What does the word “overcome” evoke in you? Does the thought of overcoming seem negative and uninviting in your mind? On the other hand, does it fill your mind with eager anticipation of something new, deeper, and more fulfilling than ever before? The natural man doesn’t get any uplift with the idea of overcoming. The…

As one political commentator observed this week, “Clearly, the West is in serious trouble.” I read it this way – clearly, the modern-day nations of Israel are in serious trouble! We, as God’s people, are being prepared to work with Christ in serving humanity as it crawls out from under a time that has never…

Have you ever wrestled over the term, “God’s true Church”? Surely it is either God’s Church or it is not. If it is God’s Church, then it would be true. “… the living and true God” (1 Thessalonians 1:9). However, we all know that the real issue is that many different churches of varying beliefs…

The natural function of man’s mind is to limit God. It is a human proclivity to try and put a box around God – using human intellect to attempt to define God’s invisible attributes. A recent article posed a question that was originally attributed to Einstein: “If there is a God who created the entire…

The prophet Zechariah paints a word picture for us of a time ahead that we can anticipate. In particular he speaks directly to the city of Jerusalem as the place where God will dwell. It will not be like the city of Jerusalem we know today. Jeremiah lamented over the sorry state of the city…

It is sobering in many ways to see prophecies that we have talked about for decades suddenly taking form right in front of our very own eyes. We have been well informed through scripture and the teaching of it, but the sudden reality we see around us is still startling. The most sobering aspect of…

There seems to be no respite from the avalanche of information pouring over us every day. Regularly we hear news that causes consternation – not only from the information but because we are forced to question its veracity. Some “unbelievable” news turns out to be true, so we are left to wonder what is true…

Someone once said, “We like to see politicians pray with uplifted hands. It keeps their hands where we can see them.” That is somewhat humorous but still a very telling statement. But also telling is this one, “If the statements of opposing political candidates are true, none of them is fit to hold public office.”…

In 1849, French writer Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr wrote, “Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose” — “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” Without the context for his making this statement, we are left to ponder his intended application. But it takes very little thought to see the application for where we are some 170…

The events of this week in the U.S. where we have seen the inauguration of a President surrounded by a massed security force and protests, should have made us look for God’s hand. Not His hand in the disorder and angst, but His hand in the progress toward the establishment of His Kingdom. King Nebuchadnezzar…

The book of Lamentations is not the usual go-to book when we think of encouragement. Lamentations is written by Jeremiah and features the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. Jeremiah begins by depicting Jerusalem as a widow in mourning. ”She weeps bitterly in the night, her tears are on her cheeks …“.  He laments her…

The prayer given by the guest US House of Representatives chaplain for the opening of the 117th Congress is a good window into how God is being regarded today. Not only did he include references to a “monolithic god, Brahma” but the prayer concluded by reference to a “god known by many names and by…

The one commandment that is a major stumbling block to the human mind is the command to keep the Sabbath. Many of the other commandments are reasonably accepted as part of a civil society and the concepts have been built into the rule of law of western society. But the Sabbath is a law that…