You and I carry around with us every day a set of keys. Each one is designed to unlock something. For instance, this key right here unlocks the ignition switch on my Silverado so that I can start my engine. This key here unlocks the door to my house so that I might enter in.…
From 2008-2014, I had the joy of serving as pastor of a Baptist church in the middle Tennessee town of Alexandria, which is about 50 miles east of Nashville. Alexandria doesn’t have a lot of people, but it’s filled with great people. Of course, we weren’t the only church in town. There were several, but…
One of the worst things in the world is getting up in the middle of the night only to find out the hard way as you make your way across that dark room that somebody has left something in your pathway as you stumble over it. After you get over the initial shock, your first…
What’s your favorite book of the Bible? For many Christians, it’s either 1st or 2nd Opinions. People have opinions about lots of stuff, but what are we do when there is a difference of opinion? I’m not talking about a difference of opinion on facts or truths. When it comes to facts or truths, there…
Do you love your neighbor? We are commanded to do so. But what does that look like? Well, the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 13 that loving our neighbor begins with at least doing them no wrong. Even if you never do anything actively good for them. You can show them…
If you have read the Bible, you know it’s full of hard sayings. One of those hard sayings is found in Romans 13:1–2, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists…
Do you have any enemies? Seriously, do you have somebody in your life that seems to just hate your guts? Is there somebody in your life, while you probably wouldn’t say it out loud, that you have their guts? The broken world that we live in gives us plenty of opportunities for enmity, and the…
Everybody loves to talk about peace. Bob Dylan wrote, “Yes, and how many times must the cannonballs fly before they’re forever banned? The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind. The answer is blowin’ in the wind” John Lennon sang out, “All we are saying is give peace a chance.” When I was growing…
The late physicist Stephen Hawking once said, “The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, but the illusion of knowledge.” The Greek philosopher Epictetus once wrote, “It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows.” Both of these men, whether they realized it or not, were echoing wisdom found in…
Someone once wrote, “Life is full of ups and downs, Like a rollercoaster ride, Times of joy and times of frowns, Through which we must abide.” How do we help one another through these ups and downs, these hills and valleys? The Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul tells us how in Romans 12:15, saying, “Rejoice…