“For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.” (Matthew 13:15) We have allowed our beliefs to be grounded more by circumstances and experiences than by God’s Word. Indeed, the Prophet Jeremiah was right when he told us, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9) Jack Deere, […]

“O you who hear prayer, to you all men will come.” (Psalm 65:2) I am grateful that I have friends who pray for my family and me. I realize that I sometimes have needs about which I do not know what to say to God. That’s why the Apostle James encourages us to “…pray for each other…” (James 5:16) The fact is there are situations where my needs can best be expressed by others who are not too close to the forest to see the trees. It’s no […]

“Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.” (2 Timothy 2:16) I was in church recently when an old friend of mine came to visit. It was the strangest thing. My wife and I were just talking about him. He was out of work and we just felt so sorry for him. As I watched him take his seat, I couldn’t help but wonder how he was handling his crisis. I’ve been out of work before and I haven’t forgotten the […]

” He will wipe every tear from their eyes.” (Revelation 21:4) All of us have those days in our lives that remind us of sadder times. Today is that kind of day for me. While it seems like yesterday, my dad passed away 20 years ago today. The sun never sets on a day that I don’t think about him. I loved him dearly and see so many of his qualities in my own children. The Bible is right. “A good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s […]