2nd in 4-part series“The supreme end (goal) of education is discernment in all things – the power to tell the good from the bad, the genuine from the counterfeit, and to prefer the good and genuine to the bad and counterfeit” Samuel Johnson.In my previous article I asked, “Have the Dark Ages arrived?”  You can question whether what was called historically by this term was truly a “dark age” since ...  Read More

1st of a 4 part series…“Like men with sore eyes, they find the light painful, while the darkness, which permits them to see nothing, is restful and agreeable” Dio Chrysostom, lived 40-120A.D.The time between the fall of the western Roman Empire and the age called the Renaissance (approximately 500 to 1500AD) was known as the Dark Ages. Scholar Petrarch coined the term, and it has been used derisiv...  Read More

So, you’ve become a Christian.  What does that mean?  Does it just mean you believe something that you didn’t believe before, namely that Jesus is the promised Messiah, and you need to accept him as Savior? Is that all you need to do?  Is that all it means to be a Christian?  Well, certainly, such belief is part of the process.  But look at the word itself: Christian.  What does the word mean?  It...  Read More

We’ve been fortunate to travel on several “mission trips,” and all have been memorable. One stands out because of where we went and what we experienced that relates to the Bible. We traveled to the country of Jordan, just to the east of Israel. While there we had the privilege of taking a bus (an experience in itself) down to Petra. As you probably know, Petra is a canyon fortress in the southern ...  Read More

I hope you read the Bible regularly.  It helps us discover who Jesus really is, to learn what God expects of us, to find the guidelines for life needed if we wish to follow the Lord.  We need to read the Bible.  As we do so there are different approaches.  Some read it like a magic book, just open it up, flip to some random page, put your finger on a verse, and let it speak to you.  No thought abo...  Read More

Are you offended?  Does my title, stating that God is my personal assistant, sound brazen?  It should.For me to think that God is at my beckon call, that he is just waiting for my prayer with my request, and will jump to answer it to my satisfaction, is pretty crazy, don’t you think?  And yet, as you surely must agree if you stop to think about it, that’s how many people treat the God of the Unive...  Read More

Solomon built the original temple in Jerusalem. It was magnificent! The sins of a divided nation would eventually cause their downfall, the northern Kingdom taken away never to return, and the southern Kingdom (a little better) survived, but not until the temple was destroyed and they were taken into captivity in Babylon. Upon their return, under Nehemiah and Ezra, a rebuilding campaign sees a new...  Read More

There are many critics of Christianity. How it has reached this critical point so quickly in the US seems a mystery, but it has been a gradual move over my lifetime. We’ve gone from most Americans calling themselves “Christian” and many going to church regularly, at least belonging to a church, to the current circumstances where there is still a dedicated minority involved with Christian things, b...  Read More

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth gives way, and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea…There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most-High dwells” (Psalm 46:1, 2, 4).When you are reading this, mid-June 2023, we may be just returning from a “bucket list” trip on the Rhine Ri...  Read More

Happiness is desired by everyone. I want it. You want it. Our kids and grandkids want it. There are no exceptions. This is why it becomes such a lethal tool of the devil.And it is also why my Cross Point title this week is antithetical. No one who believes in hell believes you can be happy there. The words happiness and hell are at polar opposites. Now if you don’t believe in hell, that’s a topic ...  Read More

“The mountains shake before him, The demons run and flee, At the mention of the name, King of Majesty, There is no power in Hell or any who can stand, Before the power and the presence of the Great I Am. Hallelujah, Holy, Holy, God Almighty, the Great I Am, Who is worthy, None beside Thee!”Those words from the song Great I Am by Jared Anderson always move me when Ryan leads it in worship. Life on ...  Read More

“How can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” (Romans 10:14)God has ordained that people come to faith in Christ through hearing the Word of God proclaimed. Either through a preacher, a teacher, or self-study with the Bible telling them about Jesus and his salvation. P...  Read More