot, yet strong enough to withstand heavy rains and pelting hail. God planted at least three gardens: Garden of Eden – “The Lord God planted a garden […]
Recently I listened to a message by a good friend, George Bradley (Hosea 12:7-14:9 — Shepherd’s Gate Church PDX – shepherdsgatepdx.org). He was speaking about Hosea, one of the lesser-known prophets in the Bible. After the nation of Israel divided into two nations, during the reign of Jeroboam, the first king in the north, God […]
Though Jesus warned us that the Tribulation would be preceded with wars, it doesn’t make them any less awful. What we are witnessing in Israel and Ukraine right now are tragedies. Entire neighborhoods and cities have been decimated. As a result, far more tragic than damage to structures, has been the injury and loss of […]
After the exodus from Egypt, when Israel was to enter the land which God had promised to Abraham and his offspring, the people refused. As a result, God made them wander in the desert for forty years. At the end of that time, the Israelites had another opportunity to cross into Canaan, this time near […]
Our last study reviewed the elements of the Gospel of the Kingdom taught by Peter and the 12 for the Nation of Israel compared to the Gospel of the Grace of God revealed to the Apostle Paul for both individual Jews and Gentiles and it argued that Paul taught the Gospel of the Grace throughout […]
Frank Sinatra’s classic, “I Did It My Way,” sounded nice, as far as his voice was concerned, but the lyrics show a proud and arrogant man who faced life independent of others’ help. You’ve probably heard people say, “Nothing has ever been given to me. I’ve worked hard for everything I have.” They probably mean […]
We first encounter Gideon in Judges 6, attempting to hide his harvest from the Midianites by threshing it in the recesses of a winepress. Because of Israel’s rebellion, God had allowed the Midianites to ravage their harvests and herds for seven years. Now God was ready to break Midian’s yoke and to use Gideon to […]
Gathered together for safety, no one slept that fitful night. It’s hard to describe how slowly the hours of darkness crept along. And yet, without sleep, everyone in the room experienced the same nightmare. The gruesome scenes of Jesus bloodied stayed at the forefront of their minds. In the quiet of those long hours, their […]
After Moses died, Joshua led the people into the Promise Land. The first city encountered was Jericho. Not wanting Israel to assume the conquering of the city was due to their fighting skills, God instructed them to walk around the perimeter of the walled city once a day, carrying the Ark of the Covenant towards […]