tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-94893942007-05-14T11:08:25.759-05:00Jeff Himmelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12105918911811239545noreply@blogger.comBlogger77125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9489394.post-50070316448805683782007-05-14T11:02:00.000-05:002007-05-14T11:04:41.629-05:00

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). That promise ought to bring immense comfort to every child of God. If we have sinned, forgiveness is always available. But do we sometimes sabotage our forgiveness by inventing limitations on God’s promise? We do when we say… "God can’t forgive me of this." This

Jeff Himmelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12105918911811239545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9489394.post-80523400407181996892007-01-30T23:48:00.000-05:002007-05-14T11:06:16.595-05:00

Manasseh was the fourteenth ruler of Judah. His 55-year reign was the longest of any of Judah’s kings — and arguably the worst. He rebuilt the “high places” of pagan worship and made altars to foreign gods, even in the temple of the Lord itself. He worshiped the sun, moon, and stars, practiced witchcraft, consulted mediums, and even practiced child sacrifice. He filled Jerusalem with the blood of

Jeff Himmelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12105918911811239545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9489394.post-17600314530148171502007-01-10T13:17:00.000-05:002007-01-10T13:34:53.023-05:00

Worship has always been a fundamental part of a godly life. From Abel to Noah to Abraham to the Israelites and on, the Old Testament describes expressions of praise to God from His people (see Genesis 4:3-5; 8:20; 12:8; Exodus 15). Worship was important to early Christians, as well. The first disciples “continually devoted themselves” to it (Acts 2:42). The apostles spoke of its importance and

Jeff Himmelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12105918911811239545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9489394.post-24121112594631077762007-01-04T09:32:00.000-05:002007-01-04T09:41:20.790-05:00

I have a confession to make: I’ve always disliked the “receiving line” at the close of worship assemblies — the tradition of having the preacher stand at the door of the meeting house and shake hands with everyone as they exit. I especially dislike it because I’m the preacher. It’s not that I don’t want to talk to people. The problem is that I do want to talk to people, and you can

Jeff Himmelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12105918911811239545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9489394.post-1163710077590179042006-11-16T15:43:00.000-05:002006-11-16T15:47:58.293-05:00

I don’t like wearing flip-flops. They fall off my feet, they’re noisy, and they make me trip. You can wear them if you like, but I’d just as soon go barefoot. There’s another kind of flip-flop that bothers me: the human flip-flop, when a person takes a dramatic U-turn in his convictions. Politicians are accused of it all the time, and often rightly so. Some are anti-abortion one week

Jeff Himmelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12105918911811239545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9489394.post-1161790626381109002006-10-25T10:28:00.000-05:002007-05-14T11:07:07.474-05:00

At Philippi, a woman named Lydia “and her household” were baptized into Christ (Acts 16:15). Also at Philippi, the jailer was baptized, “he and all his household” (Acts 16:33). And at Corinth, Paul baptized “the household of Stephanas” (1 Corinthians 1:16). Do these baptisms of entire households imply that Paul and other first-century preachers baptized infants? Some people say yes. They reason

Jeff Himmelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12105918911811239545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9489394.post-1161184200846117372006-10-18T10:06:00.000-05:002006-10-18T10:10:00.866-05:00

[This article was originally published in August to mark MTV's 25th anniversary.] August, 1981. Reagan’s presidency was just hitting stride. NASA’s new space shuttle program wowed the world. And cable TV brought a new sensation into American homes: a 24-hour channel featuring video clips of pop and rock music stars performing their songs, plus news items from the popular music world

Jeff Himmelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12105918911811239545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9489394.post-1160592782243979712006-10-11T13:46:00.000-05:002007-05-14T11:08:12.745-05:00

Can a person be saved without being a Christian? The answer from many of our unbelieving neighbors is “Yes.” But other folks are answering “Yes,” too — and who they are may surprise you. A Catholic Priest Says “Yes” Some time ago I read a newspaper article titled “Why do Catholics believe that ‘non-Christians’ can be saved?” The article, by a “Father Pasquini,” affirms that a person who knows

