Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; Colossians 4:2 As we continue our study of Paul’s letter to the Colossians, we came to this verse about the importance of prayer. Prayer is one of the primary means by which we communicate with God, both bringing to Him our thanks,…
Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. John 15:2 Margie and I have been planting a garden for the last few years. Right now we are enjoying tomatoes and peppers, and we have made lots of pickles…
I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment. 11 (Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.) Philemon 10-11 In the letter that Paul wrote to Philemon, both he and a man named Onesimus were in prison together. Onesimus was…
Today is the celebration of our independence and freedom as a Nation. Fireworks have been going off in my neighborhood for the last several days – at least I hope they’re fireworks, and our grill is heating up for hamburgers and hot dogs. As we look at the freedoms we share as a country, far…
“For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily” Colossians 2:9 Sunday we looked at how the church in Colossae was using a mash-up of Christianity, bad Judaism, and paganism in their church. They believed in what Jesus did for salvation, but added to it rules (Judaism) and strange rituals (paganism) to “help” God…
When I was younger, every Saturday featured The Lone Ranger. He would don the mask and seek out the bad guys and restore justice. I didn’t think about it until much later that he was never really “lone” – he had Tonto as his helper and friend. In the Bible, when God created man, he…
May and June this year, for me, have been filled with highs and lows. As we were flying out to see our new granddaughter in San Diego, we received the news that Bob Miller, a long-time member had passed away. The joy of Raeya’s birth and Bob’s passing reminded us that life is precious and…
“Sing to the LORD a new song, Sing His praise from the end of the earth! You who go down to the sea, and all that is in it. You islands, and those who dwell on them” Isaiah 42:10 As a musician for most of my life, I have found that the greatest, most noble,…
The Apostle Paul’s goal in the passage we looked at Sunday – Colossians 1:14-23, was to give the Colossians a real picture of who Jesus is and what he accomplished on the cross. He was encouraging them to remain faithful to Jesus, challenging them to not lose hope in the gospel. Jesus is the most…
Have you ever thought of failure as a success? When we usually think of failure, we think of missing the mark – not achieving our goal. I believe that failure can also be part of the journey that leads to the successful completion of that goal. In our garden, Margie and I haven’t always gotten…