By: Obed Pineda Some time ago, I heard it said that not everyone has “the gift” of giving gifts. When I first heard this expression, my eyebrows furrowed in wonder as to why the expression was spoken? Admittedly, one reason for my puzzled look was out of worry and concern,…
By: Obed Pineda During our Lord Jesus’ earthly life, Palestine stretched about 120 miles from Galilee (the northernmost territory) to Judea (the southernmost territory), with the territory of Samaria in the center, sitting between them. In other words, when a resident of Judea needed to travel to Galilee, or vice…
By: Obed Pineda In central Palestine there lies a fertile, half-mile wide valley described by geographers as the best watered valley in that region. The Valley of Shechem (as the area was once known) sits between the twin mountains of Gerizim and Ebal, with the entrance to the ancient city…
By: Joel Ramirez You do not have to look hard to find despair in the world. There are multiple examples of people doing desperate things because of despair. In fact, the words desperate and despair share the same origin in definition. Despair simply means without hope. Desperate is the feeling…
By: Obed Pineda After wandering the wilderness forty years, and every Israelite over the age of twenty had perished there (with the exception of Joshua and Caleb) the time of their punishment, as designated by Jehovah God, had expired and a new generation entered and conquered the promised land under…
By: Obed Pineda It is said that one day Satan summoned all his minions because he had become irritated with the havoc that love was bringing about in his kingdom of darkness. The patience of the devil had vanished and he had decided that love had been preventing souls from…
By John Mitchell “The entirety of Your word is truth.” (Psalm 119:160 NKJ version) “The sum of Thy word is truth,…” (Psalm 119:160 NAS version) “Thy word all together is truth,…” (Psalm 119:160 Berkeley Version) These three Bible translations are all saying the same thing. (NKJV) “The entirety”, means the…
By; Orean Brown Every serious disciple of Jesus Christ desires to attain to spiritual maturity, of this there should be no argument. Many faithful disciples spend their entire lifetime striving to reach an ever-higher level of maturity, and even babes in Christ have that fervor that drives them to not…
By: Obed Pineda In 1886, Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson published his globally renowned novella, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Stevenson’s intriguing tale of a man shared by two alter egos, who are drastic opposites of one another, has transcended generations, leaving an indelible imprint in…
By: Obed Pineda It is unquestionable that the period that follows the death of a loved one is the most difficult in the life of those who mourn them. The powerlessness that one experiences due to the inability to prevent the inevitable, breeds confusion, grief, profound sorrow, and, in some…