Q.  We hear so much in the media about the short comings of fathers. They may be abusive, absent, emotionally distant, workaholics, self-centered, immature and unable to communicate - the list is endless. Don’t most fathers do the best they can? If so, we should appreciate fathers. A.  Father bashing does seem to predominate in our culture. Most television shows picture Dad as either absent, uninvolved or not capable. Rarely is Dad pictured on TV as a central figure in a child’s life. We read the statistics that four out of ten children don’t live with their biological father and we become even more critical of fathers. We overlook the fact that six of the ten children are living with their biological fathers. In addition the four children not living with their biological father may see him on a regular basis, may have a very caring step … [more]

Q. I felt unloved as a child and have struggled all my life to accept myself. My husband says he loves me but I have trouble believing this. I’m standoffish with others because I fear rejection. Why is it so hard for me to overcome my childhood hurts and believe I’m OK now? What can I do to overcome this problem? Understanding Childhood Hurts Many of us carry in our hearts some childhood hurts. As children we find ways to protect ourselves from hurt that is overwhelming. We learn to hide our hurt; we pretend that we feel happy or confident or brave when we really feel crushed or inadequate or fearful. Some of us even learn to detach from our feelings so we feel nothing. Our heart is the hiding place for childhood hurts. By the time we reach adulthood many of us have hearts full of … [more]

  Rooted in Jesus   “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.” ~ Psalm 1:1-3   Behold the trees, How they grow in majesty; Come now, My child, Come listen to Me:   Be like these trees Firmly rooted in the ground That no matter what comes You are safe and sound.   Be rooted in Me, Abide here in the True Vine, Remember I am yours, And you are Mine.   For when you are rooted, The winds may blow, Yet strongly you will stand, Tall you will grow.   … [more]

The Sixth Commandment: Murder of the Heart “You shall not murder." Exodus 20:13 Chances are, if you ask someone if they have they broken the sixth commandment, you shall not murder, they will claim to be innocent. This is pretty typical. Most people when faced with God's holy law believe at least that they have not broken it on this particular point. But check out what Jesus said regarding the sixth commandment. “You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.” Mathew 5:21-22 This is called murder of the heart. Unrighteous anger towards another person is … [more]

  Heaven's Gate “There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.” Revelation 22:8   If you only knew The treasures that await For you, My precious child, Behind Heaven’s gate.   If you could imagine The diamonds and the gems, The hills and mountains, The roses and blossoms,   The waterfalls and streams, The eternal Sunlight, The glory of the days, The absence of night,   The songs of birds, The lamb’s dance with the lion, The peace, the joy, the love Of Eternal Zion.   If you only knew, My child, you would not fear, For you would remember All your treasure is there.   So I ask you for a moment To come be with Me, Close your eyes right now, Envision eternity.   For there … [more]

I am the first to admit that I am an imperfect leader. I am an imperfect church member. I am an imperfect man. There have been times in my life where I have done or allowed some pretty dumb things in my life. So when I talk about codependent tendencies between church leaders and church members, I am not trying to raise myself up on a pedestal by pointing out the flaws of other. I am trying to bring to light something that I have both wrestled with personally and seen operating within some churches in the hopes that by doing so, it will bring a greater degree of health and fruitfulness to leaders and church members. There is a difference between codependency and interdependency. The Bible teaches that we are to be interdependent upon one another. Unfortunately because we do not live in a perfect world and because of … [more]

It is an intriguing, and alarming, fact that the overwhelming majority of the original 5 "seats" of Christianity are now generally Muslim, and 4 out of the 5 have a very small Christian population.  Clearly history has not dictated the current religious trends in these significant cities.  Actually, one of the five "patriarchates" is in ruins, and has been such for a number of years. Many Christians may not be aware of this, and specifically of what a patriarchate might be.  In early Christianity as the spread of Christian thought and worship was wide and deep, there were five cities which were at the forefront of Christian leadership and mutual respect.  They were: Antioch, Constantinople, Jerusalem, Alexandria, and Rome.  In 2013, only Rome has … [more]

Recently a Taber's Truths article discussed what happens when a country becomes extremely non-Christian; it discussed the plight of North Korea over the past half-century (http://taberstruths.com/religion-in-north-korea/).  But what is more discouraging (and alarming) is the fact that sometimes in history a predominantly Christian nation will allow the kind of brutal turmoil and leadership that North Korea has been forced to deal with.  Once such striking example is Nazi Germany, and the lead-in to the World War II era. In the early and mid 1930's, as the Nazis (and Hitler) were taking more and more control and power, Germany was an overwhelmingly Christian nation.  It is estimated that over 90% of its citizens were Christian.  Germany had about 60 millions … [more]

BSA Approves Gay Scouts The Boy Scouts of America’s National Council has voted to change the direction of the BSA forever by allowing openly gay scouts to become official members. As a former Eagle Scout, Order of the Arrow member, Pack Leader, Senior Patrol leader and Assistant Scout Master I wanted to help frame the issue and consequences that this change in policy presents. Finding North The BSA is designed to teach leadership skills through outdoor and civil activities. This has been very successful in shaping the future leadership and character of men. One such skill that all scouts must learn is orienteering. For those not familiar, orienteering is a navigation skill which involves finding your way using a … [more]

