Recent Viewpoints

“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever!” (1 Chronicles 16:34) When the uncertainties of life would steal our peace and create turmoil within, our anchor is the knowledge that God is good and His love for us will never change. Paul told Timothy that even when “we are faithless, He remains faithful” (2 Timothy 2:13). In the words of the old hymn: Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father, There…

Penna Dexter We’re officially in the holiday season. Christmas decorations are popping up, especially in the places where we shop. Lots of families, pressed for time, are already getting a jump on Christmas decorating. Not mine. I savor Thanksgiving. In my home the pumpkins and gourds, the oranges and golds dominate until Thanksgiving day is done. On that first Thanksgiving, at Plymouth, the first permanent settlement in New England, the Pilgrims celebrated their very survival. Of 103 Pilgrims who arrived…

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18) Paul admonished the church in Thessalonica to “rejoice always” and to “pray without ceasing.” He immediately followed up with the instruction to “give thanks in all circumstances.” Prayer should be a continual part of the Christian’s life that flows like breath from our lungs or blood through our veins. We may not be consciously aware of our connection with Him…

“But we Your people, the sheep of Your pasture, will give thanks to You forever; from generation to generation we will recount Your praise” (Psalm 79:13) It can be easy to praise God and give Him thanks in the good times. It is just as important, perhaps more so, to give Him praise during the difficult times. Invariably, today we will be reminded of the Pilgrims and that first Thanksgiving. They had endured a terrible winter and suffered tremendous loss….

“We give thanks to God not because of how we feel, but because of Who He is.” – Ann Voskamp Most of us have experienced a time when God seemed far away from us. We can identify with David as he writes “O my God, I cry by day, but You do not answer; by night, but I have no rest” (Psalm 22:2). In those times, we give thanks to Him by faith, knowing that He is always near (Psalm…

Rejoice in the Lord, you who are righteous, and praise His holy name. (Psalm 97:12) God has called us to be righteous, a standard that is impossible to achieve on our own. It is only through His grace that “we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Ephesians 1:4 tells us that “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him in love.” Let us…

Kerby Anderson One of the issues in the 2016 presidential campaign was religious liberty. Many of the Americans who voted for Donald Trump believed he would protect religious liberty by appointing conservative judges to the federal court. Ryan Anderson argues that there are executive actions that the president-elect can do even before he appoints judges to the federal court. First, he can address the threat faced by religious schools (like Wheaton College) and religious groups (like the Little Sisters of…

Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) It is our fallen human nature that draws our attention to the problems we face and the negative things that surround us. Let me encourage you today to do as the old hymn says, Count your many blessings, name them one by one And it will surprise you what the Lord has done. Take a moment today to…

Kerby Anderson Is it really possible to repeal and replace Obamacare? That is what Donald Trump and many Republican candidates have been saying for months. Dr. Merrill Matthews says they will face some significant challenges in trying to keep that campaign pledge. Republicans may still have a slim majority in the Senate, but they do not have the necessary 60 votes to end a filibuster. Unless they can find a number of Democrats willing to join them, they won’t be…

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. – Philippians 4:6 Giving thanks to God acknowledges His sovereignty and opens our hearts toward heaven. It builds our faith to trust Him to deal with the problems of the future by recognizing how He has conquered the problems of the past. As Americans, we have experienced the blessings of God like no other people in the history of…

Penna Dexter During the recent campaign season, we heard a lot about how evangelicals are losing influence in politics. That will be true only if Christians fail to take advantage of what happened in the recent elections in which 81 percent of self-described evangelical voters pulled the lever for Donald Trump. Americans concerned about the growing number of government attacks on religious liberty applaud this result. But we mustn’t be complacent. Now, the real work begins. First, we’ve got to…