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Receiving an inheritance was a big deal in the Old Testament. People set their hearts on entering into their inheritance, and were serious about maintaining that inheritance and passing it on to their own children. They had a great reason for that. God had promised to give them an inheritance, which we often call “the Promised Land.” We call it that just because God had promised it to them. God enacted special legislation to preserve that land as an inheritance. For instance, in order to prevent land passing from one tri...
“Wisdom shouts in the streets. She cries out in the public square… Come and listen to my counsel. I’ll share my heart with you and make you wise.”(Proverbs 1:20, 23). Wisdom in the Bible is available to all, but we must respond and receive it. Biblical wisdom is the practical application of biblical truth obeyed out of love and reverence for God that results in skillful, beneficial and productive righteous living in the world. Essentially, it is effectively living like Jesus Christ in the world. Wisdom in the Bible covers...
Ephesians 2:8 tells us that we are saved by grace through faith, and that not of ourselves; it is the gift of God. We are to grow and mature in this grace. We need to get out of the sandbox and mature in the Lord. I remember when I was in kindergarten at Vineland School and getting mad at some other kids. Running out of the class to go home, the vice principal picked me up on the way. I remember at Richland School getting swats from a couple of principals. I like to think that over the years that I have grown in the Lord’s g...
We Christians realize that the devil is a liar and a deceiver. He plays with our minds and tells us that there is no hope for what we are facing. It’s not always an easy road for us, but there is victory for us if we follow the Lord. In Exodus 14:15 as the children of Israel were at the Red Sea and the Egyptians were closing in on them, God told Moses to go forward. Get your eyes on the Lord. Exodus 14:10 shows that the Israelites lifted up their eyes and saw the Egyptians closing in, and fear gripped their lives. The Bible s...
Do you remember the Amelia Bedelia books, by Peggy Parish? Amelia Bedelia works as a housekeeper, but is constantly causing disasters because she inevitably misunderstands what she is told. At one point she’s roped into a neighborhood baseball game. When she’s encouraged to steal the bases and run home, she picks up the object used to mark third base and sprints back to her house. Another time when she was told to give the chickens scraps, she took small pieces of cloth to the hencoop. Amelia Bedelia’s problem is that she a...
Pride, arrogance and self-conceit are at the root of every sin. Pride is the inflated view of oneself that derives pleasure from the self-perceived greatness of one’s own reputation, status, power, influence, abilities, possessions and achievements. Pride is the foolish puffing up of one’s own ego like a balloon, where every self-exalting action inflates it with more air; and yet everyone knows overinflated balloons must eventually pop (1 Corinthians 4:7-9, 18). Pride distorts one’s self-image and conceit creates a self-...
Millions of people worldwide are participating in the health movement of Dry January, simply choosing not to drink alcohol for the month. Because many Americans reported increasing their alcohol intake during Covid, there is concern that consumption has remained high even after the pandemic ended. Health professionals report they are seeing increased drinking habits, especially among women. California ranks 34th in the nation in excessive drinking, with 19.1% of adults reporting that they drink in excess, according to United...
Happy New Year – the old year of 2023 is gone with its failures and successes. It's time to press the reset button with new resolutions, new goals,and a new start. In the New Testament book of Philippians 3:13-14, Saint Paul says, "This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead." So press toward the goal, reach for the prize God is calling you in Christ Jesus. God has something good, something better for you this new year of 2024. In the Old Testament book o...
An article last week in The Press included pictures of a few residents’ gravesites being defaced in the name of religion. It happened out at the Shafter Cemetery. I love that cemetery and have family buried out there, so I would never try to say anything against the cemetery or the wonderful staff that works out there. I do want to make clear that what happened recently shouldn’t be ignored or swept under the rug, which, with indications that this was not the first time this h...
In life, we see people who are experts in certain fields. Master plumber, master mechanic and master electrician are titles of people who are experts in those occupations. There are many people with a master’s degree, but Jesus Christ is the Master of all. I remember when I was a child, my pastor preached upon The Master. After hearing him preach, I came to the conclusion that Jesus can do anything. Jesus is the master of all things. No wonder Paul calls Jesus our All in All. In Luke 8:24 in the midst of a storm Jesus was asl...
With the New Year here, many are considering what will be on their list of resolutions, and mental health should be top of mind. A recent study shows that in 2023, one of the highest reported New Year’s resolutions was to improve mental health (36%), reflecting a growing recognition of mental well-being as pivotal to our overall quality of life and highlighting a collective commitment to prioritize self-care and emotional resilience in the coming year. The state of mental h...
We all exercise a right to choose what we like most. When you go to a restaurant, you might order from the menu what sounds best at the time. Maybe when eating a salad or trail mix you pass over the parts you don’t like — the croutons or the cashews or whatever. When speaking about food and similar areas, that’s reasonable, and no problem at all. If we practice that habit in other areas, though, that can be quite bad. Imagine someone who practiced picking and choosing in math. If you refuse to use the number 4, a lot of ca...
In the busyness and stress of daily life, we often fall into a rut, just battling to get through each day as it comes. We survive, but do we thrive? From time to time, we lift up our heads for a moment and wonder if things will ever improve, before the next task drags us back into our mindless routine. We dream about a life that is joyous and purpose-driven, but our reality remains the same. As 2023 comes to a close, let’s take a moment to not only dream of a better 2024, but to plan and prepare in practical ways. God is a pl...
