Steve Cummings - Faith, Life & Culture

While going through hardship or a trying season of life has anyone ever said to you: “The Bible says that God will never give you more than you can bear.” Fact is, the Bible never says this exactly. You might be thinking, “Now Steve, I know there has got to be a verse in the Bible that says this, because my grandma used to quote it to me. There’s not, but here’s the verse your grandma was most likely referring to: 1 Corinthians 10:13 – “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” Let’s take a look at what this verse is actually saying, and not saying. Many people interpret this passage to mean that God will not let more hardship come into your life than you can handle. Paul says, “…when you are tempted.” None of us can avoid temptation. It says, “when,” not if. The verse says that God will “…provide a wa...

There is so much anger, hate and negativity in our world today. Civility has been thrown out the window when people disagree with one another. People look for the worst in others and try to make them look as bad as possible. Have you noticed the political advertisements on television lately? They’re simply awful! The main strategy used to get elected is to make one’s opponent look as bad as possible. In order to help improve our relationships with others, and to help create a better world for all of us to live in, I would like to introduce a method I have come up with that I call it “find it.” IN ALL YOUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHERS… Find something to like about them rather than dislike. Find ways to encourage instead of ways to discourage. Find things in them to be positive about instead of negative. Find ways to be optimistic rather than pessimistic. Find things you have in common with them instead of things uncommon. Find things to approve about them rather than disapprove. Find somet...

I have been thinking a lot lately about love and the major role it plays in families and Christians pulling off genuine fellowship with one another. I have concluded that one of the biggest hindrances to love is like. One of the most challenging things Jesus said in His famous Sermon on the Mount was in chapter 5: “If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?” (Matthew 5:46). In context, He is saying that we will be judged more by how much we love (treat people) than how much we like (feel about people). We often let like get in the way of love, which produces a roadblock to true Christian fellowship. The Bible repeatedly teaches in principle that the church is a fellowship of believers. As such, it is to behave like a loving family is supposed to behave as described by God in the Bible. When God “called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:9), He also called you into “fellowship” with the whol...

Posting or viewing content on social media is one of the most popular and frequent things people do these days. Whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, or any of the dozens and dozens of other social media networks out there in cyberworld, social media has changed our culture in ways that none of us could have ever imagined just a few years ago. It has also changed the church, sometimes in good ways, but unfortunately, in some bad ways as well. The misuse of social media has damaged many people and has hurt the influence of many Christians, thus the church at large. However, I am not one of those people who say Christians should stop using social media just because there are bad elements and potential pitfalls associated with it. In fact, I think we should use it. However, we must learn to use it appropriately, and to God’s glory and advantage. With a little help from my favorite blogger James Emery White, I would like to offer a bit of advice for any Christian who routine...

Due to the pressure they feel to conform to the world, or a simple lack of respect for God’s truth, or no fear of God, I am afraid today that too many preachers and too many Christians, in general, are giving our consumer-driven world the religious entertainment and spiritual “junk food” it craves, while watering down the actual truth of God’s word that will judge all people in the end. John 12:48 – There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day. Yet sadly, those Christians who are truly committed to God by humbly preaching, teaching, and living out the truth of His word, are often accused of being narrow-minded, bigoted, or unloving—and those are some of the nicer labels. May I ask you a question? Who is the person that really loves others with the love of God, and has the greatest concern for their eternal soul—the one who coddles those living in sin by totally disregarding God’s truth and its a...

If you were asked to describe the times in which we live with one sentence, what would that sentence be? You could easily say: “It’s all about me.” The great thinker Deidra Cummings has often said, “Far and away the greatest problem in the world today is selfishness—because that’s what produces the most sin.” Many would agree with her, including me. Selfishness is the root of many, if not most, of the problems in the world today. The technical term for “it’s all about me” is narcissism. In Greek mythology, Narcissus is the character who, upon passing his reflection in the water, becomes so enamored with himself that he devotes the rest of his life to his own reflection. From this, we get our term “narcissism,” which is the preoccupation with self.  It’s the classic “I, me, mine” selfish mentality that places personal desires and interests at the forefront of all concerns. Historian Christopher Lasch went so far as to christen ours “the culture of narcissism,” calling it our “new re...

