2019 is behind us now, and we are already half-way through January.  The new year has begun (but sorry y'all, the new decade doesn't start until 2021)!  At the end of an old year, we tend to make resolutions for the new one---we want to learn an instrument, learn a language, read more books, or…

Another guest post by my wife Cheyanne.  As usual, she has some awesome spiritual insights about what most of us wouldn't stop to meditate about! In the process of writing what became last week’s post I got curious about how trees are transplanted and pruned. So I went to faithful Elder Google and asked him a…

This article was a guest-post written by my wife Cheyanne.  She looks at the world through spiritual eyes, finding life-lessons in what most of us overlook as ordinary.  This post was inspired by our marriage, when she left her home and church in Florida and moved to the Midwest to be my wife.  Be sure to…

Even before the crucifixion, there came a point in Jesus' ministry when the Jewish religious officials were desperate to have him out of the way.  During the feast of tabernacles the chief priests and Pharisees sent the officers of the temple guard to watch Jesus, and take him into custody at the first valid opportunity.…

The other day I was reading my Greek Old Testament (LXX) and I noticed an a similarity that I had never seen before.  As we shall see in a moment, the way that the LXX describes the creation of the world in Genesis is strikingly similar to the way that Luke describes Jesus' ministry in…

We naturally tend to think of our life as a story; we especially do this as Christians, because the Bible tells us that Jesus is "the author of eternal salvation" (Heb5:9).  When we examine our life, we can find assurance by "looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy…

For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he. ~Proverbs 23:7 I really enjoy reading the Bible in different languages because it often gives me a new perspective on familiar passages. Some time ago I was reading the book of Psalms from my Greek Old Testament (LXX) and I noticed a connection between Psalm…

When we read the book of Esther we usually focus on Mordecai, the King, Haman, and queen Esther herself.  But rarely do we take the time to pay attention to the king's servants---the men in the background who are actually integral to the story.  Focusing on the king's men in the book of Esther can…

In Judges 3 Israel was once again committing idolatry and worshiping false gods, just as they had done so many times before.  To judge Israel for their sin, "the Lord strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the Lord" (Judges 3:12).  Moab allied itself with…

Ever since Resurrection Sunday I have been thinking about the crucifixion.  Here are a few thoughts I have been meditating on lately. When we look at the cross we see an intersection between the vertical and horizontal: the beams are not in-line with one another, but they are perpendicular.  So many things about the cross run…