16Rejoice always,17pray continually, 18give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 We often worry about discovering God's will. Who should I marry? What town should I live in? Where should I go to college? Those are certainly important questions, but the bible is not exactly black white on them. Scripture i...

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thessalonians 5:18) I was reading a blog post this morning about the importance of giving thanks. One scripture after another, like the one above, commanding us to give thanks. But it also made me think - indirectly - about the danger of trying to be more thankful. Let me expl...

And Jesus said to them, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." And they were amazed at Him.Mark 12:17 Even a casual observer of the socio-political landscape in America today cannot miss the fact of the growing rift between people on the two ends of the political spectrum. Those on the Left are drifting, or feel driven, to m...

July 3, 2015 The below was an excerpt taken from Desiringgod.org. ---------------- There has always been a "culture war" of one kind or another being waged in America. It is actually part of the design of the American Experiment and the exercise of democracy. And so there is certainly a place for Christians to participate in this exercise and advocate for our constituti...

Doubtless, we have all heard the commonly accepted secular take on Thanksgiving. The general terminology dictates that Thanksgiving is not actually a religious holiday but, rather, an American holiday. While the second part of that is certainly true Thanksgiving commemorates an event from early American history the first part of that adage is not particularly accurate. ...

In 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed the King Holiday Act, proclaiming the third Monday in January as Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The next year, he proclaimed the third Sunday in January as National Sanctity of Human Life Day. As a result, today we honor Dr. King. Yesterday, thousands of churches across the country honored the sanctity of life. What would Martin Luth...

The Glory of God has to do with the weight, the girth, the bigness of God. His magnificent beauty, his extraordinary might, his incredible greatness. So to give God glory doesn't mean we have the power to make him bigger or more beautiful than he already is. It is more the idea of giving him the honor and the praise that his glory is due. It is to point at, to reflect, to...

Once a celebration of an old Celtic tradition, Halloween is now the second most celebrated family holiday in America. Nearly 70% of Americans will participate in some form or fashion, and it's the only night of the year where the world around me actually comes to my door that of a pastor. With that in mind, I want to share just one of the ways my family and I have deci...

December 09, 2014 Innumerable Christmas devotionals point out the humble circumstances of Jesus' birthamong shepherds, in a crude stable, with a feed trough for a bassinet. When Jesus himself tried to summarize why people should take up the yoke of following him, he said it was because he was meek and humble (Matt. 11:29). Seldom, however, do we explore the full implicati...

December 12, 2014 Then Pilate said to him, "So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the worldto bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice." John 18:37 This is a great Christmas text even though it comes from the end of Jesus's life on earth, not the ...