Category Archives: Wisdom & Guidance

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December 11, 2025

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Bible Stories, God's Word: The Bible, Obedience, Wisdom & Guidance

THE PUPPET KING (Part 2)

Joash did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight throughout the lifetime of Jehoiada the priest. … But after Jehoiada’s death, the leaders of Judah came and bowed before King Joash and persuaded him to listen to their advice. [2 Chronicles 24: 2,17 (NLT)]

binding hempvineEarlier this week, I wrote of the Levites’ failure to protect Judah from idolatry but one Levite stands out in his loyalty to God and commitment to the temple: Jehoiada the priest. When Judah’s King Ahaziah died, his mother, Queen Athaliah seized Judah’s throne. The daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, she was as evil as her parents and tried to kill all of her son’s heirs. Unknown to her, Ahaziah’s infant son Joash was hidden by his aunt and survived. Raised by the high priest Jehoiada, the boy’s existence was kept secret while the priest plotted to put him on the throne. When the boy was seven, Jehoiada made a pact with five army commanders who covertly travelled throughout Judah to summon the Levites and leaders to a meeting at the Temple.

At that meeting, Jehoiada declared that the king’s son should reign. Once he introduced Joash, the rightful heir, the men planned to depose his wicked Athaliah. As they guarded the child, he was anointed and the crown placed on his head. After presenting him with a copy of the law, Joash was proclaimed king, Queen Athaliah was slain, the temple of Baal demolished, and its pagan priests killed.

With this successful rebellion, Jehoiada led the people and the new king in rededicating themselves to the Lord. The temple was restored, the priests and Levites again followed David’s instructions, and the gatekeepers returned to the temple. Unfortunately, after Jehoiada’s death, Joash made the same mistake his ancestor Rehoboam did—the young king listened to the wrong people and followed bad advice. The nation returned to idolatry, the temple fell into disrepair, and the temple’s treasures were used to pay tribute to the King of Aram. As the Chronicler wrote: “Because of this sin, divine anger fell on Judah and Jerusalem.” [24:18] The Lord’s judgment took the form of an invasion by the Arameans.

Sadly, even though the Judeans cleaned the temple of idols, they never scoured the idolatry from their hearts and the story only gets worse. The Lord sent prophets advising Judah to repent but they wouldn’t listen. Then, when Jehoiada’s son, Zechariah, prophesized that they were headed for destruction, Joash added murder and desecration of the temple to his sins. He had the son of the priest who saved his life stoned to death in the temple courtyard. Later, during battle with the Arameans, Joash was wounded, but his wounds were not what killed him. He died at the hands of his servants in retaliation for the murder of Jehoiada’s son, Zechariah.

Joash was a puppet king and only as good as his advisors. He may have held the book of law in his hands but he never placed it in his heart. As a result, Joash was dependent on man’s word rather than God’s. Let us learn from this story and take our advice from God rather than man.

Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do. [Psalm 1:1-3 (NLT)]

But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. [James 3:17 (NLT)]

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December 4, 2025

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Attitudes & Behavior, Challenges & Difficulty, Fruit of the Spirit, Prayer, Temptation & Sin, Wisdom & Guidance

THE EVIL WITHIN

You have heard the law that says, “Love your neighbor” and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! [Matthew 5:43-44 (NLT)]

When thou hatest the man’s sins, thou art not to hate him, but to love the sinner, even as Christ loved sinners. [C.H. Spurgeon]

black vultureEvil is anything that contradicts the nature of God and it’s easy to see Satan’s presence in malevolent acts like terrorism, genocide, slavery, torture, and human trafficking. The enemy, however, is usually far more subtle. Evil also includes things like anger, pride, fretfulness, immorality, pettiness, selfishness, deceit, envy, spite, unforgiveness, hatred, hypocrisy, envy, jealousy, greed, and unkindness. Although we’re more likely to find them in our hearts than genocide or murder, they’re not as easy to recognize. Because it’s easier to see the evil done by others than it is to face the evil in our hearts, we don’t spot Satan when he comes slithering into our lives.

