Duterte Calls God “Stupid”
In 2018, Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte questioned in a televised speech the biblical story of man’s creation and asked why God created Adam and Eve only to allow them to succumb to the temptation that destroyed their purity. “Who is this stupid God?” said the leader. “How can you rationalize a God? Do you believe […]
What Life As a Christian Should Look Like
A few years ago, I conducted a survey. When choosing who to question, I selected people of different ages and stages of life, in hopes of having diverse answers. Once I selected who I would conduct the survey with, I asked each person the same four questions. First, is life as a Christian difficult? Second, […]
A Truth That Each One Must Deal With
When we look at the matter honestly, we can see that everything comes down to one simple truth. The time comes when the reality we create for ourselves fades away. It is when this reality fades away that we’re confronted with this simple fact: we have no one but God who we can truly depend […]
Gambling Addendum
A while back we studied gambling on Sunday morning and I was so appreciative to hear the kind comments from brethren who are willing to stand strong against all forms (slot machines, lottery, raffles) of gambling in every degree ($1 lottery ticket, $5 raffle ticket, $1,000 poker wager). However, after the sermon, there were a […]
The Door Is Closed to the Unforgiving Spirit
A cornerstone to seeking God with honesty and integrity is that we must remove anger and resentment from our hearts. There is nothing that will keep us away from God more certainly than a failure to forgive those who have wronged us. Jesus said simply in Matthew 6:15, “If you do not forgive men their […]
What Am I Lacking?
We are reminded often in scripture that our search to better know and grow closer to God is connected to our daily interactions with other people, both believers, and nonbelievers. More than that, answers we find to struggles or questions about spiritual life can be found by how we interact with others. The giving and […]
Why Be a Christian?
Most people think if you have money, you have all the advantages in life — the disciples thought the same way. But Jesus showed that riches can be a distinct disadvantage (Mark 10:23-31). We want to show that the real advantages in this life are to those who are following Christ: A hope of God. […]
Closed Doors
Sometimes doors are opened to us. Opportunities lay before us that we shouldn’t pass up. Paul is a good case of this. He wrote in 1 Corinthians 16:9, “For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries” (cp. Acts 14:27; 2 Corinthians 2:12; Colossians 4:3). While he was anxious […]
Nicodemus and the New Birth
John 3 is one of the most significant chapters in the book. Of all the accounts of the life of Jesus, this interview with Nicodemus regarding a new birth is found only here. Nicodemus is identified as “a ruler of the Jews” (Jn. 3:1) and is one of the few of this elite class who […]
The Acts of Sin
The Israelites did not behave well when Moses was on Mount Sinai (Exodus 32:1). It is not surprising regarding what they did with the golden calf, for they were demonstrating some serious acts of sin — and one sin leads to another. The Restlessness of the People “And when the people saw that Moses delayed […]