A preacher went out on the street and asked people this question: How does a person make it to heaven? The number one response he got from people was this: “You just have to be a good person.” A man said to me once, “There are good people in every religion, whether they be Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Christian, etc., and I just can’t believe that a loving God would send good people to hell.” Well, based on this man’s way of reasoning, he should go ahead and add atheists to his list too, since in his opinion, being a good person is the acid test for going to heaven, and I know many good people who are atheists. The popular idea is that in order to make it to heaven one must give God evidence that he has been a good person. “Being Good Is Good Enough” is what many people believe, but the Bible never says that. In fact, Jesus said in Mark 10:18 – No one is good—except God alone. Salvation on the basis of one’s goodness is bad theology. “Be Good” theology allows everyone to individually set t...

People often ask me the following question: “Why are there so many different translations of the Bible?” First of all, anything you read in one language that was not originally written in that language—whether it’s a history book, a novel, a science book, a recipe book, a comic book, a magazine, poetry, an instruction manual, or the Bible…is a translation. The Old Testament was written in the common language of its day, which was Hebrew – approximately 1660s B.C. to the 400s B.C. The New Testament was written in the common language of its day, which was Koine Greek (1st Century A.D.). This means that all legitimate future Bible translations would of necessity have been translated from those two original Hebrew and Greek languages. A Bible translation is typically the product of a team of Hebrew and Greek scholars, who have worked together to translate the Bible from Hebrew and Greek into a different language – like English. However, if they do not produce a word-for-word translation fr...

There is a nursery rhyme that most of us remember from our childhood. I remember my mother singing it to me when I was a child. It had been raining for days in Sumiton, Alabama, and I was so frustrated because the rain was preventing me from going outside to play with my friends. It had given me a severe case of cabin fever. My mother sang to me: “Rain, rain, go away. Come again another day. Little Steve wants to play. Rain, rain go away.” Even that song frustrated me since I was so tired of the rain. All of this drenching rain reminds me of a deeply moving fable that I came across many years ago. I think it will move you too. Enjoy. FABLE OF THE DRENCHED EAGLE It was raining in the forest. It had been raining for days, and all the birds and animals were drenched. The eagle, too, was drenched, and his spirits dampened as well, for his mate lay with a chill, a victim of the constant rain. There was no way to keep her dry, and the eagle looked on with despair as her life slowly drained a...

Years ago, when I was a teenager my mother sent me to the grocery store to purchase some self-rising flour so she could make some of her family-famous biscuits. I wasn’t paying enough attention to the labels and ended up buying plain flour instead of self-rising flour. My mother didn’t catch my error and ended up using plain flour. Needless to say, her biscuits turned out flat instead of puffy. I thought about that experience recently when I went to the grocery store to purchase some self-rising flour for Deidra to use to make her own family-famous biscuits. This time, however, it also caused me to think of something the apostle Paul wrote in I Corinthians 8:1 (KJV) - “Knowledge puffeth up, but charity (love) edifieth.” The Amplified Version renders this passage: “Knowledge causes people to be puffed up—to bear themselves loftily and be proud; but love and affection and goodwill and benevolence, edifies and builds up and encourages one to grow to his full stature.” Have you ever met a ...

Agape is a Greco-Christian term referring to love: "the highest form of love, charity" and "the love of God for man and of man for God." There are many people in the world who confess to being Christians, but their words and actions often contradict what the Bible teaches about what it means to really love somebody. This kind of love―let’s call it “sloppy agape”―probably repels more people from Christianity, and relationships in general, than just about anything. The Bible clearly indicates that God is not a fan of “gushy” and “mushy” love that’s more about talk than action and authenticity. So, you ask, what is sloppy agape? Sloppy agape is when you tell someone you love them, but your words and actions do not demonstrate your claim to be true. Here are a few examples of sloppy agape. I’m sure you can come up with many more examples from your own personal life experiences: Sloppy agape is when you tell someone you love them, but you say it in such a harsh tone or ...

Psalm 126:5-6 – “Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” Notice that the Psalmist compares the work of a soul-winner to that of a farmer. He pictures a farmer with a sack of seed, throwing that seed on the ground believing it will take root and grow. God wants all Christians to be farmers/soul winners. Unfortunately, as I listen to many Christians today, it seems that we have too many soil inspectors and not enough seed-sowers. Based on the Psalm 126 text, if you want to be a soul-winner there are some things you have to do. #1 -- GO CONTINUOUSLY The Psalmist speaks of the soul winner who “continuously goes forth.” (v.6) The first thing you’ve got to do if you are going to be a soul-winner is this—GO! There isn’t a single verse in the Bible that commands a lost person to go to a church building? But, there is verse after verse that commands the ch...