Balancing Risks and Benefits Some years ago, I spent two weeks backpacking with a group of friends in a mountain wilderness area. To lighten our packs, we did not bring tents and we lived outside, exposed to the sun and unpredictable mountain weather. When I returned home, it felt strange to be indoors. Years later, […]
Every word is pure When we speak of the inerrancy of the Bible, some object, saying: “The Bible contains material on doctrinal, ethical, and moral matters and is accurate in what it says about these things. Other material on incidental matters may be inaccurate but that does not interfere with the main message. If we […]
It is not enough to be busy. So are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about? – Henry David Thoreau Ah, summertime! I love summertime. It’s a time for baseball and picnics. It’s a time for hiking and going to camp. If you are a kid, it’s time for no school! And […]
“For this cause I also suffer these things; but I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that He is able to guard My deposit unto that Day. Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which is in […]
“I see men as trees, walking” (Mark 8:24) There was a remarkable miracle performed when the Lord Jesus met a blind man in the town of Bethsaida. Remarkable because only Mark tells us about it (8:22-26). And remarkable because it was the only two-stage physical miracle recorded in our Lord’s ministry. Obviously the miracle’s second […]
Are there any candidates? Half a lifetime ago, while still in my teens, a teaching opportunity for my parents resulted in our move from a busy metropolis to the frigid, nickel-mining capital of Canada. In spite of my spiritual apathy in those days, my parents looked up the local assembly, and, upon our first visit […]
It would be impossible to overstate the importance of faith because “without faith it is impossible to please [God]” (Heb. 11:6a). Given the eternal consequences, we can see why it is important for us to understand faith clearly. As is often the case, in seeking to understand what faith is, it is helpful to consider […]
Two men bore the name Enoch in the early history of mankind. One was the third from Adam in the line of Cain (Gen. 4:1, 17); the other was “the seventh from Adam” in the line of Seth (Gen. 5:3-24; Jude 14). But their characters were very different. One had a memorial raised to him […]
Hebrews 11 is faith’s Hall of Fame—the great cloud of witnesses to the life of faith. This chapter describes, defines, and demonstrates faith. Verse 1 is the description, while verse 13 gives the definition. Faith can be defined by three verbs found in verse 13: “assured,” “embraced,” and “confessed.” Being assured of faith has to […]