View Articles | Gordon Ferguson

Is Your Religion Focused on Christ or the Church?

The question posed by the title is one of the most important questions that any individual can entertain and it is one that you will answer with your life whether you realize it or not. No one can avoid answering it. We are all in the process of answering it right...

Once Saved, Always Saved?

I have expressed my alarm many times about the current teaching and emphases of American evangelical churches. Honestly, the emphases are in many ways more disturbing than the specific doctrines with which I disagree. Living in the Bible Belt and interreacting with...

God is Our Father

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! (1 John 3:1) God is our Father and those of us in Christ are his specially adopted children – no truth in the Bible is more exciting! The cost of...

Where is God in My Mess?

Handling Injustices and Ill Treatment Spiritually Life is nearly always somewhat messy, right? Sometimes it is so messy that we generalize and just say it’s a mess. I’ve been at that point many times, one recently that I will mention before closing the article. But...

Is the Jewish Nation Still God’s Special Nation?

Introduction In a previous article, “Gentiles and the Law of Moses,” I addressed the increasingly popular Torah pursuant concept that we need Christ plus the Law. Of course, the claim of such adherents is that only Christ saves us, but God never intended his followers...

Gentiles and the Law of Moses

Introduction From time to time, for reasons I do not fully understand, Christians are tempted to combine Judaism with Christianity. Perhaps they get bored with Christianity as they know it and are looking for something new and more exciting. This reason certainly is...

Children of the King or Servants of the King?

Which of those descriptions is true of us as disciples? Both, actually. We are the sons and daughters of God Almighty, Creator of the universe and King of this world and all worlds. But we are also servants of the King, the Master of all creation and of all peoples,...

Forty-Two Years Ago Today (February 20, 1979)

Roger Lamb sent several of us an email yesterday to let us know that all of the old KNN (Kingdom News Network) videos had been uploaded to the ICOC Disciples Today YouTube channel. He also attached the link for a section from one of them highlighting a very important...

My Hope Is in Our Youth

NOTE: This article was originally written as Chapter 18 in my book, "The Power of Spiritual Relationships." The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel: for gaining wisdom and instruction; for understanding words of insight; for receiving instruction in...

The Magic Wand and the Touch, by David Malutinok

This world has so many problems. We try to solve those problems through political means and through our freedoms in America to protest and aggressively comment against our leaders. When we think about the problems in this country of racism, poverty, inequality,...

An Old Favorite

Jim McGuiggan is a friend, an old friend more than a current friend, but an important friend. Jim taught for a number of years at the Sunset School of Preaching training ministers. During some of those years, I was teaching at the Preston Road School of Preaching, a...

Another Hero Gone Home

On Friday morning, October 30, 2020, another of my spiritual heroes departed for his eternal home. Ron Brumley served as an elder for many decades in several different churches – San Diego, Chicago and Seattle. It was during his first tenure in San Diego that God...

Jerry Jones – A Man of Steel and Velvet

Jerry Jones departed this life on Wednesday, May 13, 2020. He and I were appointed as elders together in Phoenix, Arizona in September of 2004. We became co-laborers together in the church and close friends in all settings. In a short time, I think both of us would...

Justice, Jesus, and the 21st Century Christian Church–by Jim McCartney

In the year 2020 the focus of my biblical studies has been the role of culture, first in understanding the biblical text, and second, in application to the 21st century world in which we live. This is an endeavor of a decade or a lifetime, not a year, but because I...

Is the Coronavirus COVID-19 a Judgment of God?

NOTE: This is the announcement I made on my Facebook page just after posting this article. I think it is important to read before reading the article itself. Here it is: "For the past two weeks, I have been working on an article that I believe God put on my heart. It...

Gratitude: How Soon We Forget

Few sins are as disgusting as ingratitude. A study of God’s dealings with mankind would surely demonstrate how strongly God thinks that this is indeed the case. We humans agree with his assessment—as long as we are observing a lack of thankfulness in the lives of...

Life’s End-Game, and the Greatest Story Ever Told!

Aging and death are realities of life on planet earth, and those realities are viewed by virtually all of us as negative, usually very negative. From the perspective of 1 Corinthians 15:26, death is the last enemy to be destroyed at the general resurrection of the...

Journaling With God

1 Peter 5:7 – “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” In this verse, Peter gives us a command, one that is absolutely essential for spiritual and emotional health. But he doesn’t tell us exactly how to do it. No doubt some approach comes to your mind...

Do You Get It? by Jim McCartney

“You unbelieving and perverse generation”, Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long will I put up with you?” – Matthew 17: 17 Addressed to Jesus’ disciples who had been following him and listening to him, Jesus expressed frustration that they were...

