Author: John Morris

February 3, 2011 / / Eternity

“The boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.  Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea.  And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, ‘It is a ghost!’  And they cried out for fear.  But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘Be of good cheer!  It is I;  do not be afraid.’  And Peter answered Him and said, ‘Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.’  So He said, ‘Come.’  And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.  But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid;  and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, ‘Lord, save me!’  And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’  And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.”  (Matthew 14:24-32)

This singular event in the lives of the disciples teaches us some important lessons about serving the Lord.   Lessons for Christians, and otherwise.

October 14, 2010 / / Worship

Americans love convenience.  From microwaves to pizza delivery, from cell phones to high-speed Internet, from drive-through funeral viewings to drive-in churches, Americans make no bones about their love of convenience.  And convenience is certainly nice (in its place).  After all, who isn’t glad to be free from the time-consuming, back-breaking drudgery of doing things the old-fashioned way? (The good old days weren’t necessarily the good old days.  Just ask those who lived during them!)  Who doesn’t enjoy having more free time in each day?  Who doesn’t like to be able to get information when and where he wants it?  Convenience is nice. But some things just aren’t convenient.  And to make them so is to make them into something they’re not.

August 21, 2010 / / Christian Character

There are seven things that are an abomination to God (Proverbs 6:16).  Among them are “a lying tongue” and “a false witness who speaks lies” (Proverbs 6:17, 19).  This speaks to us clearly.  God hates lying. 

June 27, 2010 / / Church

From a study of 1 Corinthians 14:26-40, the following truths emerge:

1.    Corinth was experiencing confusion in the Lord’s Day assembly, hence Paul’s instructions, and his concluding admonition:  “Let all things be done decently and in order” (1 Corinthians 14:40).

2.    Many members customarily played a public part in Corinth’s Lord’s Day assembly:  “How is it then, brethren?  Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation” (1 Corinthians 14:26).

3.    Paul had no intention of depriving them of this mutual ministry–he intended only to order it:  “For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged” (1 Corinthians 14:31).

April 29, 2010 / / Salvation

The word “sin” appears 427 times in the King James Version of the Bible.  That’s not counting appearances of all its derivations (sinful, sinner, sinning, etc.).  The Biblical writers use nine Hebrew and three Greek terms in their discussions of it.  It is central to the message of Scripture, and poses a potentially eternal threat to us all:  “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).  In light of this, we do well to understand it.

March 2, 2010 / / Society

“Then God said, `Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness …” (Genesis 1:26). “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being”(Genesis 2:7).  “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him…” (Genesis 1:27).  God imagined man, incorporated him, and imbued him with life. On the day of man’s making, God blessed the capstone of His creation (Genesis 1:28), teaching us that He who “…forms the spirit of man within him” (Zechariah 12:1) counts His creation valuable.  This truth was further communicated in His declaration to Noah:  “Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man.  From the hand of every man’s brother I will require the life of man.  Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God He made man” (Genesis 9:5-6).  Clearly then, life is sacred, and its taking no small thing.

January 4, 2010 / / Christian Character

In his latter days, Solomon recalled his former deeds: “I made my works great, I built myself houses, and planted myself vineyards.  I made myself gardens and orchards, and I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them.  I made myself water pools from which to water the growing trees of the grove.  I acquired male and female servants, and had servants born in my house.  Yes, I had greater possessions of herds and flocks than all who were in Jerusalem before me.  I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the special treasures of kings and of provinces.  I acquired male and female singers, the delights of the sons of men, and musical instruments of all kinds.  So I became great and excelled more than all who were before me in Jerusalem” (Ecclesiastes 2:4-9).

November 10, 2009 / / Old Law

The word “grace” appears 18 times in the Old Testament.  It appears 125 times in the New Testament.  A striking change.  What accounts for this?  The apostles tell us.  John said that “the law was given through Moses, but grace…came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17).  Paul declared that Christians are “not under law but under grace” (Romans 6:14, 15). 

September 9, 2009 / / Apologetics

Concerning the co-existence of an all-powerful, loving, and good God with worldwide wickedness, the ancient philosopher Epicurus once mused: “Either God wants to abolish evil, and cannot; or He can, but does not want to; or He cannot and does not want to.  If He wants to, but cannot, He is impotent. If He can, and does not want to, He is wicked.  But, if God both can and wants to abolish evil, then how comes evil in the world?” (Strobel, p. 25).

July 14, 2009 / / Apologetics

“All but four of the major world religions are based on mere philosophical propositions.  Of the four that are based on personalities rather than on a philosophical system, only Christianity claims an empty tomb for its founder” (McDowell, p. 205).  Followers of Judaism agree that Abraham died about 1900 B.C.  The earliest accounts of Buddha’s death declare that he died “with that utter passing away in which nothing whatever remains behind,” (Smith, p. 385) and make no mention of a resurrection.