The Talmud suggests that the definition of Man is “the creature who prays”. This idea sets the stage for understanding what prayer really is. Prayer is the defining characteristic of what it means to be human. In other words, to be truly human is to be in communication with the Creator. Men and women who…
Long before the term “prophet” took on its contemporary meaning of predicting the future, the Greek term prophetes has a very different meaning. In fact, until the Christian era after apostles refocused the meaning, it did not embody the concept of peering into the future at all. Prophetes has its roots in the Greek culture…
Sometimes the teacher is more in need than the pupils. For quite awhile, I have been disturbed by the experience of worship. My wife and I have gone to many different church buildings (I deliberately use this expression to make the distinction between the church as an assembly of God believers and the place where…
As is often the case, I find that the Greeks had a much deeper grasp of the essential elements of the concepts behind words that we now employ without much inner reflection. We have become anaesthetized to the profound and often revealing connections lying hidden inside our language simply because we have been removed from…
“Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?” Life in the Spirit is a lot like proper punctuation. There are rules that have to be followed. The Bible often uses the analogy that our lives are like something written in a book. Having God write your name in His book is…
“God has made a joke of me” Genesis 21:6 I don’t think we know the people of the Bible very well. We are the victims of years of watered-down teaching. The stories of the lives of our spiritual ancestors have been “sanctified”. We know the triumphs of their faith, but we have little appreciation for…
Two quotations: Above all, trust in the slow work of God. We are, quite naturally, impatient in everything to reach the end without delay. We should like to skip the intermediate stages. We are impatient of being on the way to something unknown, something new, and yet it is the law of all progress that…
God won’t ask what kind of car you drove; He’ll ask how many people you drove who didn’t have transportation. God won’t ask the square footage of your house; He’ll ask how many people you welcomed into your home. God won’t ask about the clothes you had in your closet; He’ll ask how many you…
History shows that the growth of who followed Jesus was faster during the first three centuries after His death than any other period. Of course, since that time a larger number of people have claimed Jesus as their Savior, but even though the total numbers are bigger, the rate of growth has never been the…
I just can’t stand it anymore. Aren’t you sick and tired of the constant accusations, lies, finger pointing and platitudes in this election? I can’t remember when it was so vitriolic and so insistent. Maybe there is a point to it all, but as far as I can see, the only purpose is power. And…
