All That I Have

All That I Have

Remember the children’s song about the boy who gave Jesus his “two little fish and five loaves of bread”? It closes with these words: “All that I have, All that I have, I will give Jesus all that I have.” That is a powerful promise and not one to be made lightly. And it is entirely in…

Cleansing Our Way

Cleansing Our Way

How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word” (Psalm 119:9). This scripture beckons us to think of prospects and possibilities beyond imagination. Youth is filled with promise. Energy and talent are ready to emerge. When youth has faded, there is an assurance of something more. Cleansing the way is…

Sovereignty and Chance

Sovereignty and Chance

The sovereignty of God is one of the basic tenets of our faith. To be sovereign means that God has the power and authority to do anything He wants that does not violate His nature ( lying, sin, etc.) and that He is in complete control of his creation. His sovereignty stems from the fact…

God’s Cement for Marriage

God’s Cement for Marriage

The King James translates Genesis 2:24, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” Other translations render the word “cleave” as “be joined to” (NKJV), “hold fast” (ESV), “cling” (NRSV), “bond with” (HCSB), and “unites” (NET). Cleave carries with it the idea…

Forty Lashes Minus One

Forty Lashes Minus One

Paul recounted in 2 Corinthians 11:24 that among his labors and sufferings for the sake of Christ, he’d been beaten five times by fellow Jews with “forty lashes minus one.” That description was uniquely Jewish. Neither the Romans nor any other ancient nation had a similar limitation. God’s word in Deuteronomy 25:3 stated that a…

What’s In Your Diet?

What’s In Your Diet?

Many people are very aware of what they put into their bodies. We have diets of all kinds for all people. You can have a paleo diet, a Mediterranean diet, Atkins, or diabetic. In some cases, these diets are for health reasons, and sometimes they are about how we feel about ourselves. Throughout the years,…

Is Baptism Just a Symbol?

Is Baptism Just a Symbol?

I believe baptism is for the remission of sins, that one is born into the kingdom of God through baptism in Jesus’s name, and that baptism is necessary in order to be saved.  When I teach about baptism, what I sometimes hear in response is, “Baptism is important, but it’s only a symbol.  We are…