The friendship between Jonathan and David is one of the most inspiring friendships in the Bible. What specifically intrigues me is the way that Jonathan loved David despite the threat that David posed to him. As the king's son, Jonathan was next in line for the throne. David, the only thing standing between him and his seat of power, should have ... [Continue Reading]
Seeing as the Lord sees (1 Samuel 15-17)
So much goes on in these three chapters that it's impossible to address it all in a short entry. Instead, I want to focus on the instructions that God gives to Samuel as he is selecting the new king. Samuel obviously needed a reminder from God, otherwise God would not have told him these words: "For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the ... [Continue Reading]
Who is this about, anyway? (1 Samuel 13-14)
A real challenge comes for Saul's leadership when Samuel doesn't show up at the appointed time and he is left to decide what to do. Samuel told Saul that he would arrive after seven days to offer a sacrifice to the Lord before going into battle. Saul took matters into his own hands and gave up his right to the throne. His mistake seems ... [Continue Reading]
Does God allow things outside of His will? (1 Samuel 10-12)
It is somewhat curious that God allowed Israel to have a king. After all, God wanted the Israelites to see him as their king; that's what made them unique from all of the other nations around them. So if it clearly was not in God's will (i.e. it wasn't his desire) for Israel to have a king, why did he allow it? That's a tough concept to ... [Continue Reading]
A new look…
Since autumn is sort of here (it doesn't look or feel like it!), I thought I would give the site a new look... there weren't too many options to choose from, and this seemed like about the best "autumn colors." I hope you enjoy it! ... [Continue Reading]
The nature of true repentance (1 Samuel 7-9)
I think it is tempting sometimes to believe that repentance is an act of simply asking for forgiveness. The reality, though, is that repentance means turning from one thing to another: essentially it is making a "one-eighty" with your life. Samuel challenges Israel with that thought in chapter 7. The people of Israel wanted to turn to God, ... [Continue Reading]
Where was God? (1 Samuel 4-6)
The Israelites had to be asking themselves that question when the Philistines defeated them in battle. The problem was that the Israelites wanted to control God, so they took the Ark of the Covenant and brought it to the battlefield. That was the first mistake. They thought they could force God to fight for them, but they were wrong. So ... [Continue Reading]
Facing Life ‘ s Giants: Apathy
The latest sermon from LifePoint Student Ministry. We face a lot of giants in life, but the biggest giants we face are on the battleground of character. In the first part of a 2-week series I talk about the giant of apathy. Download Apathy.mp3 ... [Continue Reading]
Hearing God (1 Samuel 1-3)
We just got back from a HS camping trip to Brown County, and I was struck, as I usually am on such adventures into the wilderness, at the silence that I found there. Silence is something that we don't experience much in our culture. We're bombarded too much with noise. Even white noise is noise, and I wonder how much the noise prevents us from ... [Continue Reading]
An incredible journey (Ruth)
Have you taken time to think about the journey that the Lord is taking you on? Reading through His Narrative has really made me think a lot about that. I believe God takes people on journeys, and there is an incredible picture of a journey found in the book of Ruth. Larry Crabb has a really fantastic book called Shattered Dreams. In the book, ... [Continue Reading]
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