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Emotional Bruises
-Sometimes I notice a bruise somewhere on my body and can’t remember how, when or where I received the injury. Maybe it was when I was looking down at my phone and walked into a doorjamb? Or when I hit my shin on the dishwasher door when it was open?… Read More -
A World with No Christians
-There are many in the world these days who would like to silence Christians or get rid of them entirely. Some are Islamic or other religious fundamentalists who see Christianity as a threat to their power or influence, like the Pharisees or Romans in Jesus’ day. Others are offended by… Read More -
Not Walking in Craftiness
-This year I decided to walk again through Oswald Chambers’ devotional masterpiece, My Utmost for His Highest. It is consistently both inspiring and convicting in this season of walking ever closer to the Lord. I’ve read these messages many times in past years, but this time I see them in… Read More -
Blindness and Sight
-I entered this world to render judgment—to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind.” (Jn 9:39) As in many of the gospel narratives, John 9 involves a very mixed and conflicted cast of characters. First, there is Jesus. He has come… Read More -
Good Things to Pray For
-Scripture tells us that it’s a very good thing we have been connected to heaven by Holy Spirit because Holy Spirit makes intercession for us when we don’t know how to pray (Rom. 8:26). Sometimes all we have are “wordless groans,” and yet, heaven hears them because of the Spirit’s… Read More -
Harvest
-After reading through the beautiful story of Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4) this week, the Holy Spirit highlighted to me Jesus’ discourse about harvest. “Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at… Read More -
Responding to the Messiah
-One of the first blogs I posted on this site was about John the Baptist. I find myself pondering this fascinating character again, in a different light. John was, according to Jesus, the greatest prophet Israel had ever known. His role in advancing the kingdom of God in his lifetime… Read More -
Hannah, Her Husband, and Her Priest
-It happens so often these days that when I read a narrative in the Old Testament or the Gospels or Acts, some detail or dynamic I had never considered before jumps right off the page. This time it happened in the story of Hannah in 1 Samuel 1. Usually we… Read More -
Confession and the Pure in Heart
-I’m so grateful that God gave us a way to stay forgiven, clean, pure, and righteous. It’s called confession. It’s ironic that what often causes the most trouble in our lives and relationships also serves as the mechanism for healing and release. It is the words we speak, our confession… Read More -
Blameless
-I’m reading through the Psalms this summer, as I’m apt to do. There’s no wrong time to read the Psalms, but somehow summertime feels like an especially good time for Psalms. Some of the earlier Psalms focus on justice versus injustice, integrity versus deceit, moral depravity versus purity and blamelessness.… Read More -
The Unleavened Bread of Sincerity and Truth
-“Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with… Read More -
What Made Jesus Glad--and Still Does
-A few weeks ago, I wrote about things that made Jesus mad. Today, I felt it was important to follow up with some of the things that made Jesus glad. We can assume that if certain behaviors or attitudes were pleasing to Jesus while he was here as a man,… Read More
The Scripture Comes to Life Blog
One of my greatest joys is reading and studying the Bible. While I do so, I pray that God will give me supernatural insight I’ve never seen or heard preached before. He has faithfully done so. A teacher at heart, my study is driven by a desire to teach and share the wonderful truths he reveals.
I’ve written on a wide variety of themes and topics. The blogs are searchable by topic and with keywords.
As you read, may Scripture come to life for you in many marvelous and helpful ways.