Blood over Bloodlines

Nations whose rulers are kings or queens place great emphasis on bloodlines. The monarch who sits on the throne does so because members of his family ruled before him. Typically, their oldest son or daughter will reign after them. The book of Matthew talks about the earthly bloodline of Jesus. In the very first chapter we are told exactly how the ancestry of Jesus can be traced from Abraham through David to Joseph the husband of His mother Mary. Matthew then describes how Jesus came to be born. Matthew 1:18 (NET) – Now the birth of Jesus happened this way. While His mother...

Future Plans

This past weekend it was my honor and privilege to speak at our church convention. On Saturday, I spoke to the delegates about our church history. On Sunday, I gave the devotional as part of the worship service at the very first church in our state which was built in 1866. Although that congregation has since built a newer church, the old church has been preserved for history. I am glad that they decided to preserve the old church. That church is one of the “Painted Churches” which means that the interior was painted in a very...

The Handwriting On the Wall

In the fifth chapter of Daniel, King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for his nobles. Heavily influenced by wine, King Belshazzar ordered that the vessels taken from the Temple in Jerusalem be brought in. Once this was done, all present drank wine from them and in their drunken state praised gods of metal, wood and stone. At that moment, a hand appeared and began writing on the wall. This sight greatly disturbed the king. Even more disturbing to the king was the fact that he was unable to read the inscription. The king was frightened to the core of his being. He summoned...