We continue to repeat many of the same verses from Scripture as we work our way through this study. While this may be annoying to some, teachers know that repetition is a good teaching tool. But going over these verses is more than simply repeating. It is imprinting.  The stamping, embedding, engraving, and etching of these verses into the core of our being is important. The Scriptures tell us that the Holy Spirit will bring back to our remembrance that which we have learned.

Most of us have no trouble admitting that we often make unwise choices, say unwise things, and think unwise thoughts. One of the “go-to” passages of Scripture for believers who recognize their weakness in wisdom is James 1:5. “ If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you .” Why ask God for wisdom? James doesn’t go into a detailed explanation of that subject. The text implies that we ask God for

Though we have looked generally at the impact of God’s control on humanity, we now turn to more specific references about how God exercises His sovereignty in our personal lives. We also need to consider our responsibilities as God works out His will in us.   While we have previously considered the broad implications of God’s control over all humanity, it is important now to focus more specifically on how God’s sovereignty operates in our individual lives. The way God exercis

“Mother Nature” is a familiar phrase to most of us. Its origins lie in European history, where it was used simply as a personification of nature. Later, in Greek and Roman myth, Mother Nature was transformed into a goddess. Similar expressions are found in the Americas and in Asia.   This reference to “Mother Nature” has influenced, and perhaps sullied, our understanding of God’s sovereignty over nature. Subconsciously, we have distanced God from His creation, perhaps because

Image by Couleur from Pixabay For fifteen years, I served in Venezuela as part of a church-planting team. During those years, Hugo Chavez came to power. I was told that, for a time after he was pardoned for a failed coup and allowed to return from exile, he stayed in the same apartment complex where I lived. The euphoria that followed his election as President quickly gave way to worry, then fear, as the last vestiges of democracy disappeared. During those tumultuous years,

At the end of his letter to the church at Colossae, Paul mentions a man named Epaphras. He writes: “ He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured .”   Epaphras prayed that the followers of Jesus would be committed to carrying out God’s will. There was a time when the phrase “Lord willing” was fairly common in conversation and in prayer. During one group discussion of this chapter, someone asked whether the

The Phillips Translation renders 1 Timothy 6:15 as: “ God…is the blessed controller of all things, the King over all kings and the Master of all masters .” I like the word “controller.” Being in control is something most of us wish for ourselves. We desperately want to chart our own course and be masters of our own fate, as the saying goes. Anger and frustration dog our days when we discover that we have little, if any, control over anything!   The state of our world and the

When I first sat down to work on this book, it was 2020, a year that will go down in infamy. A worldwide pandemic had kept most of us in isolation since early that year. According to the World Health Organization, as of November 13, 2020, almost 53 million people had contracted the virus and more than a million had died. A second wave was followed by a third, and the numbers changed drastically. Many lost their jobs, their businesses, and certainly their sense of security. By

When I was 18 or 19, I lived in a small apartment in Toronto, Ontario. I was in my second year of seminary. My roommate and I didn't have laundry facilities in the building in which we lived so we had to walk a few blocks up the street to a laundromat. One evening, as I sat in the laundromat, a young man sat down beside me. He noticed what I was reading—a book that was on the required reading list for one of the courses I was taking. We started to talk and the conversation qu

There was a time, long, long ago, when my brother and I would eagerly await the arrival of Fall and every train that rolled into our northern Ontario hometown. We knew that on one of those trains there would be wonderful gifts with our names on them. No socks, shirts or pajamas—at least not on the train. Fall meant that a box of apples and another one of pears from the farm of one of our uncles would surely be arriving any day. Fresh fruit was hard to get and expensive up no

It came up again this morning during a Zoom meeting. It's one of those things we seem to want to avoid acknowledging. " Simon, Simon,...

This title is from an old popular song to which I know only a few words, but it came to mind this morning as I sat down to write this...

Grumbling is so often easier than gratitude. Heavens knows there is a lot to complain about in life. Tyrants, taxes, and troubles,...

Recently a friend mentioned to me that as she has grown older she has come to realize more and more that the only thing important in life...

Discover the Beauty Take a sometimes whimsical journey with me to explore the wonder of the God we worship. Shades of God is a...

Image by Mo ein from Pixabay I received an astonishing message from an American FACEBOOK friend this week. He wanted me to know that he...

On the agenda of the new administration in the United States is the rooting out of corruption at all levels of government. Such an...

The flood that hit my office at the end of 2024, just before Christmas break, was nothing compared to this. I could have cried at the...

“Let there be light” and the darkness gave way. The brush was raised to paint the blue of heaven’s sky and water’s hue. But no dull...

Ben stretches, reluctantly shaking himself awake. Here and there, others are stirring. He knows that once Ren appears, even the shy ones...