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by: Gary L. Hutchens Compromise is the willingness to give up something in order to get something. It is said to be the art of diplomacy. Savvy politicians will tell you that to be a successful politician you must learn to compromise. Because different philosophies and ideologies come to bear within political circles, it is difficult to accomplish anything without being willing to compromise somewhere along the line. Usually, neither side gets all of what it wants. Instead, each side gives up something in order to get some of what it believes to be best. While getting some of what it believes in, each side prevents the other from getting all of what it wants.
by: Gary L. Hutchens To all fathers out there, Happy Father’s Day! I can’t think of a more appropriate time to ask the following question: “What will happen to a nation whose children grow up without a conscience?” One reason it’s appropriate to ask this question is due to the mounting evidence that such is happening in our nation, right now.
by: Gary L. Hutchens The apostle Paul admonished, “Abstain from all appearance of evil” (1 Thess. 5:22 KJV). The admonition does not just deal with not committing sin. It deals with staying out of potentially sinful situations, situations wherein we might find ourselves unduly tempted to sin. The idea is to stay away from not just the sin, but also the temptation that could lead to sin.
by: Gary L. Hutchens Many people feel they’ve lived such a sinful life that they cannot be saved. They’re just too bad to be forgiven. They’re beyond redemption, without hope. But, is that what the scriptures actually teach?
by: Gary L. Hutchens Common sense ought to be a rule of thumb in virtually every aspect of life. It also should prevail in formulating the direction taken by any society. For quite some time our society has been steadily moving in a direction that displays a lack of common sense. A recent example demonstrated how speaking out for the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman brought criticism, scorn, castigation and possibly even punishment to the one who dared to so speak publicly. We are now at a point where it is safe to say, to a great extent, common sense no longer prevails!
by: Gary L. Hutchens The scriptures repeatedly encourage those who walk with God in faithfulness. “Blessed is the man who walks not the in the counsel of the ungodly…but his delight is in the law of the Lord.” (Ps. 1:1-2). “Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust…” (Ps. 40:4). “Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in His ways.” (Ps. 128:1). The key on our part is our commitment to faithfully walk with God. Many people want God’s blessings without having to faithfully walk with Him.
by: David Hersey Granby, MO (edited) The Bible defines faith as “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1). Simply stated, this means that faith is the foundation of our hope and a conviction in our hearts of things we cannot see in this physical life. In fact, the words faith and belief are from the same original root word in the Greek New Testament, pistis, a noun that has to do with being convinced of something.
By: Gary L. Hutchens Jesus said, “Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Rev. 2:10). True faith is not just believing, it is belief put into action through obedience and continued, consistent dedication (Jn. 14:15; Jas. 2:14-26). Inherent within the New Testament concept of saving faith is repentance (Lk. 13:3; Acts 3:19), open confession of faith in Christ (Matt. 10:32; Rom. 10:9-10) and baptism into Christ (Rom. 6:3; Gal. 3:27) for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38; 22:16) in order to be saved (Mk. 16:15-16; 1 Pet. 3:21). True faith is not a part of a faithful Christian’s life- it is his life! (Gal. 2:20).
By: Gary Hutchens Peter portrays the devil as “a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Pet. 5:8). Upon reading that verse of scripture we naturally envision the mighty king of the jungle stalking prey, ready to kill with swift and awesome violence and then rip open and hungrily devour its victim. But such an image does not necessarily fit the way the devil works to bring a soul to destruction.
By: Gary Hutchens Beginning in early 2020, the Covid pandemic changed the social, economic, business, professional and religious landscape of our nation. For a period of time virtually everything other than the food and health care industries was shut down, including churches. New variants of the original virus have continued to hinder the settling of our culture back into some semblance of normalcy.
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