As another Valentine’s Day fades into memory, God’s people must resist the temptation of letting love be reduced to a once a year sentiment or a commercialized display. The love God is costly, consistent, and deeply sacrificial. It stretches us to love when we are disappointed by a spouse or wounded by a child.   Read More

But there is something about the Lord’s consuming fire that does something to the soul when you lay it on the altar. It purifies you - it MAKES you holy. When you “present your body,” it is not merely speaking about the physical – it refers to giving ALL you are to the Lord. One commentary I read says that God doesn’t want just your work, he wants YOU.  Read More

The widow had a clear narrative. She told the prophet plainly: your servant, my husband, is dead; the debt is looming; my sons are being sought after as payment. She did not embellish the truth; she stated the reality of her situation. When we have a need that requires God’s attention, we must make our requests known to Him (Philippians 4:6–7).  Read More

In Genesis 37, we see a close-up of a young man whose faithfulness to his father and his God was undeniable. When God began speaking to him through dreams, Joseph had no idea that the assignment on his life was far greater than his teenage mind could grasp. Because of the magnitude of his calling, Joseph entered a season of intense refining that began at just seventeen years old.  Read More

Unlike the towering cedars of Lebanon, these trees aren’t known for their height. Their strength is in their base which is made of thick, twisted trunks (sometimes unsightly) with expansive root systems. In the arid climate of the Mediterranean, an olive tree’s roots perform a dual miracle: they spread horizontally just beneath the surface to catch the slightest morning dew, but they also push deep and vertically into the earth, searching for hidden water tables to survive years of drought.  Read More

As we have entered a new year, many may have questions, and or concerns about what this year will look like. Some of us are looking at the previous year and saying okay God, please, I can’t handle another year like 2025. I am not sure if emotionally, financially, or spiritually, I can go through similar circumstances in 2026.  Read More

The story of Rahab in Joshua 2 is a powerful example of how a person’s response to a situation can change the trajectory of their life and the lives of their family in a moment. Before Rehab encountered the spies, she and the rest of Jericho heard about God’s deliverance of His people from the strong oppression in Egypt.  Read More

Sometimes, we can be resistant when the Lord changes our plans to accommodate his plan for our lives. But thank God, Mary and Joseph were willing to surrender their plans to accommodate the will of God not only, for their lives but for all who would come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior.  Read More

In Matthew’s gospel, chapter 28, we read about the resurrection of Christ. The first few verses depict how the event of the resurrection unfolded as recorded by St. Matthew. In verse 6, he proclaims, “He is not here: He is risen.” In the final verses of this chapter (18 – 20), Jesus states “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you….and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.”  Read More

To grow older in the Lord, in the family of faith is a beautiful thing. God walks with us and carries us through each step of the way. Isaiah 46:3-4 says: Listen to me, you descendants of Jacob, all the remnant of the people of Israel,
you whom I have upheld since your birth, and have carried since you were born. Even to your old age and gray hairs, I am he, I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.  Read More

Advent is a season of expectation. A time of preparation. A time for us to do what many in Bethlehem did not do on the night Mary and Joseph were looking for shelter… prepare and make room for Jesus.  Read More

As you may have heard, things can be “lost in translation” and while that often is true, it is the role of the interpreter to ensure there is the least lost as possible. That is never more true than when you are engaging in simultaneous interpreting for a sermon, live in front of hundreds or thousands of people. Your brain is working a million miles a minute to register what is being said in English, in a millisecond, finding the correct translation vocabulary, putting it in the correct syntax, finding equivalences for any idioms the preacher used so that the audience will get it, and then delivering the message, all of this while simultaneously listening to the next sentences the preacher is saying to start the whole process again for each sentence.  Read More