Tag Archives: Christianity

January 13, 2026 · 11:57 AM

Determined To Be Like Jesus

The days were being fulfilled for Jesus’ ascension. That is, the time was drawing near for Jesus to return to the Father in heaven, the climax of his God-given mission in the first century.

Before his ascension, it was necessary for Jesus to go to Jerusalem, to suffer many things and be rejected by the religious leaders, to be killed, and to be resurrected on the third day. Then, he would ascend back to heaven.

Luke tells us that Jesus set his face toward Jerusalem. In other words, he was determined to go there and fulfill his mission. It took determination to carry out his mission because Jesus faced opposition.

First, Jesus faced spiritual opposition. The devil tempted him to choose an easier path to success than the one chosen for him by God. Jesus rejected the devil’s advice.

Second, Jesus faced opposition from his own followers. When Jesus first spoke about his mission to be God’s promised Suffering Servant, Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. Jesus forcefully responded to Peter, telling the former fisherman that he was mistaken to try and change Jesus’ mind.

Two other disciples, James and John, wanted to call down fire and destroy a Samaritan village because they would not receive Jesus. Jesus rebuked his disciples for their suggestion. He refused to be distracted from his mission by personal insults and power struggles.

Third, Jesus struggled with his own humanity. As his suffering at Calvary loomed ever closer, Jesus prayed in anguish in the Garden of Gethsemane, asking God to change his mission. But prayer strengthened Jesus and gave him the resolve to carry on and fulfill his calling.

Jesus was determined to do God’s work God’s way, despite the sacrifice. When he completed his God-given mission, Jesus enjoyed a great victory, a victory he wants to share with us.

In 2026, we will need determination to carry out our God-given mission. We will face spiritual opposition. We will face opposition and distraction from our own desires. We may even face opposition from fellow Christians.

Like Jesus, we can set our face to do God’s work God’s way, despite the sacrifice. We can be determined to avoid fighting the wrong battles the wrong way, despite the temptation.

Like Jesus, we can find confidence through prayer and experience the inspiration and empowering of God’s Holy Spirit. And, like Jesus, we can be sure to share in a great eternal victory, one that brings glory to God and blessings to many.

May the Lord give us determination to fulfill our gospel mission and share his great victory,

Brother Richard

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December 3, 2025 · 4:19 PM

Christmastime: A Glimpse of Glory

Jesus took three of his disciples, Peter, James, and John, with him up a high mountain. While he was praying, he was transfigured before them. Jesus’ face shone like the sun. His clothes became white like lightning.

Moses and Elijah appeared in glory speaking with Jesus. Peter was so impressed by the experience that he wanted to squeeze every possible moment out of it. He wanted it to last as long as possible. He suggested makeshift shelters for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah so they could stay on the mountain.

Can you imagine? What shelter can mere mortals possibly construct for those who are in glory? Why cover the shining splendor of Jesus Christ with the work of human hands?

Through the prophet Isaiah, God says, “Heaven is my throne and earth is my footstool. Where could you possibly build a house for me? And where would my resting place be?” (Isaiah 66:1).

While Peter ponders his foolish idea, God’s glory appears on the mountain like a bright cloud, enveloping the small group. They hear God’s voice, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased. Listen to him!” (Matthew 17:5). To hear the voice of God! What does that sound like?

Despite Peter’s efforts to prolong the experience, the glory departs. Jesus leads his disciples down the mountain, back to the valley. There, the daily toil awaits them, problems and all.

But Peter, James, and John are changed, profoundly and permanently. The world will never look the same for them. They have a renewed vision of Jesus and new hope for what lies ahead.

God knows that we need encouragement to face the struggles and routines in our daily activities. He is gracious enough to give us glimpses of glory along the way. They may not be as dramatic as what Peter, James, and John experienced on the mountaintop, but God’s Spirit knows how to touch us in our inner being with great intensity, with his powerful presence.

Christmas is a perfect time to sense the wonder and awe of what God is accomplishing through Jesus Christ. The contrast between our Lord’s glory and his humility grips our hearts and inspires our confidence. The King of eternity in a manger. God does the impossible!

