LightWay: A Church of the Nazarene, 112 E 5th Street, Natchitoches, LA (2026)

06/12/2026

Sins of Omission

Every Christian and probably most followers of other faiths know about the so-called “sins of commission”. These are the things we most quickly think of when we think about sins. Probably the most obvious examples are seen in most of the Ten Commandments where we are told NOT to do something: do NOT make idols, do NOT murder, do NOT commit adultery, etc. The only commandment that says what we are TO DO is honor your father and mother. But the Bible is full of commands to DO things, and NOT doing these things is a sin of omission.

The Bible Study Tools newsletter I am reposting today gives us a good overview on sins of omission. The writer begins by briefly defining sins of omission and giving us some common, everyday examples. Next, she explains why sins of omission are just as dangerous as sins of commission and then looks at what the Bible says about sins of omission, drawing on writings by James, Paul, and John. This is followed by specific examples of sins of omission found in the Bible and advice for avoiding this type of sin. I hope this post improves your understanding of sins of omission and helps protect you against them.

Omission means to exclude, leave out, or fail to do, such as something left undone or neglected. Think of the word omit; you might omit someone’s name from a list, or you might omit telling your boss you made a critical and costly mistake. When you commit...

06/05/2026

Knowing God’s Will

How often do you think about your purpose in life? This question can be considered from different viewpoints. Someone can think about their role in their family. They can think about their role in their job. Or they can think about their role in their society in general. These and other purposes are important to consider, but are any of these the most important concern? Also, all the purposes or roles I mentioned run the strong risks of being only temporary or having limited meaning in the long run. People who trust in God should be more interested in God’s purpose for them.

The Bible Study Tools newsletter I am reposting this week was written by a pastor who considers how we can know God’s divine purpose for our lives. He covers eight different ways we can discover God’s will. These include walking with God in a strong relationship, surrendering to God, obeying God, listening to God, plus others. For each of these, the writer gives a helpful Bible passage for reference. I hope this post helps guide you as you seek and follow God’s special will for you.

When I was a young man, I seemed to continually wrestle with knowing God’s will for my life. I wanted more than anything to follow His plan. Interestingly, now that I’m “old” (currently 47 years old), I still wrestle with doing His will in my life. I have...

05/29/2026

Loving Immigrants

Immigrant is a word that triggers many different images and emotions in our world today, and a great deal of controversy! The emotions range from strong compassion, to mild concern, to fear, and even to animosity. These emotions can all be seen in self-proclaimed Christians. Unfortunately, political and other cultural issues are big factors in the opinions people have about immigrants. But as Christians, we should be most attentive to what the Bible says about immigrants.

The word immigrant is not found in most translations of the Bible. But instead of immigrant, you will find “foreigner”, “stranger”, or perhaps “sojourner”. The Bible Study Tools newsletter I am reposting here gives us a brief introduction to Biblical views of immigrants. The writer provides five important Bible passages, taken from both the Old and New Testaments. These include the admonitions to accept, provide for, protect, and love immigrants. The writer ends by encouraging us to welcome immigrants as brothers and sisters. So, regardless of your political or cultural views, I hope this post helps you see immigrants as Jesus sees them.

Immigration continues to be a major issue to many Americans. Conversations and arguments often happen around ideas of illegal or undocumented immigrants, refugees, and the proper process regarding people who want to move to the US, specifically along the ...

05/22/2026

The Meaning of Pentecost

This Sunday is known as Pentecost Sunday, a day that is recognized by many Christian churches but probably not all of them. Pentecost is a word that the great majority of Christians have heard, but I wonder how many can give a good explanation for Pentecost. Some denominations are referred to as Pentecostal partly because of their patterns of worship. For other denominations, the word Pentecost has different meanings. And for some, I suspect the word carries little importance. So, what is the full meaning of Pentecost, and in particular, what does the Bible say about Pentecost?

