The Parable of the Soils – The Key to Understanding God’s Kingdom – Part 1

The central theme of the scriptures is, arguably, the Kingdom of God. Some would say salvation, the redemption of mankind, is the central theme and I would not disagree, but from a big picture standpoint the whole purpose of God’s plan of redemption gets us back to the way things were supposed to be all …

Kingdom against kingdom Part 1- Our Ongoing Supernatural War

The scriptures are full of the supernatural. The bible is an historical account of supernatural activity of the unseen realm interacting with the natural, physical realm, manifesting in ways people can perceive. But are these biblical accounts just for our edification in Sunday school? Or is there something more we need to understand, something more …

The Lord’s Prayer and the Kingdom of God – Part 3

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. Matthew 6:12 (KJV) Forgiveness is a powerful tool for restoring and maintaining relationships between individuals, ethnic groups, or even nations. It even restores a broken relationship with God and leads to immortality. God’s forgiveness of us restores relationship with Him; our forgiveness of each other …

The Woman at the Well – Chance Encounter or Messianic Mission?  Part 4 – The Rift, the Revelation, and the Reconciliation

The rift, the dispute between the Jews and the Samaritans was explained in a previous post. As stated, it was a source of hatred between the Jews and Samaritans. While there were other factors involved, it boiled down to where you worship God. The Jews contended that Jerusalem is the only place for valid worship …

The Woman at the Well – Chance Encounter or Messianic Mission? Part 1 – The Location

A few years ago, I was asked by my home church leader to lead a study on John 4. I’ve read John 4 many times. It’s a short story about an apparent random encounter between the Lord and a Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. As I prepared for the bible study, what I found in …

The House of Mourning

It is better to go to a funeral than a feast. For death is the destiny of every person, and the living should take this to heart. Sorrow is better than laughter, because sober reflection is good for the heart.The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,but the heart of fools is …

The resurrection under attack… again

Over the past week, I was shocked at the anti resurrection tone of the media. I mean, this is holy week for Christians and it was always, as I recall, a time when the resurrection of Jesus Christ was front and center. I don’t ever recall a time in which there was a lack of …

Preaching the Gospel, Paul’s Style

And he stayed two full years in his own rented quarters and was welcoming all who came to him,   preaching the kingdom of God and teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all openness, unhindered. Acts 28:30-31 These are the closing verses in the book of Acts, the historical account of the early church, while …

The Supernatural Ministry of Jesus

The world of the first century was filled with paganism. Idolatry and veneration of the dead were common practice in the ancient world since the earliest times of the bible following Genesis 3. The world of the intertestamental time was filled with all kinds of deities: the Roman pantheon, the Greek pantheon, the ancient deities …

The Book of Ruth – a Christmas Story?

The Book of Ruth is not typically considered a prophetic book or a Christmas story. I think its both. The book is tucked away between the book of Judges and 1 Samuel, bridging the two time periods. The book has four short chapters and if you take about 30 minutes to read through it – …