I pray our Lord will give you empowering glimpses of his glory this Christmas season!

May the Lord give you the eyes to see and a heart to sing at his marvelous Christmas miracle,

Brother Richard

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October 2, 2025 · 11:10 AM

Did Charlie Kirk Start A Revival?

I’ve heard the word revival a lot more recently, ever since Charlie Kirk’s funeral. His funeral feels like the beginning of something new, that is, something old rekindled: unashamed public faith in Jesus Christ.

Before his assassination, many people were aware of the bold public witness Charlie was living for Jesus. Others were unaware. Those of us who did not know about Charlie have been amazed and impressed to discover what a brilliant and passionate witness for Jesus Charlie was.

The early news reports after Charlie’s murder painted him as a political activist. Perhaps because the writers were from the secular camp in our culture. They always wash their stories clean of any potentially positive references to Christianity. They diligently work to present a world that is ‘free’ from any religious influence, unless they can paint religion as bad.

There is some truth to the notion that Charlie was a political activist. But it is a half-truth at best. Charlie’s political positions were inspired by his commitment to Christ. Charlie understood that Jesus is Lord, Lord of all, not just private life. For those who are true followers of Jesus, he is Lord of our public life, including our politics.

It’s true, sincere Christians don’t always agree on politics. But we should agree that our faith in Jesus is not a lamp under a bowl. We should agree that Jesus has called us to witness for him publicly. We should agree that Jesus insisted that violence is not the way to promote the gospel.

Charlie didn’t just promote the gospel on social media platforms. He personally went to places where he could engage with people face to face, eye to eye, heart to heart. Charlie was imitating our Lord. Jesus dialogued with people openly and publicly.

Jesus was accused of saying bad things. In fact, he was accused of blasphemy, of slandering God. In our culture, Christians are accused of saying bad things. We are accused of hate speech for our devotion to God and his standard of right and wrong. In fact, if we question identity politics, we are treated as blasphemers against the gods (idols) of our culture.

Jesus reminded us that the cultural leaders hated him, and he warned that they will hate us as well. Jesus modeled a loving boldness that risked personal harm out of concern for those who are lost and confused in this dark and deceptive age. Charlie followed Jesus’ model.

People like Charlie Kirk are reminders to Christians that Jesus’ words are still true. Charlie is a reminder that our task as believers is unchanged. And, Charlie is a reminder that our victory is secured. Charlie didn’t lose. He enjoyed a harvest that is still unfolding here on earth and he will enjoy the presence of our Lord in heaven forever.

When we speak the truth in love, we share the spiritual harvest. We share Jesus’ eternal victory. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16, CSB).

May the Lord inspire us and empower us to share the good news about Jesus with confidence,

Brother Richard

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August 27, 2025 · 2:39 PM

Tell People About Jesus Now

This little light of mine. I’m gonna let it shine! I remember singing those words. It’s a gospel song for children. It was inspired by a saying of Jesus.

Jesus told his disciples that nobody puts a lamp under a bowl or a bed. They put it on a lampstand so that it can give light to everyone in the house.

Jesus was brilliant at using common everyday experiences to reveal and explain spiritual truth. This saying is recorded in several places in the Gospels. He must have used it often.

In Luke’s Gospel, it follows immediately after his parable of the soils. In that parable, Jesus compares God’s word with seed. If seed falls on hard, shallow, or thorny soil, it does not bear fruit. When it falls on good soil, it bears fruit.

Jesus was preparing his followers for the fact that not everyone who hears God’s good news will be receptive. Some people have hearts like the hard soil, uninterested in the gospel. Others are shallow, only interested in the gospel when it feels good. They fall away when things get difficult. Still others are distracted by the things of this world. They are never really committed to the gospel, so they never bear spiritual fruit.

But Jesus didn’t want his disciples to give up on sharing the gospel. He assured them that some people have hearts that will receive the gospel and nurture it. God’s word will bear fruit in their lives. The work of sharing the good news is worth the effort.

Immediately following the parable of the soils, Jesus follows up with the saying about the lamp. He switches from comparing the gospel to seed and compares it to a lamp. Like a lamp, God’s word should not be hidden away.

