Just Do It

There is a corporation today whose well known slogan is "Just Do It". In a way, that is how our response should be in our relationship with God. God had a special relationship with Abraham. We remember how God asked Abraham to sacrifice his only son. We also remember that Abraham was willing to obey God. God spared Abraham's son and, according to the book of James, Abraham's willingness to obey God was counted as righteousness. Yet there was a point much earlier in Abraham's life when God asked him to do something and Abraham obeyed. This happened after Abraham's father, Terah, settled...

Sometimes We Need A Reminder

I have been thinking a great deal about the life of John the Baptist. In the first chapter of Luke's gospel, we are introduced to his parents, Zechariah and Elizabeth. An angel of the Lord foretold the birth of John to Zechariah. He told of his role as forerunner for the Lord and how he would prepare the way for Him. He even told Zechariah to name him John. Elizabeth became pregnant just as the angel foretold. In her sixth month with child, the angel Gabriel visited a virgin named Mary and told her that she would conceive a Son by the Holy Spirit and was to name Him Jesus. Mary is told...