Posts by teale@wbwebdesigns.com

The view many have of God as being one whose very nature is anger and judgment is so perverted. They fail to see the truth in those Old Testament stories. “All these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition…” (1 Cor. 10:11). “Whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we…might have hope” (Rom. 15:4). Those who read them and reach a perverted understanding of God should read them again. It…

On February 28, 2008 the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in California ruled that homeschooling violated the laws of that state. Over 200,000 children face the possibility of being removed from parental teaching and molding of their lives and being forced to let the government assume these chores. The issue is headed for the California Supreme Court, but the implications are astounding. The latest information from 2007 shows that Florida has nearly 56,000 children from about 37,000 homes where children…

Don’t wait for the crisis to arrive and then determine what you will do! One area where so many fail is that while they know there may be problems, they make little preparation before they arrive. Every Christian should be wise enough to see some of what lies ahead and be ready. Think about Jesus’ preparation for the temptation by Satan. Our adversary sought to destroy Him by using what John describes as “all that is in the world—the lust…

We live in a day and age when people are looking for reasons. That is good. Such an approach will cause one to act in a fashion that is intelligent. There are also cases where one may be told to do, or not do a thing. That person may respond by saying “Why?”. That is, they want to know the reason. I f you take the time to look at your Bible, you will see some reasons outlined as to…

Can you remember, when as a child, you thought that anyone who was thirty was really old, and anyone over sixty was approaching Methuselah’s age? It’s funny when you turn thirty your whole perception changes. If you are sixty plus, you, unlike those around you, cannot seem to think of yourself as being old. The Bible has so much to say about getting old, and regardless of our perception of when that is, we would be wise to think about…

Christianity typically does not require leaving every aspect of your former life behind. For instance, it does not advocate your relocating in a remote compound in Montana—as appealing as that might sound at times! However, becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ does demand abandoning any ambitions or positions that create conflict with Christ. When the apostle Paul wrote his second epistle to the Corinthians, he explained his concern for their souls: “For I fear lest, when I come, I shall…

When Jesus prayed that all who believed in Him would have the same unity that He had with the Father (John 17:20-21), He revealed that having many denominations would create unbelievers! A simple computer search will show that in America there are between at least 20,000 different denominations. It shows just how little unity exists in “Christendom” today. There is no way this situation is like the unity of Jesus and His Father. One of the reasons such division is…

Americans are confusing faith with convenience. Many have already turned their backs on religion because it makes them uncomfortable, and those that remain are doing everything they can to make believing as effortless as possible. We hear about plush pews, innovative worship services, and drive-thru communion services. Church is no longer looking like, well, church. The growing sentiment is illustrated by a line that appeared in the Washington Post regarding its search for a new religion editor: “The ideal candidate…

The existence of enemies is a painful reality of the faithful Christian life, but not one that should surprise us. Our Lord had enemies. The Jewish leaders, Judas, and, of course, Satan himself all opposed Him and sought His ultimate failure and demise. The world hated Jesus and because it hated Him, it hates His people. Jesus said, If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the…

The football season is about to end. High school state champions for various size schools have been recognized. The colleges have crowned conference champions and will now play for the national title. This year there is the largest number of bowl games in history. In a few weeks there will be the crowning of the NFL Super Bowl winner. The awarding of trophies and crowns is not a recent practice. The victors in the ancient Olympic-like contests were awarded a…

There were several times in Paul’s letters that he had to defend his apostleship and authenticity. On one such occasion he wrote, “For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ” (Gal. 1:10). This raises a good question for us. Who are we trying to please? It is easy to see how this motivation…

Most are familiar with the inspired record of Joshua and Caleb — the two spies who returned with a good report and opposed the evil report of the ten spies (Num. 13) that caused the people to cry out in despair to God and murmur against Moses and Aaron (Num. 14:1-4). But we often fail to consider the reaction of Israel toward Joshua and Caleb when they opposed the evil report and courageously stood on God’s side. And Joshua the…