Escaping the Snare
Indians and pioneers 200-300 years ago provided for themselves by hunting with traps and snares. Contrast that to today’s hunting with rifles or crossbows done mostly for sport or as an alternative meat source. Currently, snares and traps are primarily geared towards humanely capturing animals to relocate them. Regardless of…
Read MoreA Good Thing the Wrong Way
After David had secured his position as King over Israel, his desire was to bring the Ark of the Covenant to be with him in Jerusalem. The Ark, containing the tablets of the Ten Commandments given to Moses, represented God’s presence among His people. 1 Chronicles 13:7-8 details the celebration:…
Read MoreJust Visiting
Most parents with school-aged children have at some point visited their children’s school and classroom. Depending upon the school, visitors are often required to wear a nametag identifying VISITOR, unless the parent is a frequent volunteer and granted more leniency. Regardless, the tag notifies teachers and children alike that the…
Read MoreWho Has Known the Mind of God
If the majority of believers could be polled regarding whether they know God, 98 -100% would say yes, because salvation is based on knowing Jesus as personal Savior and as the Son of God. It is interesting that during Jesus’ earthly ministry, He addressed His disciple, Phillip, saying, “Don’t you know…
Read MoreAvoiding the Presumption of Proximity
“Remain in Me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me.” (John 15:4) While Jesus was teaching His disciples in the hours before His crucifixion, He made an important distinction…
Read MoreUnexpected Side Effects
Did Jesus get tired? We know that God the Father neither slumbers nor sleeps (Psalm 121:4), but did Jesus as the Son of God and the Son of Man suffer physical fatigue? In John’s account of the Samaritan woman at the well, we read about her “happenstantial” meeting with Jesus. …
Read MoreThe Meeting of Opposites
Understanding the complex character of God is one of the believer’s big challenges. The God of the Old Testament seems harsh and unyielding in contrast to the New Testament God of love and grace. This has created such dissonance that many people prefer placing their study focus on the New…
Read MoreWhat’s In Your Hands?
Luke 9:12-17 records Jesus feeding 5000 men with five loaves of bread and two fish. The result was that all ate, everyone was satisfied, and the disciples picked up 12 baskets of broken pieces leftover. Luke didn’t give much detail about the precise way Jesus did this except to say,…
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