When seeing how innocent people are suffering because of the indifference, injustice, viciousness, bigotry, and greed of various governments and leaders, it’s easy to get outraged and aggravated. Satan wants that anger to grow and develop in us. He loves anger because our wrath, spite, contempt, disdain, and condemnation diminish us, the Christ within us, and our witness. Nevertheless, it’s easy to be angry and wish disaster on any one of today’s evil leaders and their ilk.

That we never would physically harm someone doesn’t make our anger less a sin than if we murdered them! That we’re angry on someone else’s behalf or that the other people’s sins have harmed people while ours have harmed no one (but ourselves) is of no matter. Malicious hatred and private vengeance have no place in our hearts. They are an offense to God and Jesus made it clear that hating someone is committing murder in our hearts! While we can be angry at sin, let us remember that we don’t defeat evil with more of the same! Rather than wanting to afflict our enemies, Jesus asks us to love and pray for them.

Struggling with praying for his enemies during World War II, the great C.S. Lewis admitted that “charity (in our prayers) is very hard work.” The theologian questioned how one can pray for Stalin and Hitler and still make the prayer real. He found it helped him to remember that Christ died for those very men and that he was joining his “feeble little voice” to that of Jesus. Recognizing his own sins of cruelty and unkindness, Lewis humbly realized he wasn’t that different from his enemies; he was no less a sinner than were these horrible men. He also considered the possibility that, under different circumstances, he could have “blossomed” into someone equally as terrible as were they.

Before hating the evil in the world, we must begin by hating the evil in ourselves! Let us surrender our vengeful thoughts to Jesus, ask for forgiveness, and allow His love to rule our hearts as we pray for our enemies. We can’t do it on our own but, through the power of the Holy Spirit, it can and must be done!

Agape is disinterested love. Agape does not begin by discriminating between worthy and unworthy people, or any qualities people possess. It begins by loving others for their sakes. Therefore, agape makes no distinction between friend and enemy; it is directed toward both. [Martin Luther King, Jr.]

Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will grant you his blessing. [Ephesians 4:9 (NLT)]

Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good. [Romans 12:21 (NLT)]

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November 20, 2025

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Challenges & Difficulty, Family, Friends & Fellowship, Fruit of the Spirit, Love & Works, Obedience, Sharing Our Faith, Temptation & Sin, Today: Make it Count, Wisdom & Guidance

ANOTHER WEAPON OF DESTRUCTION

The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences. [Proverbs 18:21 (NLT)]

With their words, the godless destroy their friends, but knowledge will rescue the righteous. … Upright citizens are good for a city and make it prosper, but the talk of the wicked tears it apart. [Proverbs 11:9,11 (NLT)]

When writing about nitroglycerin recently, I realized there’s something else in our lives much like this strange chemical that is both helpful and harmful. Like nitroglycerin, man’s capabilities are a dichotomy between good and evil, constructive and destructive, and beneficial or detrimental. The same mind capable of creating a vaccine that saves thousands of lives is capable of creating a nuclear bomb that can take those lives. James speaks of this incongruity when writing about the way we use our words, “We use our tongues to praise our Lord and Father, but then we curse people, whom God made like himself. Praises and curses come from the same mouth! My brothers and sisters, this should not happen.” [3:9-10]

While most of us have nothing to do with weapons of mass destruction and can’t annihilate a city with the push of a button, we can destroy one life at a time with our words! Like dynamite, our words can cause an explosion that produces major destruction. We can quash ambition with disparaging and demeaning remarks. We can shoot down someone with censure, condemnation, and blame. While we’d never think of physically harming a person, with a few words, we can wound an ego and tear open old wounds. We’d never murder anyone but we certainly can manage to kill someone’s hopes and dreams. We wouldn’t think of destroying a person’s home, yet we can demolish their reputation and even their career with just a few words! Ridicule and shaming can collapse self-esteem faster than an arrow can deflate a helium balloon. Our words, like nitroglycerin, can be devastating weapons.

Nevertheless, like medical nitroglycerin, our words also can help. Words of love, comfort, forgiveness, encouragement, respect, or sympathy can lift burdens and defuse situations better than any bomb squad. It is our choice as to whether we crush or nurture, rend or mend, stifle or encourage. My mother used to tell me, “If you can’t say something nice, say nothing at all!” Sometimes that’s easier said than done! There are times my prayer is simply that God will put his arm around my shoulder and place His hand across my mouth!

