What is Lent?

In the years immediately following the death and resurrection of Jesus, believers began focusing on their sin and on God’s forgiveness of it in advance of celebrating Christ’s resurrection. Over time, the church standardized 40 days (not counting Sundays) as a period of reflection and called it Fortieth or Lent. Like the Jewish celebration of […]

Does Mankind have a Noble purpose? Part 2

Last week we took an overview approach to answer this question focusing on God’s love. This week we are searching the Scriptures to see what else God wants us to know about the noble purpose He has instilled in each of us. First, we turn to a book of poetry where we read: What is […]

Why is the birth of Jesus “Good News”?

In a world where daily headlines shout bad news 24/7, there remains one story that is not just good news, but the best news for all of mankind… for all time. That good news of Christmas dates back to the creation of the world by God and the creation of man, the only creature who […]

What’s the meaning of “The Fruit of the Spirit is Love”?

When a person decides to enter into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ he or she receives the gift of the Holy Spirit. This is a new life that one finds only in Jesus. In other words, a person is ‘born again’ and becomes a new creation in Christ. The Bible clearly states in Galatians […]

How do I become merciful?

When I read Matthew 5:7, I am perplexed. Jesus declares, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” I thought that the mercy that God showed to me was not dependent upon me being merciful to others. So I had to ask God to unpack this for me. Is this beatitude, nestled within […]

What Does It Mean to Be Poor in Spirit? Exploring the First Beatitude

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” — Matthew 5:3 To be poor in spirit is not about financial poverty or low self-esteem. It’s a spiritual posture—an honest recognition of our deep need for God. The Greek word used for “poor” here, ptōchos, refers to absolute destitution. Jesus is […]

What’s wrong with stealing?

In the name of social justice, some modern scholars say that stealing is okay if it is addressing a social inequity. After all, they contend, people who have gotten “ahead” in this world did so by taking advantage of others. But that is not what God says. Four thousand years ago, God carved in stone […]

How does a person get ‘right’ with God?

When you recognize that one day you will stand before God and have to answer for the life you have lived, you will have to know the answer to this question. Ironically, you can’t get right with God by yourself. He set out standards that are so high that that no man has ever been […]

Why do bad things happen to me and my family? I thought God was on my side.

Let’s start with the second thought first. If you have invited Jesus Christ into your life as your Savior and Lord, then yes God is on your side! His promise to you is the same made to Joshua, the man selected to lead the Israelites into the promised land (Deut. 31:8). God Will never leave […]

If I’m good, do I go to heaven?

If I live my life to the best of my ability, when I die, I’ll be going to heaven, right? Unfortunately, that’s not right. None of us can live perfect lives. We can never be good enough to enter heaven. We read in the Bible that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of […]