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We have assurance that the God of all comfort comforts us, and He will do so in the exact right way we need. However, in our efforts to bestow His comfort on others, we might unwittingly become miserable comforters to others. This often happens, I believe, with good intentions by well-meaning people when they try to assign a reason for what happens, when really it’s something only God knows. Thus, we become like Job’s friends: miserable comforters (Job 16:2). THINGS…

Until I was nineteen years of age, I lived in Patrick County, Virginia. Moonshine liquor was a part of the business landscape. Involvement in this product had terrible consequences for several family members. I could see the horrible effects and never allowed it to touch my lips. When I accepted a quality control managers position at a Taipei, Taiwan plant, the managers and engineers did not know I did not drink alcohol. Shortly after arriving in Taiwan, there was a…

The inner part of the person – the soul – is such an important element to who we are. God made us as body, soul, and spirit (1 Thes. 5:23). Yet the concept of the soul is so broad in God’s word that we could spend a year just studying its various nuances! Even in the book of Acts, the word takes on a variety of meanings. It is a synonym for person (Acts 27:37), while other times it refers…

1. Worship is Commanded by the Almighty. Our Lord does not make worship something to be chosen by His followers. Hebrews 10:25 makes it clear that we are not to willfully forsake being together for worship. This is not a suggestion, and it does not have caveats for special holidays. 2. God is More Important than any Holiday. If I am going to say that “God is first in my life,” then there is no holiday that can take His…

This true “Ask an Engineer” question appeared in 2013 on an MIT website and was also answered by a graduate student. This student deconstructs the poem, “’Twas the Night Before Christ -mas” to analyze the navigation, guidance system, and control of Santa ’s sleigh. It is a truly bizarre read, but nevertheless, with scholarly efficiency, this student shows the relationship between reindeer, Santa, and a sleigh as a controllable vehicle. By the way, the answer this student came to is…

Three times in God ’s word do we see the three words “faith, hope, and love – these three words form a tri -unity that centers our character development around God. Faith, Hope, & Love Initiates Our Response to the Gospel For three weeks in Thessalonica, Paul and Silas preached from the Old Testament scriptures reasoning that the Christ must suffer and rise from the dead. Some Jews, and many devout Greeks would be persuaded during this time. When wicked…

In sending his disciples to go and minister, Jesus told them He was sending them as “sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore, be wise as serpents and harmless as doves” (Matt. 10:16). There has to be a great reason why our Lord uses four different animals in one verse to describe the relationship, qualities, and character of the people who would be speaking, and the ones to whom they would be speaking. A couple of prayers to consider as…

A church, or any organization for that matter, will never rise beyond their leaders (Matthew 10:24 -25). As a leadership leads, so the attitude of the leadership will be reflected in the members. When the leadership is excited and encouraging about an area of work, generally, so also will the congregation be excited. If the leadership is lackadaisical and uninterested, so also will be the membership. Consider the deacons and their responsibilities in this regard. The word, “deacon” as most…

Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people. – Proverbs 14:34 Something I have heard many election seasons since the mid 90 ’s If “we” don ’t win this upcoming election, the nation will be destroyed. Read carefully again Proverbs 14:34. We live in a nation that is not above reproach. Yet, for many, this nation is still recognized as the greatest nation with the most freedom to worship God than any other nation on earth.…

Think of an “outsider,” not a member of Christ ’s church, who walks into our assemblies or classes. What if an outsider becomes a guest at Graeber Road? We ’ve prayed, people do show up – God has answered. A powerful thought: God has said, “Yes” to our request for an open door. The question is: are we being good stewards of the blessings he is giving us? We do not want any visitors to slip through the cracks or…

So much of Jesus ’s public ministry and so many of His conversations with people happened around the dinner table. In fact, most of Luke (1/5 of this gospel account) has to do with Jesus either going to a meal, sitting down and eating a meal, or getting up and leaving from a meal. Jesus had great opportunity to help when He sat down at the table. Consider now this and see if there is any truth to it: YOUR…

The book of Jude is addressed to Christians who needed to wake up to fight against some ungodly people with ungodly ideas among them (Jude 3 -4, 12, 16, 19). The key statement of Jude exhorts these endangered Christians to, “Contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). “Contenders” are interested in building up other Christians (20) “…building yourselves up on your most holy faith…” Those who would contend earnestly for the…