Women’s Role in the Church – We Are Missing Something! by Linda Brumley

The current conversations about using women in public worship are timely for sure. I personally do not think this is overdue, for I believe that any alteration in long-held practices is best rolled out slowly in the interest of unity so everyone can have time to...

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GREAT Book #2!As I said in my previous post, I am rarely on Facebook these days. This means that algorithms used by FB will ensure that not many of my FB friends will even see this post. Therefore, please share these posts with your FB friends and help spread the word.Tom Jones has written many books, all very outstanding. His most recent book is like nothing he has ever written. In the Introduction, he expressed the thought that this difference might cause some to wonder if his mind had checked out on him!I don’t know what genre to put the book in, but I do know that it is a book that has left me where the title suggests: Captivated. I have read the book at least three times and my wife has read it twice in a two day span this week. It introduces Jesus in a way that all those in the younger generations need to see. It shows those of us in older generations the Father through Jesus, correcting erroneous and damaging views of God in a most unique way.To borrow a phrase from cyberspace usage, this book should go viral. I’m buying copies to hand out to those who need to see God clearly, whether they are currently religious or non-religious. It is truly a “must read.” ... See MoreSee Less

CAPTIVATED

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Your One Wild and Precious Life and the Loving Outrageousness of Jesus A fresh, even surprising and sometimes provocative look at our own lives and the Jesus we might not know. In a brilliant, compell...

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Two GREAT Books!The last two books I have just read are amazing! I will make a post about each separately. Since I am rarely on Facebook these days, and algorithms being what they are, not many of my FB friends will even see this post. Therefore, please pass these posts on to your FB friends and help spread the word.Book #1 is written by my friend, Dr. Michael Messina, a clinical psychologist with a large practice in several locations. His credentials are impressive. Mike and I shared a lunch and long conversation recently and he gave me a copy of his book. I assumed that it would strongly reflect Dr. Michael Messina as a psychologist with a great deal of education and widely varied experience. Instead, it strongly reflected Mike Messina as a serious Bible student and disciple of Jesus. He has quite a grasp of both psychology and scripture.Of the hundreds of books I have read, those by Christian counselors have been some of my favorites and the ones which have helped me the most personally. I would put this one at the top of that list. It is my favorite. Mike’s understanding of the Bible and people is combined in a truly remarkable way. It should be a “Must Read” for everyone. Despite his credentials, Mike just wants to get the book into the hands of people, a goal reflected in the price of the book. I just downloaded the Kindle version for Theresa – 99 cents! Buy it and pass the word on. You won’t be sorry! ... See MoreSee Less

