Image: Jim Bakker in 2025. “If I want to believe God for a $65 million dollar plane, you cannot stop me.” –Creflo Dollar, as quoted in God, Greed, and the (Prosperity) Gospel: How Truth Overwhelms a Life Built on Lies, by Costi Hinn, Zondervan, 2019. It is true that we reap what we sow. SowingContinue reading “The Book of Job Refutes the Prosperity Gospel. Job 17.”
Category Archives: God is sovereign
SHOCK AND AWE: the Lord in Heaven Laughs. Psalm 2.
When Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi forces invaded Kuwait on August 2, 1990, the world was outraged. On January 17, 1991, a coalition of 42 nations invaded Iraq in order to beat the Iraqis back into Baghdad. The people in Arabian lands have come a long way from the days of camels and tents. But Saddam wasContinue reading “SHOCK AND AWE: the Lord in Heaven Laughs. Psalm 2.”
Trust God With Complicated Matters of International Diplomacy. 1 Samuel 29:3-4.
One day David finds himself trapped in a complicated matter of international diplomacy. Saul’s quest to murder David had driven him to live among the Philistines. A year later the Philistines begin assembling armies to attack Israel. This creates a sticky situation. David claims to be loyal to the Philistines, but he knows he willContinue reading “Trust God With Complicated Matters of International Diplomacy. 1 Samuel 29:3-4. “
Insomnia. Esther 6:1.
Could there be anything more irritating than insomnia? I was always a night owl and a light sleeper. I have so many memories of lying in a dark tent for hours with mosquitoes in my ears and the thunderous snoring of my buddy next to me. I would count the seconds until morning, miserable. ItContinue reading “Insomnia. Esther 6:1.”
COOKIE CUTTER. Joshua 18:6-7; Jeremiah 29:11.
I used to watch my mom use a rolling pin to make a sheet of thin, flat cookie dough on wax paper. Then she stamped it with tin cookie cutters to cut out shapes: doughy little Christmas trees or stars or bells or stockings. She would bake them, spread icing on them, and—voila! Christmas cookies.Continue reading “COOKIE CUTTER. Joshua 18:6-7; Jeremiah 29:11.”
God Subdues the Uproar of the Barbarians. Isaiah 25:5.
I saw a video today of Antifa protestors burning an American flag. Sadly, that has become commonplace with America-hating protestors. But this time they took it further, and burned a Bible. Why? How did a love letter from the God who created them and died for them become something worthy of burning? They pretend toContinue reading “God Subdues the Uproar of the Barbarians. Isaiah 25:5.”
Don’t Despair.
When things look dark and life seems hopeless, don’t despair. Return to the simple truths. Have you ever faced a tragedy or a series of unrelenting disasters—a job loss, a car repair, a health problem, a broken appliance, the illness and death of a loved one? Sometimes when it rains it pours and life feelsContinue reading “Don’t Despair.”
God is Good.
Brian loved football. In tenth-grade he was diagnosed with cancer in his left leg and endured chemotherapy. He lost his hair, but returned to sports. Then cancer came raging back. The doctors wanted to remove Brian’s leg above the knee. Brian wanted to play football. He had two years left and decided to postpone theContinue reading “God is Good.”
Leadership, Cannibalism, Supply and Demand.
It’s easy to pray about your home and family—the little world around you. But God controls EVERYTHING. When the world is suffering, God can fix it. The burden of leadership weighed heavily on the king of Israel when Samaria was under siege. His people were starving. “As the king was passing by on the cityContinue reading “Leadership, Cannibalism, Supply and Demand.”
There Are No Small Parts, Only Small Actors.
Auditioning for a Shakespeare play is an adventure—you never know what role you might receive. From a pool of college students a director might cast human roles of all ages plus monsters, ghosts, and fantastic creatures of all kinds. Perhaps you hoped to play Fairy Queen Titania, but find yourself cast as “fairy number two.”Continue reading “There Are No Small Parts, Only Small Actors.”
Household Words: 