Missed Summit Attempt
A recent story made me think of evangelism. An Israeli, Nadav Ben-Yehuda, rescued a distressed climber, Aydin Irmak, who also was his best friend, on Mount Everest instead of pushing onward to the summit. Ben-Yehuda was climbing with a Sherpa guide when he came across Irmak near the summit. During a two day span of […]
Are You “Retreating” From the Lord?
For a long time, a lot of brethren have organized or participated in “retreats,” a daylong or weekend series of meetings for men or women to teach, study, pray, visit, etc. This arrangement provided it is not a church-sponsored recreational event, is not wrong in and of itself. Paul used several occasions to teach the […]
Do You Have a Cloud in Your Life?
In Exodus 20:21, after Moses received the ten commandments, the Israelites were terrified and asked for Moses to speak to them lest they die after witnessing the thunderings, lightnings, and sound of the trumpet. Exodus 20:21 says, “So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was.” The point […]
A House Divided
In Matthew 12:22-30, Jesus performed another miracle, confirming His word and His claim to be the Messiah. Some people thought He was the son of David while others, in hatred, thought Him to be Beelzebub. Jesus responded to the critics, knowing their thoughts. The Lord made three basic arguments: 1) The strong man must be […]
How Are Your Eyes?
How are your eyes? The average American gets an eye exam every 2 years. Most people would probably say their eyesight is the most valuable of their senses. We have all kinds of techniques today that are able to improve our vision. But how recently have you checked your spiritual eyesight? Jesus says that just […]
A Thousand Times … NO!
Ever notice that you can say “no” a thousand times, but all those “no’s” are canceled by one “yes”? Parents especially know the truth of the previous statement. “No, you cannot have a cookie, cannot have a cookie, cannot have a cookie! Okay, yes!” The cookie will be eaten! To concede and fail you do […]
Life, Death, and Judgment
If there is anything certain in this life it is the fact that you will die. In all of recorded history, there are only three individuals who did not die: Enoch (Genesis 5), Elijah (2 Kings 2), and Jesus (Acts 1). Of course, Jesus died, but He overcame death to live again. For the people […]
Are You Important?
Ephesians 4:4-6 illustrates the unity of God’s people with the very familiar words, “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” Paul […]
The Living Dead
Now that Halloween is over, I wanted to take a little time to reflect on the fact that there were a lot of “horror” movies on television that used the reoccurring theme of the “walking dead zombie.” The “living dead” has been a topic that has piqued the filmmaker’s interests for a long time, but […]
The Narrow and Broad Way
Back where I came from in Tennessee, the highest elevation in our county was Short Mountain. Although it was only about 2,200 feet, it was still a pretty steep Tennessee foothill. For fun, my friends and I often used to drive around the north side of Short Mountain. The condition of the road was rough, […]