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I often question why the Pharisees and scribes were so opposed to Jesus and His teaching. I can easily determine the Pharisees' motivation. They were a highly religious sect that craved the attention and recognition of the commoners. When Jesus showed up on the scene, it did not take long for Him to become the center of attention. When they tried to sully his reputation and besmirch his character, Jesus threw it back at them to the point of calling them snakes, vipers, and to

Let me lay out a disclaimer at the beginning, since this blog may be off-putting to some who do not take the time to read it in its entirety and think it through. As I write about the meticulous historical work done by those who generated the King James version, I am aware of the serious warning in Revelation 22:18-19: “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues t

There are many names mentioned within the scriptures of the Judeo-Christian Bible that are unknown to the casual reader. Some of them have to be studied to find even a glimmer of their past lives. Spending time investigating their lives is not always rewarding, but there are a few who pay in great benefits. One such person was Theophilus. In the scriptures, we read about Luke, who was a physician well educated outside the Jewish circles. Yet, Luke was a well-known figure amon

Consecration is not only a moment at an altar. It is the daily choice to give God our complete attention. In a noisy, entertainment-driven, technology-hungry, possession-loving, demand-filled world, consecration demands focus. And speaking of noisy, the old military radios of the First and Second World Wars provide a useful picture. Radio operators often had to carefully tune the frequency to isolate an important message from static, interference, and other radio traffic. The

Have you ever heard someone say, "He never reads the Bible," simply because they never saw that person with an open copy of the Scriptures? Or perhaps you’ve heard the generalization, “Those people are all the same. They are lazy. They are unspiritual. They are just plain wrong.” These are rather confident statements. They sound like observations. They are not observations at all, more often than not. They are generalizations, and generalizations have a dangerous tendency to

I have often thought of the importance of the eastward direction in the Bible. Sometimes directions in Scripture have a spiritual meaning, just as names do. North, south, east, and west are ordinary geographical words, but biblical writers occasionally use them symbolically. Of these directions, the "east" is often used in narratives about humanity’s drifting away from God’s presence, the rise of rebellion, or being seduced into worshipping creation rather than the Creator.

Imagination is one of the greatest gifts God has given to the human mind. It allows us to imagine the "not yet," to plan for the future, to solve problems, to create art, to write stories, to build homes, to design ministries, and to imagine a better life. Someone designs a building before it is built. A preacher mulls ideas in his mind and waters them with prayerful tears before the sermon is delivered. Before a family vacation, a business plan, the erection of a new church

Faith and Mind: Is There a Role for Intellect in Living for God? There is much said about ‘living by faith’, and it is no wonder. Faith is the center of the believer's life. But there is one big question still to be answered. Does living by faith mean turning your mind off? The Bible says just the opposite. Faith is not the enemy of reason, but the means of directing it in a proper direction. Wisdom is introduced from the very beginning as that which belongs to God before the

Occasionally, someone will say, “ There are certain things one should not question in the Bible .” On the surface, that can sound humble and reverent. It may be taken as a warning against pride, speculation, or irreverence. And to be certain, Scripture does warn against folly, mockery, and the proud handling of holy things. But that statement, if left unqualified, can be profoundly misleading. Why? Because the Bible is consistent in calling us not away from the knowledge of

I’ve carried Psalm 1:1 in my heart for years. “ Blessed is the man (woman) who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful .” It’s short, but it tells a story. One that moves in three quiet, dangerous steps. I didn’t see the full force of the scripture until I was meditating on the verse in prayer one day. It is showing how the slide can start innocently enough, the way these things often do. I have worked in

I spend a significant amount of time pondering Scripture. I have made its study a main part of my life. I've encountered verses in the Judeo-Christian Bible that felt like conundrums. I would mentally pick at them for months, sometimes even years, hoping for the day an insight would suddenly emerge. One such passage that has long puzzled me is from Mark 8:22-26, where Jesus healed a blind man in Bethsaida. After Jesus touched him, the man reported seeing " men as trees, walki

A few decades ago, two ministers were on the platform, engaged in quiet conversation before the service. A woman from the church entered, and both men looked up, a simple acknowledgment of her presence. In that instant, though, something changed. She became certain they were discussing her, maybe sharing some private failing or judgment. Anger flared, quickly followed by weeks of painful withdrawal and silence. A few weeks later, when the pastor inquired about her distress, s

In the quiet corners of our lives, fears often lurk like shadows, growing larger the more we turn away from them. The ancient wisdom encapsulated in the idea that "if one hides from what one fears, it will eventually devour you" rings true across cultures, histories, and even modern science. This principle isn't just poetic. This principle serves as a call to action, encouraging us to confront our fears directly. Anyone who was bullied as a child will tell you that the bully

Before you read any further, you may wish to visit this link and watch the short video clip: https://youtu.be/IGQmdoK_ZfY?si=8TkUMIKYCqYFnfkE . Copy and paste it into your browser. Return here when you finish it. Inattentional blindness is the failure to notice a fully visible, unexpected stimulus when attention is tightly focused elsewhere. In psychology, inattentional blindness refers to the failure to perceive an obvious, meaningful stimulus because attention is consumed

I was praying recently, and the question came to me about how tongues develop. These types of questions usually come to me in the middle of prayer and meditation. I filed the question away in my mind, meaning to investigate it at the conclusion of my prayer time. Here are my thoughts. Language is one of humanity's most profound abilities, bridging the gap between thought and expression. It seems the same is true about God. In the beginning was the Word (logos), and the Word w

In a world where physical limitations can feel like insurmountable barriers, sometimes the smallest creatures offer the greatest lessons. This is the story of my friend, whose life was forever changed by an unlikely teacher. Because of a tiny ant, he was inspired by an encounter, which led him to dream of writing a book titled " The Ant That Took Away My Can't ," a testament to turning an "I can't" into "I can" through the power of the mind. Though he passed before completing

In the hectic pace of daily life, we often find ourselves engulfed by a multitude of distractions, including endless to-do lists, social media scrolls, and fleeting ambitions. But what if there was just the "one thing" that could anchor us, something worth chasing above all else? The Bible speaks to this idea in profound ways, particularly in two verses that have resonated with believers for centuries. Psalm 27:4 declares, " One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I s

This writing may not resonate with everyone. But if you choose to read on, you may find a glimmer of truth that is new to you. In my last blog, I wrote about various words used for love in the Romance languages. I mentioned the noetic love, which is so much purer than the lower levels of love. "Noetic " comes from the Greek word noēsis, meaning “understanding” or “intellect.” In modern usage, it refers to anything related to inner knowing, intellectual insight, or direct ap

In our fast-paced modern world, where connections can often feel fleeting and superficial, it's worth exploring what truly binds us to God, to one another, and to the things that bring us joy. As someone who has been studying languages for several decades, I've always been fascinated by how words shape our understanding of abstract concepts. English, for all its versatility, has some notable limitations in this area. Take the word "love," for instance. It's our go-to word for

Early in my ministry, I gradually began to understand the meanings of scriptural words found in the Judeo-Christian Bible. The technique I incorporated into my preaching is known as “expositional” preaching. The Latin etymology is ex = "out" and ponere = "to put out," "to bring to light," and "to make visible." I often consider teaching as a process of unraveling a mystery. At first, the shell is hard and unfamiliar, like a concept we don’t quite understand. But with patience