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November 19, 2017 Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Prv 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31 When one finds a worthy wife,her value is far beyond pearls.Her husband, entrusting his heart to her,has an unfailing prize.She brings him good, and not evil,all the days of her life.She obtains wool and flaxand works with loving hands.She puts her hands to the distaff,and her fingers ply the spindle.She reaches out her hands to the poor,and extends her arms to the needy.Charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting;the woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.Give her a reward for her labors,and let her...

"By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised; therefore, also, there was born of one man, and him as good as dead at that, as many descendants as the stars of heaven in number, and innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore" (Heb. 11:11-12). Your faith in Christ will influence future generations. I've been blessed with a wonderful Christian heritage. In fact, I'm the fifth generation of preachers in our family. The faith of my predecessors has had an enormous impact on...

“The tongue of the righteous is as choice silver, the heart of the wicked is worth little” (Proverbs 10:20). A fool desires to share his folly with others. Proverbs 1:7 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Wisdom, as defined in the Book of Proverbs, is living by divine standards, which implies accepting divine truth. But a fool rejects that. First Corinthians 2:14 says that “a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him.” To a fool, foolishness is wisdom and...

November 18, 2017 Saturday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Wis 18:14-16; 19:6-9 When peaceful stillness compassed everythingand the night in its swift course was half spent,Your all-powerful word, from heaven's royal thronebounded, a fierce warrior, into the doomed land,bearing the sharp sword of your inexorable decree.And as he alighted, he filled every place with death;he still reached to heaven, while he stood upon the earth. For all creation, in its several kinds, was being made over anew,serving its natural laws,that your children might be preserved unharmed.The cloud overshadowed their camp;and out of what had before...

When you think of the kind of trials that test your faith (James 1:2), do you ever think of material prosperity as one of them? Most of us don’t. We tend to think of suffering, adversity, and loss that put us in places of significant need. And we try to avoid experiencing such needs if at all possible. If such experiences come, we really want, and therefore pray, for God to deliver us from the needy seasons as soon as possible. For surely a God who loves his children would not want them experiencing need, right? He’d want to bless...

"By faith [Abraham] lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God" (Heb. 11:9-10). Focusing on Heaven is the best way to endure difficulties on earth. Following God's call isn't always easy. He expects us to trust Him explicitly, yet doesn't ask our advice on decisions that may impact us dramatically. He doesn't tell us His specific plans at any given point in our lives. He...

“Wisdom is too high for a fool” (Proverbs 24:7). A fool wants his own way. There’s no question in my mind that we live in a world of fools. In fact, everyone born into this world comes in with congenital foolishness—otherwise known as the sin nature. Proverbs 22:15 says, “Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child.” Since we live in a world of fools, let’s look at a few of their characteristics. A fool denies God. Psalm 14:1 says, “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, they have committed abominable...

“Why?” This simple question, which we utter many times a day, is loaded with assumptions of what philosophers call teleology. Teleology is the study of design and purpose. It comes from the Greek word telos, which is sprinkled liberally through the New Testament. We seek to discover the reason things happen as they do. Why does the rain fall? Why does the earth turn on its axis? Why did you say what you said? When we raise the question of purpose, we are concerned with ends, aims, and goals. All of these terms suggest intent. They assume meaning rather than...

November 17, 2017 Memorial of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious Reading 1 Wis 13:1-9 All men were by nature foolish who were in ignorance of God,and who from the good things seen did not succeed in knowing him who is,and from studying the works did not discern the artisan;But either fire, or wind, or the swift air,or the circuit of the stars, or the mighty water,or the luminaries of heaven, the governors of the world, they considered gods.Now if out of joy in their beauty they thought them gods,let them know how far more excellent is the Lord than...

2017 may go down as the year that sexual scandals rocked America. The thing about a charge of rape, said 17th century British judge Sir Matthew Hale, is that it ‘‘is an accusation easily to be made and hard to be proved, and harder to be defended by the party accused”---even if that party is innocent. It is an excruciating dilemma. Most such crimes occur in private. And yet false charges are also sometimes made. How do we give proper due process to the accused while showing compassion to victims? But one thing that troubles me about all this is...

