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Do we love with mere sentimentality repeating words such as "I love you," saying to a person in need "I wish you well," or listening to or reading God's Holy Word all without further action? Apostle John said, "Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and in truth" (1 John 3:11-[18]). "For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting" (John 3:1-[16]-21). By believing in Jesus, we act upon...
At this time of year, when daylight is in short supply, I am reminded of the restorative blessing of darkness. My chickens first alerted me to the necessity of the dark. As daylight fades in the fall, so does their egg production. The sunlight signals their bodies to produce. Darkness gives them much needed rest for their little bodies. For most of my life darkness has always meant something bad or scary. Unknown. Mysterious. Frightening. I slept with a nightlight growing up to keep "monsters"...
“In Him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” John 1:4-5 There is an old analogy that goes as follows: Imagine a room with no windows or outside light coming in. In the middle of that room there is a thick curtain that, when drawn, allows no light through it. On one side, it is completely dark to the point where one cannot even see their own hand in front of their face. The other side is fully illuminated by the light of a bright candle. When the curtain is pul...
It seems like we are regularly bombarded with conflicting truth claims. From advertising (who makes the best truck/dishwasher/phone) to politics (which candidate or issue should we support) to sports to religion and other everyday conversations, we constantly have opportunities to evaluate what we believe is true. If you have had the opportunity to sit on a jury, you were involved in a process of trying to evaluate the truth of the case. Christmas is nearly here and is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. He was born a couple of...
"In the beginning..." You might be thinking the next words in this quote are: "...God created the heavens and the earth." But today we will be finishing the quote in the gospel of John. Often, when we read the Christmas story, we turn to Matthew or Luke. But I'd like to look at the birth of Christ through John's perspective in his gospel. Instead of looking at the story narratively, as Matthew and Luke do, we will be looking at it theologically. The first verse of John's gospel starts with the...
1 Corinthians 10:21 “You are not able to drink the cup of the Master and the cup of demons. You are not able to partake of the table of the Master and the table of demons.” Our journey takes us past two cups and two tables. We can choose one cup and one table. We can choose the Master’s cup and table or the demon’s cup and table. The righteous cup and table is uncluttered and has its start and finish in the word of Elohim; easy to discern because it will set you apart from the world. You may not choose from the Master’s table and the demons’ t...
The apostle Paul writes, "in everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you" (1 Thess. 5:18). As Christians celebrate Thanksgiving each year and enjoy time with loved ones, we hope they will continue to display the same kind of gratefulness to God for our many freedoms and blessings in the sincerity exemplified by our courageous forefathers. Every Thanksgiving season I sit down and write a list and then meditate about all the blessings I have been provided from...
It was another one of those times when the cupboards began to look like Ol' Mother Hubbard's pantry. It seemed like a time to worry. However, Jesus reminded me in Matthew 6 how "He takes care of the birds of the air...and not to worry about tomorrow." So I had to come up with a plan or so I thought. No work locally. But God had a better purpose. For the same chapter sez "to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these thing will be given to you as well." So my wonderful wife...
Perhaps you've heard the expression, "Born once, die twice" or "Born twice, die once." These are both references to the verse in the book of John where Jesus explains to Nicodemus what it means to be "Born again. Jesus explains the first birth is a physical birth, and the second is a spiritual birth, or awakening. Paul explains in Romans 6:4, "We were therefore buried with him through baptism unto death in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the father, we too...
I read a story about a frequent airline traveler who commented about observing exemplary service on a regular flight. On this occasion, the flight attendants were absolutely fantastic. The traveler noted that the flight crew was the most attentive, responsive flight crew he had ever seen. So, toward the end of the flight, he stopped one of the flight crew members and said, "Excuse me, I don't mean to bother you, but I fly a lot and I have never seen a flight crew like this. You are the most...
On a blue gray day in 1517, a German Augustinian monk, pastor and university professor nailed a document on the castle church door in Wittenberg, Saxony. The day was Oct. 31. The occasion was the eve of All Saint's. The Nov. 1 celebration was a community event. Town's people would gather at St. Mary's church, where the pastor preached, to remember and celebrate the lives of the Christian martyrs who died confessing their faith. University professors and students would gather to celebrate at the...
"Pure Truth, Pure Doctrine, and Pure Revelation" - President Russell M. Nelson. The pure doctrine of Christ is powerful. It changes the life of everyone who understands it and seeks to implement it in his or her life. The doctrine of Christ helps us find and stay on the covenant path. Staying on that narrow but well-defined path will ultimately qualify us to receive all that God has. Nothing could be worth more than all our Father has! Finally, pure revelation for the questions in your heart wil...
We are in the middle of autumn here in the Swan Valley. The leaf trees are just getting past their peak color and the larch needles are just starting to turn yellow. Thinking about the process of leaves (and needles) changing colors, it is a bit ironic that the process that brings out the beauty, is also the one that leads to their ultimate demise. The color change happens as the life-giving green chlorophyll breaks down and disappears. This reveals other often brilliant colors that are in the leaves as well. However, inevitably, the leaves fal...