When we put Jesus’ two sayings together, we get great encouragement about our efforts to share God’s good news with others. True, many will reject the good news, but some will receive it. So, we should not hide the gospel away.

Every follower of Jesus has the seed of the gospel already growing in his heart. We have the light of Jesus in our souls. Jesus has instructed us not to hide the gospel but to share it with others. God also empowers us with his Spirit, inspiring and enabling us to share the gospel.

God is not calling us all to be preachers, or teachers, or evangelists. His Spirit gives those gifts of service to the ones who are chosen by God. But every follower of Jesus is instructed to testify about Jesus, to be a witness.

We need not be Bible scholars or theologians to tell others about Jesus. Our testimony may be very simple. At times, it may be no more than a couple of sentences in a discussion at work or in the classroom or neighborhood.

The power of the gospel is not in our ability to speak well or be persuasive. The power of the gospel is in the gospel, like the seed and the lamp. When the soil is right, the seed brings the miracle of life. When the lamp is displayed, it gives light. The gospel is no different. When we scatter the seed and display the lamp, God will accomplish amazing things.

Pray and watch for opportunities to say a good word about Jesus. Ask God to give you the discernment to see the opportunities and to take advantage when they come. God’s powerful Spirit will use our feeble efforts to bear fruit for eternal life.

May the Lord inspire and enable us to tell the good news about Jesus,

Brother Richard

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August 12, 2025 · 11:26 AM

Understanding the Times and Knowing What To Do

Jesus asked the question. “To what then should I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like?” (Luke 7:31). On another occasion, Jesus noted that the religious leaders knew how to read the weather, but they didn’t know how to read the signs of the times (Luke 12:54-56).

In the Old Testament we read about men from the tribe of Issachar who understood the times and knew what Isreal should do (1 Chronicles 12:32).

What about us? How should we describe our generation? Do we understand our times? Do we know what to do?

Surely most people would agree that our generation is influenced by rapidly advancing technology, especially in communications. The internet has created a virtual world that competes with the real world. Social media gobbles up more and more time and attention. Are we controlling it, or is it controlling us?

Social media can be a great blessing. It enables us to stay in touch with people who are far away, family and friends we would otherwise struggle to keep up with.

Ironically, social media can also isolate people and diminish personal contact. I can still remember the first time I saw two people sitting at the same table in a restaurant texting one another instead of talking with each other. Social media tempts us to replace personal contact with electronic communication.

This is all probably changing dramatically at this very moment. The astounding advances of Artificial Intelligence (AI) promise another great leap forward in how we communicate with one another. It seems that just as we are realizing the dangers of social media, we are being flung into the confusing world of AI.

Many aspects of technology are bewildering, but some things are crystal clear. First, advances in communication technology do not come with advances in human ethics. Bad people still exist, and they use new technologies with old evil intentions. This fact should be acknowledged and people must be warned.

Second, parents who do a poor job navigating social media will not be very effective at helping their children do so. If parents fail their kids, then that failure will likely be passed on to the next generation. We may be hopelessly falling behind.

In addition to social isolation and money scams, social media and AI have an even darker and more sinister side. AI is already being used to produce new versions of pornography. Why is it that every new communications technology is almost immediately used to produce pornography and promote sexual immorality?

Why does the world seem so hostile toward healthy marriages and families? God’s design for family is fundamental to godly life. God is faithful to his people and he wants husbands and wives to be faithful to one another, reflecting and promoting godly living. God is the loving Father to his people and he wants mothers and fathers to be loving to their children, reflecting and promoting godly living.

Our generation has changed the legal definition of marriage and doubled down on destroying unborn babies. Our generation makes it a badge of honor to say “No” to children and to say “No” to God’s design for family. Our generation is so confused and deceived that many people refuse to acknowledge the obvious natural distinction between boys and girls, men and women.

What should we do? First, we must reject pornography in all its forms and promote healthy marriages. God’s design for marriage is one man and one woman freely and fully committed to one another for life, raising their children together and enjoying their grandchildren. Christian marriage is designed by God to be a living parable of the love Jesus has for his church.