Father, forgive us for our thoughtless and often cruel words. Guide us to use our tongues with wisdom and love; show us how to heal, not harm. Let our words be ones of encouragement and support. Rather than destroyers, show us how to be builders; rather than combatants, let us be peacemakers; and rather than adversaries, let us be advocates.

Only speak words that make a heart grow stronger. [Ann Voskamp]

The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you. [Matthew 12:37 (NLT)]

Take control of what I say, O Lord, and guard my lips. [Psalm 141:3 (NLT)]

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November 13, 2025

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Bible Stories, God's Word: The Bible, Sharing Our Faith, Trusting God, Wisdom & Guidance

KNOWING IT’S TRUE

As was Paul’s custom, he went to the synagogue service, and for three Sabbaths in a row he used the Scriptures to reason with the people. He explained the prophecies and proved that the Messiah must suffer and rise from the dead. He said, “This Jesus I’m telling you about is the Messiah.” … they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth. As a result, many Jews believed, as did many of the prominent Greek women and men. [Acts 17:2-3, 11b-12 (NLT)]

St. MatthewProof of the truth is no substitute for our faith; nevertheless, it is important to know the truth of what we believe. At some point, we will ask ourselves how we can believe the validity of what we’re reading in our Bibles. Fortunately, we have Christian apologists to help us see its truth. Rather than offering apologies for the wrongs committed by evil people in the name of Jesus, apologists share the objective reasons and evidence that Christianity is true and should be believed. The Apostle Paul was probably the first apologist when he showed that Jesus’ fulfillment of Scripture’s prophecies proved He was the Messiah. Paul knew that the truth could stand up to scrutiny and it still does today. As for those prophecies: by conservative estimate, Jesus fulfilled at least 300 prophecies while on earth.

Most ancient works were written on perishable papyrus so we don’t have the originals of any ancient secular or sacred manuscript. But, with the New Testament, we do have more than 25,000 manuscript copies and fragments with a gap of less than 25 years between the time of the original manuscripts and the first existing copies! About 5,800 of these ancient copies were written in Greek and over 19,000 copies are in Latin and other languages. Running a distant second to the New Testament is Homer’s Iliad with fewer than 1,800 copies and a 500-year gap between the original manuscript and the first existing copy.

Unlike the Iliad copies, the New Testament’s manuscripts are remarkably alike. When those 25,000 plus copies and fragments are compared, they agree 99.5% of the time! As you’d expect with handwritten copies, there are some minor variations, most of which can be attributed to scribal error. Out of the 8,000 verses in the New Testament, only about two dozen (.3%) are in dispute and none of them affect doctrine. Moreover, even though we don’t have the original manuscripts or even the first copies, 2nd century church fathers, like Ignatius of Antioch, Clement of Rome, and Polycarp quoted from scripture so frequently that we could piece together about 95% of the New Testament just from their writings! We can be sure that the gospels and epistles we read today are nearly identical to those being circulated by the end of the 1st century AD.

How can we know Christianity isn’t more myth than reality? We can trust the writers because none of them had any motivation for perpetuating a lie. Rather than getting rich and powerful, they were persecuted and punished. They abandoned their long-held beliefs and practices, were banished from their synagogues, and (like the Apostles) suffered and died for their faith! Their words were written and circulated where Christ’s miracles occurred when witnesses to the events were still alive; they wouldn’t have succeeded if they were passing along a lie! Unlike the authors, liars wouldn’t put themselves in a bad-light by writing of denials, doubt, disagreements, and failures. Moreover, we have plenty of extra-Biblical documentation for Jesus in the ancient writings of Roman historian Tacitus, Roman governor Pliny the Younger, 1st century Jewish historian Josephus, Greek satirist Lucian, and even the Babylonian Talmud! In all, 39 ancient secular sources corroborate more than 100 facts concerning Jesus.

I’m not a religious scholar, historian, or an archeologist and I haven’t examined the Dead Sea scrolls or ancient papyri. Nevertheless, I do read the work of those who have. The more I study Scripture and the work of Christian apologists, the more certain I am that there is nothing unreasonable, irrational, or unfounded about my belief. The Bible can stand up to intense archeological and historical investigation so we have nothing to fear (and much to gain) when we look closely at God’s word.

