Here and Now

 King Solomon is known as the wisest man to ever live.  We read that: "The whole earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put into his mind." 1 Kings 10:24 (ESV)  But perhaps the most important lesson we can learn from him is one we learn from his foolishness.  Let me explain. The book of 1 Kings records the ascension of David's son Solomon to the throne of Israel.  He is chosen by God to build the Temple.  He is given supernatural wisdom from God.  He is rich beyond compare.  He expands the borders of Israel to their farthest reaches, and presides over the kingdom at it's peak.  Chapter 10 ends this way: "Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, besides that which came from the explorers and from the business of the merchants, and from all the kings of the west and from the governors of the land. King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold; 600 shekels of gold went into each shield. And

  Eschatology : beliefs or teaching about last things. The word derives from  eschatos , the Greek word for “last.” Biblical writings often distinguish between the present age or eon, the period of history in which life is being lived, and the future, coming age, or period of transformed existence that God will bring at the end of history. [1] Preterism :  The belief that all prophecy in the Bible is really history.  The preterist interpretation of Scripture regards the Olivet discourse, the book of Revelation, etc. as a picture of first century conflicts.  The term comes from the Latin  praeter , meaning "past."  Preterism is divided into two types: full preterism and partial preterism.   The Millennium : (Lat .   mille  “thousand” plus  annus  “year”). The “thousand years” of Christ’s eschatological reign (Rev. 20:2–7). Numerous interpretations have been offered. According to Rev. 20, the thousand-year period is inaugurated by the following events: Satan is chained

Did you ever find yourself in a situation where you ask: what is God doing? When a loved one is sick, when a relationship is strained, when things just didn't go the way you thought they would or should, do you ask: what is God doing? When you just can't see His hand, His love, His grace at work in what's going on, do you ask: what is God doing? Like when a loved one has an emotional breakdown and tries to take his own life?  When it appears that your cancer may be back and you have to wait...wait...wait for those test results?  When someone you were relying on gives up and just leaves?  God, what are You doing... ...when all of those strains on my relationship with my family and all of those frustrations we were feeling are completely forgotten because we are together to rally around that loved one who tried to take his life.  To support each other.  To pray together.  To just be together. ...when all we can do is rely on You as a family, knowing that even if the cancer is

I often preach about the problem of abstract faith.  This is the idea that faith is something undefinable - it's kinda like believing in something that's kinda different from knowing something with an element of trust in there and maybe kinda more a heart thing than a head thing... Well, I don't know what that is, but it isn't the faith the Bible talks about.  That almost makes it sound as if what we have faith in may or may not be real, but who cares!  No.  The faith the Bible talks about is a faith based on what actually is - not what may or may not be.  It is a faith that is sure because the object of that faith - Jesus Christ - is as sure as it gets.   Can I get an Amen? However, there is a different kind of abstract faith that affects us as believers in Christ.  It is that faith that believes in Christ - believes in what the Bible says about Him and what it means for us - but that is abstract because we believe these things in principle but not in practice .

Last week, a long-time acquaintance - a good friend of a good friend - died.  Without giving all the details, we'll just say that years of wrong living and abusing his own body caught up with him.  In the wake of his death, my friend asked me about the after life.  This friend of mine is a believer, though relatively new.  He wanted to know where our friend's spirit was now. The issue is that between his Roman Catholic heritage, much popular misunderstanding of what the Bible says - and doesn't say - about what happens after physical death, along with the influence of modern spiritism, he was unsure of what happens to a person - including an unbeliever, like his friend - when they die.  Is he in hell?  Does his spirit linger on earth?  Does he have a chance to get into heaven? It is sad, indeed, when someone dies and you cannot give those he left behind any assurance that they are "in a better place."  And the truth is that the Bible doesn't give a whole l

COVID-19 is a highly contagious disease.   We see the number of positive tests rising every day, along with, sadly, the number of deaths.   The world is full of sick people, dying people.   They need our prayers.   Those who are at risk of catching the disease, which, let’s face it, is everybody, need our prayers.   This disease is changing the world. And not only that, but… Fear is highly contagious.   We see people all around us, every day, being paralyzed by fear.   We see them acting in ways they wouldn’t normally act and saying things they wouldn’t normally say.   The world is full of scared, helpless-feeling people.   They need our prayers.   Those who have no reason not to fear, they need our prayers.   Fear is changing the world. BUT… Faith is highly contagious.   When we see people around us at peace because of their faith, we are set at ease.   When people see us at peace because of our faith, they are set at ease.   When people see that even in trials like