In addition, we should set healthy limits to our use of electronic communications. Personal contact with other people is normal and necessary. Church is the perfect example. There is no such thing as an online church family. Church services made available online are a blessing for those who cannot get out. They should not be a crutch for those who can get out.

Christianity has always used technology to promote the gospel, from the printing press, to radio, to TV, and now the internet. But the gospel message still needs a personal touch. Jesus didn’t sit in heaven and live stream his message to earth. He came in person. Like Jesus, we must go and interact with others.

Finally, we must remember that any media can be used to corrupt God’s truth and promote deception. Media can give the false impression that God’s Word is obsolete. It is not. Jesus assures us that heaven and earth will pass away (including the internet and smart phones), but his word will not (Luke 21:33).

We can be certain that technology will continue to change. We must also be certain that God’s Word will not. Let us contend for the faith that was delivered to the saints once for all.

May God inspire us and enable us to build strong families, communities, and churches,

Brother Richard Foster

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May 23, 2025 · 9:31 AM

Some Love Speech

I never imagined the world in which we live.

For generations we have watched the unfolding of a movement variously named. It was called Women’s Lib when I was young, short for women’s liberation. Women were in bondage, we were told, if they could not be treated exactly the same as men.

Much of what the women’s rights movement advocated for was perfectly right and reasonable. For instance, women should be paid a fair wage and treated with proper respect. But that wasn’t enough for many Women’s Lib activists.

Radicals insisted we agree with them that men and women are no different. A woman can do anything a man can do. It wasn’t emphasized, but this implies that a man can do anything a woman can do. They are interchangeable. This obviously sets the stage for affirming same-sex relationships.

History shows that people with same-sex attraction have long been with us. But our culture decided to affirm this lifestyle by throwing out the ancient definition of marriage: one man and one woman committed to one another for life.

The traditional definition of marriage is built on God’s design for marriage and family: “This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24, CSB). It is a standard people often fail to live up to, but not one we should give up on. Imperfect efforts at the right goal are far better than hitting the wrong target.

Changing the legal definition of marriage was not the end. It enticed people to take another step away from God’s design and God’s ways. If men and women are interchangeable, then why keep speaking of humanity as male and female? Or, as it is now described: binary.

God’s design for humanity is revealed in Genesis 1. “So God created man in his own image; he created him in the image of God; he created them male and female” (Genesis 1:27, CSB). All my life, we have discussed the importance of what it means to be created in the image of God. We never thought the “male and female” part of the verse was worthy of such deep analysis.

But now, the arrogance of humanity has reached new heights of rebellion. Now, some people believe we can ignore the natural expressions of male and female and redefine gender with drugs and operations. Now, we are being asked to pretend that we do not see the evil that is right before our eyes.

People who think they are in the wrong body are not a sign of evolving humanity but sign of broken humanity. Such a person needs our compassion, not our affirmation. Affirming what is wrong will do no good. We should have learned that difficult lesson when we started ‘affirming’ that men and women are identical. We are not.

God’s design for marriage and family has now become controversial. Supporting and promoting God’s design is now considered hate speech. It is not. It is love speech. It is speaking the truth in love.

God’s design for physical, emotional, and spiritual intimacy between husband and wife is one of the most beautiful blessings in this age. It’s no surprise that the forces of evil want to demean and destroy it. To distort or erase God’s design for marriage and family is to distort or erase a testimony to God’s love.

Women are different. They have babies. They express love in a maternal way that is vital for the human race. Women are a beautiful and necessary part of God’s good creation. No man can be a woman. No woman should abandon her gender. We embrace God’s good design, promote it with love and confidence, and thank the Lord for his blessings.

May God bless his binary creation,

Brother Richard Foster

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April 16, 2025 · 5:10 PM

Jesus Means No Going Back

When Columbus discovered America, the course of history changed forever. There was no undoing it. America could not be un-discovered.

After the Wright brothers bounced around in their kite-looking contraption on the beach, flying for short stretches, history moved in a new direction. Within one lifetime, astronauts walked on the moon.

