The word Shekinah does not appear directly in the Bible, yet the reality it describes is found throughout Scripture. Shekinah comes from a Hebrew root meaning “to dwell” and is used to describe the manifest presence of God living among His people. In the Old Testament, God’s glory filled the tabernacle and the temple. In…
Have you heard people mention the name disciples? Or even categorized or labeled themselves as a disciple? In the Christian community it is quickly associated with the times of Jesus. Early New Testament Disciples The New Testament was originally written in Greek, and the word mathētēs (“disciple,” learner, apprentice) is used almost exclusively in the…
As we approach the US holiday of Thanksgiving, it is a good time to acknowledge how it started, and why as a Christian it is important. The Holiday The original thanksgiving celebration was held by the Pilgrim settlers in Massachusetts during their second winter in America in December, 1621. The first winter had killed 44…
John Bunyan, in the second part of his book The Pilgrim’s Progress, describes the time when Christiana and her companions must descend into the Valley of Humiliation. Bunyan describes that place as “a steep hill, and the way was slippery.” In other words, it’s never easy to humble oneself, and when our path demands humility of us, we…
Each of us have a personal experience in todays discussion, in more than one way. Each us started out years ago as a child. What are some of the characteristics that distinguish a child from a kid and also from adults? As we look at Matthew chapter 18 today, Jesus focus is on relationships, can…
In this past year, and even in this current season and the one to come, we can get weary. It just seems like the song will never end. Like things are just trudging on. It can make us tired. We can get discouraged. A season of sickness that should have passed is still impacting our…
Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey. (Zechariah 9:9) God commands us to be humble. “Seek humility” (Zephaniah 2:3). “Put on . . . humility” (Colossians 3:12). “Have . . . a humble…
We have heard the saying “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” and it gives us all our own perspective. To some it might be “yeah, take of them.” To others it might be “oh boy, that is difficult” and yet to others it might be “not now, let me get back to you”. What…
There are many things we are told as men, on how to be a real man. What is okay to do, and what is unacceptable. Through out the decades of life, “fear” has been the enemy. It seemed to pop up at all the wrong times. When I would build up enough confidence and strength…
We continue this week on the topic of inner strength. We have more than we understand and definitely more than we use. We had a challenge last week to use some quite time and find where in the Bible someone came to the end of themselves and had to rely on the inner strength of…