Recently I was doing some studying on a topic that led me to Psalm 37:1 which says, “Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.” When we read Psalm 37:2 we see the reason why it admonishes us to “fret not” and it is because “they shall soon be cut down like the … Continue reading →
I am beginning to wonder if Satan is hijacking our political outrage as a scheme to take our eyes off the Lord, the coming Kingdom of Heaven, and what Scripture warns us about end-time deceptions. Thanks to social media, I am seeing some of my minister friends getting obsessed with the current political situation in Washington and sounding almost exclusively … Continue reading →
There is a verse in Matthew 10:30 that says that “the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” The context of the verse is Jesus telling the disciples to have no fear for those who oppose them. Jesus says, and I paraphrase, don’t fear those that can kill you when your Father God cares for even the sparrows, and … Continue reading →
There is a promise for every situation and circumstance of life. The Bible is one big promise of God’s response to the great conflict between Christ and Satan. Every word from Genesis to Revelation can be understood in the light of Calvary’s promise. Here, I want to share with you 50 life-issues with a related Bible promise that is appropriate … Continue reading →
The Apostle Paul wrote these words to a fearful Timothy, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7). I say fearful because Timothy was a young pastor who was dealing with some lack of confidence issues, criticism because his father was a Gentile, plus … Continue reading →
The Apostle Paul in Philippians 4:6 admonishes us to not be fearful about anything but to pray about everything. That includes the coronavirus. We ought to be praying that it will cease spreading, that it won’t befall us or our families, that we’ll all be spared if it continues to spread, and even that summer comes quickly to help end … Continue reading →
The Word of God is the foundation upon which the church operates and is the basis for which the church is governed, and here is a listing of what the Bible is… Breathed out by God – 2 Timothy 3:16 Given by inspiration of the Holy Spirit – Acts 1:16; Hebrews 3:7; 2 Peter 1:21 Christ sanctioned – Matthew … Continue reading →
I want to share with you three verses on the topic of facing trials, along with some brief pastoral commentary… 1 Peter 4:12-13 “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also … Continue reading →
When I was baptized in 1981 as a new Protestant follower of Jesus Christ, the pastor who baptized me suggested that I pick a “life verse” and he would read it to the church as we stood in the baptistery. He explained that a life verse would serve my go-to Bible promise through different trials and circumstances as I journeyed … Continue reading →
Walk by faith and not by the world (2 Corinthians 5:7), Walk by faith because you have been adopted by God (John 1:12), Walk by faith because He has given you a new heart (Ezekiel 36:26), Walk by faith because He has made you a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17), Walk by faith because He has given you a … Continue reading →
When we look at the Creation account in Genesis 1 we find nine times that the phrase “God said” is used to describe the creation process. You will also see that after the record declares that “God said” to whatever He created a follow-up phrase states “and it was so” or “and it was good.” The encouraging thing for you … Continue reading →
I was amused by something I heard on a radio newscast today. A politician commenting negatively about the many states passing heartbeat bills, referred to it as being “a cluster of fetal pulsation.” A cluster of fetal pulsation? We should not be surprised at such silly redefining of reality in order to avoid truth, because we’ve seen it with marriage … Continue reading →
Whatever the trial, hardship, or fear of persecution as our world rushes headlong into these last days, don’t forget that our Lord has promised to be with you. The final words recorded by Jesus in the gospel of Matthew are “I am with you always, even unto the end of the world” (Matthew 28:20). When Moses was doubting his calling … Continue reading →
Hyphens are used to join two words that create a compound word with a two part meaning. We could say that I am an Italian-American. I don’t say that because I feel like being American has a great enough significance and I don’t want to cheapen being an American by making it share the stage with my Italian background. I … Continue reading →
Today at CrossHope Chapel we opened to Ephesians 4:17-32 and in case you missed it, here are some notes… The Apostle Paul uses the metaphor “walk” as a way to express how we live our lives. Walk is a descriptive word picture for the practice of our day to day living. It is used by the Apostle Paul and the other … Continue reading →
In the elections here in America, I hope you will give your attention to voting biblically. When you are deciding your vote in terms of voting biblically, you will relieve yourself of the stress and defense of standing by a political party. Noah Webster said this best when in 1823 he admonished students “In selecting men for office, let principle … Continue reading →
Facing the giants in life is easy, or at least we could admit that the giants in a man’s life are plentiful. We are often forced to face our giants when we leave work on Friday wondering we’ll return to job loss on Monday, or when we walk into the kitchen and see the pile of unpaid bills on counter, … Continue reading →
In 1994 I had assumed the pastorate of a church where I had the opportunity to sit down with the outgoing pastor to discuss various issues of that congregation. As I was sitting with him in his office talking, he handed me his keys and said, “Oh, I almost forgot, each Wednesday at 11:00 AM you have a counseling session, … Continue reading →
Many years ago a sincere church member once asked me, Is Jesus really God? They went on to explain that they see where the Bible says Jesus prayed to God the Father, was called the Son of God, and they even pointed to the account of Jesus saying he didn’t know when he was coming back, only God knew that. Well, … Continue reading →
We commonly conclude our prayers by saying “In Jesus’ Name” and rightly so. When you say, “Lord, in the name of Jesus I pray, Amen” you are sharing in His power by claiming His character, life, atonement, and righteousness – not yours! When you say, “In Jesus’ Name,” you are saying… “Lord, I am asking you to answer and fulfill … Continue reading →
There is a lot of chaos in our society and it is an intentional strategy of Satan, because we know from John 10:10 that he “comes only to steal and kill and destroy” (ESV) and Ephesians 6:12 reminds us that we “wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against … Continue reading →
Satan is happy to incite anger among all that will yield to it, because anger can quickly and easily be inflamed into his mission “to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10). But I say to you, forsake anger so you become part of Jesus’ mission of “have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). Now I realize we are human and society’s … Continue reading →
We had a conversation Sunday during our study of James about what to do when we have sinned, and I want to share those Bible promises that I referenced again here. First, I mentioned a verse that I couldn’t locate right away, but the verse is Jeremiah 17:9 and it says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: … Continue reading →
Today at CrossHope Chapel we took a cross-reference jump from 2 Thessalonians 2:5 to 2 Timothy 3:1-5 and read this: “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, … Continue reading →