According to 3 ambitious southern Christians, it will begin on June 20th in Plymouth, Massachusetts This nation has been through three large-scale Christian revivals, or "Great Awakenings"- where large numbers of our citizenry refocused their lives upon Christ and His Word.  The last true "Awakening" happened between 1850 and 1910, or over 100 years ago.  (Some scholars and theologians believe there was a 4th Awakening in the early 1970's, but most followers do not consider that a true "Great" Awakening.)  Given the continual problems in the United States, within a more secular society, are we overdue for another revival? "Yes," states Dan Zimmerle, one of the three Christian men who are spearheading the Plymouth efforts.  Dan, along with Phil Castillo and Robert Kilmarx, … [more]

What happens when a nation has less than 2% of its population identified as being "Christian"?  What if that same nation has almost two-thirds of its citizens living as atheist, agnostic, or "irreligious"?  The answer is all over the daily news headlines all across the world:  North Korea, and its maniacal and repressive dictator Kim Jung Un. North Korea and its totalitarian regime is teetering on the brink of war, a potentially nuclear war.  They have provoked much of the region and the world for the past fifty years.  It is currently under the leadership of Kim Jung Un, who followed his like-minded father and grandfather.  At one time North Korea looked very different, especially prior to the Korean War of … [more]

I have always been a proponent of internet evangelism. When I found out that tomorrow, Sunday April 21st, is internet evangelism day, I had to do an article about it. Internet evangelism day happens every year on the 4th Sunday of April. This website has over 4,000 people per year go to our page that is set up to teach people how to start a personal relationship with Jesus. The internet has broken down the walls between nations and people. It allows a small town pastor in rural Wyoming to speak to people of all nationalities. It allows you to plant seeds where you never thought it was possible to plant seeds before. It truly allows every believer to fulfill the … [more]

A while back I came across a faux news article on how a mega-church sent a letter to it's members telling them that they had to start giving or volunteering in order to continue to attend the church. I posted it on my Facebook page just to see the reactions the fake news story would get. The reactions, needless to say, were very revealing. Most were outraged that a church would actually require something of it's members. One person actually said that some people didn't have the money time or ability to give back to their church. These types of reactions caused me to pause and reflect on the detrimental effect that Christian consumerism has had upon the church. The Fallacy Of Christian Consumerism Before I go into why Christian consumerism is in fact a very unhealthy attitude in the church, let me spend a moment uncovering the excuses people … [more]

Sheep have often been referred to as some of the dumbest animals on the planet. Where the lead sheep goes, the rest will follow, even if it is over the side of a hill and a fall to their death. But, sheep have a shepherd and they know their own shepherd's voice. If they hear the voice of another shepherd, they will not follow that voice. That shows me they have some intellect. Jesus used this as an example when speaking to the Jews and their religious leaders in John 10. This is a perfect example for us because Jesus is our shepherd and His is the only voice we should listen to. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead … [more]

Fasting is not a subject that is talked about a lot in western culture. We live in a culture of indulgence, not self denial. Fasting is all about self denial. However, it is a very important part of the spiritual life of the Christian so I decided to post a list of Bible verses about fasting for those that are willing to engage in a little self denial in order to see the hand of God move and hear the voice of God not only for themselves but for our families, communities and churches. I pray that God will use these verses on fasting to speak to your heart and give you a hunger to lay down your indulgences and desires in order to see greater victory in your life and the life of others. Featured Memory Verse About Fasting Matthew 6:16 "Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the … [more]

I am not a baptist but I totally admire Billy Graham. He has not only been a stellar witness for Christ to the world, but He has done so with integrity. So when thinking of a person I would like to devote a page of quotes to, Billy Graham was on the top of my list. William Franklin Graham Jr. was born in 1918. He became a famous evangelist in 1949 in Los Angeles when Randolph Hearst heard him speak and sent a note to his newspaper that said "puff Graham". That means to promote what He is doing. Since then He has been the personal adviser to U.S. presidents and millions of everyday people who have heard him speak on radio and TV. I believe that he is worthy of being quoted. 23 Great Billy Graham Quotes Billy Graham On Marriage Ruth and I don’t have a perfect marriage, but … [more]

Many times in Christian circles there are terms that are thrown around that become popular but the average person has no clue what they are talking about. The term "five fold ministry" is one of those catch phrases. I am going to do my best to explain the term and then point out some of my concerns about how this term is taught and what is being taught when people start espousing the five fold ministry. The term five fold ministry is not found word for word in the Bible. The principle comes from the passage in Ephesians where it talks about Christ giving gifts to the church in the form of ministry offices. Here is the Bible verses this is based on. Five Fold Ministry Bible Verse Ephesians 4:11-12 11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and … [more]

Christian worship is one of the most important spiritual disciplines in the Christian life. If you don't like worship then you will not like heaven because worship is something that happens all the time in heaven. (Rev. 4:9-11) It is not just something we do as a warm up act for the preaching of the Bible. It is something that we do that has just as much importance as the preaching of the Bible. It is an expression of gratitude and reverence from our heart towards God. So I want to take a moment to share with you some of the things I have learned about worship over the 33 years I have been a believer in Jesus and some of the biblical principles I use when worshiping God. Listen To Pastor Duke Share This Message At The Vineyard Church Your browser does not support the audio element. Podcast Powered By … [more]