As for other matters, brothers and sisters, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you. (2 Thessalonians 3:1) When is the last time you prayed for a fellow Christian that the message of the Lord would spread rapidly and be honored? Personally, I'm convicted by that question. It's easy to lose sight of our ... [Continue Reading]
The Wedding Dance (1 Thessalonians 1-2)
We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts. (1 Thessalonians 2:4b) The other day I was at my cousin's wedding with my little girl, and she was have a grand time dancing. I'm not going to lie: it was incredibly hilarious and hideous at the same time. As a 17-month-old, I'm not sure she'd win any dancing competitions, but she gave it her all. The ... [Continue Reading]
Be Slow (James 1-3)
My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. (James 1:19-20) I’m a hurried sort of person. There’s always one more thing to do on my list and one more place to go… typically a place to which I am running about 5-10 ... [Continue Reading]
Do Hard Things (Luke 23)
But with loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed. (Luke 23:23) When the angry mobs pull out their pitchforks and torches it's easier to let them prevail than it is to stand up against them with reason and right thinking. After all, standing up to a mob could be dangerous, and you never know if they may turn on you. Perhaps ... [Continue Reading]
The One Who Overcomes (John 16)
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:16) Back in the 1990s there was a popular slogan: no fear. I distinctly remember the t-shirts and the bumper stickers storming the culture. We don't see those too often, anymore, but the slogan is something that ... [Continue Reading]
Where Were You? (John 11)
“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” (John 11:21) There are moments when we wonder where God is. If only He showed up in the situation, then things wouldn’t have turned out the way that they did… I wouldn’t have lost my job… my loved one wouldn’t have died… the accident wouldn’t have happened… things would be different. ... [Continue Reading]
Confessions of a List-maker (Luke 10-11; John 10:22-42)
A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. (Luke 10:31-32) I'm curious if you've ever done this before. Have you ever seen a need and realized that you really want to have nothing to do with it? So instead of coming up ... [Continue Reading]
Too Hard? (John 6)
On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” (John 6:60) In most things that matter in life, you will face adversity of some kind. There will be a point in time where you'll need to make a decision of whether or not the sacrifices are worth the reward. The same is true when it comes to faith. It's better to understand all ... [Continue Reading]
A Nice Story (Luke 1; John 1:1-4)
Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.” (Luke 1:18) Sometimes it feels like things just aren't going to work out for me. Yes, I've heard about what God has done in the past for other people, but it seems unlikely that He'll show up in my situation. And yet, there's something about reading the story of ... [Continue Reading]
Defending What’s Right (Nehemiah 10:28-39; 11:1-2; 12:27-47; 13)
But I warned them and said, “Why do you spend the night by the wall? If you do this again, I will arrest you.” From that time on they no longer came on the Sabbath. (Nehemiah 13:21) It is believed that Edmund Burke once said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men should do nothing.” Sadly, the great temptation of many good men and women is ... [Continue Reading]
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