By Mike Peek

Brad Neathery photo  Freely We are now living in the already inaugurated not yet consummated age of the kingdom of God. After rising from the dead Jesus told His disciples that He has been given all authority in heaven and on earth. ( Mt. 28:18 ) He commissioned them, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” ( Mt. 28:19-20, NASB ) According to John; “as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” ( Jn. 20:21, NASB ) The Lord’s teaching recorded by the apostle John in  The Gospel According to John  chapters 13-21 is amazing. It is what the apostle Paul calls in 1 Corinthians 9:21 and Galatians 6:2 “The Law of Christ.” The law of Christ is sacrificial love for the sake of one’s brother/sister. Both scripture and church history are filled with people who are called God’s...

The disciples were all together in one place on the day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit came upon them suddenly and they all were changed in an instant. There were Jews living in Jerusalem who were from every nation on earth; therefore, they all spoke different languages. These Jews were bewildered because they were hearing the disciples of Jesus speaking in their own varying native tongues. They knew that the men who were speaking were Galileans, so why were they hearing them in their language? These men who were hearing were all Jews, but they were from every nation, tribe and tongue on earth as a result of the diaspora. (cf. Acts 2:1-11 ) The diaspora is the dispersion of Jews beyond Israel. In most cases it was a voluntary departure from Palestine; and therefore, should not be confused with exile. There was a forced exile by the Babylonians; however, the Persians allowed the exiles to return. All who remained outside of Palestine at the beginning of the first century did so v...

In the year 2003, Darlene and I started attending a local Baptist Church because our son Daniel had been participating in their youth group. In April 2003, during a church-wide reading of a book called, The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren, I was drawn to follow the Lord. I do not attribute my salvation to this book, however, the Lord did use it to bring me to repentance and faith. After reading that book I began to read the scriptures daily and I prayerfully sought to follow the Lord in obedience. It was when reading the word of God, particularly, the Gospel According to John, that the blinders came off and the Lord gave me a new heart. I was literally born again through the testimony of the Holy Spirit (inward call) and the testimony of the prophets and apostles (outward call). The early church Pastor, Irenaeus of Lyons (130-202 A.D.) said that God guides His sheep with His two hands: His Word and His Spirit. 1 My given name is Michael Brian Peek, but people call me Mik...

I have wondered for some time: Why does an NFL football player kneeling during the anthem of the United States of America bother so many people? This week Nike has announced that Colin Kaepernick will be the focus of their next "Just Do It" ad campaign. Colin Kaepernick was the first NFL player to kneel during the playing of the national anthem in 2015, others have followed in his kneeling likeness. I can’t go on social media without reading someone’s anger about this ad campaign. Again I’m wondering: Why does this bother so many people? I personally could careless what an NFL player does because I do not watch football unless it is my local high school team. I am, however, on social media; so, I notice that every-time football season comes around there is much chatter about NFL players kneeling and threats not to watch, but the league continues to make their billions and the players their millions. Now there is much chatter and anger regarding Nike’s plan to use K...