Blog
I was hiking a trail on the hills above our home when I came across a rare flower in full bloom. The flower was from the lily family of plants called the Gentner’s Fritillaria. This little lily only grows in a microclimate found in Southern Oregon. God was very...
We are familiar with the stunning miracle of the healing of a blind man at the Pool of Bethesda and the Pharisees' negative reaction. The healing of the blind man took place on the Sabbath—a day no one was allowed to “work.” They called his parents in for questioning....
In every generation, something is revealed that seems to scorch the reputation of God’s people. Betrayals, lust, and greed are nothing new to Him, but they still surprise us. We are often unaware of our heart’s true condition. These exposures of sin remind me of what...
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...
Societies do not naturally evolve into goodness. They devolve into greater depths of depravity apart from the renewing presence of God’s Spirit. No established social order can prevent a devolving into greater expressions of darkness apart from a regenerating work of...
One of our cats killed a rat and brought it into our home. We saw the dead rat sometime after the cat made her deposit on our dining room floor. This wasn’t a little mouse. It was a rat, a long slimy tail included. Jan called me with the sound of urgency in her voice,...
When a person that God has called abandons the integrity of their calling, the Lord can still use them to accomplish His will, even after their life takes a negative turn. In colloquial terms, Samson was a “mess.” He squandered his life which began with the miracle of...
The building where I proposed to Jan has been demolished. In the process, I learned something when memorable places no longer exist. https://www.facebook.com/1442665059/videos/1109261307467904
The Lord will faithfully forgive our sins if we confess them to Him. It is very different when we try to conceal our sins and pardon those who were complicit in their execution. In that case, mercy will not come to the perpetrator and those who followed their sin...
My pastor of many years ago was called to a meeting of disgruntled parishioners. He was young at the time. His church was growing under his apostolic leadership and teaching. This challenged some people within the congregation who wanted to remain in control and not...
There's a reason why the Lord will reduce our options for success. He does this so that we must rely on Him for our victory, not our ability, experience, or the resources we bring to the conflict. The Lord reduced Gideon's army from 32,000 warriors to only 300, "You...
Unforgiveness will take us to places we don’t want to go. It will also cause us to do things we would never imagine we would do. Our only safe way to live a life of faith when someone wrongs us is to forgive them, even when forgiveness is the last thing we want to do....