Blog

Henri Nouwen noted, “The blessed cannot help but bless others.” He continued, “It is remarkable how easy it is to bless others when you are in touch with your own blessedness.” God offers a supernatural blessing to and through those who bless others. We do not do this...

The old prophet Simeon blessed the Christ child in the temple saying, “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel” (Lk. 2:34). He was right. When Jesus came, he was not only dedicated as a child by his parents in the temple, but he was...

Early in Matthew, we find Jesus giving what scholars call the ‘Sermon on the Mount.’ It is found in Matthew 5 – 7, in three chapters. In chapter 5, Jesus is offering blessings. Remember God, the Father, in Genesis also came blessing. Now His Son, Jesus comes, doing...

In 722 B.C., the Assyrians invaded Israel, the Northern Kingdom and took them captive. They never returned to the land. They are called the ten lost tribes. A century later, in 605 B.C., Babylon took the first captives from the Southern Kingdom, Judah. In 586 B.C.,...

After God scattered humans at Babel, he refused to give up on mankind. Given the disaster at Babel, He changed the way he would bless. He moved from the global – blessing all of humanity, as in Adam and Noah – and chose to use one family among all the families of the...

Did you ever notice the first encounter of God with a human? (Gen. 1:28). Theologians call this ‘the law of the first mention.’ First mentions seem to set a trajectory for the rest of the Bible – that’s why Genesis is so important to us. Let’s take a closer look. In...

Have you ever noticed how people react when you say, “God bless you,” or “Have a blessed day!” There are a few grinches who return a sour look, but most people smile. Some say, “Thank you!” and express gratitude. Some say in response, “God bless you too.” And...

In the 1990’s a neighborhood evangelism model was introduced into the USA. I served as one of the trainers. In one area, we discovered a church of several hundred that grew out of a neighborhood Bible study. In another example, one couple used Christmas as an...

At the heart of the Christian faith is a prayer that still echoes across generations: “That they may all be one.” (John 17:21) On the night before His crucifixion, Jesus did not pray for comfort or ease for His disciples—He prayed for unity. Not uniformity, but a...

There’s a quiet assumption many of us carry: that if we don’t grow in prayer, nothing really changes. Life keeps moving. Responsibilities get handled. The world spins on. But that assumption isn’t true. There is a cost to not growing in prayer, one that often goes...

By P. Douglas SmallPresident, PRAYER AT THE HEART What We Need Today What we need and what this Roman church needed – was only found in a relationship with God, only “in Christ,” and that we know, is a metaphor for unceasing prayer. It is the desire of God to produce...

By P. Douglas SmallPresident, PRAYER AT THE HEART Paul’s Strategic Purpose in Writing the Book of Romans The backdrop of the book of Romans is wrath. Full stop. Wrath. This should jolt our sensibilities. The wrath of God is being restrained, but only momentarily. We...