The very last time the word “family” is used in the Bible this is what is said, “For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named…” (Ephesians 3:14-15). This is the opening statement of a longer thought the apostle Paul was having. He was praying for the church to have everything God intended for it to have: Love for God and Christ, a full understanding of Christianity and its blessings, strength in the inner man, and that Christ might dwell in individual hearts by faith. Truly he is expressing in this text the…

I once knew a family that got a lot of free pies. The reason was that there was an elderly gentleman who had an unusual “tradition.” This man wanted his wife to fix a fresh pie for their noon meal. As I remember it, if this was not a daily occurrence, it was an almost daily occurrence. The man and his wife each enjoyed a piece of freshly baked pie at lunch and then gave the rest of the pie to the people I knew. They weren’t merely trying to be nice, however. Instead, if you can believe it, the elderly gentleman absolutely refused to eat leftover pie. It seems…

The half-brother of our Lord wrote what is often considered the most practical book of the New Testament. The five chapters of James are filled with teachings that are needed in the day-to-day walk of Christian living. One of the more well-known passages in that book is James 1:22, where we are told in a straightforward manner: But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. (ESV) Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! (MSG) I dare say that nearly 100% of those who would…

How often have you seen, but not seen? How often has somebody pointed out something to you that has been there all along, but which you have just never noticed? Let me give you an example. Have you ever noticed the arrow in the Federal Express logo? It is supposed to indicate that this a company “on the move.” I have no idea how many FedEx trucks, packages, commercials, etc, I’ve seen during my lifetime. I never “saw” the arrow in their logo until it was pointed out to me. Even then, I had some difficulty. For years, the significance of that part of the logo was lost on me.…

The more I study the Bible, the more I am amazed at how plainly God repeatedly tries to get us to understand. Most people recognize the verse from Joshua 24:15: “Choose this day whom you will serve … But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” However, many do not realize that this is a theme repeated all throughout scripture. Even more do not realize why God so often calls on us to choose. Look at two specific passages that both call on us to choose, but also explain why. In Deuteronomy 30, Moses is saying goodbye to the children of Israel. He has loved and led…