Posts by Marshall Swindall

Hearing the Macedonian Call Have you ever felt a sudden, unexpected nudge to change your plans? In Acts 16, we find the Apostle Paul and his companions journeying through Asia Minor, eager to share the gospel. Yet, at every turn, the Holy Spirit redirects them, closing doors they expected to walk through. Then, in the quiet of the night, Paul receives a vision that…

Great and Getting Better! Feeding on Ashes: The Folly of Modern Idols In Isaiah 44:12–20, the prophet exposes the absurdity of idolatry with sharp irony. He describes a blacksmith and a carpenter exhausting themselves to shape a god out of wood and iron. The craftsman cuts down a cedar tree, uses half of it to build a fire to bake his bread, and uses the remaining half to…

Great and Getting Better! Waiting on God and Other Lessons From the Golden Calf Waiting is one of the hardest parts of living the Christian life. It only took forty days of silence for the people of Israel to lose their way. In Exodus 32, we find the Israelites at the foot of Mount Sinai, facing a major test of patience. Moses had been up on the mountain for nearly forty…

Great and Getting Better! Christmas in July — Joseph The story of Jesus’ birth often centers on Mary, angels, shepherds, and wise men, but Joseph’s obedience was critical to the unfolding of the story of the birth of Jesus. His quiet faith and willingness to follow God’s divine direction secured a safe, nurturing earthly home for the Messiah. When Joseph, a carpenter by…

Great and Getting Better! New Self – Better Congregation – Better Families Ephesians 4:25–32 serves as a practical guide for everyday Christian living, urging believers to “put off” old, destructive habits and “put on” new, Christ-like behaviors. It calls us to replace falsehood with truth, manage our anger constructively, avoid corrupting speech, and extend radical grace…

Five Lessons From the Rich Man and LazarusLuke 16:19–31 Jesus tells a powerful account in Luke 16:19–31 about two men whose lives and eternities were very different. One man was rich, “clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day.” The other was Lazarus, a poor beggar who lay at his gate, full of sores, longing for crumbs from the rich man’s table. In…

Great and Getting Better!Why Should I Read the Old Testament? How can something written thousands of years ago have an impact on my life in 2026? Well, as long as we’ve had language, we’ve had stories. Whether spoken, drawn, or written, stories have been passed on to help give us history, context, narratives, and creative expression that all show us something about what…

“What must I do to be saved?” One of the things we encounter in the world around us is that almost every religious organization attempts to simplify the answer to that question. Religious groups want to make the answer quick and easy. Get that person to commit. Make that person a member of your church. That is a mistake. Conversion is not easy. When we are saved, somebody…