What God wants from revival – John 7:1-52, Part 4

Have you heard about the Asbury Revival of 2023? The university has chapel services, and students are required to attend a number of chapel services each semester.  At one particular service recently, something happened.  The manifest presence of the Holy Spirit was like a stream of living water in the lives of the students.  TheContinue reading “What God wants from revival – John 7:1-52, Part 4”

John the Baptist’s mystery friend, and why we need prophets in our lives – John 1:19-34, Part 5

In John 1:19-34, John the Baptist makes a surprising statement that there was someone alive right there, nearby, perhaps even in the crowd that day as John was baptizing people by the Jordan River, someone of whom John is not worthy even to untie his sandals.  Untie sandals…what’s that matter?  In John’s culture, that wasContinue reading “John the Baptist’s mystery friend, and why we need prophets in our lives – John 1:19-34, Part 5”

Hope for those who are groaning – Easter 2020, Romans 8, Part 3

I was groaning a lot when I did my taxes recently.  I dread doing taxes because the tax forms can be so frustrating.  My family has a number of unique circumstances that intensify the frustration. I am pastor, which means I get a housing allowance. My wife operated a business. I have education expenses. FinallyContinue reading “Hope for those who are groaning – Easter 2020, Romans 8, Part 3”

You can be set free to love – Galatians 1:1-5:15, Part 5

Do you find it hard to love some people? Maybe there are people you really struggle with? Keep reading because there is hope! Because Jesus died and rose again, we can be free!  Look at chapter 4:1-7.  Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, Paul says, we can receive the full rights as sons and daughtersContinue reading “You can be set free to love – Galatians 1:1-5:15, Part 5”

How to grow your relationship with the Holy Spirit – Ezekiel 37:1-14, Part 5

How can we be filled with the Spirit like the Christians in the early church, which we studied in the previous post. In those days, what was happening was precisely what the Apostle Paul described in 1 Corinthians chapters 3 and 6, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the HolyContinue reading “How to grow your relationship with the Holy Spirit – Ezekiel 37:1-14, Part 5”

The meaning of the vision of the valley of dry bones – Ezekiel 37:1-14, Part 3

What does Ezekiel’s Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones mean?  God explains it to Ezekiel in Ezekiel 37, verses 11-14. How about that?  The entire vision is symbolic.  Ezekiel wasn’t at the scene of battle from years earlier.  The vision of the valley of dry bones, God says, symbolizes the people of Israel, whoContinue reading “The meaning of the vision of the valley of dry bones – Ezekiel 37:1-14, Part 3”

The power of God’s breath – Ezekiel 37:1-14, Part 2

“Can these bones live?”  That’s the question God posed to Ezekiel. God had just taken Ezekiel, through a prophetic vision journey, to a valley filled to the brim with human bones. The obvious answer to the question is, “No!”  Dead things do not come back to life.  When you’re dead, your dead.  It could beContinue reading “The power of God’s breath – Ezekiel 37:1-14, Part 2”

The all-important Step 4 of how God changes us – Ezekiel 35-36, Part 4

We learned so far in this week’s five-part blog series on Ezekiel 35-36 that God says that he will give us a new heart of flesh, and a new spirit.  What Spirit?  That’s the next step in the transformation process.  Learn about steps 1-3 here. Now we learn about the all-important Step Four in verseContinue reading “The all-important Step 4 of how God changes us – Ezekiel 35-36, Part 4”

Who is the authority in a world where we don’t know who to trust? – Ezekiel 13, Part 2

Do you watch the news or read articles online and wonder, “Who is right? Who can I trust?” If you’re like me, you’ve probably had conversations about Covid and treatment options, and your conversation partners were adamant about their views. But as you listened to them promoting one view or the other, you thought toContinue reading “Who is the authority in a world where we don’t know who to trust? – Ezekiel 13, Part 2”

When God feels like a dropped phone call – Ezekiel 2:1-3:15, Part 4

What does it mean to have a relationship with God? Is it just an intellectual concept that has little bearing on our real day-to-day lives? How do flesh and blood people have a meaningful relationship with invisible spirit? As a result, does God feel distant? Does it feel like God is something we read aboutContinue reading “When God feels like a dropped phone call – Ezekiel 2:1-3:15, Part 4”