In John chapter nine, when Jesus healed a man born blind it created huge problems for His enemies: It meant that Jesus actually had the power to heal people! “The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his...

When Jesus healed a man born blind it created huge problems for His enemies: It meant that Jesus actually had the power to heal people! When they could no longer deny the fact of the miracle, they rejected its obvious significance and attacked the former blind man: The Jews did not believe that he had been...

Why do people who are faithful to God undergo undeserved trials and suffering? We can answer that question directly from the bible by comparing people who had the “big picture” of the real world with those who didn’t. In the book of Psalms, there are a number of places where the Psalmist will express dismay and...

In him we were also chosen, . . .in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, live for the praise of His glory.  (Eph. 1:11-12) The apostle Paul wrote these words to a little band of first century Christians who lived in the city of Ephesus. As he continues he...

The apostle Paul speaks of being “conformed to the image of God’s Son” (Rom. 8:29), or being “transformed into the image” of Christ (Col. 3:10). But when we look at our own human failings such a transformation seems totally out of reach. How could I ever become like Christ Himself?  I think there is a clue...

In Luke chapter eight, we read how Jesus stilled a raging storm on a lake with just his word of command. Then we read how he commanded a whole legion of demons to leave a man and they did. Wow! He commands the forces of nature and they obey. He commands the demons of hell and...

When Paul tells his friend Titus what is required of a church leader he says: He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it. (Titus 1:9) Paul says much the same thing to his young...

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 1:3) When I read this, why do all of these “spiritual blessings in the heavenly places” seem so unreal? Is it because they are so distant and beyond my experience?...