Article (Page 15)

Sometimes, we can be so afraid that we might say something incorrect about the topic of the Holy Spirit that we might not say anything at all! As some disciples said, “we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit” (Acts 19:2). I’ve heard well-intentioned men pray, “Thank you God for what You and Jesus planned for us…” Or we might hear people saying, “I want to do what pleases God and Jesus.” I am tempted to ask,…

The headline reads, “Engineer’s ‘AI Jesus’ goes on to make terrifying apocalyptic prophecy.” That’ll get someone’s attention. “AI” stands for “artificial intelligence.” While the “artificial” part of the title makes sense, the “intelligence” aspect is silliness. An engineer and quantum researcher wrote an artificially intelligent algorithm which “learned” language by only reading the Bible. From there, the program was tasked with making “prophecies” based on the information it had acquired from “reading” the King James Version of the Bible. The…

Parents are rightly concerned about the physical development of their children. They will keep a close check on the height and weight of growing children. They will encourage them to eat food that will be healthy and will help them to grow stronger. Christians, of all ages, need to be concerned about our spiritual development. There is inspired exhortation for us to grow. In I Peter 2:2, the apostle writes, “…as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word,…

Despite the funny looks I got from some of you (read: a lot of you) for wearing the Army green shirt and camouflage pants most Wednesday nights this summer, let me say this: I had a blast teaching Bible Boot Camp! Here are a few great lessons I appreciated being a drill sergeant in boot camp this summer:  We are blessed with really great kids here. Every one of them improved over the course of the summer in learning about…

Which of these best describe my life? An honest evaluation is hard to do. I’m sure we all want to be described as someone who lives with “faith over fear,” yet how can I know when fear is trumping my faith or when faith begins to be overshadowed by my fear? Consider these questions:  Do I often think about the physical ramifications of my decisions more than the spiritual ramifications of my decisions? Jesus cautioned that we “do not fear…

Freedom of speech as Americans means simply that we have the ability to express opinions, criticisms, and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship or legal sanction. It’s built into our governmental charter. Yet, notice that there are still limits to the things we may say as Americans. We cannot threaten to do harm to governmental leaders without repercussions. We cannot slander a person with no consequences. Nor can we expect that we have our freedom of speech in another country…

Wayne Jackson, in my opinion, is one of the best students of the Bible the church has produced in our lifetime. His articles, books, and commentaries have blessed numerous lives.  Jackson once wrote an article titled, “Skeptics Who Could Not Dispute The Evidence.” It gave examples of several men who, at one time in life, opposed the word of God and openly challenged the validity of it. But, each man changed his view.  The story of one of those men,…

Do we truly appreciate the work of Jesus as our High Priest? Reading through Hebrews 5, the writer is comparing the role of the Jewish high priest and then beginning to look closely at the high priestly ministry of Jesus. A keyword for the book of Hebrews is “better” and shows Jesus to be far greater than the Old Testament system of approaching God through an earthly mediator. Consider a few points from Hebrews 5 about the greatness of Jesus,…

I recently came across an interesting Zulu word that (as I understand) has no English equivalent. The word is “sawubona” (sah-wu-BOHN-ah). It simply means, “I see you.” Of course, it does not mean on the surface only what we see. It has to do with the value of a person and how much they are worth in the eyes of the speaker. It is, as one man said, a statement of seeing “your hopes, your dreams, where you came from,…

Flying through the air in an ejected, fighter-jet seat wasn’t on the man’s agenda for the day. Employees from his firm thought it would be a great idea to surprise the unnamed, 64-year-old French man with a jet ride. As soon as he realized what was taking place, he started to panic. After being talked into getting into one of the three jets which would be participating in the training exercise, his pulse rate began to accelerate, based on the…

John Gipson, a talented writer and preacher, once wrote about another talented writer. You would not likely know the name, Jozef Korzeniowski. But, you might know the name he took, Joseph Conrad. Conrad is generally considered to be one of the great novelists to write in the English language. A number of Conrad’s stories involved a nautical setting. He seemed to capture the thrill of a sea voyage beginning and ending. The excitement of departure carried great expectation. But, there…

For some people, when they encounter changes to their environment or routines, it is unsettling, unnerving, and can be a very traumatic experience. For others, when they encounter change, it can be exciting, thrilling, and a roller-coaster ride of new experiences (either good and bad). For all of us, whether we have positive reactions or negative reactions to change, it should be an experience to say, “I trust in God to keep me grounded.” Life changes. Situations change, but God…