-
Creation Science: My Vision of Its Future
The organizers of the International Conference on Creationism 2023 assigned me this topic as the keynote address on opening night at Cedarville University. My paper included more examples than I used during the address since my allotted time would not allow the fuller presentation.
-
A Pilgrim’s Look Ahead
Leaping from 2022 into the unknown territory of 2023 could be likened to an airline pilot’s anxiety when faced with the necessity of landing a 747 safely in the Alaskan bush. Or, it can be likened to the proverbial “leap in the dark.” Taking leaps of faith challenges all of us as Christians. We know
-
Christmas Meditation
Something Special For me the Christmas season has special meaning on two different levels: the spiritual and the familial. Every year celebrates two corresponding realities: the love of my Savior and the love of my wife. My final Christmas separated from my Savior took place in 1961.
-
The Psalms: A Primer for Prayer
For six and a half years we worked our way through the Psalter psalm by psalm (Psalm 1 through Psalm 150). After reading each psalm at the start of our Sunday morning class, we then prayed sentence prayers based upon that psalm.
-
Truth and Christmas
Many of us receive gift cards and money as Christmas gifts and wonder what we should purchase with those gifts. Ah, but some of you might still be trying to get in a last-minute Christmas gift and might want to give a book (hard copy or digital) to someone. The two books I will highlight
-
Israel Research Trip, Post #10
Capernaum The city of Capernaum in Galilee gained its greatest attribute when Jesus chose it as the location of His residence after leaving His boyhood home in Nazareth.
-
Israel Research Trip, Post #9
Magdala For myself personally, Magdala provided a new opportunity to visit a site I had not previously visited. I was enthralled with the archaeological finds at this location and enjoyed walking through the excavations.
-
Memories of Dr. James E. Rosscup (1934–2020)
As I enter yet another time of remembrance at the death of another friend and colleague, the experience brings to mind a mosaic. Yes, a mosaic like those on the ancient synagogue floor in Sepphoris near Nazareth in Israel.
-
Jordan Research Trip, Post #11
This final post reporting on my research trip to Jordan includes two sites we visited on our first day. I’ve done so in order to tie together some of the significance aspects of our visit to Gerasa and our later examination of sites in Israel. Elijah’s Hill / Tell Elias In order to identify sites
-
Shalom Living for God’s People
In 2014, as part of my participation in the ministries of Abraham Lincoln Foundation of Albania (ALFA), Robb Provost (ministry director) asked me to prepare and present a study about “shalom living” from the Old Testament.
-
The Synoptic Gospels’ Inerrancy: How Many People?
Let’s return to the synoptic Gospels’ reporting of the healing of the demon-possessed men (or man?) from Gadara (Matthew 8:28–34; Mark 5:1–20; Luke 8:26–39). We dealt with the apparent geographical contradiction in our first post. At least one more problem exists when we compare these passages.
-
The Book of Genesis and Resurrection Sunday
HE IS RISEN! HE IS RISEN INDEED! Sometimes we allow ourselves to so compartmentalize the Bible’s teachings that we fail to grasp the overarching unity of Scripture. On this Resurrection Sunday, I found a tremendous blog at the website for Is Genesis History? Yes, the superb film produced by Dr.
-
Peace-Loving Believers in an Age of Violence, Part 3 (Final)
Three fairly significant biblical examples appear to support a believer’s participation in the military: [1] Jesus’s approval of a king who waged war against wicked people (Matthew 21:33–41). In Luke 3:14 John did not command them to resign from military service, but to be conten
-
Peace-Loving Believers in an Age of Violence, Part 1
Scripture disallows seeking peace at any price. Some apologists argue that even believers must draw the line somewhere to stand up to the forces of evil. Wherever one stands, Christians need to be pro-active. As Friesen, Langan, and Stassen observe in their introduction to Just P
-
Blessing–Even in Affliction
Sometimes our lives seem as fragile as a bluebell clinging to its perch on an ancient chapel’s stone wall. The prophet Jeremiah caught the deep emotional pain disobedient Jerusalem must endure as the Lord brings upon her the covenant curses as discipline.
-
Pentecost Meditation: The Significance of Christ’s Ascensions
Bible readers often pick up on the apparent fact that Jesus ascended more than one time into heaven following His resurrection. Indeed, there appear to be three different ascensions, each accomplishing different purposes.
-
Why is Bible translation an important missions ministry?
Share The Word of God must be at the core of all missions strategy. Without the Word of God, no ministry can be satisfactorily performed— the Word provides the authority for ministry, the instruction for ministry, the power of ministry, and the message of ministry. To all of this
-
Biblical Genealogies: Begetting a Devotional Reading
You’ve heard it and maybe even said it yourself, “When I get to a genealogy in my Bible reading, I just skip it.” Genealogies (lists of names telling who is related to whom) can be boring and intimidating—especially if you have to read all those hard-to-pronounce names aloud for
-
Creation–Peripheral Doctrine?
Is the doctrine of creation a peripheral or secondary (or even tertiary) biblical doctrine? Some scholars opine that instantaneous, miraculous, divine creation as a doctrine should be exchanged for natural evolution.
-
Enemies of Truth Willingly Falsify
Isn’t it amazing how truth attracts falsehood and how enemies of truth will even manufacture a falsehood as their weak attempt to battle truth? Jesus pointed to the source of such falsification when He said that Satan was “a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44).
-
Church Covenants–Some Thoughts and Meditations
In Nehemiah’s day, after reading the Word of God together corporately and publicly, and following their careful observance of the Feast of Booths in accord with the instruction of the Law of Moses, the leadership of Israel prayerfully entered into a purposeful covenant in writing and sealed with…