Author: howellbible

Shifting The Church’s Foundation

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Flimsy Foundation
My wife and I have seven children (so far). The oldest is 9. The youngest is 4 months. Nope, no twins. We’re not trying to set a world record. We don’t want our own reality TV show. We just seem to be particularly fruitful in this area.

As we teach our children about the Bible it’s delightful to see them grow in their understanding of who God is. I enjoy seeing them get the bigger picture. It makes me laugh when our kids realize they can answer many questions by blurting out “God” or “Jesus.”

This practice is not restricted to children. It is a mark of spiritual immaturity. It is often praised for its simplicity and child-like faith. However, children are supposed to grow. So are we.

If I were to ask you, “What is the foundation of the church?” what would you say? Would you blurt out “Jesus!” without thinking? If so, you’d be close.

But you’d be wrong.

Before you burn me as a heretic look what God’s Word says about the foundation of the church: Continue reading →

The Problem of God’s Goodness

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The Problem of God's Goodness

Many people have heard of the “problem of evil” or the “problem of suffering” – but the problem of God’s goodness? For many people that’s a new one.

As I’ve shared the gospel over the years I have heard people bring up the problem of suffering many times. The basic version asserts that any god who is all-powerful, all-good, and all-knowing would eliminate suffering and ensure that bad things don’t happen to good people. Yet, clearly the world contains much suffering.

Many people who are seemingly decent have terrible things happen to them. Human action can’t account for all of the suffering either. Natural disasters bring suffering to both kind and unkind people equally.

Of course, this philosophical objection is merely a straw man. It may be a strong argument against the god of the philosophers. This god exists only in theory. It is a non-argument against the living God revealed in the Bible. The reason is not because the logic fails. The reason is because the argument fails to account for God’s goodness.

The problem of God’s goodness is the one we need to worry about. Continue reading →

Bold Humility

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Increase and Decrease

I always enjoy seeing how different movies characterize John the Baptist. In the portrayals I’ve seen he usually looks like a wild-eyed lunatic.

I get it. He lived in the desert. He ate bugs and honey. He wore a belt.

None of this means he lived like a crazy person.

No doubt John was a bit eccentric. Jesus had pretty high praise for John, though.

I tell you the truth, among those born of women, no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist. (Matthew 11:11a NET)

There are many noteworthy characteristics in John’s life and ministry. However, one always stands out to me. And it wasn’t that he ate honey or that he wore a belt. Continue reading →

Four Promises For Christians

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Four PiecesAs the year comes to an end there are no shortage of things to think about. Many people are thinking about goals for the New Year. Others are making resolutions. Some may even keep them!

The final chapter of Philippians provides four promises for Christians. These are things worth thinking about year-round. They provide me with comfort and hope. If you are a follower of Jesus Christ they should bring you comfort and hope, too.

These promises are wonderful. They are not automatic. Each promise follows an encouragement to walk closely with our Lord. When we walk with Him we can be assured that He will respond by doing these four things. Continue reading →

Christmas Past, Present, and Future

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Merry Christmas

I love Christmas.

You probably wouldn’t know it by observing my activities.

I don’t decorate my house. I couldn’t care less about having a Christmas tree. I’m pretty sure I haven’t gone Christmas shopping in over a decade. I don’t dream of a white Christmas. Sugar plum fairies don’t dance in my head.

We don’t play Santa, Elf on the shelf, or any other reindeer games.

Bah. Humbug.

I will admit that I eat my fair share of Christmas cookies. Otherwise, Christmas for me is pretty much like any other time of year.

So why do I love Christmas? Continue reading →

10 Things to Think About

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Holiday stress

There’s no shortage of stuff to think about. As the holiday season approaches people are busy making plans and preparations for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the New Year.

Food. Travel. Presents. Family. Weather.

Sounds relaxing, doesn’t it?

In the midst of all the hustle and bustle we can let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts. It’s what Christians are called to do. We can certainly be thankful for this. Continue reading →

The Greatest Value

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value

One of my favorite holidays is approaching followed immediately by one of my least favorite days of the year: Thanksgiving and Black Friday.

I like to eat. I hate to shop. I love jellied cranberry sauce. I strongly dislike waiting in lines. I desire to cultivate a spirit of thanksgiving and gratitude in my heart and home. I want to put to death the covetousness that dwells in my flesh in obedience to God’s Word.

Immediately following a day that is supposed to be dedicated to giving thanks for what we have is a day that offers deals on everything we don’t. People will wait in lines, sleep outside, and fight with each other to get the best value on stuff that no one really needs but seemingly everyone wants.

As we get closer to Black Friday I am thankful that the greatest value is something that I don’t need to wait in line for or wrestle out of someone else’s hands. Neither do you. Continue reading →

Praying For You

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hypocritesI don’t want to be a hypocrite. Do you?

Merriam-Webster gives a simple definition: “a person who claims or pretends to have certain beliefs about what is right but who behaves in a way that disagrees with those beliefs.”

The full definition?

Full Definition of hypocrite

adjective

  1.   a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion

  2.   a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings

If I say I am praying for you but I don’t actually take the time to pray for you then I am putting on a false appearance of religion. I am acting in contradiction to my stated belief by stating that prayer for you is important then not following through.

If this is true for me then it is also true for you.

Continue reading →

The Struggle is Real

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Some Trails Are Hard to Follow

I had the privilege last weekend to share the gospel together with Christians from four different local churches. I love the unity of believers who worship the same God but in a different building than I do.

Over the years of walking with Jesus I have had countless conversations with non-believers about the gospel. Last weekend I had a conversation with a young man that I feel like I’ve had a thousand times all by itself.

This particular young man was kind, candid, gracious, and polite. As is the case with many non-believers, he had never personally read the whole Bible for himself. His understanding of Christianity was based primarily on his experience living in America.

Hearing Christian cliches. Reading bumper stickers. Talking with people who identify themselves as Christians. Seeing stereotypical Christians portrayed in the media.

During our conversation this young man said to me something along these lines (I’m paraphrasing): “I just find it hard, personally, to believe in a god that doesn’t care about all the suffering in the world. A god who is supposedly all good and loving and powerful, yet who seems to maybe even enjoy allowing so much bad stuff to happen. If some people want to believe in god because it gives them hope, I get that. But I don’t.” Continue reading →

Different Pursuits

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two points of view

Earlier this week I attended a prayer rally with one of the elders of our local church and two of my children. It was a great event at the capitol of our state. There were thousands of people there. We all prayed for our nation. Our prayer followed the pattern Nehemiah prayed in Nehemiah 1.

We started by confessing the sins of our nation. There are many.

We then moved to a time of confessing our own sins. These, too, are many.

Then we confessed the sins of our fathers. You guessed it. Many.

We were seeking the grace and favor of the living God in obedience to His commandment to His people to pray for our leaders.

First of all, then, I urge that requests, prayers, intercessions, and thanks be offered on behalf of all people, even for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. (1 Timothy 2:1-2 NET)

In the midst of praying for this it struck me that while many of us were praying the same things we were not necessarily praying in unity. Our prayers were on the same topic. They were not necessarily for the same pursuit. Continue reading →