When it seemed that millions might die to end the war in Japan in the 1940s, the power of the atom was harnessed. Two atomic bombs were dropped and the war ended. The nuclear age was born and there was no going back. The world has been a different place ever since.

In the 1970s a man named Marty was working for Motorola. He made the first cell phone. Can we even imagine a world without cell phones now?

All these changes in human history were profound yet they pale in comparison with Jesus Christ. Jesus is the great dividing line in all human history. The change made by Jesus is cosmic.

This is not to say that Jesus changed everything. He did not replace God and his revelation of himself in the Old Testament. Jesus did not do away with holiness. God is still holy and our goal is still to be holy.

Jesus did not cancel God’s promises to Israel. God made unconditional promises to his chosen people Israel and they will be fulfilled, like his promise to give them the Promised Land.

So, what exactly did Jesus change? Jesus opened a new and living way to God and his blessings. When Jesus died on the cross, he said, “It is finished.” At that moment, the curtain that blocked entry into the holy of holies in the temple in Jerusalem was torn apart. Suddenly, there was an opening to that place of God’s presence.

The curtain covering the entrance to God’s presence was not torn from the bottom up, as if people forced their way in, demanding to experience God’s presence. The curtain was torn from the top down. God invited us in because of the profound change accomplished by Jesus. We can now approach God’s presence with confidence because of the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross at Calvary.

We no longer bring a goat or a lamb to church when we gather to worship. We no longer pour out the blood of a sacrificial animal at the base of the altar. That was a vital part of worship for God’s people in the Old Testament, the old covenant.

Jesus shed his precious blood as the final and full sacrifice for all of God’s people for all time and eternity. We come before God by faith in him and his blood, no longer needing to bring our sin offerings over and over, year after year, generation after generation. It is finished!

On the third Day, God raised Jesus from the dead. He walked away from his tomb, alive forever, victorious over sin, triumphant over death. The course of time and eternity was altered permanently. Jesus is the agent of a new age, the age of God’s kingdom.

Thinking about Jesus as new may be difficult for those of us who have grown up in church hearing all the Bible accounts about him. Saying that Jesus is new may seem strange since his Church has now been in existence for two thousand years.

But Jesus is the new way. Any other way is the old way, the way of hoping our best will be good enough for God. Now we can be confident because God has given us his best, his Son and our Savior Jesus Christ.

We should rejoice that God has chosen to put us at this moment in history. Yes, the Old Testament saints had their blessings, but what an honor it is to live in the light of Jesus’ death and resurrection!

May our hearts and souls bless the Lord with great joy on Easter and always,

Brother Richard

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April 16, 2025 · 3:36 PM

Jesus Disappointed Them

Imagine a city where nobody is ill. No need for a hospital. No clinics. No doctors or nurses. No pharmacies. Nobody calling in sick.

For just a few hours, a city in Galilee enjoyed this amazing experience.

It all started with Jesus. His words had astounding authority and power. With a word, he could liberate a man possessed by a demon. With a word, he could heal a woman suffering from a high fever.

Social media was yet to be invented. Social networks, however, were surprisingly effective. The word about Jesus spread like wildfire.

Everyone in town brought those who were sick to Jesus. He healed them. Every single one! They even brought people with demons. Jesus cast them out. All of them!

The next morning, they were upset to discover that Jesus was missing. They went into a panic and searched for him. They found Jesus in a deserted place praying.

The crowds tried to convince Jesus that he should stay with them. Look at all the good he was doing! No doubt they could use him in the future. After all, people get sick.

Their desire to keep Jesus to themselves is certainly understandable. Jesus did so much good for their families and friends. He made their city a better place.

Despite their earnest appeals, Jesus disappointed them. He refused their offer to stay in that city and take care of all their needs. Why did he decline their offer?

Jesus told the people, “It is necessary for me to proclaim the good news about the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because I was sent for this purpose” (Luke 4:43).

Jesus had a message that was meant for everyone. Staying in one city to heal their sick and cast out their demons would keep his message from reaching others.

“I was sent,” Jesus said. He was sent by God. His message and mission were from God. The folks in this city had no right to override God’s plans.

