Blog
As a young boy, when our family went camping, I watched how my father set up our campsite. Everything had a place and purpose, from the stacking of firewood and the maintenance of the fire to the placement of cooking utensils and the disposal of our trash. Each item...
No matter the visible failures being exposed in the leadership of the Church, the Lord remains forever true and faithful to His promises. He will never fail us. People will. A simple reading of Scripture reveals that these failures will occur in our time because they...
On the trail system above our home, new trail signs have been placed on the entrances to each trail. In the last few years, the old signs had become worn, some of them unreadable. The trail names haven’t changed. The new signs were put in place to make sure...
“The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us’” (Matthew 1:23). Immanuel is a word used frequently during Christmas. His presence is larger than a theological concept or definition. It...
I remember the first time I heard a car backfire. The loud and piercing sound broke through the normal sounds of life and got my attention. The backfire was the sound of something coming to life. No matter the depths of evil being planned and expressed in our world,...
After a recent windstorm, I was hiking along a familiar trail past where a prominent old dead tree once stood. I’ve passed by that old tree for years. Under the wind's influence, the tree was sheared off, causing the tree to fall. When I saw the fallen tree, the Lord...
Jesus told His disciples, “You will all fall away, for it is written 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered'” (Mark 14: 27). Falling away requires a situation when we are in danger and our life is on the line. Imagine if you were told to kneel...
When the end of this age occurs, it will be a very troubling time. Even families will be divided over Jesus. The Lord told His disciples that the rejection of Jesus would be widespread, and as a result, “Everyone will hate you because of me, but the one who stands...
The country singer, Alan Jackson, sings a song titled, “The Older I Get.” In the song, there is one line that says if he found the Fountain of Youth, he wouldn’t drink a drop. He went on to sing that he is thankful for the life he has been given and in that good life,...
When a police officer responds to a “hot” call, emotions are high as the officer makes their way to the crime scene. This emotional response multiplies when other officers also respond to the same incident. It was always a problem when one of the responding officers,...
All of us are living in a time of transition, both in the Church and within culture. This time of transition is not our destination. Knowing that reality will prepare us for what is coming. https://www.facebook.com/1442665059/videos/1102804481011705
We have entered the Christmas season, and we all celebrate family traditions. The Elkins home has family traditions as well. There is nothing wrong with our traditions if they are not linked to our salvation. That linkage is dangerous. Those religious traditions are...
When Jesus returned to Nazareth, His hometown, He was not accepted. The residents had known Jesus and his family. When Jesus spoke, the people of Nazareth were amazed and asked, “Where did He get all this wisdom and the power to perform such miracles” (Mark...
As Jesus preached about the seed of God’s truth wanting to enter the hearts of people, He mentioned the shallow soil of a half-hearted commitment to the Lord, “Since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are...
Each generation needs to be introduced to the power of Jesus Christ or we will settle for a lesser version of the Lord without seeing a demonstration of His power. Accepting that limited version of the Lord will make us suspicious of anyone or any teaching that...