Bears All Things

Sketch by Patrick Murphy: inspiredsketch.blogspot.com “Love…bears all things….” (1 Cor. 13:6-7). Considering what Jesus suffered when He died on the cross, is there anything the Lord wouldn’t call us to bear in love? We all have an internal line that says, “I will only take this much and no more.” This is fine because it…

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Taking a Break

It’s been awhile since I took a blogging break, so I’m due. In the meantime, feel free to check out previous posts or the booklets listed by category at the top of the page. There’s also a tab with recommended reading. These are books that are important to me, that have had some impact on…

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Anchor and Bedrock

The following is an excerpt from my personal journal, written in June 2020. It’s raw in places but we’re all feeling a little raw so I thought it might encourage someone else. *** Today, coronavirus restrictions are in their 13th week.  Protests and riots over the murder of George Floyd are going into their 3rd…

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Nothing without Christ

“[W]e labored and struggled, working night and day, so that we would not be a burden to any of you. It is not that we don’t have the right to support, but we did it to make ourselves an example to you so that you would imitate us (2 Thess. 3:8-9). Paul comments that, while ministering to…

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Terror and Darkness

After promising Abram descendants, the Lord restated His promise to give Abram the land of Canaan.  Abram asked, “Lord GOD, how can I know that I will possess it?” (Gen. 15:8). The Lord answered by telling Abram to sacrifice a three year old cow, a three year old female goat, a three year old ram, a turtledove, and a…

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Same Song, Different Versus

America’s 2020 presidential election is right around the corner. The usual posturing, mud-slinging, glad-handing, and promising is heightened as some cities are plagued by protests and civil-unrest. This is to say nothing of coronavirus, which has killed about 180,000 Americans and could have our economy on a ventilator before long. All of this had my…

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Only One Is All

My wife and I were talking recently about America’s divisive socio-political landscape. COVID and protests have exacerbated division but did not create it.  Division exists in each of us because human nature is prone to sin. Strident exchanges are everywhere. As usual, social media is the great bullhorn, amplifying every discourtesy and difference.  Even between…

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We Just Don’t Know What’s Saving Us

The following is a spoken word poem by my friend Matt Lundquist. Matt is a campus minister and blogs at https://radxians.wixsite.com/mattsblog *** We just don’t know what’s saving us! Stuff’s going down, no stopping it. People all around fearing for their lives. Got to be real, ain’t no denyin’, pain and suffering and the reason for cryin’.  Life‘s not what I…

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Safe Harbor

“But we must always thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God has chosen you into salvation in sanctification of the Spirit and belief in the truth. Into this He also called you by our gospel—into obtaining the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.  So then, brothers, stand firm and…

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One Seed

Just before telling us about the tower of Babel, Genesis provides Shem’s genealogy.  Just after the tower of Babel, Shem’s lineage is repeated.  Why?  There is an important difference in the way Shem’s lineage is stated the second time.  Here’s a sample:  “These are the family records of Shem.  Shem lived 100 years and fathered…

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