The fourth commandment is “Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy” (Exodus 20:8). The explanation for this rule is that God worked six days, then rested on the seventh day setting it apart as holy. God didn’t rest because he was tired. God rested to set an example for us. When we…
Month: May 2009
Love is and Orientation
When the Supreme Court of Iowa ruled 5-0 that same sex marriage was constitutional, many pastors like me were sent on a quest to understand the issue at hand. By the providence of God, Scot McKnight had reviewed a book titled Love is an Orientation by Andrew Marin. One click later, I was in business….
Posts for My Graduate #3
Exodus 20:7 says, “You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God.” Older translations put it like this, “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.” I think a lot of people look at the third commandment and assume that it means that we shouldn’t cuss or use…
Posts for My Graduate #2
The second command is found in Exodus 20:4. This one tells you that you are not to engage in idolatry. The Bible says, “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea.”The Old Testament reports that the…
Posts for My Graduate
For the last 25 years I’ve been offering advice to high school graduates. Those words seem a little shallow now that I have my very own high school senior preparing to cross the stage. I hope the words that I have shared over the past 18+ years have some way stuck in your mind. Nonetheless…
Visit Brent Clark’s New Blog
Let me encourage you to take a moment to check out the new blog by Brent Clark. Brent and I have worked together for about four years in two different churches. He’s been a great blessing and I enjoy working with Brent each day. Brent is a thoughtful and committed brother in Christ, and I…
The Omnipresence of God
I had never really esteemed Grover to be a theologian, but this classic sketch from Sesame Street reminds me of how we perceive the presence of God. Sometimes he is near and sometimes he is far. Truth be known, the average Christ follower would consider God to be far more often than near. Our struggle…
The Omniscience of God
When I was a kid, my parents purchased a set of World Book Encyclopedias from a door to door salesman so that I would have that particular advantage in my educational pursuits. I suspect that same set of encyclopedias is somewhere in my parents attic today. On more than one occasion they have offered those…
The Omnipotence of God, Part II
God is able to do all his holy will. The Scripture gives us several example of how God expressed his power and how he continues to express his power today.1. God expressed his power through his creative acts.“The Lord merely spoke and the heavens were created.” (Psalm 33:6)“I am the Lord, who made all things….
The Omnipotence of God
“Our God is in the heavens, and he does as he wishes.” Psalm 115:3 (NLT) The word omnipotence is derived from Latin: omni, meaning “all,” and potens, meaning “power(ful).” As a child, I learned to describe omnipotence by saying things like “God can do anything,” or that “God is all powerful.” But to say that…
