I have really come to believe that leaders who do what God wants them to do will face opposition from someone. Even more, I believe that if a leader doesn't face opposition, then he should ask himself if he's really leading the way God wants. Nehemiah faced critics in the wall rebuilding process, and they were pretty harsh opponents. He had a ... [Continue Reading]
Prayer and fasting (Nehemiah 1-3)
When Nehemiah wanted to discern God's will and to place himself at God's feet, he did so through prayer and fasting. We don't hear a lot about fasting in the contemporary church, but it's not a discipline that should be forgotten. I have personally found that God speaks very clearly to me at those moments when I am most dependent on Him, and ... [Continue Reading]
For such a time as this (Esther 1-5)
I think the title of this post is one of my favorite lines from the whole of Scripture. Mordecai's challenge to Esther when she was faced with a tough decision was simple: maybe God has you in the place you're in for a reason. Does anything happen by accident? Does God put circumstances in our lives for no purpose? Or perhaps we are ... [Continue Reading]
A frightening responsibility (Ezekiel 11-13)
Reading through this section (specifically the part about the part about the false prophets) reignited my passion of the frightening responsibility of being a teacher of God's Word. These prophets in Ezekiel are condemned for leading people astray, and the same condemnation applies to teachers today who lead people in the wrong direction. Every time I get ... [Continue Reading]
Pride goes before the fall (Isaiah 37-39; Psalm 76)
One of the saddest parts of Hezekiah's reign is the way that it ended. He was faithful to the Lord, and He led Judah in the right direction until the envoys from Babylon showed up and he gave them the grand tour. Why did he do it? Pride is the only reason that comes to my mind. "Look at what I have." He showed them the ... [Continue Reading]
A true spiritual leader (2 Kings 18:1-8; 2 Chronicles 29-31)
I just found a new favorite person in the Bible, and I'll add him to my list of others. I have read about Hezekiah before, but I don't think I ever really looked at him with much depth. His quality of leadership is worth emulating because Hezekiah used his position for the purpose of bringing the nation back to a recognition of and commitment to the ... [Continue Reading]
The danger of strength (2 Kings 15; 2 Chronicles 26)
It seems that a great downfall of leaders in the bible was the presence of strength. That's an ironic quality to become a person's downfall, but especially in the case of Uzziah, his strength brought his ultimate demise. When it comes to leadership (and even just daily living for everyone), God isn't interested in strength. As a culture, we ... [Continue Reading]
A tragic reality (2 Kings 14; 2 Chronicles 25)
In my prior posts I never made much mention of a tragic reality of sin that was a part of Israel's history during this time period: the separation of the kingdom. Due to the sin of Solomon and his many wives, the kingdom was broken into two parts: Judah and Israel. In this portion of the reading there is fighting between the two kingdoms, and it really ... [Continue Reading]
A disturbing reality (1 Kings 15:25-16:34; 2 Chronicles 17)
Leadership is scary for a number of reasons, but the most prominent reason is the accountability a leader has to the Lord. A leader answers to the Lord for how he or she leads people, and judgment is handed out by the Lord as a result of the outcome of a person's leadership. This principle is displayed by the way the Lord wipes out Jeroboam's entire ... [Continue Reading]
Short term revival (1 King 15:1-24; 2 Chronicles 13-16)
Whenever a leader in Israel's history chose to follow the Lord, the country prospered. Likewise, when the leader chose not to follow the Lord, the country faced a lack of blessing. It seems that there were a number of leaders who started the race off strong but ended in a rather disappointing way. Asa is an example of that. Asa followed the ... [Continue Reading]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- Next Page »
Connect with Me