This Sunday, Floyd and I will be celebrating our 35th wedding anniversary. When we got married, we agreed that divorce was not an option, and if we ran into marital challenges that we would take them to the Lord and let Him help us work them out. And in those 35 years, we’ve faced quite a few challenges – from raising a mentally handicapped daughter to extended periods of separation…
Having faith means to have complete trust or confidence. Where is your faith? Where do you place your complete trust or confidence? Is it in the Lord? Or is it in yourself? Do you trust in the Lord to provide for you, or is your trust in things or your bank account or your career? Trusting means to hold a firm belief in the reliability or truth or strength of…
When we think of missions, we usually think of foreign mission fields – Taiwan, Japan, Romania, Iraq, etc. We don’t usually think of domestic mission fields, especially those of us who live in the Midwest or south where we can find a Gospel preaching church in every town and city. Missionary Ron Taylor and his wife, Susan, are on a domestic mission field as they work to bring the gospel…
When our pastor died in June, 2011, Floyd was in a position to hold the church together for a little while. But when we weren’t able to fill the pastor’s position right away due to financial circumstances beyond our control, a church member offered to fill in as interim pastor. Since he had previously pastored a church, most of the congregation received his offer gladly. The only problem was that…
Isaiah 55:10-12 says, “For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and…
Galatians 5:22-23 are frequently memorized and often quoted verses which boldly declare the fruit of the Spirit. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” What Spirit is the Bible referring to? The Spirit of Almighty God. (Certainly not the spirit of man.) And these wonderful traits flow naturally from God’s pure and holy nature. Because…
Although our nation was clearly founded on God and godly principles, our nation as a whole refuses to acknowledge it. Today’s society can deny the facts and attempt to rewrite history, but their lies will never change the truth. While touring old historic Jamestowne, we paused at the site of an old church and read the plaque that was prominently displayed at the entrance. It said that the church had…
In Sunday school, we’ve been talking about the Fruit of the Spirit. And I remember as a young mother with small children how much I lacked the fruit of longsuffering. Since that time I have learned that when a believer is walking in the Spirit, they have all the fruit. So you either have the fruit or you don’t. You don’t have the love today and tomorrow you start developing…
In Deuteronomy 1:42, God told Moses to warn the children of Israel, “…Go not up, neither fight; for I am not among you; lest ye be smitten before your enemies.” Did they listen? No. Moses said in verses 43-45, “So I spake unto you; and ye would not hear, but rebelled against the commandment of the LORD, and went presumptuously up into the hill. And the Amorites, which dwelt in…
When we’re hit with an accusation, our first response is usually defensive. It doesn’t matter what it is, we deny it first and then we might think about it later. When I was a young mother, a sister in the Lord said to me on the phone one day, “You’re a perfectionist, Marj. Everything has to be perfect; even your kids.” I denied that one in a hurry. “No, I’m…