Death, Disease, Disaster, & Despicable Evil

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Several months ago, I posted an announcement about a new book written by Theresa and me, published at the request of Toney Mulhollan of Illumination Publishers. As I explained, Toney discovered a number of previously unpublished articles that he asked us to update and edit into brief chapters, twenty by each of us, plus add some thought questions and action items at the end of each chapter. Now he has asked us to choose one chapter by Theresa and print it on Facebook to give you a better idea of what this 40-chapter devotional book is like. So, here ‘tis! Enjoy (and buy the book)!Hungry and Happy! —Theresa Ferguson “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” (Matthew 5:6)In looking at the high calling of the Beatitudes spoken by Jesus, some questions are in order. Do you really want true happiness? Are you willing to do whatever it takes to get true fulfillment? It is our response to Matthew 5:6 that will determine our joy level now and for as long as we live. From a worldly perspective, being hungry and happy at the same time does not seem correct. However, in the kingdom, we cannot be truly happy (blessed) without first being hungry—hungry for God! But what does this phrase mean in a practical sense? In the preceding context, Jesus had been performing miracles and meeting many physical needs (Matthew 4:23-25). The people were happy and impressed with both his message and his miracles. They were hungry and thirsty to have their physical needs met, but like most of us, their spiritual interest may not have been their primary focus. He wanted them to know that they could have lasting fulfillment only if they were hungry and thirsty to be filled with God. Our Food Must Be Christ Jesus himself was the Bread of Life (John 6:35), and the one who could give them living water (John 4:10). In John 4, after he offered the woman this living water, she was so happy that she went to share this new nourishment with all of her friends! Right after she left, Jesus told the disciples (who had just returned with food) that he had already received food. When they responded in a puzzled manner, he replied that his food was to do the will of God who had sent him and to accomplish his work. He was so happy about impacting this woman’s life, and so caught up in doing God’s will that he literally lost his appetite! The kind of hunger and thirst being asked of us is not that of simply enjoying a nice little meal – it suggests an all-consuming craving for a relationship with him. It is seeking him with an urgency and a feeling of being absolutely starved without him. Can you remember going without food or water for a prolonged period of time, and how you could think of little else but satisfying the cravings of your body? Jesus is telling us that we need to live in this sort of state spiritually, not that we are to go around unsatisfied, but that we will stop at nothing to continue eating and drinking of God! The Psalmist understood well what Jesus was discussing: “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?” (Psalm 42:1-2). Just how excited are you about getting time to be with God every day? Do you make time? Are you looking for more time? Is your heart yearning to be with God? Consider another passage in Psalms: “O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water…My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you” (Psalm 63:1, 5). Not only must we be hungry in our souls for an ever-deepening walk with God, we must also be hungry and thirsty for the word of God. For a deepened conviction about loving the Word, just read through the 119th Psalm. Over and over, the writer talks of loving God’s law and meditating on it day and night. He is completely delighted with it, devoid of any sense of duty in reading it (for a Quiet Time) but overjoyed at the privilege of being able to commune with the expressed heart of his Creator! As we feast on the word of God, we will also hunger to please him, to obey him, to become more and more like him. This desire to please him will find a direct application in loving others as he does. Jesus hungered to serve others, to even give up his life for them. The things of God (Matthew 16:23) were all about serving and saving others for the glory of God. When our souls really do hunger for him, we will also hunger to bless the ones for whom Jesus died! An Eternal Longing for Him One of our greatest needs in growing spiritually is to keep an eternal perspective on our lives. We are not talking simply of being happy in the sense of enjoying our lives on this earth. Christianity is not another self-help approach to life or another “find yourself” philosophy. It is a religion teaching us how to live so we will know how to die. Christ is telling us how to live in our day so we will live in eternity. My own determination to hunger and thirst for righteousness was strengthened tremendously in the past by watching a dear sister, Suzanne Atkins, face death with an amazing hunger to see God. At age 32, with two small children, she discovered that she had a serious malignancy and would die in a matter of weeks. When I went to see her in San Diego just a few days before her death, I went for the purpose of encouraging her. However, she did most of the encouraging! As the pain of cancer racked her body, her eyes were lit up with the thought of seeing the God for whom she had hungered and thirsted. Each morning when she awoke, she was disappointed that she had not yet gone to see him. As we talked and laughed and prayed and wept, the real issues of righteousness came into clear perspective. The only way to hunger to be with God in the next life is to hunger to be with him now—every day! He is not simply a part of life—he is life itself. “When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory” (Colossians 3:4). Suzanne left behind a family and many friends, including me, who are more determined than ever to hunger and thirst for God. My prayer is that her example of dying with the joy of Jesus will help to create a thirst in you that will lead you to live and to die as she did. If you were to die today, what would others be able to honestly say about your hungering and thirsting for God and his righteousness? When we live out the beatitude of Matthew 5:6, then we can die with the beatitude of Revelation 14:13: “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.” QUESTIONS FOR THOUGHT 1. How intense has your hunger and thirst for righteousness been over the past several months? How do you feel about your answer? 2. Do you have a plan for Quiet Times with God and are you carrying out those plans? 3. The Bible speaks of longing to be with God in eternity. How does this idea impact your heart? ACTION ITEMS Select two of your Christian friends who seem to have a real hunger and thirst for God and talk with them about what inspires them. ... See MoreSee Less

Living to Please God

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Forty Short but Powerful Devotionals on Christian Living Gordon and Theresa Ferguson have both been walking with God for a long time now, starting in their 20s and continuing into their 80s. Through m...

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Is Your Religion Focused on Christ or the Church?

Once Saved, Always Saved?

God is Our Father

Where is God in My Mess?

Is the Jewish Nation Still God’s Special Nation?

Gentiles and the Law of Moses

Children of the King or Servants of the King?

Forty-Two Years Ago Today (February 20, 1979)

My Hope Is in Our Youth

The Magic Wand and the Touch, by David Malutinok

An Old Favorite

Another Hero Gone Home

Jerry Jones – A Man of Steel and Velvet

Justice, Jesus, and the 21st Century Christian Church–by Jim McCartney

Is the Coronavirus COVID-19 a Judgment of God?

Gratitude: How Soon We Forget

Life’s End-Game, and the Greatest Story Ever Told!

Journaling With God

Do You Get It? by Jim McCartney

Women’s Role in the Church – We Are Missing Something! by Linda Brumley

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