All Posts

With trumpets and the blast of the ram's horn shout triumphantly in the presence of Yahweh, our King. - Psalm 98:6 As the World Cup (of soccer) will soon be coming to the United States, my thoughts go back to one I enjoyed in Africa. It is memorable for many reasons, but one sticks in my mind. During the entire 2010 World Cup, there was a huge noise, and for me, this noise was a problem. I didn't like it. It was annoying. For those who attended, I understand, it was even deaf

If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For the person who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. - 1 John 4:20 Sometimes, as I read John the Apostle's writings, I wonder if he was always so direct. Since he was known as one of the "Sons of Thunder," perhaps he was. Of course, Jesus was an instrumental influence in the life of the human agent who crafted His Word and John also wrote under the inspiration of

Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns; Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved; He will judge the peoples with equity.” - Psalm 96:10 Obviously, much has been written, studied, and applied by amateur and professional missiologists alike in order to find a single "key" that will unlock an effective strategy for crossing cultural barriers, communicate a biblical message, and reach the unreached for Christ. Ultimately, whatever that message may include,

We love because He first loved us. - 1 John 4:19 As I read this verse once again, an old song crept into my head, andy es, I am about to "date" myself. It goes like this, "What the world needs now is love, sweet love; that's the only thing that there's just too little of." Sappy, but true. Of course, I am writing specifically in this context about the unconditional love of God in Christ Jesus. You see, while there may be places in the world where respect, honor, and hospital

For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, the sheep under His care. Today, if you hear His voice: Do not harden your hearts as at Meribah, as on that day at Massah in the wilderness where your fathers tested Me; they tried Me, though they had seen what I did. - Psalm 95:7-9 Have you ever paused to consider what a precious privilege it is to "hear God's voice?" While there are many ways for God to speak (and we must be careful when placing limits where He has no

There is no fear in love; instead, perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. So the one who fears has not reached perfection in love. - 1 John 4:18 How does "perfect love drive out fear?" God's love for me (in Christ Jesus) is a "covenant" love, irrevocable and unchangeable. Indeed, nothing can ever separate me from it. So ... Why fear failure ? God loves me. Why fear sickness ? God loves me. Why fear trial ? God loves me. Why fear people ? God loves me

Come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before Yahweh our Maker. For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, the sheep under His care. - Psalm 95:6-7 Who do you follow? The World Cup will be held all over the United States in 2026 and it will certainly draw the interest of many fans around the world. The one which I remember most occurred in 2010 and since we were living in Africa at the time, it was crazy! However, every team I backed in that Cup lost .

In this, love is perfected with us so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; for we are as He is in this world. - 1 John 4:17 When I was growing up, my dad and my brother liked to scare me. They wrongly assumed that since they liked to be scared, everyone else did, too. I survived it, but didn't handle it very well and later on became an adult with some unhealthy fears. Of course, now I'm solidly in my senior adult years and have overcome such childishness. Wait

Does He who disciplines nations not punish? Does He who teaches mankind lack knowledge? – Psalms 94:10 To be perfectly clear, God sees and knows everything. Nothing escapes His complete and perfect omniscience. God also disciplines all that He has created and brings it into subjection. Not one single human being lives in a godless vacuum; especially those of us who belong to Christ and certainly those of us who have been called into His vocational service. Each person will be

And we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him. - 1 John 4:16 "We have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us." Exactly how did those early believers come to such knowledge and belief? How do we? Ever wonder how? Ever wonder if God really loves you? While I have never wondered if God loves me, I admit that at times I have struggled to see some of His a

Because he is lovingly devoted to Me, I will deliver him; I will protect him because he knows My name. When he calls out to Me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble. I will rescue him and give him honor. I will satisfy him with a long life and show him My salvation. - Psalm 91:14-16 Have you sometimes wondered if, like the person addressed in this Psalm, you are "lovingly devoted" to the Lord? I certainly have. I mean, in the sense that a football fan might be dev

Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God — God remains in him and he in God. - 1 John 4:15 Is Jesus the Son of God? Those of us who follow Him should have no trouble affirming this truth, but did you know that for many others this is a huge barrier to their acceptance of Christ as Lord? Multitudes around the world believe that in order for Christ to be the Son of God, then God would have needed to engage in a physical relationship with Mary. In fact, they believe this

Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts. - Psalm 90:12 If the average life expectancy of a person is 80 years, then we may calculate that from the moment of birth to the moment of physical death, we have 29,200 days to live. If then we subtract 12 years (normally considered childhood), we are left with 24,820 "adult" days. Since we sleep (on average) eight hours a day, we may finally calculate that we have available to us about 16,63

And we have seen and we testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. - 1 John 4:14 What were we thinking when we agreed to become missionaries to Africa in 2008 (at the age of 50)?! My wife and I wrestled with this question many times in the year leading up to our departure. I mean, did we hear God right? Maybe He meant something else, or someone else! Of course, we ultimately arrived at the conclusion that God had not stuttered and (after many years of

I will not violate My covenant or change what My lips have said. - Psalm 89:34 Do you remember a time when agreements were sealed with a handshake and such "contracts" were considered as binding as anything a court might impose? Well, neither do I, but the idea is one with which we are all familiar and enamored, having had it passed down from those who have gone before us. We can all appreciate the tone and feeling such integrity emotes and even in our current litigious soci

This is how we know that we remain in Him and He in us: He has given to us from His Spirit. - 1 John 4:13 I once shared (in this space) that in order to effectively present an accurate picture of God's character to this world, He must remain among us (corporately) and in us (individually). The follow-up question for today is this, "How can we know if He is there?" The apostle gives a portion of the answer to that vital question in 1 John 4:13. We can know that God is among

Teach me Your way, Yahweh, that I may rely on Your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear Your name. – Psalms 86:11     It is so easy to lose focus in service of the Lord. No matter where or how we serve Him, there will always be competing demands on our time, tasks that threaten to take us away from the primary purpose for which we have been set apart.   For example, as a pastor there were a multitude of activities competing for my time and attention and I

No one has ever seen God. If we love one another, God remains in us and His love is perfected in us. - 1 John 4:12 OK, I was never very good at geography, but anyone with a map can see that Africa is huge ! In fact, the entire United States would fit in the portion that is considered West Africa. In this same region, there are also over 1,600 separate distinct people groups with their own language and culture. Wow! Yet, as immense (and in some ways incomprehensible) as Afric

As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a source of spring water; even the autumn rain will cover it with blessings. - Psalm 84:6 It seems that each year (on my annual journey through the Scriptures) I inevitably pause and reflect on these words from David. The illustration is intended to picture someone who makes his way to worship God on the mount in Jerusalem, but along the way must pass through the "Valley of Tears." The journey is difficult. There is loss.

Dear friends, if God loved us in this way, we also must love one another. - 1 John 4:11 After John explained the breadth and scope of God's love (as seen in the sacrifice of Christ Jesus), he told his "dear friends" (including Christ's followers today) that they must exercise this same kind of love within the family of God. Does this mean what I think it does? If Christ became sin so that a person could become the righteousness of God in Him, might that same person be asked