Some years ago, featured on a 60 Minutes program was a musical performance, “Alive & Kickin’”. The cast was all over fifty-five. Their stories were deeply compelling; overcoming drug addiction, renewing life after a criminal past, and family tragedy. These were individuals who, due to the vagaries of life, missed opportunities to sing and perform. They were castaways being given a second chance to find their voice. In a sense, God has given each of us a second chance to live a radically … [Read more...] about Don’t Squander Your Opportunity
God's Plan
Prophecy: Knowing the Future in Advance
When Paul began to address problems in the Church in Corinth, he clearly explained that the wisdom of God is a mystery, but that the things of God are revealed through His Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ addressed this stating that the Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth and will tell us of things to come (John 16:13). So we have a combination of truth and "things to come" as an aspect of the Holy Spirit. And Peter said that those who were given the Holy Spirit now have minds that … [Read more...] about Prophecy: Knowing the Future in Advance
Prophecy’s Relevance Today
As events in this world move along at a rapid pace, there’s an ever-growing interest in prophecy. We don’t want to get into the position of forcing parts of prophecy to come together to fit like a puzzle, but to take what is revealed to us by God, progressively putting them together to make an image that is factual according to scripture, not an interpretation of man. Peter is a particularly good place to start: " knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private … [Read more...] about Prophecy’s Relevance Today
Christmas: Does It Matter?
In a popular 1965 Broadway musical set in tsarist Russia, the main character insisted that tradition provided balance in the villagers’ lives and that, without traditions, their lives would be “as shaky as a fiddler on the roof.” Traditions are indeed comfortable and somehow reassuring. If we leave the security of the customs we have grown up with, we feel shaken and a bit unstable, as Tevye so eloquently said. Tradition plays a powerful role in the customs that various cultures embrace. … [Read more...] about Christmas: Does It Matter?
New Year’s Day
In just a few days, the world will celebrate New Years Day. Billions of people will participate either by watching through mass media or physically joining in the festivities. To the masses, this practice is secular, enjoyable, and serves as a time to bring the world together. On the surface, this may appear to be true, however, we only need to do a small amount of research to quickly find this is not the case. In 45 B.C., Julius Caesar reformed the calendar, now known as the Julian Calendar, … [Read more...] about New Year’s Day
The Image of Jesus Christ
"Where there is no vision, the people perish" (Proverbs 29:18 KJV). The word “vision” in this scripture is used in a prophetic sense, a revealed understanding of a future reality. It says that if we lack a purpose and a clear direction of where we are going and how to get there, we are not going to "get there". Knowing where we are going and our purpose, our intent, is extremely important. God gives humanity a purpose, a destination, and He gives us a way to get there. The Bible is a complete … [Read more...] about The Image of Jesus Christ
Agape Love
I would like to consider an approach to the fourth commandment, around the concept of Godly love, stemming from the Greek word “agape." Within religious communities, there are stark differences. Christians often reject the fourth commandment as it is stated in the Bible, whereas observant Jews often adhere to it with Pharisaical strictness. Yet God intended the Sabbath to be a blessing to humanity, a day of rest, a break from all the weekly responsibilities so we would remain connected to … [Read more...] about Agape Love