Pastors and Pedestals — They Don’t Play Together Very Well

Oh, to be a pastor. It is an honorable calling that carries a tremendous burden of responsibility with it. These days, we seem to interact with our pastors in one of two ways. We either treat them like yesterday's trash or we put them on pedestals so high they need…

A Con Job at Gilgal – Josh. Chpt. 9

Today's text tells the story of the great con job at Gilgal, a story of Israel's political leaders being swindled by a group of locals who convinced them to make a deal that would ultimately prove harmful to the nation. The story is a reminder that a big part of…

Jesus’ Virgin Birth: More than Just a Miracle

Jesus' virgin birth was certainly a divine miracle. Like all of God's miracles, He pulled this one of with great power and glory. But did you know that Jesus being born of a virgin also had a purpose above and beyond glorifying God? Oh yes, it did. And that reason…

The Battle of Ai: Take 2 – Josh. Chpt. 8

Would you agree that our God is a God of 2nd chances? I would say 3rd, 4th, and 5th chances, too. We sin, We make stupid decisions and do stupid things. But the point of redemption is that we not live in those things. God gives us repeat opportunities to…

DR’s Take on the ‘Reason for the Season’

As much as I don't relish weighing in on the 'reason for the season' debate, my conscience compels me to do so. A certain number of Christians have long held that we should not celebrate Christmas because of its pagan origins. I get that, even though I don't agree with…

A Curse on the Camp – Josh. Chpt. 7

So last week we briefly talked about how we Christians sometimes take the curses of the world on ourselves by doing what the world does. It was in the context of God telling Israel to not take anything from Jericho when the city fell. They were to take only the…

Is ‘Falling in Love’ with Jesus Appropriate?

Mark 12:28-31 28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? 29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our…

How: As Important as What – Josh. Chpt. 6

Have you ever wondered why God does things certain ways? For instance, why did God make the crossing at the Red Sea such a big ordeal? He could have made it much simpler. Here's the thing: we tend to focus a lot of attention on what God does. But to…

Top 5 Reasons Politics Should Not Dominate Your Life

As this post is being written, we still don't know the official results of the U.S. presidential election. We don't know the state of the Senate either, with two runoff elections slated to take place in Georgia in early January. But that's not even the half of it in American…

Only True God — The Song’s Title Says It All!

Kathryn Scott and Paul Baloche teamed up to write this beautiful song of humility and faith. Baloche covered it in his Our God Saves CD. It is one of the most humbling worship songs from the Integrity and Leadworship Songs collections. This one comes highly recommended if your worship team…