Then she called the name of Yahweh who spoke to her, “You are a God who sees”; for she said, “Have I even remained alive here after seeing Him?” Genesis 16:13 El Roi is the Hebrew word for God of seeing. This is the name that Hagar gave to God when He rescued her. Hagar was the handmaiden of Abram’s wife, Sarai. She had given her to her husband to conceive a child since we thought she was barren. However, as you would expect, everything did not turn out well. After becoming p

Then God said to him in the dream, "Indeed, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this, and I also held you back from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her . Genesis 20:6 In Genesis 20, Abraham moves his household from the region around Mamre south toward the border of the land of Canaan. Scripture does not tell us the reason for this move. He settles his people in Gerar, between Kadesh and Shur. Gerar was south of Gaza, near the coast o

Enoch walked with God; Genesis 5:21b Three men are recorded to have walked with God: Enoch, Noah, and Moses. What does it mean to have walked with God? When Cathy and I were in our thirties and had all five Children under ten, we didn't have much free time or money. But, we made one thing a priority in our lives. We walked together almost every day. We would walk up and down the road between two cul-de-sacs. The kids would ride their bikes or play in the front yard. When we w

I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, And I will not remember your sins . Isaiah 43:25 If you are like me, you remember things you have done that you are not proud of. You may have lost your temper, stolen something as a teenager, cheated on a test, lied to get out of trouble, or committed countless sins. We might not have forgotten, but if you belong to Christ, God the Father has forgotten them. Paul wrote to the Romans, "Therefore there is

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures , 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 Today, we gather as the Bride of Christ to celebrate His victory over death. This Sunday is glorious, and because of what Christ accomplished on the cross, we can cry out, “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” Je

And both the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them .” Luke 15:2 In the English language, one word can have many meanings. Take love, for example. I love pizza, my dogs, my kids, my wife, and God, but I don’t love any of those the same way. Biblical Greek has seven different words for love to convey different meanings. The four most familiar words are as follows: 1. Eros , which refers to romantic or sexual love. From i

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 1 John 4:1-2 The phrase en garde is French, which means to be on guard, a call to a fencer to adopt a defensive stance in readiness for an attack or bout. Christians need to be alert to the false teaching that

God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change And though the mountains shake into the heart of the sea : Psalm 46:1-2 Fear. All of us have experienced that emotion. It is such a powerful emotion that it can freeze a person in their tracks. I have witnessed victims of crime that were so fearful they could neither run nor fight. Yet, the Bible makes it clear that Christians have nothing to fear. I want

And we have come to know and have believed the love which God has in us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him . 1 John 4:16 This past Sunday, a progressive, woke, and social gospel commercial played during the Super Bowl. It showed people washing the feet of people who would be seen as outside of the concern of others. The truth is that all people, no matter what they believe or how they act, are in need of salvation through Jesus C