By: Obed Pineda “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.” (Proverbs 13:12) We had finally arrived to our destination. After several unforeseen setbacks, delays, tough personal trials, and very little sleep, we had finally reached Arequipa, Peru. Even though my…
By: Obed Pineda “‘So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?’ And he said, ‘He who showed mercy on him.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.’” (Luke 10:36-37) There is no doubt that when a person is going…
By: Obed Pineda “For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it – lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him,…
By: Obed Pineda If you have ever driven past an open corn field during the autumn time, there is a small chance that you have been fortunate enough to spot the figure that has now become the emblem of the fall: the scarecrow. Indeed, these hay stuffed decoy dummies have…
By: Obed Pineda On a certain occasion, the Lord Christ exclaimed, “Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes” (Matthew 18:7)! Prior to our Master’s exclamation, one learns that a certain dispute had transpired between His twelve,…
By: Obed Pineda Last Monday, a “once in a lifetime” event took place in the heavens that captured the attention of thousands upon thousands of spectators globally. Indeed, the total eclipse of the sun brought in an immense number of onlookers from all over the country to the regions where…
By: Obed Pineda When studying Holy Scripture, it is valuable to remember that it was not originally written in any of today’s modern languages. It has long since been discovered, and verified, that the original manuscripts of Holy Writ were written in the ancient languages of Hebrew, Koine Greek, and…
by: Obed Pineda During his first imprisonment, the apostle Paul was inspired to write the letter to the Ephesians (cf. Ephesians 3:1) where his focus is the preeminence of the Church (cf. Ephesians 1:3-10). Paul used three wonderful illustrations to describe the nature of the Church and to demonstrate why…
By: Obed Pineda Imagine for a moment that you are walking next to a high, wide wall, made up of cement blocks of various sizes. As you follow the path of the wall, you observe with quite curiosity the work of the masons who tied the blocks that make this…
By: Obed Pineda The work of art that is Job’s life powerfully demonstrates that God’s grace is indeed sufficient and that His power is made perfect in human weakness (cf. 2 Corinthians 12:9). There is no need to doubt that Job would have been content simply with God’s forgiveness. Behold…