Posts by Alvin Lin
What Child Is This? – The Shepherds
Hi there! Can you tell me who was the first shepherd mentioned in the Bible? Do you know who was a shepherdess according to Genesis 29? Did you know that Moses was married to a shepherdess? It’s true. It’s in the Bible. Shepherds is a major theme in the Bible. They are everywhere not only in the Old Testament, but in the New Testament as well. I remember growing up as a little boy, my parents brought out our Nativity…
Thanksgiving Messages to God 2024
I praise God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, who has blessed LifeWay with Billy, Heather and Alvin. Godly leaders who both obey and model Christ’s “new commandment” to love others just as Christ loves us. Thank you for loving us, guiding us and teaching us with your sacrificial love. Rik and Linda I am thankful for all of the support this church has given me when I sing.…
What Child Is This? – John the Baptist
What do you remember about John the Baptist in the Bible? Do you remember he was the forerunner to Jesus? Do you remember he was the one who baptized Jesus in the river? He tried to stop Jesus when Jesus asked to be baptized by him. However, after Jesus did some convincing, he finally gave in. But John was also a strange little fellow, wouldn’t you say? The Bible said he lived in the Judean desert for a long time.…
Bind Satan?
We all tend to repeat things we see others do. Sometimes we are copycats just because. Other times, we copy someone because we are doing something for the first time. When I was a new believer in Christ, one of the things I didn’t know how to do was pray to God. What I meant to say was I didn’t know what I should say when I prayed. I didn’t know what was right, and what was not right to…
The “Word” (Part II)
Read Part I If the Word does not refer to God’s spoken words out of his mouth, then what does it mean? To rephrase the question, what was the Logos to John’s audience in the 1st century? If I remember anything from high school world history, it is that by the 1st century, the Greek absolutely loved philosophy. They were philosophers. If they were not philosophers, they were philosopher-wannabes. This explains why you and I still remember there were those…
The “Word” (Part I)
If you didn’t know this yet, one of Billy’s favorite verses, if not his favorite verse in the entire Bible, is John 1.1. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Billy loves to preach on this verse especially during Christmas time, and if I were to take a guess, he is about to do it again in a few months. I love John 1.1 too. I think it is one…
What Must I Do to Prioritize as a Farmer?
Living in the 21st century, you and I don’t usually speak in parables to each other. But in the 1st century, I sense it was a bit more common to hear people speak in parables. Jesus spoke parables. Some counted he spoke about 50 parables in the Bible. But I think the number is closer to 30. It is possible to me he spoke even more than that, but they were not recorded in the Bible. Do you like parables?…
Prayers for Impossible Things
You and I have a most useful tool in our toolbox. It sits in our toolbox. It’s right there. But we seldom go into our toolbox to retrieve it. Why is that? If this is a useful tool, why do we use it only sometimes? This tool, of course, is prayer. Not just any prayer, but prayer for “impossible” things. One day, I began to think about the prayers I prayed to God each day, and I noticed that they…
An Introduction to Mark
To those few among you who still write old-fashioned paper letters, how do you begin? Will you begin with a salutation or greeting? Will you ask about their health? Will you follow with a little chit-chat, or small talk? Will you complain about the economy or the Mariners? Well, the Gospel of Mark doesn’t do any of those things (I know, I know, it is not really a letter). The writer of Mark offers no pleasantries. He wastes no time.…
When Is It Acceptable To Lie? (Part II)
Read Part I When I think about why the Bible teaches us to always tell the truth, my mind goes to two places. The first place is that our God is a God of truth. He always tells the truth. There is zero untruth in him. Every part of his being is truth. For this reason, we can take it to the bank every word he says in the Bible. It makes no sense for us to say God is…
When Is It Acceptable To Lie? (Part I)
Parents from hundreds of years ago, and from every part of the planet, knew one thing they must teach to their children. They all knew that teaching their own children to tell the truth, and to always tell the truth, was the right thing to do. Or do you know anyone who taught their children to tell the truth only some of the time? I hope you will say none. No parents bring home their newborn baby from the hospital,…
For God knows the Plans He has for Us
This past Sunday, the LifeWay family honored Billy and Patty for their 40 years of service to God. Sometime this month, or last month, forty years ago, when God called them to plant a church here in the Pacific Northwest, they said yes. I thank God for how hard and how focused they have worked to bring hope to many Washingtonians living in darkness. Tradition says that the prophet, Jeremiah, served God for forty years too (I am not at…
Are All Sins Equal? (Part II)
Read Part I So, all sins are equal because any sin, large or small, cuts us off completely from a relationship with God. Is that it? Not so fast. It is a true statement one sin causes us to have zero relationship with God, no matter how big or how small is the sin, and so sin is sin. But the Bible seems to also say another thing. Actually, it seems to also say the opposite thing. I know it…
