Do you have hope? Two chickens were sitting on a fence one day when one turned to the other and said, "Do you think everyone suffers?" To which the other replied, "No, that's just you. The rest of us are having a great time!" I think it is safe to say that he was wrong. Everyone does suffer. We are not all having a great time but the good news is that we can have hope in t...

Angels are some of the smartest creatures in all of creation. They are also some of the most holy. They have been with God since the beginning and have been closer to Him than any other being. And Scripture tells us that they love to study salvation. Of all the topics they are interested in, angels love to explore the topic of salvation. 1 Peter 1:12 says that they "long t...

Providence has been called "The hand of God in the glove of human events." It is the doctrine that God moves and guides and controls the universe. Psalm 115:3 says, "But our God is in the heavens, He does whatever He pleases." Isaiah 46:9-11 says, "I am God, and there is no one like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning...I have planned it, surely I will do it." The pro...

William Cowper wrote one of the most beloved hymns of all time ("There is a Fountain Filled with Blood") but is little known today because he struggled tremendously with depression. There were times when he could hardly get out of bed and go on with life. In fact, it got so bad that in December of 1763 he tried to kill himself and was admitted into an insane asylum where t...

C. S. Lewis was once asked if the righteous suffer. "Why not?" he said. "They are the only ones who can handle it." The Bible is very clear that the righteous suffer alongside the wicked. It minces no words in explaining that believers suffer right alongside non-believers. 2 Timothy 3:12 says, "Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." Phili...

The word "commitment" has fallen on hard times today. For example, statistics tell us that four out of ten marriages end in divorce, the average person holds up to 15 different jobs, and they move a staggering 12 times before finally settling down somewhere. And Christians are no different. It has been said that the average Christian has two kids, two cars, one house, one ...

Who can join the church? The answer to that question is simple: Christians. Christians can join the church. But how can you tell if someone is a Christian? The answer to that question is simple too: confession. Romans 10:9 says, "That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." But what does...

Who can lead the church? The famous Methodist preacher, John Wesley once said, "Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin, and desire nothing but God, and I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen; such alone will shake the gates of hell and set up the kingdom of heaven on Earth." His point was that the right men will always make the right church....

Have you ever wondered why the church is so messy? The story is told of a mom who woke her son up on a Sunday morning to tell him it was time for church. He responded by saying that he did not want to go. So she said in response: "But, Honey, you have to go. You are the pastor!" I think we have all experienced that from time-to-time. We have all wanted to stay in bed rathe...

Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a Swiss-born philosopher in the 1700's who had little patience for traditional religion. His views on the subject would eventually lead to the French Revolution and the temporary abolishment of all religion in that country. However, in one of his works, Rousseau surprisingly said, "If Socrates died like a philosopher, Jesus Christ died like a God....