There the angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush. (Exodus 3:2 NLT)
Chris Quilala said, “Throughout history God has revealed Himself in many different ways, leaving those touched by Him forever changed. … God’s miraculous display is never without purpose.”
Even outside the Bible, William Wilberforce was convinced of God’s creative power by watching a spider weave her web; C.S. Lewis believed in God’s presence by watching the wind swirl some leaves; John Newton fell to his knees in surrender on board a ship as he experienced God’s awesome power in a massive storm at sea.
God is always revealing Himself—always speaking to us.
Are you open to hearing His voice in both miraculous and everyday ways?
When we ready the Bible and it confronts us, the first place we need to look is in the mirror. The Bible is speaking first to me about changes I need to make. It’s only after I have applied God’s Word to my own life that I can talk about it authentically to others.
“Righteousness is nothing more or less than the character of Jesus Himself, manifesting in and through us into all our relationships, roles, and responsibilities.” —T.M. Moore
“At one time in Earth’s recent past people and all animals, including crocodiles, lions, T. rex, sharks, spiders, alligators, etc., were vegetarian. It is not known exactly when the transition to carnivorous and predatory behavior occurred, but we do know it happened after Adam and Eve sinned and did not involve evolution.” A recent analysis of a pterosaur’s stomach contents shows this vegetarian diet.
Cold-case detective J. Warner Wallace explains why the different accounts of the ministry of Jesus (as recorded in the four Gospels) actually bolster the case for their accuracy and historicity.
“It is when the thoughts of heaven are long out of the Christian’s sight, that he forgets his hope of that glorious place, that he begins to set up some idol…. Keeping the joy of heaven always before you will help you to run your race with patience. It will help you endure your short scuffles with temptation and affliction.” —William Gurnall, The Christian In Complete Armor
T.M. Moore wrote these sober words to the church: “The Lord sees His Church as the joy and beauty of the earth (Psalm 48:1-2), reflecting His splendor and goodness to the watching world. But when churches spend the bulk of their budgets and energies on themselves, it’s hard to see how they can be of much good in their local communities.”
“I love to think of nature as unlimited broadcasting stations, through which God speaks to us every day, every hour and every moment of our lives, if we will only tune in and remain so.” —George Washington Carver
J. Warner Wallace writes, “Some object, saying, ‘Christians are biased.’ But there’s an obvious oversight here. Yes, Matthew ultimately became a Christian, but look closely at his background. He started out as a tax collector named Levi—not a member of John the Baptist’s group, not a friend of Peter or Andrew, not one who grew up expecting a Messiah. He encountered Jesus, witnessed miracles, listened to teaching, and after observing all these things firsthand, became a follower. Don’t hold his subsequent transformation against him as if it poisons the well. The fact that someone who wasn’t predisposed to belief chose to follow Christ after seeing what he saw lends real weight to the testimony.” Read more about how our judicial system vets courtroom witnesses.
The writer of the Book of Hebrews challenges Christians to learn how to better encourage others and spur them on to their very best. This means we have to go deeper in our relationships with people. Here’s one way not to do this.
T.M. Moore cautions us against having a “too small God” mindset. He writes, “We are short-changing the people of God unless our preaching and teaching fits them to seek the Kingdom of God and the restoration of the world in all our life and work. We do not expect to recreate the original conditions that existed before the fall, but to remember them, to recall them, to recover a measure of them for the life of the world and, by so doing, to point ahead to the new and better and fully remade world that is to come.”
More archeological evidence from the city of Jericho helps scholars date the exodus from Egypt more precisely as well. All of this reinforces the absolute historicity of the biblical accounts.
“The Pentecostal movement emerged at the turn of the 20th century, resulting from a series of overlapping revivals that occurred around the world.” One of those revivals was in Wales.
“Although [traditional scientists] feel certain that dinosaurs went extinct 66 million years ago, unremitting soft tissue discoveries from dinosaur fossils openly challenge such age options and validate the creation model.” Check out how the Raman spectroscopy tests are aligning paleontological discoveries with the biblical timeline of Creation.