The Bible Study Tools newsletter I am reposting today gives us a brief yet helpful explanation of Pentecost. The writer begins by looking at the meaning and importance of Pentecost to Hebrew people in the Old Testament. This goes back to the days of Moses when Pentecost became one of the Jewish special feast celebrations. Next, the writer looks at the change in the meaning of Pentecost that happened in the New Testament. Coming 50 days after the resurrection of Christ, Pentecost was the day when the disciples received the full blessing of the Holy Spirit and the special gifts of the Spirit. This blessing was followed by rapid growth in the early church. The writer concludes with the importance of Pentecost to believers and churches today. Similar to the first Pentecost, this Pentecost Sunday can mark a renewed surge in the power and impact of our worship and witness.

Pentecost wasn't just a moment in history. Learn how it bridges Old Testament promises with New Testament power....

05/14/2026

Praying for High School Seniors

I expect most of you know a young person who is graduating from high school this year. It may be your own son or daughter, a grandchild, a close relative, or the son or daughter of a friend. Whoever it is, I assume you have concerns about his or her future. Young people graduating from high school are entering an exciting but perilous period in their life. They may be heading off to college, going straight into full time work, or facing uncertainty about their future. In most of these situations, they are leaving many of the protections of their family life, and they are facing challenges that will affect the rest of their lives. What can you do to help them through these challenges?

The Bible Study Tools newsletter I am reposting this week tells us that prayer is one of the best things we can do for graduating students. The writer gives us eight types of prayers we can offer. These include prayers for God’s love and Jesus’ presence in their lives, prayers for their relationships and integrity, and prayers that they will hunger for God’s Word and Kingdom. The writer also includes a relevant scripture with each prayer. I hope this post encourages you to pray for your special high school senior.

“Don’t blink,” they said. “She’ll be grown before you know it.”“Soon the moments will be memories.”In the little years, when the days felt like decades and the nights even longer, those clichés sounded, well, cliché. Yet here we are, embarking on our litt...

05/08/2026

God’s Promises

Promises. This is a word that triggers many different views and feelings. One common view is the one that is associated with wedding vows. When two people are married they usually promise to love, honor, and cherish each other, plus other promises depending on the couple. When you take out a loan you promise to pay it back. These and similar promises are usually kept pretty well. Other promises include those made by political candidates, other leaders, and sometimes our friends. Some of these are honored, but we all known that many are not. So, we can easily see that promises made by humans can be trusted some of the time, but certainly not all of the time. Where do we look for promises that never fail?

The Bible Study Tools newsletter I am reposting here looks at promises that God has made and still makes. The writer begins by looking at some important examples of promises found in the Bible. These include promises made to Abraham, to Moses, and to King David. These accounts give us evidence that when God made promises in the Old Testament, the promises were always fulfilled. This fulfillment, over thousands of years, gave God’s people confidence that what God says will happen. And in turn, this confidence gave people of Old and New Testament times the faith to believe God’s promise of a Messiah, Jesus Christ. This promise is still being fulfilled today, as each of us can experience Jesus. We can be certain that God’s promises, unlike promises made by humans, can always be trusted; He never fails us.

There’s an old hymn I love, “Standing on the Promises,” written in 1896 by Russel Kelso Carter. The chorus proclaims, “Standing, standing, standing on the promises of God my Savior; standing, standing, I’m standing on the promises of God.” It’s both catch...

05/01/2026

God Is Omnipresent

“Omnipresent” – This is one of three big words often used as characteristics of God. The other two are omnipotent (all powerful) and omniscient (all knowing). Omnipresent means always present, in both time and place. All three of these terms express God’s awesomeness and wonder, but omnipresent also seems to carry a strong message of comfort. Knowing that God is with us wherever we are, whatever our circumstances, now and forever, gives us a sense of peace and security that is beyond description.