Jesus told them that he was sent “to proclaim the good news about the kingdom of God.” God’s kingdom is his benevolent and transforming rule in the hearts of all who trust in him. God’s kingdom was announced and initiated by Jesus; and it will be consummated at Jesus’ Second Coming.

Jesus was sent “to the other towns also.” He left that town and continued proclaiming the good news about God’s kingdom throughout Israel, and beyond. The power of his word continued to heal and to liberate, advancing into other communities, into other lives.

After Jesus’ sacrificial death on a cross in Jerusalem and his triumphant resurrection from the tomb, he prepared to return to God the Father in heaven. His disciples asked if he was restoring God’s kingdom to Israel at that time. Like the people who wanted Jesus to stay in their town, the disciples were still limiting his reach. Stay in our nation and bless us!

Jesus told them to be witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. He entrusted his mission to his followers. They followed his instructions and continued proclaiming the good news. The good news about God’s kingdom spread rapidly throughout the Roman Empire.

Since then, Christians have faced the same temptation as that city in Galilee almost two thousand years ago: to try and keep Jesus to ourselves. But Jesus will not be contained. God’s mission is unchanged. His Spirit in our hearts urges us to tell people everywhere about God’s benevolent rule through faith in Jesus.

Jesus has entrusted his mission to us, his followers. It is our turn to be faithful in our generation. If we try to keep Jesus to ourselves and ignore the great spiritual need in other lives and communities, Jesus will disappoint us.

When we tell others the good news about Jesus, we are participating in God’s great work of salvation. When we tell others the good news about Jesus, God will use our efforts to save souls for eternal life!

May the love of God compel us to tell the good news about Jesus Christ,

Brother Richard

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April 15, 2025 · 1:33 PM

Is There No God?

“The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” These words are about three thousand years old, recorded by King David in Psalm 14:1. The temptation to dismiss God as a figment of someone’s imagination is nothing new. And this ancient notion is still with us today.

We live in a world filled with skepticism about eternal realities: life after death, final judgment, heaven and hell, and so forth. Satan has convinced many people that God is nothing more than a threat to their personal freedoms. Without God, he promises, they are free from accountability, thus free to live as they please, to do as they please.

But the old serpent is not telling the whole truth. Without God, we would live in a world utterly devoid of real meaning and purpose. True, we would be able to do whatever we wished, or at least we could try. But whatever we might do would be empty of any lasting value. Whatever momentary thrill we gained would soon be lost and forgotten, just as we also would be.

Life without meaning is a deeply troubling prospect. Those who fear that their lives have no purpose are often visited by depression. We are ‘hardwired’ to believe that life should be meaningful. If there is no God and life truly is meaningless, then why are we so stubborn in our conviction that our existence must have meaning and purpose?

Here are more ancient words from the Bible: “He (God) has put eternity in their hearts” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). God has put eternity in the hearts of all people everywhere at all times. In the very core of our being, our mind, will and emotion, we are ‘stamped’ with the idea that life is both valuable and meaningful. This is one mark of the image of God in us. God’s existence is meaningful. So is ours, because we reflect him.

This ‘imprint’ of God’s character on each of us is robust. Parents who lose a beloved child to an apparently random accident or disease might insist on starting a foundation to raise money and do research to avoid future similar fatalities. This good work is done in the name of the lost child. Why? In order to find meaning in a life that was cut off too soon. Living with the idea that the child’s life had no meaning is unacceptable.

Atheists propose a solution to the problem of our desire for purpose and our need for God to supply ultimate meaning. They insist that people can still live fulfilling lives even if God is imaginary and life is ultimately meaningless. How? By simply inventing a purpose for life. In other words, by pretending that life does have meaning, all the while knowing that it doesn’t.

The atheist considers this a bold and admirable move. But is it honest? No. They are asking us to live a dishonest and deceived life. This bizarre solution is ironic since atheists have long accused Christians of engaging in wishful thinking and refusing to face reality.