We have a culture where respect for others is eroding quickly. The Bible makes it clear that reverence for God results in respect for people, and respect for people helps us reverence the God who created them.
“The real great man is the man who makes every man feel great.” —G.K. Chesterton
Dr. Louis A. Markos has an insightful article on the works of C.S. Lewis that help us learn how to stay human. “Christians today who are committed to restoring a proper view of man have an ally in the greatest apologist of the twentieth century, C.S. Lewis (1898–1963). Though Lewis offers much help in his best-known apologetics books (Mere Christianity, The Problem of Pain, The Screwtape Letters, The Great Divorce) and his beloved Chronicles of Narnia, we would do well to expand our reading of Lewis to include his searing critique of modern educational philosophy (The Abolition of Man) and his anthropologically incisive science fiction novels, The Ransom (or Cosmic) Trilogy: Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, That Hideous Strength.”
The ICR has an article about a fascinating new dinosaur that was unearthed. “Even now in the twenty-first century, paleontologists are still at a loss as to the origin of the dinosaurs. As recently as 2024, five evolutionists stated, ‘Today, inspired by clues from fossils and footprints from a lost world, scientists continue to piece together the puzzle of how various dinosaur groups arose, behaved, and diversified.’ In contrast, the creation model argues that all dinosaur kinds were created during the same period—specifically on Day 6 of the creation week—several thousand years ago. From this perspective, the lack of definitive transitional forms or ancestral precursors in the fossil record aligns with the expectation that dinosaur kinds appeared fully formed and distinct, as observed in the fossil record.”
Axis’ Culture Translator discusses an article posted in Harper’s: “Many have written about how porn warps the expectations users have for relationships; this article demonstrates that, for young men in particular, pornography is often willingly embraced as a complete replacement for human connection. … Woven throughout this subculture is also conscious self-degradation; as the Harper’s article points out, ‘ruin your mind,’ ‘go deeper,’ and ‘give up on life’ are embraced as the movement’s rallying cries. Many young men and women are trapped in this spiritual prison, convinced there is nothing better to live for. Who will show them the way out?” Two helpful resources are Fight The New Drug and Pure Desire.
Leaders need to learn that disagreement on your team is normal and can be healthy. Disagreement doesn’t mean people distrust their leader, but it may mean that they want the bring out the best in their leader. Check out the full conversation Greg and I had on this subject.
Controlling leaders shut down creativity among their teammates, which leads to higher turnover. If your team isn’t sharing their good ideas with you or if they are leaving you, that may be an indicator that you are too controlling. Check out the full conversation on The Craig and Greg Show
“As a fact, men only become greedily and gloriously material about something spiritualistic. … Take away the supernatural, and what remains is the unnatural.” —G.K. Chesterton
Astronomical technology like the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) are providing breathtaking images. They are also creating problems for the scientific theories of the origins of our universe. University of California Santa Barbara physicist Caitlin Casey, said, “It makes sense—the Big Bang happens and things take time to gravitationally collapse and form, and for stars to turn on. There’s a timescale associated with that…. And the big surprise is that with JWST, we see roughly 10 times more galaxies than expected at these incredible distances.” There is a more straightforward answer found in Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”
“Knowing where God wants people to be and taking the initiative to use God’s gifts and God’s methods to get them there, in reliance on God’s power through Christ, with God’s appointed people following.” —John Piper, giving his definition of godly leadership
The Bible records the names of five Persian kings. One of them called “Darius the Persian” in Nehemiah 12:22 requires some historical cross-referencing to identify. The Bible Archeology Report presents another one of their fascinating archeological biographies on this Persian king.
“The greatness of a leader is in his humility before God, not in his eloquence before men.” —Anonymous
The most viewed and downloaded resource on my blog is my chart of the kings of the united kingdom of Israel and the divided kingdoms of Israel and Judah. I was thrilled to discover this week that Jacob Edson at Biblegateway has taken my chart even deeper!
