Be One of Them!

Despite the faithlessness of the Jewish people (see Daniel’s prayer in chapter 9), God remained faithful. His would send the Messiah through them as He had promised, and He would be a descendant of David (Psalm 89). In chapter 1, we see several manifestations of Yahweh’s faithfulness. 1. He is still present. God’s presence was especiallyContinue reading “Be One of Them!”

Introduction to Daniel

Many people find the book of Daniel intimidating due to its (predictive) prophecies that are often taken out of context and used in support of a wide range of teachings—many quite unbiblical. That’s a shame, because the book is rich and rewarding for those who are willing to push past the hype and work withContinue reading “Introduction to Daniel”

Changing the Kingdom

The greatest selling book of all time is the Bible. The Guinness people estimate the number to be somewhere between five and seven billion. (The Koran’s figures, by comparison, are in the neighborhood of 800 million). There’s a reason for the Bible’s unique status—there is simply no story like the one found in Scripture! There’sContinue reading “Changing the Kingdom”

James & Righteousness

The word “righteous” occurs seven times in the five chapters of James’ letter. It is a word that summarizes well James’ down-to-earth approach and overlaps with Jesus’ instruction in Matthew 5-7 where a major focus is righteousness (5:20, 6:22). His use of the word in his letter falls into four categories. 1. There is theContinue reading “James & Righteousness”

Thinking about our Feelings

The discussion in the marriage class was about learning how to make our emotions work for us rather than against us. Dealing with our feelings as individuals is challenging enough, but when you are working as a couple toward oneness, things can really become complicated. Here are some principles to build from. 1. Feeling areContinue reading “Thinking about our Feelings”

A Wonderful Servant, But A Lousy Lord

In 5:1-6, James addresses unrighteous landowners who had repeatedly taken advantage of their workers by withholding wages (5:4) and using their influence to obtain legal judgments against them (2:6, 5:6). Additionally, they showed antagonism toward their workers’ faith as they “blasphemed” the name of Jesus (2:7).  These words are a continuation his message to theContinue reading “A Wonderful Servant, But A Lousy Lord”

Living in the Light

We recently had new flooring put down in our house. It wasn’t a choice but a necessity. Our washing machine expired and as a parting gift left us with a couple of inches of water throughout much of the house, ruining the flooring. We decided to go with a lighter colored flooring. (Okay, Janice pickedContinue reading “Living in the Light”

A Faith Full Of Questions

The longer I live, the more I appreciate a good question (even though I may not have a clue regarding its answer).  Jesus consistently employed questions when He taught.  There’s a text in Luke that mentions a visit to the temple when He was twelve years old.  This was the occasion when His parents temporarilyContinue reading “A Faith Full Of Questions”

Buckling Up (The Bourne Identity)

I’m a big fan of the Bourne trilogy, but especially the first movie (The Bourne Identity). If you haven’t seen it or need your memory jogged, Matt Damon plays Jason Bourne—a man who has been programmed to be an assassin by the CIA as part of an experimental program known as Treadstone. While on anContinue reading “Buckling Up (The Bourne Identity)”