One of the top religious rumors in our world today is that following Jesus doesn’t require you to change anything about yourself.
The truth of the matter is that following Jesus means losing yourself.
Here’s what that does not mean. It does not mean that you have no personality. It does not mean that you are not unique. It does not mean that God didn’t create you with a special design and for special purposes. Read more…
Studying the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew has affected me in ways that I had not anticipated. Aside from some of the details of the chapter that are prone to easily confuse, the principles of the chapter are clear and convicting.
For instance, since studying this chapter, I find myself throughout the day often thinking about the return of Jesus. Read more…
When I was growing up, people in my life would often make references to historical events that I didn’t really understand.
I remember my grandparents talking about what it was like living in Southeast Oklahoma during the Great Depression, the setting for Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath,” before the Joad family began their journey west to California. Read more…
There are two main points of the prophecy that we read in the New Testament: Repentance and Encouragement.
As we continue to study the prophecies in Matthew, these two points are what I would have you to keep in the forefront of your mind, especially when you have moments of uncertainty or confusion. Read more…
In my research regarding Matthew chapter twenty-four, I have come to a somewhat startling conclusion, one that I didn’t expect.
The conclusion that I have drawn is that in regards to this most disputed chapter is that there are two types of scholars, mean and kind. Read more…
When I was in high school, one of my favorite pastimes was arguing about all things sports related with my friends. Before classes began for the day, there was a bench in a particular hallway where we would sit or stand around discussing the professional sports that we watched on tv the previous night. Read more…
In our study of Matthew, we’re entering into a couple of chapters that are among the most misunderstood, chapters twenty-four and twenty-five. These chapters are full of words and phrases, such as, sign of Your coming, end of the age, tribulation, abomination of desolation, etc. Read more…
Love is deliberate. It doesn’t happen by accident. It’s true that some people are easier to love than others, but even when it comes to the easiest person to love, it must be a deliberate action on our behalf.
The kind of love that I’m referring to is the greatest of loves that the Bible refers to, that love that the Greek language calls agape. Read more…
There’s so much bad news, I thought I would share some good news: Jesus is coming back!
I realize that this is no shocking revelation to you, but I do believe we should be thinking about it more, talking about it more, looking forward to it more and preparing for it more.
When I think about Jesus returning, the troubles of this world shrink significantly. They’re still there, but not nearly as foreboding. Read more…
In the last public teaching that Jesus did before he was crucified, much of his teaching was denouncing the teaching of the scribes and Pharisees. Read more…
