“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” (Exodus 20:17) I read an article recently about the lasting importance of the Ten Commandments in which the author observed, “When God gave His people the Ten Commandments, he wrote them on stone to symbolize their durable, lasting nature. He wrote them on both sides of the stone to signify their thoroughness. And he wrote these laws […]

“That which is has already been, and what is to be has already been; and God requires an account of what is past.” (Ecclesiastes 3:15) I always like to end the new year by looking back, particularly at major trends that might affect how we reach out to others with our Christian faith. Trends are important. They not only shape what we will be buying next Christmas, or what we’ll watch on TV next fall, they also can be used to shape how we can most effectively reach […]

For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. (John 3:17) Consumer analysts who track the whims of shoppers report that gift cards were purchased this Christmas season in record numbers. It is one more indication of the quality of life that we enjoy – we are hard to shop for because we have just about everything we need. Be careful if you were on the receiving end of a gift card. Most of […]

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” (Luke 2:14) My wife told me a story the other day about a young woman who was in need of serious surgery only to see it delayed due to circumstances beyond her control. When I saw her, I was astonished. You would never know that she was facing a life-threatening illness. I realized that my wife’s friend enjoys a special kind of peace that the Bible calls the peace of God. It’s a gift that […]