By J.B. Hixson, Ph.D.09/24/2021I am the LORD, that is My name; and My glory I will not give to another, nor My praise to carved images. (Isaiah 42:8)The year was 1715 and Louis XIV of France had died.  Louis, who called himself, “The Great,” was the monarch who made the infamous statement “I am the State!”  His court was the most magnificent in Europe, and his funeral was correspondingly spectacul...  Read More

By J.B. Hixson, Ph.D.12/23/2023Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)In 1989, Sigourney Weaver was nominated for an Academy Award for her leading role in the film Gorillas in the Mist, which was nominated for a total of five Oscars. The movie was based upon the life and tragic death of Dian...  Read More

By J.B. Hixson02/09/2022“This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” (John 15:12–13)It is February, and that means that our thoughts turn to love. People are always searching for love, aren’t they? But sadly, to borrow the words of country singer Johnny Lee, most people are “Lookin’ for love...  Read More

By J.B. Hixson, Ph.D.08/26/2021Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fi...  Read More

By J.B. Hixson, Ph.D.09/05/2021Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.(Proverbs 13:12)Waiting is no fun. Nobody knows this better than a child. When our oldest daughter was eight, we took her and her younger siblings to a neighbor’s swimming pool. As we walked through the gate into the backyard, we instructed the children to wait by the pool until mom a...  Read More

By J.B. Hixson, Ph.D.09/15/2021See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:15–16) So much of life comes down to perspective.  Perspective can mean the difference between joy and despair, between hope and despondency, between contentment and anxiety.  To the poet, a pearl is a teardrop of the sea. To the ladies, it is a...  Read More

By J.B. Hixson, Ph.D.12/15/2017"For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." (Luke 2:11)A former student of mine serves as a pastor in Eastern Europe.  Together with his wife and children, he planted a church in one of the most difficult and dangerous mission fields in the world today.  He sent me a story about a thirteen year old orphan named Daniel wh...  Read More

By J.B. Hixson, Ph.D.12/24/2019Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; do not fret—it only causes harm. (Psalm 37:7–8)You’ve heard of the tyranny of the urgent?  These days an even bigger issue is the tyranny of the now.  With pervasive connectivity a...  Read More

By J.B. Hixson, Ph.D.11/19/2018Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. (Psalm 136:1)Years ago, when I was teaching full time at a Bible college, I worked with a man who was very good at praying.  That may sound like a strange observation, but it is true.  This man knew how to pray and everyone loved to hear him pray in public.  His prayers were convicting becaus...  Read More

By J.B. Hixson, Ph.D.11/19/2021Psalm 100Perhaps you have heard the old fable about a day when the sun did not rise.  Six o’clock in the morning came and went, yet still there was no sign of dawn.  By seven o’clock, darkness remained. At noon, it was as black as midnight.  The morning songs of Steller’s jays gave way to the hoot of owls and the distant howls of coyotes.  Then came the long, dark ho...  Read More

By J.B. Hixson, Ph.D.10/08/2021Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips. (Proverbs 27:2)I had the pleasure of speaking at a Pastor's Conference in Orlando some time ago that was attended by several hundred pastors from around the country, and even a few from around the world. I say pleasure because indeed it was edifying and challenging to hear some of ...  Read More

By J.B. Hixson, Ph.D.01/13/2020What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish that I may gain Christ. (Philippians 3:8, NIV)Recently I came across one of those widely circulated emails that lists all of the things that have changed in the world over the past fifty years,...  Read More

By J.B. Hixson08/08/2021He who is full loathes honey, but to the hungry even what is bitter tastes sweet. (Proverbs 27:7)My family loves to play games.  Board games, card games, group games...it doesn't matter what kind...if there is competition involved, we love it!  Years ago I recall playing a game of Go Fish with my son, Landry, who was about eight years old at the time.  It is quite entertain...  Read More

By J.B. Hixson, Ph.D.02/23/2022A discerning man keeps wisdom in view, but a fool's eyes wander to the ends of the earth. (Proverbs 17:24)Teaching a teenager how to drive poses a number of challenges. In the first place, many of the skills we use for driving are instinctive or intuitive and come with practice. For example, you cannot teach a first-time driver how to react when an empty bag of feed ...  Read More

By J.B. Hixson, Ph.D.09/01/2021He who has knowledge spares his words, and a man of understanding is of a calm spirit. Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace; when he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive. (Proverbs 17:27-28)Jeff Foxworthy has developed quite a following with his patented "You Might Be a Redneck" jokes. It does not matter how many times I have heard them, they al...  Read More

By J.B. Hixson, Ph.D.11/26/2021You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. (1 Thessalonians 5:5-6)Several years ago newspapers recounted the story of a man who fell to his death while sleepwalking. One dark night, he slipped out of a window in his room which was situated at the very...  Read More

By J.B. Hixson, Ph.D.07/28/2021So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world...(Rev 12:9)And I looked, and behold, a white horse.  He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer. (Rev 6:2)Now the Spirit expressly says that in the latter times some will depart from the faith, givin...  Read More

J.B. Hixson, Ph.D.09/21/2021 "And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand." (John 10:28)My favorite kind of cookie is chocolate chip.  There is scarcely anything better than a hot, just-out-of-the-oven, homemade chocolate chip cookie with a cold glass of milk.  When I was a teenager, I used to make them myself, using Mom's family recip...  Read More