Blog
A great sense of dread is filling the hearts of many people in our nation, even believers who should know better. We must capture that dread and make it submit to the will of God, or we will be led astray and become a tool of the enemy. Camps are being formed that...
Last week, I had three unique encounters with different people. The first happened as I was walking through our small town, and a vehicle pulled alongside. A young man rolled down his window and asked, "Are you Garris Elkins?" I said, "Yes, I am." The young man told...
Your trust will be tested in the coming days. Some of those you thought would remain faithful will not. You don't need to pray for protection from your betrayers. Pray for your heart's attitude when you experience the pain of betrayal. This time of testing will...
For the last few days, a team of workers has been clearing the forest above our home of dead trees and debris. When a forest fire ignites and advances, it’s the dead wood that creates an overly destructive fire threatening nearby homes. The workers are stacking the...
Death is a personality not a vague and widespread expression of the presence of evil. We cannot fight against Death without being specific regarding the existence of his personality and mission. The Book of Revelation assigns a capital letter to denote Death as an...
The staff of authority you carry is not something you want to hold onto because you realize the challenges it will create as you exercise its authority. Realizing those challenges, you have tried to throw the staff down and move on, but you can’t. The Lord has...
Traps have been set in our lives to take us back into a place of bondage. They are designed with specificity to capture our attention and then lead us into a place of deeper temptation. As Moses was instructing the Israelites about how to live in the lands they...
The Lord spoke to Moses at a critical and transitional point in his leadership journey. As Moses was complaining to Him, the Lord said, “That’s enough. Speak of it no more” (Deuteronomy 3:26-17). It was no longer about Moses' disdain for the forever complaining...
For the last few years, I've noticed something happening with greater frequency. Thanksgiving has taken on a lesser position of importance in our nation. While visiting the big box stores it seems Thanksgiving has settled into an almost unnoticed place in the store...
While the Lord instructed Moses about how to live in the land, He gave instructions about many areas of life. Regarding one issue, murder, the Lord said what happens when there is no punishment for a murderer’s crime, “murder pollutes the land” (Numbers 35:33). The...
In the massive and diverse flow of opinions about life and how we should live, the only way to live a right and honorable life is to align our response to those opinions with God’s word. Only then will we be aligned with truth, even if the moment of our obedience...
When we read about Balaam and his talking donkey, we tend to focus on the miracle of an animal speaking to a human. But there is more to the story than that miracle. Balak was the king of the Moabites. He saw the approaching Israelites and wanted Balaam to curse...
God is preparing His people by placing the hidden and broken things in our lives out in the open in plain view. He is doing this, not to punish us, but to remove the old inhibiting ways of living from our lives so we can finish the race of faith intact. Godly exposure...
Dear friends and family, Our daughter, Anna, has been nominated by a longtime friend and fellow author to be considered as the Poet Laureate of Oregon. This is a high honor. Last year, Anna was awarded the Oregon Book Award for her poetry. If you felt led to also...
Reading through the Old Testament, I am happy to have been born at this time in history. There was so much detail in the Old Testament expression of faith that was complicated, like the exact building details of the Tabernacle. However, in both Testaments, there was a...