Jeff Himmelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12105918911811239545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9489394.post-1159277833080416552006-09-26T08:33:00.000-05:002006-09-26T08:43:39.666-05:00

Every preacher gets sermon requests now and then. Most of us are glad to get fresh ideas. But may I make a few suggestions about our suggestions? When you ask the preacher for a lesson on something, ask yourself some questions, too. 1. Will I be there to hear it? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve stood up to preach a lesson someone requested, only to see that the person who requested it wasn’

Jeff Himmelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12105918911811239545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9489394.post-1157984293351865162006-09-11T09:16:00.000-05:002006-09-11T09:18:13.370-05:00

In Ephesians 4:25-32, Paul briefly addresses several matters of personal conduct — a variety of do’s and don’ts for our relationships. As I was reading this passage recently, I was struck by how many things on this list primarily involve our speech. Some are obvious, of course: falsehood (verse 25), unwholesome words (verse 29), slander (verse 31). But these are not all. Consider: there may be

Jeff Himmelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12105918911811239545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9489394.post-1153755083832063142006-07-24T10:27:00.000-05:002006-07-24T10:31:23.846-05:00

We often say that you can’t judge a book by its cover. But the fact is that people do form opinions about us based on our appearance — especially the way we dress. Even in an age as morally numb as ours, certain clothes suggest something about the person wearing them. What do yours say? Proverbs 7:10 describes an adulterous woman wearing “the attire of a harlot.” I don’t know just

Jeff Himmelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12105918911811239545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9489394.post-1152542413355216682006-07-10T09:36:00.000-05:002006-07-10T09:40:39.026-05:00

You probably hear the word all the time, but do you know what it means? No, it’s not Greek for “That’s all” or “Let’s eat” — no matter what people’s behavior at Sunday morning worship might suggest. Amen is a Hebrew word that refers to what is true and sure. Amen comes from the root word aman. That Old Testament word has several shades of meaning. It may denote that which is sure or established

Jeff Himmelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12105918911811239545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9489394.post-1151431420787187492006-06-27T13:00:00.000-05:002006-06-29T12:14:33.576-05:00

Our kids’ pet hamster, Rowdy, lives in one of those really fancy cages. In fact, his many-roomed domicile of plastic hardly fits the word cage, which is probably why the manufacturer calls it a habitat. Anyway, this “habitat” has (according to the directions) a couple of different places for the little critter to sleep, including what I can only describe as a basement and a pent­house. So where

Jeff Himmelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12105918911811239545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9489394.post-1151353843247451682006-06-26T15:21:00.000-05:002006-06-26T15:30:43.270-05:00

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor” (Exodus 20:17). Among the Ten Commandments, this last one is a bit different. While the others mainly regulated actions, the tenth commandment dealt explicitly with a condition of the heart.

Jeff Himmelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12105918911811239545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9489394.post-1150896262532380312006-06-21T08:04:00.000-05:002006-06-21T08:31:11.200-05:00

“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” (Exodus 20:16). The ninth commandment is most directly concerned with perjury — falsely accusing or testifying against another. God told Israel, “You shall not bear a false report; do not join your hand with a wicked man to be a malicious witness…nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after a multitude in order to pervert

Jeff Himmelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12105918911811239545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9489394.post-1149137552295009662006-05-31T23:50:00.000-05:002006-06-21T08:03:36.423-05:00

“You shall not steal” (Exodus 20:15). When was last time you heard a sermon or read an article on stealing? We usually don’t give it much emphasis, do we? Perhaps we say less about it than other sins because stealing is so widely regarded as wrong behavior. Theft has been prohibited in virtually every civil code of man. Even largely godless societies have recognized it as unethical. Stealing is