T.M. Moore has vital counsel for pastors, “Jesus must increase in us, and we must decrease. But that doesn’t just happen by carrying out whatever our ‘spiritual work’ requires of us week-in and week-out. Our ‘natural gifts’ cannot replace spiritual ones, and ‘mental powers’ are no match for the mind of Christ. It is a shepherd’s ‘duty’ to attend to the care and nurture of his soul, for unless we are diligent in this, we will not be able to lead the Lord’s sheep into a greater experience of our great salvation or a fuller realization of His Kingdom.”
“This chapter contains the premier teaching of Christianity. It is an undying expression of Jesus’ doctrine of heavenly love. This chapter is more potent for the building of the church than any, or all, of the various manifestations of God’s power. Love is the church’s most effective weapon. Love is the essence of God’s nature. Love is the perfection of human character. Love is the most powerful, ultimate force in the universe. Without love, al various gifts of the Spirit are of no avail. … What a call to self-examination!” —Dr. Henry Halley, commenting on 1 Corinthians 13
“The transition from the good man to the saint is a sort of revolution; by which one for whom all things illustrate and illuminate God becomes one for whom God illustrates and illuminates all things.” —G.K. Chesterton
T.M. Moore launched a new series of articles about the coming of God’s Kingdom in these last days. In the first article, T.M. wrote, “In his Pentecost sermon Peter announced that, with the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the pouring out of God’s Spirit, the ‘last days’ had begun (Acts 2:14-17), the new economy has been put into effect. Paul says Jesus came in ‘the fullness of the times’ to inaugurate His great work of redemption in these last days (Galatians 4:4). The ‘fullness of the times’ in which the divine economy is unfolding, is now. We are living in the last days, the fullness of the times, when the Lord of heaven and earth is establishing and expanding His divine economy.”
Once again, a new fossil discovery doesn’t fit into evolutionary models, but instead bolsters the facts recorded in the Bible about Creation and the Flood.
“For years, Michael Pratt operated in the shadows of the internet, profiting from coercion, deception, and exploitation under the guise of adult entertainment.” Pratt has now pled guilty to sexual trafficking charges. Fight The New Drug wrote, “The story is more than a courtroom headline. It’s a stark reminder of how the porn industry can weaponize vulnerability, disguise abuse and trafficking, and sell it as fantasy.”
A really penetrating question from John Piper: Why do so many PhDs in theology commit adultery?
When there is a misunderstanding between the leader and a team member, insecure leaders want the other person to change. Secure leaders, however, take ownership and ask, “What do I need to do differently?” Check out more from The Craig and Greg Show.
In elaborating on the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:13 about Christians being the salt of the earth, T.M. Moore wrote, “In Jesus’ day, salt had three primary functions. Most people would have understood two of these, but only those raised in an Old Testament framework would have known about the third.” Read more about what churches should be considering about how they season the community around them.
In his “Look at the Book” series, John Piper expounds on the many ways Paul refers to Jesus in his second letter to Timothy. There are several ways, but Paul’s preferred way is “Christ Jesus.” Pastor John unpacks the Hebrew and Greek origins of these words and titles, and why he thinks Paul especially gravitated toward this title.
“Aerosols from penguin excrement may help trigger cloud formation, reducing solar heating and helping stabilize local areas of the Antarctic climate, study finds.” Hmmm, it’s almost like God designed His creation to take care of itself—because He did!
And an article in Science says, “According to secular models of Solar System formation, Earth, as an inner Solar System planet, should have little to no water.” And yet more than 70% of Earth is covered with water!
Aelred of Rievaulx wrote, “In friendship there is nothing more outstanding than faithfulness, which seems to be both the nurse and guardian of friendship. In all of life’s turns, in adversity and prosperity, in joy and sadness, in delightful and bitter circumstances, it reveals itself to be comparable to friendship, holding in the same regard both the humble and the exalted, the poor and the rich, the strong and the weak, the well and the infirm.”
Commenting on Aelred’s words, T.M. Moore observed, “Don’t we all want friends like that, who not only will provoke and prod us to grow in the Lord, but will stand by us in good times and bad, when we’re up and when we’re down? But if we would have such friends, we must be good stewards of their trust. This, again, is why spiritual friendships must be grounded in the Lord and focused on Jesus if they are going to bear the fruit of His indwelling Spirit.”
