Christmas — what an amazing time of the year!
Not only do we celebrate the fact that the God of the Universe chose to enter His creation (Immanuel means “God with us!”), but the New Testament presents an equally mind blowing fact. Jesus was fully man. Can you imagine that?
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Recidivism is the rate at which a criminal offender returns to prison. One study found that within five years of release, 77% of released prisoners were rearrested. I recently had a conversation with a corrections officer who told me a similar statistic. He estimated the recidivism rate at the place he worked was 90%! The annual cost of incarcerating a prisoner in Utah is nearly $30,000. So, this is a big deal. This corrections officer said that the sad joke as the released prisoners left, was that they would see them again!
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The Bible is not a science textbook. But, when it speaks about science, it is 100% accurate. Evidence for this claim can be found in the stars.
Did you know that before telescopes were invented, people counted the stars with just their eyes? They didn’t have TV, so they watched the stars and counted them. On a clear night, a person could see easily see a couple of thousand (with the naked eye).
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Last week, a number of our pastors traveled to the great state of Iowa for our annual Pastor’s Conference. One of the conference speakers spoke on the unbelievable danger that pornography presents to our society. It impacts everyone: men, women, spouses, parents, and children.
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“Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” Hebrews 13:1
The New Testament is full of commands to “practice hospitality” so Krista and I have been striving to meet and show hospitality to our neighbors. God has given us opportunities to have four of our eight surrounding neighbors over for a meal in the past year. At Christmas time, one of our neighbors (who we had over for dinner a year ago), gave us a gift and card. In the card they wrote, “Merry Christmas to our best neighbors ever!” I was simultaneously encouraged and saddened by that. I was encouraged that they appreciated our hospitality so much. But, then I thought, “We just had you over for dinner once!”. We’ve talked to our neighbors when we have seen them outside, but “best neighbor ever”?! The hospitality bar is indeed low, but God can use us, Church.
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The Book of Acts (Chapter 12), shows us how faithful and faithless people respond to the storms and trials of life. If you remember in Acts, the early church in Jerusalem was growing like a weed. About that same time, King Herod decided to persecute the church. First, he murdered James and then he arrested Peter. He most likely planned to kill Peter, too. I love Acts 12:5, “So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.”
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Early one morning, I was in my office reading, and my young son got out of bed and walked in. He informed me he needed to use the bathroom. I told him do it! I sat there reading for a few more minutes, and then I realized I never heard the toilet flush. So, I went upstairs to check on him, and he was quietly sitting on the toilet, waiting for me to help him “finish up” his business. I told him, “Son, you need to tell me these things, so I can help you.” He looked at me, deadly serious, and said, “Dad, no one knows the future but God.” I laughed and said, “You’re right.”
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The other day, I was struck by Acts 18:26. Let’s read the verse in its context.
Acts 18:24 “Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures. 25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. 26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, (more…)
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Please pray, church! This is a very exciting season. Pray for our new pastors! Pray for the Draper building construction process. Pray that we can get a new church stage. Pray for the West Valley church plant!
We had over 75 people join us at our West Valley church plant info meeting Saturday night! (more…)
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Recently, I read an informative and sad article about the persecution of Christians around the world. Here are some excerpts:
According to the International Society for Human Rights, a secular [group], 80 percent of all acts of religious discrimination in the world today are directed at Christians. Statistically speaking, that makes Christians by far the most persecuted religious body on the planet.
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