grief jesus wept

Jesus Wept

As many of you may already know, my wife Leah and I have recently suffered some severe loss. On November 30, 2023, we lost our son, Andrew James, at 16 weeks gestation. Then again on July 2, 2024, we lost our daughter, Quincy Kay, at 20 weeks gestation. There were many thoughts that followed both…

Sympathy is an easily manipulated impulse. Christians must navigate compassion without compromising truth or accepting sin.

Playing the Sympathy Card

God’s word endorses mercy, as Jesus said, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy” (Matthew 5:7). The prophet Hosea wrote that God desires “mercy, and not sacrifice” (Hosea 6:6), which Jesus echoed (Matthew 12:7). The Lord wants mercy more than rituals performed by worshipers. James warns us that “judgment is without mercy to…

We create stumbling blocks when we give little-to-no thought to how our words and actions impact our fellow Christians.

Stumbling Blocks

Everybody likes to be encouraged. The feelings that come from being encouraged can often last a lifetime.  It is not uncommon for people who have lived a good long life to happily remember back to an encourager that they knew when they were a child.  Encouragement makes an impact.  It is also looked on very…

The First Love

The letters to the seven churches of Asia provide a full picture of the church. Though each of these congregations face unique circumstances and challenges in comparison with one another, they are not unique in comparison to other churches down through the centuries. There have been churches like Pergamos or Smyrna or Laodicea since the…