Author: Chad Harper
Jul
26
In Luke 13 Jesus talks about the kingdom of heaven. It reads, “He said therefore, Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I liken it? It is like unto a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his own garden; and it grew, and became a tree; and the birds of the heaven lodged in the branches thereof.”
Jesus likens the kingdom of heaven to a grain of mustard seed that when planted grows into a large tree. Have you ever wondered why a mustard seed? Read the rest of this entry
Author: Chad Harper
Feb
24
We have all dreamed of coming across that magical lamp. You know, the one where you accidentally rub it and out pops your personal genie. A genie to do your bidding. A genie to answer your every request. We all know the folk lore regarding the genie. The genie grants you three wishes and you must use them wisely, because once you make a wish it cannot be undone without using another wish. However, the original genie found in One Thousand And One Nights was not limited to three wishes. Read the rest of this entry
Author: Chad Harper
Jun
9
They are cute, at first, then they start to get annoying. It is not your first born child. It is the Roomba. The little disc vacuum cleaner that automatically cleans your carpets while you work on other things around the house or even while you are not there. The concept is simple, this robotic vacuum cleaner roams your house sucking up dirt and debris until the floors are clean. The way it works is, it travels in a straight line until it hits something; a wall, a chair, the dog. Then it turns and goes another direction until it hits something else. The logic is that with enough bumping and turning it will eventually clean every inch of your carpet. Read the rest of this entry
Author: Chad Harper
May
25
Each of us have wondered at some time, “Why is it that God answers some prayers and not others?” Many great preachers have taught great sermons on this matter. Sometimes the most simple explanation suffices in place of deep theological exhortations. This is one possible simple explanation.
Everyone loves to hear a scripture like Mark 10:27 where it says, “And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.” This is good for our faith. To know and believe that God can do anything should give us strength and hope. That same scripture can be a problem when we have a need for something seemingly impossible and God does not come through for us. Read the rest of this entry
Author: Chad Harper
May
17
Everybody likes to have someone in their corner; someone who believes in them and is backing them. To be honest, people like to support and encourage other people. Look at the size of our stadiums. Thousands and tens of thousands, even over 100,000 people will join together on a given day and time to cheer on their team. On a much smaller scale, people in general, when they see someone down and out, reach out to try to encourage or help them. Whether it is when things are good or bad, we all like someone supporting us.
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Filed under:
Christian Living | Tagged as:
hope,
trials
Author: Chad Harper
Apr
5
“He is not here.” Those words are only used 3 times in the Bible. Each instance was from 3 versions of the same story. It is a group of ladies who were looking for Jesus. That is not normally the phrase you would hear when you are looking for Jesus. We actually are told to believe the opposite. Paul said that Jesus started from scratch and “he made the entire human race and made the earth hospitable, with plenty of time and space for living so we could seek after God, and not just grope around in the dark but actually find him. He doesn’t play hide-and-seek with us. He’s not remote; he’s near” (Acts 17:26-28). If you seek for God you will find Him. Read the rest of this entry
Filed under:
Christian Living | Tagged as:
Christ,
hope
Author: Chad Harper
Mar
15
In Joshua 2 we see the beginning of the story where the Israelites are heading into the promised land. Their first stop is Jericho. Jericho was a heavily fortified city with giant walls so Joshua sent spies into the land to scout out the lay of the land. The king finds out about the spies and tries to hunt them down but the spies are given shelter by a harlot named Rahab. She knew that God had already delivered the land into the hands of the Israelites so she made a deal, she would hide them and they would save her and her family. To signify to the warriors who they should protect, she was to hang a scarlet thread from her window. The red thread became her identification and her salvation. Read the rest of this entry
Author: Chad Harper
Jan
29
It happens to everyone at some point in your life. You are walking around the house, about to leave, and you realize you do not have your keys. You had them just 1 minute ago when you were about to walk out and remembered you forgot to load something in the car. Now you are ready to go and you can not find your keys. There are different tricks we use to find out lost items. Read the rest of this entry
Author: Chad Harper
Dec
7
The first week of December is here and Christmas is just around the bend. With the onslaught of the holidays there is much to do and much to remember. There are Christmas presents to buy, trees to decorate, parties to attend, family to entertain and on and on the list goes. Through the hustle and bustle it is clear that the Christmas message still thrives. As families gather to eat their feasts, a blessing will be said that reminds everyone the understated reason for the season. Read the rest of this entry