Read Acts1:12-26What is this passage saying?The disciples have returned to Jerusalem, waiting for The Holy Spirit as Jesus had commanded them. They are not just sitting idle but united they devote themselves to prayer; prayer and expectance for the things that Jesus promised would come. In the waiting they put forth two names to replace Judas as an apostle. They didn’t take a vote on it, but caste...  Read More

What is this passage saying?Luke is recounting briefly at the beginning of this book the events and purpose of the Gospel of Luke. He is reminding them of the ministry of Christ, His commands to the disciples, the proofs of Christ’s resurrection, and how the disciples are to wait in Jerusalem for the coming of The Holy Spirit. Before Jesus’ ascension to heaven, He tells them that when The Holy Spi...  Read More

Job 1:1-5There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil.  Seven sons and three daughters were born to him.  His possessions also were 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and very many servants; and that man was the greatest of all the men of the east.  His sons used to go and hold a feas...  Read More

Proverbs 2:1-221 My son, if you will receive my wordsAnd treasure my commandments within you, 2 Make your ear attentive to wisdom,Incline your heart to understanding; 3 For if you cry for discernment,Lift your voice for understanding; 4 If you seek her as silverAnd search for her as for hidden treasures; 5 Then you will discern the fear of the LordAnd discover the knowledge of God. 6 For the Lor...  Read More

Nehemiah 13:23-31In those days I also saw that the Jews had married women from Ashdod, Ammon and Moab.  As for their children, half spoke in the language of Ashdod, and none of them was able to speak the language of Judah, but the language of his own people.  So I contended with them and cursed them and struck some of them and pulled out their hair, and made them swear by God, "You shall not give...  Read More

Never Bring a Horse to a Tank FightThere is something about 2 am. I don’t think the devil takes much time off in the day but I know for sure he pulls double shifts at night. I can’t go back far enough to recall a day where I didn’t struggle with the terror by night that causes my stomach to flutter, my skin to glisten with sweat as I think about all the different ways I could die at my own hands. ...  Read More

The Game Before the GameWhile cleaning out a closet in our house recently, my wife and I stumbled upon a collection of my old sermon notes from when I first began preaching. In the earliest of days I would actually pace around and record the message into a little hand-held tape recorder and play it back so I could hear how it was going to sound, and then sometimes if I didn’t like it, the process ...  Read More

If You Say SoThe year was 1997. I'd just finished my homework and downed a peanut butter sandwich made with Eggo waffles, and the burning desire for milk kicked in. I hopped over the back of my sofa at the commercial break of Saved by the Bell, flung open the fridge and began gulping down cold milk straight out of the carton. I was satisfied for about 0.3 seconds until I realized...this milk had t...  Read More

Nehemiah 13:4-9Now prior to this, Eliashib the priest, who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God, being related to Tobiah, had prepared a large room for him, where formerly they put the grain offerings, the frankincense, the utensils and the tithes of grain, wine and oil prescribed for the Levites, the singers and the gatekeepers, and the contributions for the priests.  But durin...  Read More

The Secret to a Miserable LifeGrowing up, I was never allowed to go trick-or-treating on Halloween. I wasn’t even allowed to go to those church-y trunk-or-treat hallelujah parties. My parents told me that Halloween was a night where pets were being sacrificed to the devil. So while you were out enjoying your pillowcase full of Butterfingers, I was at home praying that your chihuahua would make it ...  Read More

I / De / Clare / WarIn the words of Warren Wiersbe: "The Christian life is not a playground; it is a battleground, and we must be on our guard at all times." Before we even jump into this idea of declaring war, we have to acknowledge this reality: whether we want to admit it or not, we are in a war, and you can’t win a battle you won’t admit you are in.  The Christian life is a war of fighting to ...  Read More

Nehemiah 8:28-29Now the rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants and all those who had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the law of God, their wives, their sons and their daughters, all those who had knowledge and understanding, are joining with their kinsmen, their nobles, and are taking on themselves a curse and an oath t...  Read More