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Today, I pray for an even greater peace than the peace we are experiencing on our streets (thank the Lord!). That peace is found in Psalm 119:165 “Those who love Your law have great peace, And nothing causes them to stumble.” Photo by Khurt Williams, on Unsplash In this verse, “peace” is shalom , an often repeated Hebrew word (267x in Heb.) that made its way into a common household greeting in Jewish culture. “Shalom!” Or “Shabbat Shalom! (Good Sabbath).” Shalom is such a beautiful concept. In this text it goes deeper than just a greeting. It refers to tranquility of soul, like a calm body of water in the quiet of the morning -- with no disturbance whatsoever. That is true shalom. The shalom mentioned by the Psalmist goes even further, right? He says - "great peace." There is an abundance of peace to this person. This soul has abundant tranquility.  This soul is so abundantly tranquil that the second phrase is also true. Look at the second phrase. What is another way of sa...

Prophetic Scriptures are remarkable in how they clearly reveal future events and detail for us the rise and fall of future governments. This morning as I was looking carefully through the prophetic utterances I found in them a clear indication of who will be in control at the end of the Day on Tuesday, and who will be in power at the beginning of 2021. Many of the prophecies are difficult to decipher and have a clear read on… But this one is as plain as day.

Of course, everyone knows what we celebrate October 31st -- an anti-establishment day if there ever was one… Reformation Day! It was October 31st over 500 years ago (1517 wow!) that Martin Luther nailed 95 grievances (theses) on the church door in Whittenburg Castle. These were not meant to overthrow the political establishment of the day to bring a renewed zeal to hold conscience to the Bible and the Bible alone (sola scriptura). But that’s what God did with them. Truly, "The weakness of God is stronger than men (1 Cor. 1:25)." The posting of grievances was more than just a challenge of the Roman Catholic Church’s authority, it was an appeal to a public debate. He was saying, “I think that Scripture has 95 clear problems with what is being taught today, and here they are. Please, show me if I am wrong.”  Most of the grievances dealt with the Catholic church’s practice of selling “indulgences” for the dead. In effect they were saying, “If you pay this much, you can purchase t...

“Everyone’s moving away from NYC!” I hear that. Scratch that; I see that narrative all over. The nations’ urban centers are hurting right now on so many fronts: COVID dangers; shut down businesses; crime; societal unrest. All these strangle the life of the city. And yet, I find in this scenario a great reason to stay, or even to move to NYC, connect with a local church, and continue to make disciples. I could give a many other reasons to be here. But at least consider these five new reasons since COVID-19 has taken hold over the past 7 months. 1. COVID Conditions NYC has about 20,000 COVID related deaths to date, taking a 10% bite out of the nation’s numbers. [1] This is not a reason to leave, but a reason to come and make disciples.   “When the going gets tough, the tough finally begin to think about their mortality.” That’s how it goes, right? Fear of disease actually spikes a population’s interest in spiritual things. A fellow Pastor shared with me recently about a young lady ...

Do you find yourself wondering where your path is headed in life?   Certainly you have wondered where the path of the country and even the path of the world is headed. Perhaps you also wonder if God’s ultimate purpose is still in place. Paul wrestled with that when considering some events of his own time. He gives some “worshipful advice” to these thoughts (text below).   I’ve been meditating through   that advice this week as I continue to work through the book of Romans. The final verses of chapter 11 are precious. Paul has been wrestling with the plans of God as a Jewish man in a church body that had become primarily Gentile. His burden was to see more Jewish people believe in Jesus as Messiah. And so he had to leave all these things in God’s mysterious hand. God encourages us to do the same when we don’t know exactly why what is happening happens to be happening.   Even when we don't understand the ways of God, His purposes are still certain. ...

Where do we go after times of destruction? Even destruction so great that it looms over our horizon for 20 years? This is a quiet day down here at the 9/11 memorial. Today marks 19 years since those dreadful attacks that killed 2,977 people. Perhaps you are grieving the loss of a loved one today … or perhaps just remembering someone that you miss. Perhaps you are facing a different day of destruction in your town today. We see images of many other devastating events today, because of fire, looting, or even the effects of COVID on a community. And, perhaps you are facing another, internal devastation that no one even knows about. The Bible gives us a place for hope in these times.

This is the second of several topical studies that I’m doing to understand our emotions from a biblical perspective. Before we get to the study, l et me begin with one overarching observation. As Christians (and everyone?), we usually view sadness as a negative disposition or emotion. And yet, Jesus states, “Happy are you who mourn!” How different from our society which is consumed with pushing away sadness as the ultimate end goal to life.    Eliminating sadness from your existence as a life goal is a practice in futility, and is not healthy. Christian, have you ever considered that sadness might be a good emotional experience for you today? Yes, in moderation. And yes, temporarily. But we should know how to live content, to the glory of God, in sadness as well as in happiness.    We often hear “Let’s pray that God gives him victory over his sadness.” Well, we want people to move on from sadness, but let’s not think that just because Jim Bob is sad that he is living...