Jeff Himmelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12105918911811239545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9489394.post-1147744233403192292006-05-15T20:42:00.000-05:002006-05-22T12:08:11.346-05:00

“You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14). A little boy once asked his father, “Daddy, what does it mean, ‘Thou shalt not commit agriculture’?” Without hesitation his father replied, “Son, it means you’re not supposed to plow the other man’s field.” The answer satisfied them both. The seventh commandment is every bit as relevant in modern America as it was 3500

Jeff Himmelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12105918911811239545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9489394.post-1146581275777087072006-05-02T09:24:00.000-05:002006-05-02T09:49:10.013-05:00

“You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13). Every moral and civil code in human history has prohibited murder. People have always recognized human life as inherently valuable, certainly more so than plant or animal life. Sociologists have fascinating theories as to why this is so, but the Bible offers a simple explanation. The creation account of Genesis tells us that mankind was created in the image

Jeff Himmelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12105918911811239545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9489394.post-1145880632940579632006-04-24T06:58:00.000-05:002006-04-25T08:08:19.043-05:00

“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you” (Exodus 20:12). God commanded the Israelites to honor their parents, to value them and hold them in the highest esteem on a daily basis. Leviticus 19:3 taught every Jew to “reverence” (literally, “fear”) his parents — a term often used of one’s attitude toward God Himself. Paul

Jeff Himmelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12105918911811239545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9489394.post-1144844600003735752006-04-12T07:09:00.000-05:002006-04-12T07:26:40.516-05:00

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work…” (Exodus 20:8-9). The word “sabbath” means “rest, ceasing from labor.” For Israel, the setting aside of the seventh day of the week as a day of rest honored both God’s rest from creation and His deliverance of them from

Jeff Himmelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12105918911811239545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9489394.post-1143751027261259502006-03-30T15:23:00.000-05:002006-03-30T15:37:07.630-05:00

“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain” (Exodus 20:7). We live in a very casual society, one in which few things are taken seriously and almost nothing is sacred. In such an irreverent climate the words of the third commandment must seem awfully strict. But the principle it contains

Jeff Himmelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12105918911811239545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9489394.post-1142862990827986282006-03-20T08:45:00.000-05:002006-03-20T08:56:30.850-05:00

“I am the LORD your God…You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God” (Exodus 2:2-5). “I am the LORD your God.” The Ten Commandments begin with the

Jeff Himmelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12105918911811239545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9489394.post-1142304058765057602006-03-13T21:27:00.000-05:002006-03-13T21:52:02.503-05:00

If you want to succeed ― in anything ― never stop working on the fundamentals. I have vivid memories of that concept from my youth. My basketball coach always stressed the fundamentals: dribbling, shooting, passing — and lots of running. In piano it was the same: lots and lots of scales and exercises. In any endeavor, no matter how much you learn or how far you develop, you always have to pay

Jeff Himmelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12105918911811239545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9489394.post-1141511581067834082006-03-04T17:29:00.000-05:002006-03-04T17:33:01.086-05:00

When I returned to Florida after finishing college in 1990, I had to get used to something new: Florida now had a lottery. This meant, among other things, that a trip to the convenience store was suddenly far less convenient. Now it involved waiting in line behind at least one person buying lottery tickets. I remember chuckling at one elderly lady whose ticket had won her a whopping five dollars.

Jeff Himmelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12105918911811239545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9489394.post-1140444185285116382006-02-20T08:54:00.000-05:002006-02-20T09:03:06.103-05:00

2 Chronicles 18 tells of an unlikely partnership: Jehoshaphat, the good king of Judah, and Ahab, the wicked king of Israel, joined together to make war against Syria. Jehoshaphat was intent on asking God’s will before going to war, so Ahab summoned 400 of his prophets. They all foretold victory. Jehoshaphat then asked if a prophet of the Lord could be found (it seems he could tell

Jeff Himmelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12105918911811239545noreply@blogger.com