Our God is an All-Consuming-Fire. Everything but Him is of Him, through Him, and for Him. While we wait through the fire of threats of rejection, accusation, loss, fear, hard work, abandonment, and every other evil the world can empower against us, we are waiting for the fire that can empower us against the evil. When the followers of Jesus […]
Kindness should be no more thought about and weighed out in terms of how we interact with others (especially the difficult ones) than faith or love should be. It is the kindness of our God that leads us to having changed minds and hearts (Romans 2:4). His kindness through us can bring the dead to Life.
Jesus was crucified. Then He appeared to His disciples. Then He taught them about His Kingdom for 40 days. Then He told them to wait in Jerusalem until they received power. In the most threatening environment they could have found themselves in out of the whole earth, Jesus poured out His Spirit on them – when they waited through the […]
There is a beggar who asks me for money every few days. He frequently starts the conversation by thanking me for the help I have given him. Then, he makes small talk about weather or music or his family or neighbors. Then always comes the “by the way…” He is not my friend, though he wants his conversation to make […]
Hagar was a slave from Egypt. Her owner Sarai made her get pregnant by Abraham. She had Abraham’s son, Ishmael, and then Sarai (Sarah) had Abraham’s son Isaac. When Sarah saw Ishmael insulting and mocking Isaac, she became angry and made Abraham throw his son and Hagar out of their camp: Now this was a very difficult thing for Abraham […]
– you are worried and upset about many things, but one thing is necessary. –(Luke 10:41b-42a Holman Christian Standard Bible ©®) It is good to take our responsibilities seriously. We will be judged with regard to our Heavenly citizenship and our home attitudes and behaviors. It is not good to worry about any of it, though. Not food, clothes, relationships, […]
We don’t usually know when we wake up what Responsibility waits for us in the day. We know the routine – whether we are going to our job or some other typical activity. The R in the Responsibility I am pointing at implies the big stuff – the things that affect generations behind me. On the day Elisha was approached […]
As children, we were taught that some days were magical. We were led by parents and peers to look forward to a celebration, a reward, a graduation. Christmas, Easter, birthdays, Halloween, Valentine’s Day – all these days felt different from “regular” days. Some days held darker power, like the last day of school before summer, when we would see friends […]
You who live in the shelter of ‘Elyon, who spend your nights in the shadow of Shaddai, who say to Adonai, “My refuge! My fortress! My God, in whom I trust!” —he will rescue you…(Psalm 91:1-3a Complete Jewish Bible) Psalm 91 is a hymn of protection. Even in verse 13, when the blessed are trampling lions and cobras, the whole […]
What are we free to demand of others? Respect? Love? Kindness? Generosity? When are others free to demand those or other things of us? When we are in a good mood? When we have enough to pay our bills? When it’s christmas? Every day is an opportunity to encounter Jesus. One of the most astonishing things in the Book for […]