As the holiday season approaches, students across the country are wrapping up their papers and exams for a long holiday break. For many, it is a time to rest, recharge and catch up with friends and family. It can also be an important opportunity for the adults in students' lives to check in about their mental health and wellness. In college, our kids' lives are full of new experiences; while exciting for many, navigating academic pressures and a growing independence can also...
What is the true meaning of Christmas? Is it about Christmas trees, lights and presents? Or is it about good food and reunions? Yes. But it goes much further than that. It's about God sending us a gift that we can enjoy forever. In Isaiah 45:22, the Lord said, "Look unto me and be saved, all the ends of the earth." The question is, saved from what? In Isaiah 59:1-2, the Lord says, "The hand of the Lord is not short that he cannot save you, neither is ear closed that he cannot hear you, but your sins have separated between...
I'm sure you'd agree that it doesn't seem possible that another Christmas Day is drawing near! All of the preparations of shopping for gifts, purchasing and cooking meals, planning the day with family or friends, and that's not to mention attending Advent services leading up to Christmas Day. Have you ever wondered what you'd do if it wasn't true? What if Jesus was nothing more than an invented figure to rally the people of his day? For bestselling author and former investigative reporter Lee Strobel, those are the kinds of q...
We would be in terrible trouble if our God was made by man out of wood or gold. Psalm 115:5-7 says, [BEGIN ITAL]”The false golds have mouths but cannot speak, they have eyes but they cannot see. They have ears and they hear not, they have noses and they cannot smell. They have hands but they handle not, they have feet but they cannot walk and they cannot speak.”[END ITAL] Our God is not made by man, but He has always existed. He is the Potter, and we are the clay. He reigns over all. Psalm 50:21 says, [BEGIN ITAL]”You thoug...
More than 96 million Americans live with a potentially life-altering condition – yet many of them are unaware they even have it. That condition is prediabetes, which in up to 70% of cases develops into diabetes. Today, more than 37 million Americans already live with diabetes, which, if left untreated, can contribute to a host of health issues. In California, 9.9% of adults over age 18 have been diagnosed with diabetes. Diabetes alters the body's ability to create energy from the food you eat and can develop in several f...
These days, we know little about leprosy, the disease that is both referenced more times than any other in the Bible and was the illness most frequently healed by Jesus. In Bible times, it was a terrifying diagnosis because it not only meant an incurable sickness, apart from a divine touch, but also a life sentence to solitude. Sufferers had to live away from the rest of society and could never again live in their own homes or experience the touch of a loved one. So, it may be surprising that people who lived such a painful...
Four times in Psalms 107 we are urged to praise the Lord. Verses 8, 15, 21 and verse 31 tells us to “praise him for his goodness and for his works." Psalms 52:1 says, “The goodness of God endureth continually." Psalms 119:68 says, “Thou art good and doest good." The song says, “All my life you have been faithful, and all my life you have been so, so good. With every breath that I am able, I will sing of the goodness of God." Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness. He satisfies our longing soul and fills our sou...
We have a lot to be thankful for. The specifics will be different for you than for me, but we live in a world that contains many wonderful things to enjoy, and blessings abound. If you take a moment to review problems you've survived and good things you enjoyed this week, I have no doubt there will be a good list of things for which you could give thanks. In [BEGIN ITAL]A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich[END ITAL] Alexander Solzhenitsyn takes the unusual tack of telling us about a good day in the gulag – a Russian p...
In Genesis 25, it tells the story of Esau and Jacob, brothers as different as night and day, who had fought with one another even in their mother’s womb. Though they were twins, Esau was the firstborn and had the right to certain privileges. The firstborn was entitled to a double inheritance and would someday take his father’s place as the head of the family business. What is more, he also would be expected to take on the spiritual leadership of his clan. But Esau never got to exercise those privileges. He returned desperatel...
To the editor: I am writing this as a concerned citizen of Shafter, as well as a former employee and former Board member of the Richland School District. On July 20, 2023, an article appeared in the Shafter Press concerning school districts spending of federal covid relief funds. It was stated, “Numerous attempts to contact Superintendent Rosa Romero have gone unanswered, as well as calls to Richland Finance Director Martin Rodriguez” as to how the Richland School District had spent their allotted $11.1 million of fun...
Just as I was beginning this article on communication, I received a text message! I don't need to tell you the many forms of communication that are part of our world today, such as text messaging, email, social media, phones (cell and landlines), etc. Of course, actually having a face-to-face conversation is still the best form of communication. Good communication is critical for many things, but is especially critical for good relationships. Whenever I do premarital counseling, one of the first topics I discuss with engaged...
Should faith be a public or a private matter? That question comes up in several contexts, but the basic answer is that faith must be both. We can illustrate that point from the practice of the Lord’s Supper. Since there are only two sacraments, the Lord invested each one with an astonishing depth and richness of meaning. In the instructions given by Paul about the Lord's Supper, it's clear that there is a strongly individual element. Each one is supposed to examine himself (1 Corinthians 11:28). The Table draws each b...