Evolutionary scientists claim to have made some steps forward in their understanding of the origins of life by using “the last universal common ancestor (LUCA).” But creationists like those at ICR observe that, “This mysterious LUCA is an unknown entity that existed from an unknown time ago at an unknown place by an unknown chain of unknown processes.” Clearly, the hypothesis that is the most straightforward and explainable is that God created the life in our universe just as the Bible states.
Along the same lines, Glenn Schrivener asks, “What do you think was there ‘in the beginning’—before peoples, planets, and protons? If you could hit rewind on the history of the universe and go back as far as possible, what would you find?” Then he gives us four possible things we may consider.
“Friendship is a path that leads very close to the perfection which consists of the enjoyment and knowledge of God, such that a man who is a friend of man is made into a friend of God, according to what the Savior said in the gospel: ‘Now I will not call you servants, but My friends [John 15:15].’” —Aelred of Rievaulx
In studying the intense volcanic activity on Jupiter’s moon Io, the ICR concludes, “Since 2013, evidence of a youthful solar system has only gotten stronger. Scientists have been forced to acknowledge that Saturn’s rings are indeed young, and belief in deep time continues to pose real problems for conventional scientists.” The prestigious Nature concurs, saying, “Some such proposals make planetary researchers uncomfortable, because it is statistically unlikely that humans would catch any one object engaged in unusual activity—let alone several.”
Parents and teachers trying to keep up with the ever-changing lexicon of today’s youth will really appreciate this list of slang from Axis.
“Those who are really in earnest must be willing to be anything or nothing in the world’s estimation.” —Susan B. Anthony
The story of Esther in the Bible is one of my all-time favorites. “While Esther herself has not been identified, nor has the plot to destroy the Jewish people been confirmed, the absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.” To that point, here are 10 pieces of archeological evidence related to this amazing story.
Charisse Compton asks, “When was the last time meditating on your body elicited worship?” She goes on to make this case from Psalm 139: “Your body, as much as your soul, is one of God’s glorious works. It bears the unmistakable signature of the divine Artist so that, like creation, your body ‘declare[s] the glory of God’ (Psalm 19:1).”
T.M. is beginning a series on the ministry of the apostle Paul. He writes, “Paul was able to accomplish great things against great odds not because he was such an enthralling preacher (he was not) or had so many resources to invest in his work (he did not), but because he had such great confidence in his message and his Lord.” Check out this series.
As a father, it always got my attention when my kids would remind me, “Dad, you said….” Not that God ever forgets anything He has promised, but when He hears Moses say, “You swore by Your own self and said to them,” He is pleased because this means that Moses is banking his faith on God’s unchangeable word. Let’s follow this example from Moses and use God’s Word to form our prayers to Him.
The ICR reports, “If the earth is 4.6 billion years old, virtually every square inch of the Earth’s surface would experience a host of erosive events.” But the fact that paleontologists have found so many well preserved foot tracks is a testament to both the Creation and Flood accounts recorded in biblical history.
“When ‘Aunt’ Fanny Lack, a 100-year-old Hoopa Indian woman, accepted Christ and was healed in 1920, she became a local sensation on the Hoopa Indian Reservation in northern California.” This is an amazing story!
“When you hate, the only person that is suffering is you because most of the people you hate don’t know it and the rest don’t care.” —Medgar Evers
Axis’ Culture Translator reported, “A study from World found that 26% of respondents admitted to flirting with a chatbot or AI, either for fun or unknowingly.” I love Axis’ conclusion: “Although social media was initially pitched as a supplement to real-life social interactions, the slope from supplement to replacement is steep. This Valentine’s Day, remind your teens that although real-life relationships can be difficult, we need both the affirmation and pushback that comes with them.”
Greg Morse shares the very real danger of shepherding God’s flock. He writes, “I enlisted to teach, preach, shepherd, and guide—but also to suffer, defend, and die, if the Lord should choose. As a son with his mother, a husband with his wife, a father with his children, so a pastor with his sheep. I am to defend them against all enemies foreign and domestic—spiritual and physical.” Pastors, I encourage you to read this article.
Craig T. Owens 