One of my favorite books in the Bible is Ecclesiastes. I have heard people question why this writing was included in scripture. It is so negative they complain. I see it totally different. To me it is one of the most freeing books in the Bible. If we believe that the Bible is the inspired… Continue reading Under the Son or Under the Sun
Author: benstaplesbtwd
Two Views of the Stable
A human view- When I was young I always wondered how God the Father allowed Jesus to be born in a stable. Why was there “no room at the inn”? How could the Father allow Jesus’ first bed be a manger? How could He let the young woman that He chose to give birth to… Continue reading Two Views of the Stable
What Sin is Forgiven?
What do you do with scripture that you don’t understand or even worse scripture you struggle to believe is true? Does it shake your foundation of faith? Does it make you wonder if some scripture is not correct or has not been translated properly? I think about Job and all he went through. The reason… Continue reading What Sin is Forgiven?
Hard Teaching
What do you do with scripture that you don’t understand or even worse scripture you struggle to believe is true? Does it shake your foundation of faith? Does it make you wonder if some scripture is not correct or has not been translated properly? I think about Job and all he went through. The reason… Continue reading Hard Teaching
My Turtle and Me
We probably all remember the children’s story of the Tortoise and the Hare. A cute story with a surprising ending. Have you ever thought about how different they are? Could they ever become best friends? Can any two beings so completely different enjoy a relationship? My wonderful wife and life partner of 50+ years… Continue reading My Turtle and Me
Love One Another…A Work in Progress
“A new command I have for you: love one another as I have loved you” (John 13:34) I have struggled with our society’s use of the word love for a long time. We use the same word love to describe how we feel about our wife and children and to describe how we feel about… Continue reading Love One Another…A Work in Progress
Surrender
We have all heard many messages talking about being surrendered. Typically, we think to ourselves of course we are surrendered. After all, that is what a Christian is, right? However, lately the word has been echoing in my heart and mind. What does it really mean? Part of what has this on my mind is… Continue reading Surrender
“How Great is that Darkness”
Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 6:22-23), “The eye is the lamp to the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great… Continue reading “How Great is that Darkness”
God Is in the Little Things
I had an experience a few days ago that I would like to share. It was a “touch” from God in an ordinary, everyday situation. First let me set the scene. I went to Meijer at mid-morning on a Wednesday. I just had to pick up a few things. There were not many people in… Continue reading God Is in the Little Things
Parable of the Bush
I love the way our God can speak to us through everyday occurrences, like one day when I was working on spring clean-up in our yard and began trimming the bushes behind our house. While hand trimming these bushes, thoughts about scriptural principles kept going through my head. At first glance the bushes appeared to… Continue reading Parable of the Bush
“I”dolatry
A few weeks ago, I read an interesting term in an In-Touch Ministries devotional; “I”dolatry. I find that a challenging term. If I put myself on the throne of my life instead of God, that is idolatry. If I am seeking my will not His will, making my will more important than His, that is… Continue reading “I”dolatry
My Problem with Evolutionists
One of my greatest passions is for people to know why they believe what they believe. As a society that is always in a hurry, when people hear something that sounds right to them they are quick to believe it is factual. They typically do not question or research the truth of the statement; they… Continue reading My Problem with Evolutionists
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