(Catholics worship God only and honor the Blessed Virgin Mary.) What is the Rosary? In cooperation with the Holy Spirit, the Rosary is a recited prayerful meditation on Christ's life through His joyful, sorrowful, glorious and expanded luminous mysteries (meaning things hidden in God until He reveals them). We were commanded to pray the Rosary for peace in the world and for the conversion of souls by Church-approved Marian apparitions (supernatural appearances of the Blessed Virgin Mary). *Read...
9 “Therefore, let all Israel know beyond question that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” 37 When the crowd heard this, they were deeply troubled. They said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” (Acts 2:36-37) While the global pandemic of COVID-19 has revealed the brokenness of so much of our society, one very ugly bit has emerged in my world: blatant Christian nationalism. I saw it in stars-and-stripes banners claiming Jesus as Lord, held by angry violent people storming the Capital...
The world around us is obsessed with the pursuit of happiness. But what if I told you I had no interest in the pursuit of happiness but am instead more interested in the pursuit of joy? Let me explain. Happiness is a fleeting momentary circumstantial emotion whereas joy is a more permanent state of being. When we receive good news we may be happy, but this happiness can be quickly dashed by bad news. Because joy is a permanent state of being, I and many others choose to find joy in Christ. This...
Romans 8:7,8: “Because the mind/though life of the flesh is enmity towards Elohim, for it does not subject itself to the Torah/word of Elohim, neither indeed is it able,” v.8 “and those who are in the flesh are unable to please Elohim.” The flesh/self-life thrives/operates on the law/Torah of diminishing return. That is, it needs more and more and more. It will eventually not be satisfied by truth/Word of Elohim and will develop a lust for traditions, inherited doctrines of men, legends, fantasies and fables that are unheard of in the Scriptu...
I remember a man who stopped me once after a church service to tell me some of his troubles. He was not happy with some of the developments in his life and seemed to believe that telling at least one more person how he felt would give him some satisfaction. I listened for some time as he described some decisions he had made that resulted in pain and difficulty. Eventually I got a word in and asked if he felt anyone had pressured him to make those decisions. "No," he replied. "It was actually...
Often I find that our human nature is at war with our spiritual nature (God's plans and desires for us). Galatians 5 beginning in verse 17, offers a picture of that struggle. In Romans 12:2 Paul says, "Do not conform to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will." All too often, I find Christians try to replace the Word of God with some reasoning of their own...
In order to teach us how to pray, Jesus gave us the Lord's Prayer to serve as an outline to guide our own prayers. Not only does the Lord's Prayer teach us elements of prayer to incorporate, we also see a Biblical worldview to change our thinking. Within a Biblical worldview, there are only the kingdom of the world and the kingdom of God. The arrival of Jesus into our world inaugurated the spiritual Kingdom of God with Jesus as king. We choose the kingdom of God when Jesus is ruler over our...
"For they are in great terror, for God is with the generation of the righteous." Psalm 14:5 ESV Sadly, we live in a time of terror. For a generation, the defining event is 9/11. For my generation, flying will never be the same. I wonder if in some ways, we have become accustomed to the threat of terrorism. With the Olympics beginning, I remember the events of Munich in 1972 when terror struck the games. No doubt the Olympic organizers have planned for such an event. Terror is a most unpleasant...
Before we were born on earth, we all lived with Heavenly Father as His spirit children. He presented a plan to help His children learn and grow. Through His plan, we can become more like Him and be worthy to enjoy eternal life. This plan is possible because God’s Son Jesus Christ came to earth to suffer for our sins, a sacrifice called the Atonement. God sent us to earth, where we could have a physical body (see Genesis 1:26–27). We needed bodies to help us experience life on earth. God knew that we would not feel happy all the time. We exp...
“This is the day the Lord has made …” (Psalm 118:24) For some of us, this season of COVID has felt a bit like the movie Groundhog Day. Have you seen it? In the movie, Bill Murray plays a cynical TV weatherman who finds himself reliving the same day, over and over again, when he goes on location to Punxsutawney to report about their annual Groundhog Day. His predicament just about drives him crazy until he sees a different way of looking at it. Is that what the psalmist meant when he wrote, “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice...
Reasons many oppose Jesus' one, true Faith: • Free will....whoever does not gather with Me scatters" (Luke 11:14-[23]). Without remaining with Jesus in His sacraments, whereby we obey His commandments, "we can do nothing" fruitful in His eyes (John 15:1-[5]-27). • Unbelief. Why would Jesus establish one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church, where He would always be with us in His sacraments, if He didn't intend that we join Him there, see Matthew 28:16-[20]? Our participation is commanded by Je...
“5 Let your gentleness show in your treatment of all people. The Lord is near. 6 Don’t be anxious about anything; rather, bring up all of your requests to God in your prayers and petitions, along with giving thanks. 7 Then the peace of God that exceeds all understanding will keep your hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:5-7, CEB) Over the years I have noticed how entangled anxiety and defensiveness are. Some of the most highly defensive people I have encountered are also the m...
