Amos 5:16-23Therefore thus says the Lord God of hosts, the Lord, "There is wailing in all the plazas, And in all the streets they say, 'Alas! Ala!'’  They also call the farmer to mourning And professional mourners to lamentation.  And in all the vineyards there is wailing, Because I will pass through the midst of you," says the Lord.Alas, you who are longing for the day of the Lord, For what purpo...  Read More

Genesis 39:20-2120 And Joseph's master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison. 21 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.After Potiphar’s wife falsely accused him, Joseph hit rock bottom… again. Once more he found himself condemned—not to a p...  Read More

TRINITYThe Bible presents us with a mathematical dilemma when we study the nature of God. From the beginning we are told that there is only one God. That revelation became the doctrinal rally point of ancient Israel – “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4). And yet, also from the beginning, there has been a kind of uncontainable “plurality” to that one God. Not only ...  Read More

RESPECT THE ELDERLYThere is a little verse tucked away in the book of Leviticus that reveals an oft-neglected value among those making a claim to godliness. We often miss these seemingly obscure biblical insights because we read much of the Old Testament as wholly obsolete for our new covenant Christian lives. While it is true that Christ has fulfilled the ceremonial rules of the Mosaic Law, so mu...  Read More

COVETINGDo you covet? Most would say, “not really” or “not too often.” But I wonder how in tune we are with the presence of this subtle sin? Even when we recognize its presence in our hearts, how quick are we to minimize its gravity? It seems we will more readily admit to any of the other moral transgressions than we will to a covetous heart. We have the ability to dismiss the sinfulness of coveti...  Read More

A Prayer for Memorial Day: Remembering Those Who Have Fought for Our FreedomBy Debbie McDaniel“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”  John 15:13Freedom is a gift, it’s a treasure.  And though we all may agree on that truth, it’s often easy to take for granted the greatest gifts that God has given us in our lives. But those most precious gifts are never free...  Read More

Ephessians 5:2020 Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.People submit to one another for many reasons—on the basis of politics or social structures, or even on the basis of pragmatism. Sometimes it’s much easier (and certainly nicer!) just to submit to people than it is to take the ri...  Read More

THE TONGUEThe Bible says that if you can control what you say, everything else is a snap (cf. Jms.3:2). When it comes to our fallen humanity, nothing is more depraved than our mouths. The Bible says that our tongue is “a fire” and “a world of evil among the parts of the body” (Jms.3:6a). God says it can “set the whole course of your life on fire” and he even goes so far as to say that our tongues ...  Read More

A Memorial Day Thank You and Devotion How do you get peace in a really bad situation? You may be in the fight of your life financially and about to lose your home. It may be that you've been diagnosed with lung cancer as my father-in-law was last week. It may be that your marriage is falling apart. You fill in the blank. We're either headed into a crisis, in the midst of one, or coming out of one....  Read More

Amos 5:1-15Hear this word which I take up for you as a dirge, O house of Israel: She has fallen, she will not rise again - The virgin Israel.  She lies neglected on her land; There is none to raise her up.  For thus says the Lord God, "The city which goes forth a thousand strong Will have a hundred left, And the one which goes forth a hundred strong Will have ten left to the house of Israel."  For...  Read More

REBELLIOUS DECISIONSA few years back, the Supreme Court summarized a decision to move our country and its laws further from biblical principles by stating that their ruling epitomized “the progress of a maturing society.” As we often see throughout biblical history in general, and the book of Judges in particular, when society sees itself “casting off the fetters” of God’s moral precepts and his j...  Read More

UNWHOLESOME TALKGod’s word commands followers of Christ to “not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths” (Eph.4:29). Often the Bible gauges our spirituality by our vocabulary (Jms.3:2-12). If our words are unsavory Jesus provides the needed diagnostic when he reveals that “out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks” because we should learn to see that “the good man brings good thin...  Read More