Consider a few situations where name changes occur in this society: adoptions, marriages/divorces; immigration; witness protection program; career reasons (i.e. entertainers, authors). Typically, name changes occur when someone has a life altering situation, establishing a new identity out of necessity. Sometimes names are changed to reveal a corresponding trait to the new life secured (immigrants). […]
Archives: Teachings
Forgiveness Through a Christian’s Eyes
Valentine’s Day, 1990, will be forever etched in my mind and heart. A few days earlier my siblings and I found out that dad was terminal; February 10th was the date, and we realized all human hope was lost. It was even more difficult as dad had quit drinking in 1981, and through these past […]
From Fear to A Fortress
The term “fear” here means “fear, be afraid of”. Fear brings fatalism; faith brings futurism. We will deal with four kinds of fear experienced in this text. FEAR OF DARKNESS Question: What do you do if you are afraid of the dark? Use a nightlight. In the face of great difficulty, David says: “Yahweh is […]
I Have Fought The Good Fight
In this political season, in particular, there is an ongoing debate about whether the war is justifiable. Is there ever a “good war”? Not in terms of death, injury, and loss, but it can be in terms of defense and honor. Paul is talking to Timothy about fighting the good fight. I was born in […]
Rally For The Faith
At Vacation Bible School this summer, our children learned lessons in their faith walk. Their crocodile dock title who’s it was docked in Egypt, where the boys and girls learned Scriptures and summaries that can help us as well. I will be spelling out the word “rally”. Hebrews 11: 24-29. Hebrews Chapter 11 is called […]
Prepare Our Hearts to Build His House
Ezra Shows Us How to Prepare Our Hearts to Build His House Know that God is raising up certain people that will respond to our particular work. “….Even everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up and rebuild the house of the Lord which was in Jerusalem.” Ezra 1: 5. There are people out there […]
The Reality of Heaven and Hell
Basic Understanding According to the original creation in Genesis 1, the focus of the Bible is primarily on the matters of the earth and its inhabitants. It recounts God’s purpose for them and their response to Him. The in-depth study of heaven and hell, therefore, is not dealt with, though it is referred to and […]
Joseph’s Coat
Years ago I saw “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”, written by Tim Rice and Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber. With a masterful performance by Donny Osmond as Joseph, this coat was dazzling; like the colors on the color wheel. We tend to think of Joseph’s coat in vivid colorization, but the original Hebrew has it […]
Gethsemane
Gethsemane is “The Olive Press”. It is the garden that liberates the sin of the Garden of Eden and stamps God’s character on us. In the stamping, the olives are crushed and the oil flows. It can also be akin to the foot stomping of the grape, where the finest wine – or new wine […]
Participant in The Passion – Judas Iscariot
When one thinks about the Passion Week during the Lenten season, one’s mind goes to the pascal lamb. The word “pascal” from “pascha”, meaning, “passion”, depicts the week from the triumphal entry to the resurrection. We can also think of physical passion, where one’s normal expression starts with a kiss – that most intimate and […]