Recently I have been pondering the next critical events that are already pre planned for all believers. The one we are aware of and most freely discuss is the "meeting in the air." (1 Thessalonians 4:17) But what major event occurs next once we are "with the Lord?" We are pressed to remember it and slow to consider how essential it is. I can limit your time of guessing wh...

Over the years I have observed an interesting pattern in how people grow in their understanding of God as they pursue His Word. In the first reading of the Old Testament the initial reaction is, "God is a big bully. He completely destroys people for disobedience." Then the next reading they observe that God had warned them prior to bringing about their doom. The next phase...

Lessons from the Shepherd of the Largest Flock Recorded in the Old Testament The First 40 Years Exodus 2:1-10 - Provisions, Prestige and Power Moses had the best of all that Egypt had to offer. He is also aware of the plight of the Israelites. He sees an opportunity for vengeance. Notice his preparation to act in verse 12 "He looked this way and that (horizontal view) a...

Read Luke 8:40-56 This passage reveals the Spirit of God at work in Jesus. We need to start by remembering that Jesus never relied on His own deity during His earthly ministry (John 5:19, 30; 6:38; 8:28; 14:10). With that in mind let's consider what transpires one day as Jesus is traveling with the disciples. First, a ruler of the synagogue interrupts Jesus to plead with...

It's difficult for us in an affluent country to not buy into the idea of comfort. We see those around us who have things and we oftentimes long for those. These things aren't necessarily bad but where is our heart when it comes to finances? I believe it was Billy Graham who said something like show me someone's checkbook (that dates things) and their calendar and I'll show...

Today, in my devotional time I was in Proverbs 21 where it says; Every man's way is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the hearts. This passage freshly reminded me of something. When I feel like I'm hearing from the Lord through his Word, I write a note down with a date to remind me of how God has used the Bible to speak to me. I have numerous places in my Bible w...

As a father of three grown boys, I many times stand in awe of what God has done in and through their lives. The one that stands out so vividly to me is the journey of my oldest son, Sean. As with many of us in life, Sean chose the broad path which the Word clearly states leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13) and was a day away from being homeless, consumed by the things of t...

Recently the Lord has focused my attention on a very familiar passage. Before I mention it let me share some introductory thoughts. First of all, I am constantly amazed at how Jesus' teaching is so simple and concise and yet extremely profound. Each day I determine how I will approach living out my faith. Put simply, it is as though I daily stand at an intersection with t...

I'm in the swimming pool industry and have been since the early 90s. 1990s not 1890s. I currently work for a manufacturing company where we've been one of the fortunate ones, in that during COVID, we've absolutely exploded. I was also self-employed in the pool business in 2008 when the housing market crashed where we lost 90% of our income in a single year. During the cra...

During my first years of employment, I worked with a guy who had a personality like mine. We probably did not get a lot of work accomplished, but we sure enjoyed working together. He and his wife had marriage issues, so Diana and I were praying we could be used to help them resolve their differences. They had little to no interest in coming to know Jesus. They eventually d...