The Christmas account of the Magi offers insight into how the Holy Spirit works to bring mankind to Christ. The wise men or μάγος (wise men, magicians) were likely educated Babylonians who would have heard of the Jewish Messiah when the Jews were in captivity and exile. Due to their fascination and study of the supernatural, they were prime candidates to witness Jesus’ arrival. The unusual star is what got their attention. And, being astrologers themselves, they quickly recognized that this star was different than other stars that moved about in the night sky. The star’s physical illumination led the way for the Magi to find Jesus nearly 2 years after his birth. But if we take a few moments to reflect, there is something deeper at work here. In the Bible, darkness and light are two terms used metaphorically. Darkness is generally associated with ignorance or evil, and light is used as a metaphor to describe understanding or the Holy Spirit and his work. The star illuminated the path t...

Don't turn away from this one too quickly. It has wide-ranging applications. Over the years I have developed my own set of "rules" for studying and teaching the Word of God. They are not meant as substitutes for established sound exegetical guidelines ,  but are my own personal addendum that help guide my studies. Rule #4: context, Context, CONTEXT      Like most everything else in life, understand the context of a matter aids in understanding the matter. You might even say that a matter cannot be understood unless the context it understood first. We see this in media and politics frequently where a word or phrase taken out of contex t so that the story can be tainted or spun at the author's discretion.  The great rule in real estate was aptly stated by Lord Samuel Harold, "There are three things that matter in property:  location, location, location ."(NY Times 6/28/2009)   In theology and Bible study the rule is similar: context, context, conte...

" not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near." - Heb. 10:25 When it comes being a Christian, one of the fundamental truths that we much grasp is that we are now part of something much bigger than we are as individuals. We have become part of the family of God, the Body of Christ: the Church. As a Christian, you are not the Church by yourself, but you are part of the Church. Your unique gifts, talents, and personality means that you are unlike anyone else in creation. You are a valued member of God's family. That means that the Church needs you, and you need the Church! When the writer of Hebrews penned the verse above, I doubt very seriously that he could even guess that we would be in the place we are today. Due to COVID-19, every church in the US--and likely all over the world--is operating a bit differently than before. Most of us have been impacted to some degree wh...

  " For you will no longer remember the oracle of the L ord , because every man’s own word will become the oracle, and you have perverted the words of the living God, the L ord  of hosts, our God." - Jer. 23:36 One problem the people of Israel encountered was prophets who prophesied their own oracles as if they came from God. In Jeremiah chapter 6 we see the LORD condemning the voices of falsehood, "Saying 'Peace, peace, but there is no peace.'"(v.14) The people during Jeremiah's day had turned from God's oracles to the oracles of man, and they would suffer as a result.  Although Jeremiah's words about people perverting God's words were directed at a straying Israelite leadership and people, the words speak to the world in which we now live as well. This will not be a popular notion, but it seems we are seeing more and more Christian proclaiming messages God has supposedly said or something God is supposedly going to do. I am a Pentecostal pr...

The L ord ’ s  lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,  For His compassions never fail.  They  are new every morning;  Great is Your faithfulness. - Lamentations 3: 22-23 The book of Lamentations is not the most uplifting of writings, but then again, Jeremiah's writings tend to be a bit darker than that of other prophets. He suffered much as a prophet, and it is reflected in his tone. Don't believe me? Take note of just a few of his comments in chapter 3:  He has caused my flesh and my skin to waste away (v3), He has walled me in so that I cannot go out (v7), He is to me like a bear lying in wait (v10), He has filled me with bitterness (v15), I have forgotten happiness (v17). Not very encouraging is it? Jeremiah was known as the weeping prophet, and it shows. However, this same prophet turns around and gives us this great statement about God's lovingkindness. It almost seems out of character. How is this possible? Well, Jeremiah understood something that ...

"Jesus wept." - John 11:35 Hands down, this is the shortest verse in the Bible. Two little words, but they carry a very large message.  When Lazarus became sick, Jesus knew the plan was to delay so Lazarus would die. That sounds harsh, but God had a much-bigger plan than healing Lazarus. Jesus was going to raise him from the dead, thus proving to be the Son of God. The disciples nor Mary and Martha had knowledge of this plan. Four days later we find that Lazarus has died and Jesus now wants to go to where Lazarus was. Once Jesus arrives he sees Mary and Martha and all the mourners grieving. I'm quite sure the disciples were weeping as well. Then we see something remarkable. Even though Jesus is about to raise Lazarus from the grave, and even though everyone's weeping is about to change to exhilaration, Jesus weeps as well. So, the question is why? I believe the answer is fairly simple: Jesus wept because his friends wept. the Bible is clear that Jesus understand...