Tag: promise

May92018 by Dale HeinoldNo Comments

Walking Through 2nd Peter, #11 – Until Time Ends

Time can be a tricky thing. On the one hand, it seems set, mechanical, and permanent. Each second exactly the same length as the one before it. And yet, in our own experience, while the mechanics of time seem firm the feeling of time is fluid. Life hurries by, yet some days take forever to arrive. That’s simply our perception. Yet there is also Einstein’s theory that exposes the relativistic nature of mechanical time. There is a temptation to put the next step in our walk through 2nd Peter into a 21st century understanding of physics and chemistry. A temptation we are striving to avoid. Peter declared, “But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The Lord is not slow about His promi

Oct42017 by Dale HeinoldNo Comments

ABCs of Faith – Nurtured Faith

Encouragment

What is faith like a seed? You’ve may have never asked or even considered that strange question. Perhaps if I asked - What is the promise of a seed? Or, What is the hope of a seed? The answers to those questions may give us a clue. The promise of a seed is life, growth, reproduction, and depending on the seed, harvest. There is also one more promise we rarely consider. That a seed will grow “after its kind.” A truth that is so common we rarely think about it. Plant an acorn get an oak tree. Corn grows corn. A mustard seed grows into a mustard plant. An apple seed into an apple tree. The faith in a seed is all of these things but it must be nurtured to grow. In our last article, Kyle quoted Luke 17:6 from the New Living Translation and highlighted the size aspect of faith. Specificall

Sep162016 by Dale Heinold1 Comment

Faith Works

Encouragment

Every now and again a news story will break about how archeologist have discovered ancient seeds. Someone a few hundred or even a few thousand years ago stored away some seeds. The ancient wheat or maize was perhaps set aside with the hope of planting the next spring. Something happened however that prevented the seeds from being planted. In many of those instances, the discovered seeds are still viable, still ready to grow if planted and watered. Faith is like that. Faith is one of those words we kind of understand but still puzzle over. In one sense it is interchangeable with religion and is used to describe our belief system. But mere religion can’t move mountains like faith can. Sometimes faith is used in the same way hope is. Yet the Bible separates those two as being distinct

Jan202016 by Dale Heinold1 Comment

Seven: Dear Smyrna

Encouragment

Say that you’re flying along at 36,000 feet and experience a bit of turbulence, a few pot holes in the sky. And let’s say that the captain can see an unavoidable thunderstorm ahead. Would you rather that he come on the intercom and say, “Sorry about that folks, nothing to worry about.” Or would you rather hear, “Ladies and gentlemen we have some weather ahead, please return to your seats and buckle in. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.” While we may not want to hear it we would rather know what is ahead. In the same way, Jesus didn’t mince words with the church at Smyrna and what was coming their way. Jesus’ second letter to the churches of Asia is addressed to Smyrna. Jesus wrote, “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to li

Jan112015 by Dale Heinold1 Comment

Follow Me

Encouragment, Faith

Over my lifetime I’ve been on a few cave tours. Never once has the guide brought us to the entrance of the cave and said, “Well folks, there it is. Feel free to go inside and wander around in the dark. You might eventually make it back out again.” Instead, we were instructed to follow behind while the guide leads us through the labyrinth of stairs, tunnels, and rooms. Every now and then the guide stops, explains something and checks to make sure everyone is alright and still with them. We are used to following. We follow instructions and recipes. We follow a map or GPS to get from here to there. We follow those that have gone before in school, sports, and careers. We follow ideals, philosophies, desires, and leaders of various kinds. We even follow stories, our favorite team, and pe

Jul222014 by Dale Heinold4 Comments

Rainbows in the Storm

Encouragment, Hope

God often speaks to us through the world around us. The other day I saw a storm in the distance. Beneath the dark and heavy clouds, a partial but wide rainbow could be seen. The thought which came to mind, and the inspiration for this article, was that if anyone was under that cloud or in that storm they couldn’t see the rainbow. The truth that God speaks through the rainbow began with Noah. God’s immediate promise to Noah and all living creatures was to not flood the earth again in the same fashion as Noah’s flood. But there is also a deeper promise which God speaks through His rainbow. It has been expressed in many different ways and I won’t come close to the eloquence of others. The rainbow reminds us of God’s promise to always be with us, even during storms so fierce that w