The main way we know about God’s omnipresence is through our personal experience, but the Bible also helps us know and believe in His presence. The Bible Study Tools newsletter I am reposting today gives us an overview of what the Bible says about God’s omnipresence. The writer begins by explaining how God can be omnipresent and why this is so important. She then provides several Bible passages about God’s omnipresence. She ends the post by assuring us that God’s omnipresence should not frighten us but should be a constant comfort. I hope this post is a blessing to your Christian walk.

"Omnipresent" means that God can be in multiple places at the same time. He is in everything, at all times. And while God never uses this exact word to describe Himself, He does give us evidence of His omnipresence throughout Scripture. Let's take a look ...

04/24/2026

Idols In our Lives

When we hear the word idol, probably the first things that come to our mind are statues made from stone or metal that resemble some animal or strange figure, like the golden calf idol in the Bible or a statue surrounded by primitive people. But many idols exist in our modern world, and they are a lot more subtle and often difficult to recognize. To start with, instead of being physical objects like statues, idols in our modern lives are more likely to be ideas or beliefs. Also, modern idols are not worshipped in the same ways as physical idols; that is, people do not bow down before them. The worship of modern idols is harder to see, so we may not even recognize it.

The writer of the Bible Study Tools newsletter I am reposting this week gives us a brief overview of idols beginning with definitions and then looking at what the Bible says about idols. This introduction is followed by ten modern day idols. These include concerns over ourselves, fears about security, approval by others, relationships, success, wealth, and even health, plus several others. I hope this post helps you recognize and resist some sneaky idols that can rob our faith and commitment.

Whatever we treasure more than God, whatever drives our thoughts and actions, becomes an idol, and these idols dull our spiritual hearing and harden our hearts to things of God. Let's take a deeper look at what idols are and what the Bible says about them.

04/17/2026

Resting in Christ

Are you a person who experiences many days that seem to wear you out? Maybe you have found yourself facing what is often called “burn-out”, when, just like a candle that has reached the bottom of its wick, you just don’t have much left to give. Maybe you have faced too much pressure from your job, from family obligations, from constant worries (financial stresses, physical stresses, emotional stresses, etc.), or other things. You know you need a rest, but life just doesn’t seem to give you a break! Where can you go for rest?

The Bible Study Tools newsletter I am reposting here has the best answer to this question. The writer assures us that we can find rest in Christ and gives us ten Bible passages plus prayers that go with the verses. These verses are taken from many books of the New Testament and even one from Genesis. I hope you find courage, strength, and of course, rest, from these verses.

We have all experienced sleeplessness and anxiety at some point. Jesus offers physical rest to His beloved people, but He also offers something deeper: soul rest. Pray through these 10 verses or customize the prayers for your own unique situation, and all...

04/10/2026

Thanking God Enough

We have so many gifts and blessings from God that we should be thankful for. But when it really comes down to our thoughts and prayers, we do not express our thanksgiving often enough or strongly enough. Yes, we may appreciate God’s blessings, but how much of our prayer time and effort is spent on our needs and requests compared to thanking God for what He has already given us? Unfortunately, more often than not, our requests outweigh our thanks. Perhaps we need a reminder of some things we should be more thankful for.

The Bible Study Tools newsletter I am reposting today reminds us of seven areas where we don’t tend to give God enough thanks. The list begins with the good things in our lives, which are the easiest for us to remember. But then the writer moves on to other circumstances in our lives, which may not seem good but God uses to develop our Christian walk and faith. Next the writer moves to God’s presence, simple things like the air we breathe each day, prayer itself, and lastly, that God is both near to us and sovereign. For each area, relevant Bible verses and a brief example prayer are given. Of course we can never thank God enough for all He does for us, but this post can guide us to thank God more.

A life of thanksgiving can change your life. Things like unpaid bills, unresolved conflicts, and unanswered prayers make it so easy to focus on the things we don’t have, that we forget to see the good things and to thank God for what we do have. There are...

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