Witnessing at Home

In today’s Bible reading*, Jesus encounters a man who has been demonized by a legion of demons. The demons manifested in ways we would describe mental illness today such as self-mutilation and paranoid schizophrenia. Mental illness is real. It is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain and it can be debilitating. In many…

Enjoy a Cup of Lukewarm Coffee!

In today’s Bible reading*, Jesus warns the Laodicea Church against its lukewarm walk with Jesus. Jesus tells the church that He would rather a church — or an individual, by implication — be either piping hot or stone-cold as opposed to being lukewarm. One of my favorite scenes in the Christian Movie War Room features Miss Clara serving…

His Promise is Sure

In today’s Bible reading*, Peter reminds us that God’s promise is sure: Jesus will return. He says that scoffers will come, trying to discourage God’s children by pointing out that Jesus has yet to return. “Where is the promise of His coming He predicted?” (2 Peter 3:4) There will always be nay-sayers. There will always be scoffers. There…

Spiritual Warfare: What it is (and what it isn’t)

In today’s Bible reading*, Paul completes his statement of what being filled with the Holy Spirit looks like as it applies to relationships with parents and children and with masters and servants (employers and employees in our context). He concludes the chapter discussing Spiritual Warfare. Most believers think they’re being persecuted for being a believer when…

Our Weapons of Mass Destruction

If you’ve been around church very long and you’ve heard about “spiritual warfare”, you’ll find one of the key passages on the subject in today’s Bible reading*. Paul says, “For although we live in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh, since the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh,…