Articles

The book of Romans says, “For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established; that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other's faith, both yours and mine.” (Romans 1:11-12). When we come together, it is to impart spiritual gifts to one another, to be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. If you have ...

Do you have a bad temper? If you do and I asked you why, you might say something like this: “That’s how God made me. I have a short fuse.” “That’s just how us redheads are.” “I lost my temper because I’m not feeling well today.” “It’s because I’m Irish.” Proverbs 12:16 [HCSB] says, “A fool's displeasure is known at once, but whoever ignores an insult is sensible.” What makes you lose your temper? ...

Do you want to strengthen your family? Try this. Get a set of clear jars, one for each member of your family. Have each family member’s name printed or taped to their personal jar. Set them together on a shelf or counter in the kitchen or living room where they will be seen every day. Next to the jars place a stack of small papers and a pen. Encourage each family member to write little Treasure St...

As your cart rounds the end of the aisle while shopping and someone is sailing across your path do you go first, or do you let them go first? Does it depend on who it is? Does that always turn out the way you think it should? Why am I asking these questions? I’ll tell you why. Because there is a certain way you perceive yourself in contrast to other people. You may believe you are more important t...

Something we want always to be said about our congregation: “This is a place where people can come to a greater understanding of God because we teach and follow His Word.” We want always to offer good Bible classes Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings. For that to continue to, we need constantly to be training teachers. Teachers play a vital role in the wellbeing of our congregation. Those who g...

The cross. If you close your eyes and try to picture a cross in your mind, it’s hard to do without seeing Jesus hanging on it. His sacrifice is forever linked to our understanding of Roman crucifixion even though Jesus was not the only person to die that way. There were many. 6,000 Gaul and German prisoners were crucified by General Marcus Liscinius Crassus along the Appian Way from Brindisi to Ro...

“What Does God expect from me? I read all these commands in the Bible. I listen to the sermons and classes about how I need to do this and that, change this and that. It’s a bit overwhelming. I’m not a complicated person. Isn’t there a way to dumb-it-down, to make this stuff simpler? I just want to know what God wants from me.” Anytime we have questions, the Bible has an answer. Micah 6:6-8 says, ...

Can you see the hand of God in life’s occurrences too well orchestrated to be a coincidence? That is what the world calls it; “coincidence.” Things just happen by accident. There’s no order, no rhyme or reason. That’s how unbelievers see life. Believers see it differently. We see a pattern to the events of our lives. We see too many coincidences for it all to be a coincidence. We may not notice ri...

“Warning! In case of rapture this car will be driverless.” Have you seen this bumper sticker before? It used to be fairly common. On the bright side, it got people thinking about the return of Christ. Unfortunately, the premise is based on a theology which goes against the Bible. There is not going to be a rapture as many church leaders are describing nowadays. At least, nothing like what you see ...

Is the kind man I see at work every day my brother in Christ? He says he is a Christian. Should I just take him at his word and leave it at that? How do I determine whether he is one whom I should be sharing the gospel with or one I should consider already in a saved condition? What about my friend who attends a denominational church? Is she one I should treat as a sister in Christ, or do I need t...

Curtis’ Corner “and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.” Philemon 1:6 (ESV). When we get together as Christians it strengthens our faith. The praying and singing and taking the Lord’s Supper and preaching, it all motivates us to trust God more and want to know Him in a deeper way. When our faith...

Americans drink about 400 million cups of coffee every day. We say we like the taste, the smell, but truth is it’s the caffeine that keeps us firing up the coffee pot or stopping by the coffee shop every morning. We think we’re drinking it for the energy boost, but caffeine doesn’t give you energy. Adenosine is a chemical your body releases to tell your brain you are tired. Caffeine blocks the rec...

One of the worst things you could do to yourself is place yourself in a position where you are not accountable to anybody. When I was young, I was constantly trying to get out from under everybody’s authority. I wanted to call my own shots; to answer to nobody; to run my own life. Years of studying scripture and watching others ruin their lives, have deeply impressed upon me the necessity of accou...

Learning the Word of God and applying what you learn, not only makes your spirit well; it also blesses you with mental/ emotional health. There is a right way of thinking and a wrong way of thinking. Think about it. I’ll bet a problem you’re facing right now in your life can be traced to thinking the wrong way about an obstacle or situation you faced in the past. Right? What you believe guides the...

Do you play solitaire on your cell phone? I don’t have games on phone now, but years ago I had solitaire in case I had to wait on somebody. Growing up playing sports has made me a little (overly) competitive at most everything I do and solitaire is no exception. I played to win and would get perturbed when I make a bad move, but years ago I found a button that reduced the stress in my miniature vi...

Purpose. Life needs purpose. There has to be a reason we are here. If God made us, what did He make us for? If it wasn’t God, what was it and why do we exist? Those questions are as old as time itself and the answers range from absolutely absurd to undeniably true. Are you looking for purpose? Do you think about why you are here? You are not here by accident. There is a loving God who created you ...

God above is worthy of all the praise and adoration we could possibly give Him today. Our Father loves us. He truly does, and He always has our best interest at heart. As a loving Father, He instructs us how to stay away from what is harmful and detrimental to our wellbeing. He instructs us through His Word, the Bible. Anything the Bible calls a sin is a behavior each child of God needs to stay aw...

“Jesus is all the world to me, My life, my joy my all;” These words written in 1904 by Will L. Thompson so aptly express the attitude every Christian should have. If someone asked you, “What does Jesus mean to you?” what would you say? Would you say Jesus is your whole world? Is Jesus reigning as the Lord of your life or is He a token of general rules you try to live by? Life is about the choices ...

“Then I said, "Alas, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, Because I am a youth." But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am a youth,' Because everywhere I send you, you shall go, And all that I command you, you shall speak.” Jeremiah 1:6-7. Jeremiah was young when he became a prophet in Judah. He thought he was too young, but God disagreed. Our Lord was able to turn this youth into a mig...

Would you consider yourself physically fit? Would you say you are in pretty good shape for your age? A friend of mine told me once, “I'm in shape. Round is a shape.” If you take good care of yourself physically, eat right, get proper exercise, control your weight, a healthy lifestyle makes a big difference in the way you handle daily challenges. Getting to your peak physical condition and staying ...