“Thus says the LORD: ‘Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the LORD. For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when good comes, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land which is not inhabited. Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is the LORD. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its…
Living Life On God's Terms
By Larry Foster
I am a 60 year old devout conservative Christian. I worked 31 years as a tax professional and recently retired. I became a Christian at age six and have been studying the Bible my entire life. I am editor of this blog and started it to present a defense of the traditional conservative Biblical worldview.
The Season of Peace For Those With Whom God is Pleased
“And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a…
The Kiss of Death
After pushback from the LGBTQ community the Hallmark Channel has apologized and vowed to reinstate a handful of previously removed LGBTQ-friendly wedding ads on its platform, including a lesbian couple kissing. Hallmark’s leaders initially decided to remove the ads after the conservative activist group One Million Moms, which represents a sizable chunk of the network’s target demographic, launched a petition denouncing the commercials as inappropriate for a family-friendly channel because of its promotion of homosexuality. Ironically, the Hallmark Channel styles itself as “The Heart of Christmas” while promoting a lifestyle that is offensive to Christianity. It is a shame to…
Thanksgiving Day
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. I Chronicles 16:34. In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. I Thessalonians 5:18. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Philippians 1:21. Today is Thanksgiving Day and a special one for me. As I have written about elsewhere in this Journal, I recently came close to…
A Future Without Condemnation
“For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God.” I John 3:20-21. “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” Romans 8:1. Faith in God assures a person’s salvation and not our own heart which can deceive us. As we move through life after becoming a Believer we have moments of failure and sin as we permit our fallen nature to overcome…
Taking Thoughts Captive
“Do not copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” Romans 12:2. “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,” II Corinthians 10:4-5. Whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,…
Rescuing The Gospel
“Rescuing The Gospel” by Erwin Lutzer is a book about the Reformation. Lutzer was the senior pastor of Moody Church in Chicago for 36 years until retiring in 2016. The book focuses on Martin Luther who 500 years ago nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Wittenberg Cathedral in Germany which challenged the false doctrines of the Catholic Church. Luther, through a reading of the Scriptures which were only available in Latin in Germany and thus not available to the average person, came to believe that salvation was only obtained by faith in Christ through grace. This…
Press On
“Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:12-14. This is a very encouraging passage for Christians. So often we are tempted to dwell on past failures and how we have…
Holding God’s Hand
“This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.” I John 1:5. “Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. For I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand, Saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’ ” Isaiah 41:10, 13. Recently, I came down with double pneumonia complicated by the discovery of previously unknown heart trouble. The…
The Wisdom Drawn from Above
“At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, ‘Ask! What shall I give you?’ ” I Kings 3:5. Shortly after Solomon was made King God appeared to him and asked him what he desired. Solomon, acknowledging his inexperience, asked for wisdom, “an understanding heart”, to judge the people, that he could distinguish between good and evil. This was a request that pleased God. God not only made Solomon the wisest man in the world (I Kings 4:30) but also gave him riches and honor, making him the greatest and most powerful King in…
Love From a Pure Heart
Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith, from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk, desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm. But we know that the law is good…
To Be Remembered
“Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, ‘If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.’ But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, ‘Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.’ Then he said to Jesus, ‘Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.’ “ The Holy Spirit brought this verse to my…
The Lord of the Rings
When I was 16 years old a friend encouraged me to read a book he had just finished “The Lord of the Rings” by J.R.R. Tolkien. He described it as being about Hobbits, Wizards, Elves, Dwarves, Dragons and Fiery Mountains and the like. I had always loved to read but had no use for fiction at the time, preferring histories and biographies and other nonfiction reading. I had little interest in a book such as this. I promised to take his paperback copy and give it a look, intending only to briefly look through the first chapter and return. However,…
Walking in the Spirit
“I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as…
Casting the First Stone
“So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, ‘He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.’ ” John 8:7. Several years ago a commercial ran for a cruise line where the Father said to his family that for their vacation he had decided to take them to all of the Civil War battlefields. The wife and children, who had been excited at the impending announcement, gave a bored, depressed look. The advertisement went on to suggest to give your family an exciting cruise vacation instead. Ironically, when…
Obedience vs. Rebellion
“Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey. But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were unwilling to utterly destroy them. But everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed. So Samuel said: ‘Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better…
Faith the Size of a Mustard Seed
“So the Lord said, ‘If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea, and it would obey you.’ ” Luke 17:6. “So Jesus said to them, ‘Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.’ ” Matthew 17:20. “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we…
Bitter Waters
“Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Mara, for they were bitter.” Exodus 15:23. “But she said to them, ‘Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.’ ” Ruth 1:20. Naomi had become bitter over the fact that she had lost her husband and two sons and, as an old women, faced bleak prospects in a land of famine. She felt the hand of God had gone out against her (Ruth 1:13). Some suggest that Naomi and her husband had gone to the land of…
Our New Name
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.” Revelation 2:7. “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” I John 5:4-5. The…
The Highway of Holiness
“A highway shall be there, and a road, and it shall be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it but it shall be for others. Whoever walks the road, although a fool, shall not go astray. No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it; it shall not be found there. But the redeemed shall walk there, and the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”…
Promises to Israel – Their Land Will Blossom
“So they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden; and the wasted, desolate, and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.’ ” Ezekiel 36:35. God promised Israel that with the re-establishment of the nation, the desert land would bloom again. No longer would the desert be without vegetation, but would become a fertile place. “Then the lame shall leap like a deer, And the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, And streams in the desert. The parched ground shall become a pool, And the thirsty land springs…
From One Racist to Another
For 18 years the New York Yankees have been playing Kate Smith’s version of “God Bless America” during the seventh inning stretch. They have recently banned the song due to her singing some purported racially insensitive songs 80 years ago. The hockey team, Philadelphia Flyers, have done the same and even covered a statute of…
The Death of a Christian
“Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin.” Romans 6:6-7. “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Galatians 2:20. The key to living a successful christian life is found in the…
Promises to Israel – Their Irrevocable Call
“And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.” Zechariah 12:10 “For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will…
The Promised Land
“Now after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord it came to pass, that the Lord spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ minister, saying, Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the…
