Our three grandsons (7, 9, 11) were watching a water polo match on television during the ’24 summer Olympic Games. The players were jostling for position, splashing up a storm, all while trying to either throw a ball into the net or prevent the other team from doing so. The boys thought it looked likeContinue reading “Are Your Feet Touching the Bottom?”
Category Archives: Coming to God
Israel, the Pharisees, and Prayer
Israel wanted a king (1 Samuel 8)! There were some legitimate reasons why they needed a king. A king would help them to be something more than the loose confederation of tribes they were—characterized by infighting and the failure to come to the aid of each other when under attack (see the book of Judges). Furthermore,Continue reading “Israel, the Pharisees, and Prayer”
The Tree of Trust (1)
“You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,” Genesis 2:17. Of all the trees in the Garden of Eden, there was one special tree. It was in the middle of the garden (Genesis 2:19), perhaps to underscore the significant role it played in the continued closeness of fellowship thatContinue reading “The Tree of Trust (1)”
The Tree of Trust (2)
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6.) Is God good? In essence, that is what Satan wants to know when he asks Eve, “Did God really say you must not eat from ANY tree in theContinue reading “The Tree of Trust (2)”
The Tree of Trust (3)
“To us who are being saved, it is the power of God,” (Paul to the church at Corinth in 1 Corinthians 1:18). The good news is that God is good. He’s not only better than we are, He is good beyond our ability to understand. In the greatness of His goodness, He has provided another treeContinue reading “The Tree of Trust (3)”
Bad Actors
“Bad actors” refers primarily to people who consistently muddle through a stage, television, or movie performance. A secondary usage has to do with those who are up to no good, but I’m not sure that was very well known until a few years ago. That’s when the security industry began to use the phrase forContinue reading “Bad Actors”
Intimacy with God
Intimacy with the Lord is something all believers desire and yet there seems to be a lack of clarity as to how this is achieved. Some (borrowing from our instant gratification culture), are under the impression that it is an easy intimacy—something obtained as simply as curling up with a nice “spriritual” book and aContinue reading “Intimacy with God”
Keeping Our Faith Fresh
What if Jesus was the one who brought the bread and juice to you when you were taking communion? Can you envision this? If you can, I think you might find it helpful in personalizing the cross. We hear preachers and teachers tell us that if there had been no one else who had sinned other thanContinue reading “Keeping Our Faith Fresh”
Grace and Discipleship
Luke tells us that “crowds were traveling with Jesus” (14:26), and that’s precisely the problem. Everyone has gotten on the Jesus bandwagon but few, if any, have any understanding of what it means to be a follower of His. Jesus remedies this with a hard hitting discussion on discipleship. Three times He uses the phraseContinue reading “Grace and Discipleship”
The Thrill of Hope
I came across this clip years ago on YouTube. The video quality is not the best, but the two people in the video more than make up for that. You can find it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDgSQiUcVnM Go ahead and watch it; I’ll wait. Part of what makes this video so special has to do with theContinue reading “The Thrill of Hope”
A Taste of Grace with Bruce Green 