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Acts 7:9 – “And the patriarchs, becoming envious, sold Joseph into Egypt. But God was with him and delivered him out of all his troubles, and gave him favor and wisdom in the presence of Pharaoh, king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house.” This is THE classic example of God thwarting men’s plans while having a far grander plan in mind. Genesis 37:28 should have been the last we heard of Joseph. Maybe…

In John 15, Jesus refers to Himself as “the vine” and calls His followers “the branches” (5). The purpose for this is clear (5b-6). A relationship to Christ must be maintained and fruit must be produced. Jesus could have stopped there. But, He wants the connection to be more than this. In John 15:9-15, He talks of love and friendship. These verses suggest some wonderful thoughts. First, we see evidence of His friendship. His friendship would be demonstrated in a…

You learn to appreciate people who do not walk in lock-step with the status quo, but instead make thoughtful and loving stands for what is right. We are noticing the work of black brethren as Black History Month continues, and how men like these have helped shape this country and the church. This profile highlights a dedicated servant both in upholding truth in politics, as well as upholding truth in the pulpit. John DeBerry served as a Democratic member of…

February in the United States is designated as Black History Month in order to honor and observe the roles of Black Americans in the shaping of this country. One such man who is worthy of honor in the difference he made is our brother Marshall Keeble. Marshall Keeble. Brother Keeble was a gospel preacher who lived from 1878 until 1968 and who still speaks in influence, books, and in recorded sermons found online. There are a number of books about…

We’ve all heard them! Pithy statements that cause us to stop, think, and mull over life and choices we make. A few “classics” include: Don ’t count your chickens before they hatch. Strike while the iron is hot. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. These kinds of witty, memorable statements, known as proverbs, offer wisdom for practical living. We use the pictures of unhatched eggs, hot irons, and chains to emphasize doing things at the right…

We often talk about how different things are now when compared to an earlier time. This is usually done in terms of devices (“Why, we didn’t even know what a cell phone was when we were young!”) or rules (“My mother made me be home from a date by 9:00 P.M.”) or some other comparative matter we feel worth noting. Yes, things change. But, some don ’t. Here is one: trust in God and obedience to His will. Centuries ago,…

Racism is a problem that is ongoing, not only in America 2022, but has been for thousands of years. Wasn ’t it, in part, racism that Pharaoh ’s wife accused Joseph of impropriety (Gen. 39:17)? Wasn ’t it, in part, racism that kept Jonah from wanting to preach to those horrible Assyrians? Wasn ’t it racism that caused the Jews and Gentiles of the early church to look down on or to avoid each other (Gal. 2:11 -ff)? Is this…

Every morning I ’m in the office, between 8:05am and 8:13am, the phone rings from the same “1 -800” number. I picked up the phone for about the first month it rang and realized it was either a spam -caller, a fax -machine ’s wrong number (do people still use those?), or someone who just wants to mess with me (bravo for persistence in the joke if that ’s the case). Now when it rings, I simply lift the receiver…

Everyone gets tired from time to time. Often tiredness leads to exhaustion. When exhaustion is full and there ’s still work to be done, it can lead to burnout. With burnout comes an increased distance from job or family responsibilities, negativity, cynicism, and an abiding feeling of needful change. The thought is that if I move, or change jobs, or drastically change immediate things in my life, I’ll be renewed and no longer feel like giving up. Solomon would say,…

In early November, we had the blessing of going down to Corpus Christi to cheer our Bible Bowl participants on as they competed in a friendly tournament of Bible knowledge and study skills. The time there was special, and all of our kids did a great job! Let me share with you some key takeaways upon reflection of the event: God ’s Word is Inexhaustible. The section of scripture for the 2021 Bible Bowl was essentially the second half of…

Near the end of each year, or the beginning of a new year, it is not uncommon for newspapers, magazines, or television news programs to focus on highlights, events, and people who made news during the previous twelve months. Such reports may also include predictions about what will happen in the future. As you would expect, some of the predictions are way off track. Here is an example from one, some years ago. It was predicted that, by this time,…

One of the most disruptive things to me about COVID -19 has been the Lord ’s Supper. For more than forty years, I’ve had a structured meditation for the Lord ’s Supper. There are reflections while I’m eating the bread and another series of thoughts for the fruit of the vine. During the year, we’ve visited other churches that use the individual packages with the bread and fruit of the vine. In many of those, the one presiding provided very…