Testing
Written by: Bill Elliff“After these things, God tested Abraham…” (Genesis 22:1) God is ruthlessly interested in your faith. He will use everything at His disposal to develop you into a person who trusts Him. He knows that your life, the life and salvation of those around, and His glory are all at stake. He knows
The Sovereignty of God
(This article was written in May of 2009.) As I send out this article, I learned last week that I have developed a serious health issue as a consequence of exposure to asbestos and other insulations. There are many more tests I must yet face, but regardless, this article is my response to and confidence
Must-See Summer Movies and TV Shows
It’s been a while since I did my movie and TV recommendations, so I thought it was time for us to catch up on movies we must see and TV shows we need to DVR. Of course, my thoughts on the movies may differ from that of the actual scripts… Star Trek – People gazing
P Is for Prophet (Part 2)
The Price We admire the ancient prophets from afar, and perhaps some of the prophet-like servants of God today, but we sometimes forget that each of them had a price to pay. Being a prophet means harder work. Jeremiah, Ezekiel and John the Baptist were born to be priests, but the Lord called all three
The Undivided Christ
Does Jesus save us if we do not honor Him as Lord? Another way of asking the question is: can we accept Jesus as Savior and not submit to Him as Lord? This is not a new question, although it recently became a hot-button item among evangelicals. Several authors argued that a person can be
Spent or Wasted?
At the outbreak of World War II, Clark Poling followed in the footsteps of his father and volunteered to serve as an Army chaplain. In a letter to his family before his departure, Clark wrote, “I know I shall have your prayers. But, please don’t pray simply that God will keep me safe. War is
The Days Are Desperate, The Saints Are Not
It’s business as usual in the church today. As society races toward hell and judgment, the church can’t get a crowd to think, pray, study the Scriptures, or care for the lost. Think of the things that bother us enough to yell and talk back to the television, but don’t bother us enough to get
P Is for Prophet (Part 1)
When I was a seminary student in Chicago, the buzz words on campus were “pastoral counseling” and “prophetic preaching.” There were classes on pastoral counseling but I can’t recall being taught how to be a prophet. Most of us grew up in churches that preferred to be non-prophet organizations, even though our post-war nation certainly
Denominational Dysfunction
Southern Baptist Convention leaders have lamented for several years now the declining baptismal statistics being reported from our churches. Add to this sad story the current trend of decreasing financial support for convention-wide programs and you begin to understand why denominational leaders are getting nervous. (I won’t even mention the fact that younger pastors and
The Touch
Touch is one of the greatest sensations of human need. Medical experts tell us that a baby or child that does not experience touch from human hands will die in a short period of time. I have seen first hand the affect lost touch has on adults as well. During my first trip to India,
Where Will You Be This Summer?
The days in which we live could cause one to be anxious. We find ourselves unsure about domestic policies, foreign policies and the economy. We don’t know if the bailouts are going to work. We don’t know how all the changes in the auto industry will shake out. We are uncertain about what might happen
K Is for Kindness (Part 2)
The kindness of strangers My wife and I were driving in Wisconsin on a slippery road when our car skidded and we found ourselves in the ditch. Just then a car appeared and stopped and four healthy young men got out and pushed our car out of the ditch in just a few minutes. They