Are All Sins Equal? (Part I)
I think back to the many years when I was a young man, and not yet a believer in Christ. One day, I heard a Christian person say that all sins were equal. In those days, I didn’t ask many questions and I kept what I heard in my heart. But deep down inside, I knew he was wrong because I had already made up my mind there were different degrees of sins (back then, I called them “evils”) in…
Accept the One Who is Weak in Faith
Once upon a time inside the church in Rome in the 1st century, there were the Jewish Christians and there were the Gentile Christians. The Jewish Christians were those who were ethnically Jews, but they had come to have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. On the other hand, the Gentile Christians were non-Jewish, albeit also people of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, who used to be people from all kinds of beliefs, and religious systems. We learn from…
Our Responsibility When There Is God’s Sovereignty
Quite soon after I made a decision for Christ, a pastor friend told me about a debate going around in the Christian world called the Arminian versus Calvinist debate. I don’t want to go too deep doctrinally here, but the Arminian position emphasizes free will, believing that individuals have the choice to accept or reject God’s salvation. On the other hand, the Calvinist position emphasizes God’s sovereignty, believing that God predestines certain individuals for salvation. The way my friend said…
An Easter Poem
A triumphant ride into the townJesus was greeted with the cheersHosanna! proclaimed the peopleOur king is finally here. Now he stands in front of PilateNo longer came the CheersNow changed to Shouts of crucify!The Angry crowds did jeer Then, on the cross, our Lord did hangIt is finished! His last cryHe suffered unimaginable agonyAll for you and I For three long days and three long nightsIn the grave, his body layThose who loved and knew himThought he was there To…
When An Unbeliever Prays (Part II)
Read Part I An unbelieving person clicks “send” on his screen, and submits a prayer request to God. What will you say happens next? Does the email come through into God’s inbox? Does God even see the “unread” email? If God sees the email, does he open it? If he opens it, does he read it? If he reads it, what does he do with it next? Is God aware that the email came from an unbeliever, and therefore he…
When An Unbeliever Prays (Part I)
As most of you know, Jenny and I became proud first-time grandparents last year. Oliver (Ollie) was born at 27 weeks. He has spent already four months in the NICU, and is still in a NICU today. Jenny and I are so grateful God has given us a church family so we don’t have to walk on this journey alone. You have not stopped asking either of us about Ollie every Sunday. You have prayed, and continue to pray for…
The Sin That Provokes God to Anger (A Lot) Part IV
Read Part I Read Part II Read Part III The words, “idol” and “idolatry”, appeared in the Old Testament. But they didn’t disappear from our Bibles when we moved over to the New Testament. I take this to mean that idols and idolatry are still alive and well in our world today. Our God is a God who does not change. If what provoked God to anger, a lot, in the Old Testament was idol worship, then I want to…
The Sin That Provokes God to Anger (A Lot) Part III
Read Part I Read Part II God said to the Israelites they were not to even dabble with playing with idols. He also said in no uncertain terms that if they were to engage in worshipping idols, the penalty would be severe. Exodus 22.20 He who sacrifices to any god, other than to the LORD alone, shall be utterly destroyed. Deuteronomy 17.2–5 If there is found in your midst, in any of your towns, which the LORD your God is…
The Sin That Provokes God to Anger (A Lot) Part II
Read Part I If you recall, there was a time when Hezekiah became King of Judah, and the Bible said he was a good king. He did right in the eyes of God. He removed idols and destroyed idols. And it said right there in 2 Kings that he also destroyed the bronze serpent that Moses had made. Apparently, the Israelites burned incense to Moses’ bronze serpent, and I take this to mean that the Israelites were worshipping the bronze…
The Sin That Provokes God to Anger (A Lot) Part I
We are now well into the third week of the new year. I cannot speak for you but for me, this year is unlike any other year in the past I can remember. I say this because I have not heard in the news nor on the television about making new year resolutions. No one on our staff has talked about them either. What about you? Year after year around January 1st, I hear people talk excitedly about their determination…
The Case for Xmas
As a young man in my twenties, there was a time when I sent Christmas cards to my family to wish them a Merry Christmas. I didn’t write “Merry Christmas”. I wrote “Merry Xmas” instead. I don’t think I did that because I wasn’t a believer in Christ at that time, and I wished to avoid making any reference to Christ, or Jesus, or God. You see, even though I wasn’t a believer, I was also not someone who opposed…
A Promise That Came By Faith
There may not be a more significant word other than the word, “Faith” in Christianity. Our parents taught us about faith in our homes. We heard the children’s Sunday school teacher repeat it Sunday after Sunday. Then, as adults, we heard even more about God’s righteousness that comes through faith. It is not our works that brings righteousness. It is our faith. And this is why it is surprising to me what happened to the Jewish Christians in the days…