The man behind the book of Ecclesiastes is one of the most intriguing in all of Scripture. He is a case study in one whose heart lost its heat for God throughout a lifetime. His life prompts me to ask, How do giants redwoods of the faith fall from grace? Recently, the Christian world was … Continue reading The Slow Fade of Dying Embers (Ecclesiastes 1:1-3: I Kings 3, 11)

Have you ever had a moment, Pastor, when you are reading a passage, perhaps during your daily Bible reading time, and you know for certain you have read that exact passage dozens of times before, but for some reason, this time, you notice things with such a fresh look that it is almost as if … Continue reading Fullness of Joy: Meditating on Psalm 16:11

In my preaching and teaching, I probably quote Isaiah 55:8-9 as much as any other passage of Scripture: “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than … Continue reading Hope in a Knowable God: Truths from Isaiah 55:8-9

My Pastor’s Gospel transformation story makes me laugh. I asked KJ Washington, Lead Pastor at New Valley Church (Waynesboro, VA), his story of how the Gospel transformed him. I’m paraphrasing here, but he essentially told me he was in high school sharing the Gospel with someone else when the proverbial light bulb went off for … Continue reading Good News in a Bad World: The Daily Hope of the Gospel

“Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! Psalm 139:23-24, ESV Wow, what a wonderful, challenging, helpful passage of Scripture the Lord has given at the end of one our favorite Psalms! … Continue reading Light in the Dark: Encouragement from Psalm 139

Sunday night, our church finished a very timely study of 1 Peter. Please allow me to share with you five things Peter teaches us in the five chapters of this letter that was written to a group of persecuted Christians dispersed throughout Asia. Your salvation is God’s work; therefore, it is secure. “According to his … Continue reading Saved, Secure, and Certain: 5 Truths from 1 Peter