In our Bible class last Sunday morning we were discussing the “whole armor of God,” detailed in Ephesians 6. We spent some time talking about the spiritual realm, which is beyond my comprehension. How, exactly, does Satan roam the earth? Who all, exactly, make up the “cosmic powers over this present darkness” from verse 12? We also spent time with the specifics of the pieces of armor: The belt of truth, which holds all things together. The breastplate of righteousness, which protects from the kill shot to the heart. The helmet of salvation, which guards our minds by giving us an assurance of eventual victory in Christ. It was at some…

Every so often, I will hear or read the thoughts of someone who wants there to be miracles in our modern times. Of course, the New Testament clearly teaches that miracles served their purpose of confirming the Word, and they were done away with once the written Word was complete (study 1 Corinthians 12-14 carefully, along with other passages). However, as we strive to reach others with the Gospel, we can begin to pine for the days when some amazing miracle drew a crowd. So, people then begin to think, “If we only had miracles today, people would believe.” Trust me, I get where they are coming from. It can…

The words of a particular song often sung by the church go like this – “I just want to be where You are, in Your dwelling place forever. I don’t want to worship from afar, draw me near to where You are. I want to be where You are, dwelling in Your presence, feasting at Your table, surrounded by Your glory. In Your presence, that’s where I always want to be. I just want to be, I just want to be with You.” The obvious message in this song is the desire we have to be in heaven with God forever. We don’t want to be separated from Him at…

One of the common responses I get when I try to encourage people to attend Polishing the Pulpit is that it is a week long and people say that they just cannot take a week off of work. However, did you know that Polishing the Pulpit (PtP) actually begins with “Spiritual Renewal Weekend?” This part of PtP starts on Friday evening and concludes with worship on Sunday morning. If you have never attended PtP, let me encourage you to dip your toe in the water by attending Spiritual Renewal Weekend. I always tell people that, if you will do that, you’ll be finding ways to attend the whole week as soon…

It’s no fun to be hated. It’s no fun to be disliked. It’s no fun to have things said about you that are demeaning. It’s no fun to be thought of in a negative light. We all want to be well thought of. We might not need to be the center of attention, but we would probably all at least desire to be liked. And since the 21st-century culture is now screaming, “Tolerance!” – nobody wants to be considered the intolerant one. We don’t prefer isolation and rejection. We all need some sense of acceptance by the public in order to feel like we are worthy or good. Well, guess…