We come around to Christmas again. My whole time as pastor has been questioning of some, not of the birth of Christ, but the holiday. I’m sure the idea is that people don’t want to dishonor the Lord. One year my wife and I did not have a tree, because we were so tiny in […]

One Greek word, peirasmos, and its related words, translate “trial,” “temptation,” “tempted,” “tried,” “test,” and “tested.” The meaning depends on the context, but I want to focus on “test,” “testing,” and “tested.” Testing in the New Testament is only for believers, and communicates at least two ideas: one, testing a believer for the purpose of […]

Rules Versus Relationship. When people say these three words, as if the two, rules and relationship, contrast with one another, we should understand that they don’t. You can’t have a relationship without rules. Rules are a basis for a relationship as seen in the model for relationship, the relationship between the Father and the Lord […]