Today’s post is short, but I hope it hits you as hard as it hit me. In our Wednesday evening devotional, the speaker talked about the account from Matthew 8 where the centurion asks Jesus to heal his servant. When Jesus offers to go, the soldier shows both humility and great faith in his response.  What stood out to me was Jesus’s response in verse 13: “And to the centurion Jesus said, ‘Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.’ And the servant was healed at that very moment.” As you have believed. What if the centurion hadn’t been sure? What if he thought Jesus could only…

I understand that most of us are fairly (or quite) busy this week. We are doing things that, hopefully, will enable us to enjoy the day on our calendars designated as Thanksgiving Day. For that reason, I won’t write something here that will take much of your time to read. It might suggest something to all of us, though, that we might want to take some time to consider. The phrase I have in mind and which shall serve as the concussion to my thoughts is included in some very direct statements found in the Bible. None of them appear to be suggestions. During this time of the year, we…

Some of you reading this know that my life has been consumed with a theater production lately, as my daughter has been Maria in “The Sound of Music.” Although that has been an amazing experience and is related to the catalyst for this article [read exhaustion], it is not the inspiration. Last week, the only time I could fit my monthly hair appointment in was at 7:00 a.m. on Saturday morning. For those of you who know me, you know this was truly a sacrifice. I don’t give up my Saturday mornings for very many things … especially to be somewhere by 7:00. That morning, as I was driving, some…

Well, all the votes have been made. There’s no way to know as I write this if they have been counted yet, or even if we know the outcome. But the work of the public is done. For months, data has flowed. Hundreds upon hundreds of polls have been conducted. People have paid attention to markets, movements in geopolitics, the comments of pundits, and a seemingly endless avalanche of ads. I must admit, I’m a nerd for this stuff. I look at data for months on end because I find it tremendously interesting. From hundreds of polls to thousands of articles and posts, I’ve looked at data, just for my…

Philippians 4:5-7 has long been one of my favorite scriptures. I love the connections made between God being near, not being anxious, and our thankful communication with God, making our requests known to Him. As I was studying for a recent ladies’ day, I was reminded of something we noticed in my Wednesday night Bible class some time ago that, to me, is the best example of that peace in the Bible. It should come as no surprise that the perfect example comes from our Lord, but maybe not a time when you would expect it. In the gospels we read of His pleading with God to allow the cup…

After a kingdom that was once united divided into Israel and Judah, a man by the name of Jehoram became the fifth king of Judah. It would be an understatement to suggest that he was not one of their better kings. The book of 2 Chronicles is not the only place in The Bible that has information about him, but I will confine my thoughts here to what we find there.  The twenty-first chapter of 2 Chronicles uses only twenty verses to sum up the entire reign of this man. The verbal picture it paints is (again to use another understatement) not at all pretty. If you have the interest…

Does this ever happen to you: You are reading about a topic you have studied many times before but a particular phrase or concept seems to jump off the page at you? Often when this happens to me, as I continue to study I realize that I have used my love of language to glean a meaning that isn’t actually present in what I just read. However, those nuggets often become food for thought and further study. That happened when I was studying about all the ways the writer of Hebrews tells us that Jesus is better. He is a better High Priest of a better covenant, with better promises,…

[NOTE: Rarely do I post my bulletin articles from Central on our blog, but I made an exception in this case. The funeral for Mary Jane Kizer is being held on the day this article is being released and I wanted to share these words as a tribute to a lady who means a lot to Leah and me. I also chose to leave the “cover photo” blank out of respect for this emotional time. I hope this post honors Mary Jane.] Many of you have read the New Testament through. Some have read it numerous times, from Matthew to Revelation. In reading the entire New Testament, you have come across…

I don’t know about where you live, but where I am in Tennessee, it has been HOT! My 3rd graders come in from recess looking like their heads are about to explode from their brief time outside. Yesterday when I had car duty, I could feel sweat on my shins. Shins aren’t supposed to sweat! Perhaps that is why, as I was studying for a Bible class, the idea of refreshment seemed to jump off the page at me. My class is using the materials provided by ValleyBibleStudies.com to study through the New Testament. We are looking at Philemon this week.  After appealing to Philemon to receive Onesimus as a…