“Trust and obey, for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus than to trust and obey.” These are the words that John Sammis wrote in connection with an 1887 Dwight L. Moody evangelistic meeting. In this song, Sammis captured one of the core messages found in the Old and New Testaments. This message to trust and obey seems so simple and so familiar that often we either don’t hear it or we read right over it. Well, I invite you to slow down and...

Is the redemptive work of Christ that great? Is the salvation authored by the Creator of all things the only salvation that will pay the debt of our sin? People have always asked these kinds of questions. From the Garden of Eden to the blogs of cyberspace people question the greatness of the salvation provided by Christ. So, what is so great about our salvation? Well, I am glad you asked because Hebrews 2 has the answer. Our salvation is great...

I love the classroom and the opportunity to interact with students, especially when the interaction includes biblical content and related subjects. Teaching, however, is a weighty responsibility. James 3:1 reenforces this task with the reminder that teachers will be judged more strictly. When I balance love for the classroom with the responsibility of words, I am forced to consider my classroom goals as well as the overall objective of the...

Wikipedia, the popular web dictionary describes “crucifixion” in the following manner: “Crucifixion was rarely performed for ritual or symbolic reasons, but usually to provide a death that was particularly painful (hence the term excruciating . . . ), gruesome (hence dissuading against the crimes punishable by it), and public (hence the metaphorical expression ‘to nail to the cross’), using whatever means were most expedient for...

I often find myself pursing the question, how does God motivate His children to accomplish His will, to obediently follow His Word, and to love Him with all of their hearts? I wonder this because as a parent I want to encourage my children to love the Lord and to do His will. I wonder this because throughout my days of ministry both in and out of the classroom, I have made many attempts to encourage brothers and sisters in Christ to follow the...