As thinking Christians, we must never be afraid to ask questions and seek answers. When we seek the truth, as did Lee Strobel, we’ll be able to make a case for Christ. Like Josh McDowell, we’ll discover that Jesus was more than a carpenter and, like Tim Keller, we’ll know the reason for God. After atheist turned apologist C.S. Lewis examined the faith, he made the case for Christianity. After their research, Norman Geisler and Frank Turek didn’t have enough faith to be atheists! When forensic scientist J. Warner Wallace examined the claims of the Gospel as he would a cold case and lawyer David Limbaugh put Jesus on trial, our Lord withstood their intense scrutiny and cross examination. The closer we examine Scripture, the more we’ll believe that Jesus really is the way, the truth, and the life!

Socrates once said that the unexamined life is not worth having. We believe that the unexamined faith is not worth believing. [Norman Geisler & Frank Turek]

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. [2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NLT)]

Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. [1 Peter 3:15 (NLT)]

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November 10, 2025

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Bible Stories, Church & Worship, Faith & Hope, Salvation: A New You, Sharing Our Faith, Wisdom & Guidance

WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE?

Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. [1 Corinthians 15:1-5 (NIV)]

I came across an article questioning whether we have to believe certain things to be a Christian or is it enough just to trust God. The author believed that Christians don’t have to “assent intellectually” to the facts of traditional Christian teaching or agree with the Christian creeds. “Faith” to the author is simply placing one’s confidence in “Spirit” (not the Holy Spirit) and following Jesus’ teaching is more important than believing certain things about Him. Having nothing to do with dogma or creeds, Christianity was seen as a wisdom tradition and way of life rather than a belief. Claiming they were “man-made” and date from the 4th century and Emperor Constantine, the author believed Christianity’s creeds should be disregarded.

A creed (or confession of faith) is simply a statement of what we believe; every time we share what we believe with others, we are confessing a creed. The first creed predates Constantine by at least 1,600 years and was given to us by God. The Hebrew Shema, found in Deuteronomy, declares the fundamental belief of Judaism: “Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.” [6:4] To be recited every morning and night, this declaration of belief remains the cornerstone of the Jewish faith. Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, we find worshippers recalling the Lord’s faithfulness with confessions of faith like that in 1 Kings 18:39 that, “The Lord—he is God! Yes, the Lord is God!” The belief that, “The Lord is our God, the Lord alone,” is a cornerstone of Christianity, as well!

In the New Testament, we also find confessions of faith or creeds. Christianity’s fundamental belief was confessed by Peter when he stated that Jesus was “the Christ, the Son of the living God,” [Mat 16:16] and again when Nathaneal acknowledged Jesus as “the Son of God…the King of Israel!” [John 1:49] When other followers deserted Jesus, the Lord asked the twelve if they would leave. Peter responded, “You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” [John 7:68-69] Although short, these confessions of faith were creeds.

The earliest creeds of the church can be found in the epistles of Paul. His words in today’s verse from 1 Corinthians 15 appear to be an early creed. That he “received it,” means Paul wasn’t the original author and, since he’s reminding them, it predates Paul’s first trip to Corinth (49-50 AD)! In his first letter to Timothy, Paul emphasized the importance of preserving and proclaiming the truth and includes what historians believe to be an early hymn summarizing the theology of the incarnation.[3:16] In Philippians 2:5-11, we find another early hymn explaining the dual nature of Jesus. It’s believed that Ephesians 4:4-6, “There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all,” were an early creed that was recited by new converts when they were baptized. If we believe Scripture is God-breathed, those words of belief aren’t man’s—they’re God’s!

The article’s author contends that belief and faith are two different things and that belief is not essential for faith. I think the Apostle Paul would disagree. Belief is intellectual acceptance that something is true and faith is trusting in the promise of that belief and they seem to be two sides of the same coin. If I believe the boat is sea-worthy, it’s my faith in it that gets me to sail it out to sea. On the other hand, if I don’t believe it’s sea-worthy, I wouldn’t have faith enough to take it sailing. Faith involves trust, commitment, and action and, without knowing and believing the promises of God, how will we have faith enough to trust them? Our creeds are the foundation of Christianity and help us know exactly what it is in which we have faith! It’s that knowledge that keeps us from falling for the false “feel-good-anything-goes” theology we find in the world today!

Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory. [Timothy 3:16  (ESV)]

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October 27, 2025

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Bible Stories, Challenges & Difficulty, God's Word: The Bible, Sharing Our Faith, Wisdom & Guidance

NEPHILIM

When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown. [Genesis 6:1-4 (ESV)]

Beach sunflowerThose four verses are some of the most confusing ones in Scripture. Who are the sons of God, the daughters of men, the Nephilim, and how did they come to be mighty men (or as some translations say giants)? The Nephilim appear to be a race of formidable beings associated with extraordinary physical stature and fearful reputation. Mentioned briefly twice in Scripture, we find them in Genesis, just before the flood, and again in Numbers (post flood). Nephilim comes from naphal, meaning to fall. One school of thought holds that the “sons of God” were fallen angels who mated with human women (the daughters of man) and produced a hybrid race of giants called Nephilim. The apocryphal book of Enoch claims these offspring were giants standing thee hundred cubits (450 feet) tall. They had such insatiable hunger that they ate humans as well as one another. Having taught humans medicinal magic, astrology, divination, and other sinful practices, it was their evil ways that caused the flood! Written around 300-100 BC, the book of Enoch never was accepted as part the Hebrew Scriptures and never has been in the Christian canon.

Let’s look at the context of these confusing verses. The previous chapters are about man’s fall into sin and the genealogy of Adam’s line rather than fallen angels and their giant offspring. Moreover, describing the Nephilim as “the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown” hardly seems an apt description of evil beings. When Genesis 6:5 says, “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually,” there’s no mention of fallen angels or giant angel/men. Moreover, while they can take on human form, angels are spirit and Matthew 22:30 tells us they “neither marry nor are given in marriage.” Finally, Nephilim are mentioned again in Numbers. If this race of angel/humans existed post-flood, we must ask how they survived the great deluge. God vowed to “destroy every living thing” not on the ark with the flood and they weren’t on it!

Who were “the sons of God”? While angels are called the “sons of God” in the book of Job, Moses calls the men of Israel the “sons of the Lord your God” in Deuteronomy [14:1,32:8]. In Isaiah 43:6, God calls for the return of both His sons and daughters (meaning Israel). Indeed, Adam (meaning man) is the “son” of the one who formed him and gave him breath: God. On the other hand, woman is the “daughter” of man since she came from Adam!

While some posit that the “sons of God” descend from the godly line of Seth and the “daughters of men” come from the godless line of Cain, there really is no indication that Seth’s descendants were more godly or Cain’s more evil than anyone else. Nowhere else in Scripture are the terms “sons of God” or “daughters of man” used to indicate someone’s spiritual state. While there’s no evidence of them elsewhere, others believe the “sons of God” were early rulers who established royal dynasties. More likely, they were men of large stature and prowess who took women as their wives. Like their fathers, their sons (known as Nephilim) were people of considerable size who became “mighty men” because of their size and power. The Nephilim reappear in Numbers 13:33, when the scouts reported back to Moses. Seeing men of remarkable physical stature in the Promised Land, they called these descendants of Anak “Nephilim.” Elsewhere in Scripture, these descendants of Anak are called “a people great and tall.”

We don’t know the exact identity of the Nephilim and never will on this side of heaven. While I believe they were mortal men of extraordinary physical stature and military skill, you may disagree. Fortunately, our different interpretations do not impact our faith in Christ. Non-believers, however, love to take isolated verses like these as evidence that Scripture is filled with errors and ancient myths. The Bible, however, is inerrant which means it’s free from all falsehood, fraud, or deceit. But, that doesn’t mean the Bible is without difficulties and the Nephilim are just one of many. It’s our job to defend our faith. We can’t do that, however, without digging into those challenging verses and finding a rational and articulate defense of God’s voice as heard in Scripture.

“And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.” [Numbers 13:33 (ESV)]

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