church of Christ at Cloud 9

There are wars in numerous places in the world today.  Sometimes there are ceasefire agreements; but often one side acts treacherously and hostilities resume.  We can define peace as the absence of war or hostilities.  But there are several types of peace.  Peace can be between nations or social groups.  Peace can also be a […]

We all have trials in our lives; no one can live without them.  They may come as persecutions or health problems or problems with other people or losses that we experience or financial problems or work problems.  The list can go on and on.  So the question is not do we have trials and tribulations, […]

The Israelites were slaves in the land of Egypt.  Their lives were bitter with hard bondage.  But God had a plan to bring the Israelites out of Egypt and display His mighty power with many miracles.  God gave seven promises to the Israelites.  Exodus 6:6-8 “Therefore say to the children of Israel: ‘I am the […]

When you became a Christian through faith and obedience to the gospel, many things happened.  Your sins were forgiven, you were justified before God, you were saved from God’s wrath, and you became the recipient of many spiritual blessings and promises.  You became a child of God.  Galatians 3:26-27 “For you are all sons of […]

Some people observe that we may start out seeing God as we have experienced our earthly father.  If your father was distant, then you may see God as distant.  If your father was harsh and condemning, you may see God as harsh and condemning. If your father was loving, you may see God as loving.  […]

David was the youngest of Jesse’s sons.  It was David’s job to watch over the sheep of his father.  The Israelites were fighting the Philistines and David’s older brothers were soldiers in the war.  Jesse sent David to the battle with some gifts and to find out how his brothers were doing.  David came to […]

The apostle Paul was a prisoner in Rome as a result of his preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.  From prison, he wrote letters to the churches in Ephesus, Philippi and Colosse to encourage and instruct them.  But Paul also wrote a personal letter to a man named Philemon who lived in Colosse.  Paul had […]

In the time of Jesus, the Roman government was ruling over the Jewish people.  The Romans got money from the Jews through taxes that they levied upon them.  The Romans hired Jews to be the tax collectors.  These tax collectors were often dishonest and guilty of extortion.  As a result, they were hated and considered […]

One of my favorite spiritual songs is When Upon Life’s Billows. The words of the chorus are “Count your blessings, name them one by one; Count your blessings, see what God hath done; Count your blessings, name them one by one; Count your many blessings, see what God hath done.”  It is one of my […]