But what purpose is there in a world filled with evil and injustice? How can we believe in a good God, they ask, considering the terrible pain and suffering in this world? They want us to conclude that either God is not good (since he allows suffering), that God is not all-powerful (since a good God would stop suffering if he could), or that God is non-existent. They opt for the final choice and persuade us to agree with them.

However, the atheist’s argument from the existence of evil is incomplete. There is another possibility. Perhaps pain and suffering is meaningful. This is precisely what the Bible reveals. The greatest example is Jesus Christ. The life of Jesus shows that God is willing to join us in our suffering (since Jesus is God). And, the sacrificial death of Jesus shows that suffering can produce great good. Jesus’ unjust suffering on the cross saves all the faithful from eternal judgment and condemnation.

God loves us enough to send Jesus to join us in our pain and suffering. God despises pain and suffering enough to send Jesus to the cross to sacrifice himself so we can be set free even from death itself. God proves his power by raising Jesus from the dead. God is powerful enough to defeat suffering and injustice and to create a new heaven and earth where evil will no longer exist. God invites us to join him in that new heaven and earth by trusting in Jesus.

May we seek the Lord while he may be found,

Brother Richard

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April 4, 2025 · 8:53 AM

God’s Word Need An Update?

The church in Thessalonica was new. The believers had recently heard the gospel and put their faith in Jesus. They were enduring persecution from fellow citizens who rejected the good news about Jesus. They needed more instruction in their newfound faith. They needed mature and experienced leadership.

The great first-century missionary Paul had planted the church. But he was forced to leave the city because his life was threatened by violent opposition. Paul writes to them after he gets welcome news that they are persevering in the faith. His letter is filled with both encouragement for their progress to date, and instructions for their continued success.

In one place, the missionary thanks God for the Christians in Thessalonica because of their response to God’s word. They welcomed it “not as a human message, but as it truly is, the word of God” (1 Thessalonians 2:13).

The new Christians did not consider the good news about Jesus to be a human creation. They knew that Paul’s words about Jesus were not his own invention. They recognized the message as something far more, the very words of God. Paul’s proclamation was God’s revelation about eternal salvation by grace through faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection.

For two thousand years Christians have welcomed God’s word, not as a human message, but as it truly is: the word of God. And, for two thousand years, God’s word has also met with doubt, disdain, and denunciation.

“Did God really say . . .?” That was Satan’s question to Eve in the Garden of Eden. His question was meant to plant doubt in her mind about God’s word. That same provocative question is still asked today. It is still meant to plant doubt in hearts and minds about the faithfulness of the Bible.

Is it really God’s word? Or, is it merely a human message? If it is merely a human message, then we are not required to believe and obey, right? In fact, if it is a human message, then we may need to update or alter it from time to time.

Efforts to update and edit the Bible’s message are rampant in our culture. Some people foolishly believe they can improve God’s word. Those who doubt the perfection and authority of the Bible try to retain some of the words in Scripture so they can maintain a façade of godly authority. But they have rejected God’s authority.

If God’s word is no longer the perfect standard and authority for truth and goodness, then what is? What standard is being used to judge and adjust the Bible? Popular ideas based on sinful desires are the guide for editing Scripture. Alternative notions about sex, marriage, family, parenting, gender, and other fundamental truths are being promoted as replacements for God’s revealed design.

Those who doubt God’s word dare to redefine God’s love. They treat love as a synonym for desire. Love is whatever they want it to be. Anyone who disagrees with them is accused of being hateful. But God’s word demands a higher standard for love, a standard exemplified by Jesus. God’s word boldly proclaims the truth, shining as the much-needed light in a spiritually dark age.

In Paul’s letter to the believers in Thessalonica, he went on to remind them that the word of God “works effectively in you who believe.” Their faithfulness to the gospel, despite the persecution they were enduring, was visible proof that God’s word had taken root in their hearts and was working to bear spiritual fruit for eternal life.

Despite the accusations of hatred from those who doubt the Bible, God’s word still works effectively in all who believe. Those who welcome God’s word for what it truly is will always meet opposition in this broken and dying world, but we will always enjoy God’s effective work and eternal hope in our hearts and for eternity.

May we welcome God’s word for what it truly is,

Brother Richard

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