Posts by Thomas Overmiller
A Wise Holiday Ambition
The annual, year-end holiday season from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Eve provides a wonderful opportunity for Christians to shine as lights in a dark and bungling world. During this time, as the bitter cold and darkness increases, the behavior of nonbelievers increasingly reveals their spiritual darkness and blindness towards God. Lampposts in the Snow A…
Read MoreCan I Really Do ALL Things Through Christ?
How many times have you heard someone say this about the word all? “All means ‘all’ and that’s all that all means?” While this is true (the word all does mean “all”), the word all doesn’t always mean every possible thing all at once. While this may seem obvious, we don’t always apply this simple…
Read MoreSanctified by the Truth of God
In John 17, we hear how Jesus prayed to the Father on the night of his betrayal and arrest. As we listen, we learn that he didn’t pray very much for himself. Instead, he prayed for the glory and purposes of God to be accomplished through his suffering. In addition to this, he prayed intently…
Read MoreSuffering – Too Wonderful to Understand
Why do people who know and follow God still suffer excruciating things? This piercing question haunted Job after he had suffered the devastating loss of his resources, family, and health. Three of his so-called friends attempted to answer this question by accusing him of hidden sin. Despite their lengthy speeches, Job persistently denied this charge,…
Read MoreDoes Spirit Baptism Occur After Conversion?
Some charismatic teaching indicates that a person must undergo a separate experience of receiving (or being baptized with) the Holy Spirit sometime after conversion. To arrive at this perspective, they lean heavily and sincerely upon instances in Acts when this either did happen (Acts 2:4ff, Acts 8:14-17, Acts 19:1-7) or merely appeared to happen (Acts…
Read MoreAdvice for Living Wisely
The book of Proverbs provides a compelling collection of wisdom from God’s perspective. This wisdom equips a person to make good choices and avoid bad ones. Although no amount of wisdom will insulate a person from all the negative effects of a sinful world, this wisdom enables him to respond to sinful tendencies within and…
Read MoreHow to Enjoy Your Crazy Life
Ecclesiastes 3.1-15 My grandfather’s workbench, in the cellar of his house, was a mess – at least from my childish perspective. As a kid looking up at the jumbled assortment of tools, aerosol cans, plastic jars, wood scraps, and spare parts scattered across that corner of the basement, I wondered to myself, “How can grandpa…
Read MoreCompassion for a Godless World
The Old Testament book of Jonah, though written in a distant time and place, offers an important message for believers living in America today. It highlights God’s heartfelt compassion for the people of an unbelieving, hostile world. It also highlights – with sharp contrast – how his own people easily fail to share his compassion,…
Read MorePraying for the Glory of God
With the opening line of John 17, John shifts abruptly from teaching to praying. Having devoted four chapters to giving us the lessons Jesus taught the night before his crucifixion (John 13-16), he then turned his attention to an extended prayer which Jesus offered to the Father on that fateful night (John 17). This prayer…
Read MoreHow Churches Provide for Multiple Pastors
A Biblical Study on the Question of Multiple Pastors in a Church (Part Four of Four) As a church grows and/or as the spiritual and administrative needs of a church increase, the pastor(s) and/or the congregation may sense the need for adding another pastor. When this happens, they should prayerfully consider men who are available…
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