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Heaven in a Box

If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. I Corinthians 15:19 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. Rev. 22:1&2 Do we think about giving the gift of heaven to our children? It is impossible, of course, to wrap up even a small piece of heaven in a […]

Are You Santas’ Helper

Your children know everything about you. They see when you are sleeping, they know when you have been good or bad, they know when you pout and when you shout. Your kids know all of this without your ever having to say a word. When you stumble and ask God for help — they learn. When you stumble and snap or make excuses — they learn from that, too. If you value your relationship with God above all else, your children will know that as well. What does this have to do with being Santa’s helper? Just this: in Psalm 72:18 we read that “God alone does marvelous things.” However, at Christmas time, for little children someone else is portrayed […]

Gospel Expectations – Part 2

Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him. —Matthew 21:31b-32 Expectations play a vital but often misunderstood role in our relationships with teenagers. One of the main sources of discouragement and frustration with teenagers (actually, for all relationships) is their failure to behave as we expect them to in a particular situation. Among other things,  we expect that good judgment will be exercised; we expect […]

Is there no God?

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 1 Corinthians 1:18 Umm… what does God have to do with ANYTHING about the financial sector of this or any country? You Jesus freaks are all the same… "money is bad, if you lose everything, god will still love you, blah blah blah" When will people wake up and realize we can't keep falling back on a false deity when things go bad? God has become a defense mechanism. Wake up! there is no God! and if there is, he doesn't care how much money you just lost! quit trying to make yourselves feel […]

Christmas Lights and Christmas Lights

“Can you bind the beautiful Pleiades? Can you loose the cords of Orion?  Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons or lead out the Bear with its cubs? Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you set up God’s dominion over the earth? Job 38:31-33 I was fascinated by viewing a short clip about a massive Christmas Light display at a home in Pittsburgh, PA. These folks put in an enormous amount of work to make this display happen. Here are just a few of the statistics about this light display:  *There are over 200,000 lights connected to over 5 1/2 miles of extension cord. *It took over 3 months to put up the lights, but we work on the display year round. […]

Gospel Expectations

"What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work today in the vineyard.' " 'I will not,' he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. "Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, 'I will, sir,' but he did not go. "Which of the two did what his father wanted?"       "The first," they answered. Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but […]

Forming Biblical Expectations

"What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work today in the vineyard.' " 'I will not,' he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. "Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, 'I will, sir,' but he did not go. "Which of the two did what his father wanted?"       "The first," they answered.    Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but […]

Teenagers and Expectations

"What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work today in the vineyard.' " 'I will not,' he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. "Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, 'I will, sir,' but he did not go.  "Which of the two did what his father wanted?"       "The first," they answered. Matthew 21:28-31 Being a teenager is not always easy. This has something to do with why it is not always easy to be the parent of a teenager. As children grow into teenagers, the expectations of both teens and parents also grow. Much […]

The Greatness of Knowing Christ’s Word

The law from your mouth is more precious to me        than thousands of pieces of silver and gold. —Psalm 119:72 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. —Colossians 3:16 This is the season for giving gifts. Parents everywhere are thinking about what their children want for Christmas and, perhaps, what they would like to give their children for Christmas—two things which are not always the same.  More often than not, values differ; that difference leaves you with the question, what should we get the kids for Christmas? Consider your own values. […]

The Greatness of Knowing Christ

But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. Philippians 3:7&8 The law from your mouth is more precious to me        than thousands of pieces of silver and gold. Psalm 119:72 Knowing Christ is a great thing. That is easy to say but challenging to live. Just how great is it? Taken at face value, Paul’s words in Philippians are stunning. So is the verse from Psalm 119. Nothing compares to knowing Christ and loving his words. These are two themes from the Gospels that are […]