This is a sad but predictable result of a pastor who leads a church to apostatize from the Christian faith. Walking away from Jesus is not a catalyst for church growth. On the contrary, it is the catalyst for church death. Believers in such churches will eventually leave, and those that remain to embrace the error will be an unfaithful remnant. It may be a gathering of people, but it will not be a gathering of born-again people and will not therefore be a church of the Lord Jesus. Two years ago TIME magazine highlighted an evangelical “megachurch” whose pastor had...

Joseph said about the treachery perpetrated by his brothers, “You meant it for evil; God meant it for good” (Gen. 50:20). God’s good will was served through the bad will of Joseph’s brothers. This does not mean that since they were only doing the will of God the acts of the brothers were actually virtuous. All acts must be judged together with their intentions, and the actions of Joseph’s brothers were rightly judged by God to be evil. That God brings good out of evil only underscores the power and the excellence of His sovereign, decretive will. We sometimes get...

November 16, 2017 Thursday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Wis 7:22b–8:1 In Wisdom is a spiritintelligent, holy, unique,Manifold, subtle, agile,clear, unstained, certain,Not baneful, loving the good, keen,unhampered, beneficent, kindly,Firm, secure, tranquil,all-powerful, all-seeing,And pervading all spirits,though they be intelligent, pure and very subtle.For Wisdom is mobile beyond all motion,and she penetrates and pervades all things by reason of her purity.For she is an aura of the might of Godand a pure effusion of the glory of the Almighty;therefore nought that is sullied enters into her.For she is the refulgence of eternal light,the spotless mirror of the...

"By faith Noah . . . condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith" (Heb 11:7). Your actions and words should rebuke our godless society. Genesis 6:5 says, "The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." Before moving in judgment against the most evil and corrupt society in history, God appointed Noah to build an ark, which became a symbol of life and salvation to all who believed God. For those who disbelieved, it...

“The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy” (James 3:17). True wisdom is evident in a person’s behavior. What is true wisdom? James answers that question in verse 17 by pointing out the characteristics or qualities of true wisdom. After purity, the next quality is “peaceable,” which means “peace loving” or “peace promoting.” It refers to someone who doesn’t create confusion or disorder. He doesn’t promote himself or compromise truth but makes peace. True wisdom is also “gentle.” A gentle person will submit to dishonor, disgrace, mistreatment, and...

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) - A third Ohio pastor has been indicted on sex trafficking charges, and prosecutors say all three men worked together to entice underage girls with money in exchange for sex. A federal grand jury in Toledo has indicted the Rev. Cordell Jenkins, the Rev. Anthony Haynes and the Rev. Kenneth Butler on conspiracy to sex traffic children. All three men pleaded not guilty Tuesday.

The distinction between the sovereign will of God and the permissive will of God is fraught with peril and tends to generate untold confusion. In ordinary language, the term permission suggests some sort of positive sanction. To say that God “allows” or “permits” evil does not mean that He sanctions it in the sense that He approves of it. It is easy to discern that God never permits sin in the sense that He sanctions it in His creatures. What is usually meant by divine permission is that God simply lets it happen. That is, He does not directly intervene...

November 15, 2017 Wednesday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Wis 6:1-11 Hear, O kings, and understand;learn, you magistrates of the earth's expanse!Hearken, you who are in power over the multitudeand lord it over throngs of peoples!Because authority was given you by the Lordand sovereignty by the Most High,who shall probe your works and scrutinize your counsels.Because, though you were ministers of his kingdom, you judged not rightly,and did not keep the law,nor walk according to the will of God,Terribly and swiftly shall he come against you,because judgment is stern for the exalted–For the lowly may...

"By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household" (Heb. 11:7). The ark is a beautiful picture of salvation by grace through faith. God called Noah to a gargantuan task. Conservative figures estimate that the ark was about 438 feet long, 73 feet wide, and 44 feet high. That makes it almost one-and-a-half times the length of a football field and more than four stories high. Its three decks totaled almost 96,000 square feet with a total volume of about 1.3 million cubic feet. Naval engineers...

“The wisdom from above is first pure” (James 3:17). A pure life is necessary for a wise life. A person whose life is characterized by true wisdom will seek to be pure. The Greek word translated “pure” in James 3:17 refers to spiritual integrity and moral sincerity. It is freedom from bitter jealousy, selfish ambition, and arrogant self-promotion. Christ is the perfect example of purity (1 John 3:3). A true believer will have pure desires. The deepest part of him desires to do God’s will, serve God, and love God. In Romans 7:15-21 the apostle Paul testifies that when he...