Winston Salem church of Christ

Does God in His sovereignty cause people to sin to accomplish His purposes? Involved in this question are deep theological issues beyond our inadequate ability to completely fathom and understand. Providence, predestination, foreknowledge, and free will, are intricately woven within this complex issue. Let’s look at three Biblical situations, one guiding truth, ending with an [...]

Satan asking Jesus to jump is the temptation; but subtle is the unstated temptation found in choosing not to jump. If Jesus jumps to make God jump to save Him, then that is wrong. If Jesus doesn’t jump because He loves His life more than God, that too is wrong. Giving in to sin, this [...]

You’re caught up in the fun, stuffing down snacks, and then out of nowhere, with no warning or preview, you get slapped upside the head with an personalized version of John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world, the whole world, everyone, anyone, that’s a lot of people, that He gave his one and [...]

The words no mother wants to hear are stammered and whispered by doctor. The word “mother” is synonymous with selflessness. Most women would immediately and easily choose to give their life to spare their child if the doctor said, “I can only save one.” Many mothers sacrifice not their lives, but a relationship with their [...]

Sport’s pundits love to ask, “Did they lose the game, or did the other team win?” If the favorite lost to the underdog, then either the latter “rose to the occasion” or else the projected winner “choked.” No one loves a loser (well, there are some franchises); choking means you just can’t cut it, you [...]

“The sky is blue.” Seeing that, what would your reactions be? No doubt you know someone who, if you said, “The sky is blue” would start an argument. Many months I wrote in a particular forum, “the sky is blue” with no other comments or explanation. Some were confused, but others understood the point. It [...]

There is a silence within the details that sounds an alarm. One temptation ends, and another begins, but what about in between? The silence is the amount of time between each encounter in the battle between Jesus and Satan in the wilderness. Unlike the revealing text declaring that afterwards the angels “immediately” came and began [...]

“Wonders from the Word” is about little bits of wonderment found within Scriptures. Treasures that are wonderful or questions that make us wonder in amazement. Sometimes I wonder, and I just wonder, if what I am seeing is really there, just a coincidence, or purposely placed to make a point. For example, the fall of [...]

When reading the period of the Judges and Kings, one sad fact overwhelmingly – and even numbingly – is present: the draw of idolatry. It is easy for us to isolate the sensuality involved in fertility cults and wholly blame that as the sole cause. After all, we are good Christians who are not overtly affected by [...]

Miscalculation. Everyone does it, especially when discovering that the month lasts longer than the paycheck. In baseball, a runner tries to leg-out a triple, and miscalculates the strong arm of the right fielder – “He’s Out!” In fact, I miscalculated in every math test I ever took! Have you ever noticed how often we miscalculate [...]