Pastor's Blog (Page 16)

We have one of those invisible pet fences to keep our dog in our yard. In case you’re not familiar with the concept, the dog wears a collar with a radio receiver in it. The radio picks up on a signal broadcast from a transmitter in our home that defines the dog’s boundary in our yard. If he gets too close to the boundary, the collar signals him with beeping and—if he…

On pages 1, 2, and 3 in my Bible everything is humming along splendidly. What a wonderful, beautiful, glorious creation! But just a mere page-turn away is the Great Tragedy. Enter decay, disease, drudgery, deformity, dissension, disorder… and death. “For in the day that you eat of it…” The curse was (and is) dreadful. Yet in God’s mercy that was not the end of the story.…

Chapter 4 of Genesis is one of the most disheartening chapters in the entire Bible. The first homicide. And no apparent remorse by the murderer. Then another killing. And this murderer brags about it and dares anyone to touch him. Here we also find the first instance of polygamy. And for the first time we read that a person left the LORD’s presence. But at the close of…

Last Sunday we talked about the questions God asked Cain and Adam and Eve. Interestingly, we find God asking questions of people all through the pages of Scripture: “What is that in your hand?” (Exodus 4:2) “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (1 Kings 19:9) “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?” (Job 38:4) “Why…

It was a very dark place: “the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep…” On some rare occasion you’ve probably experienced total darkness. Like deep in Mammoth Cave when they turn out all the lights. Not a stitch of light! Not even a hint! From anywhere! You can put your hand a half inch in front of your face and you can’t see…

The question was once asked, “If you could choose what you want most, what would you ask for?” The most common answer was “Peace.” That sense that “all is well.” We want peace in our marriages and families, at school and work, in our neighborhoods and cities, and in our country and world. But instead we have broken marriages, splintered families, and fractured…