We will not always do well if our measure of promotion and reward comes from the structure of corporations and denominations and military. We will likely be discouraged and lost, in fact. If you want to paint a big picture you need a big canvas to paint it on. If our measures are able to encompass eternity and martyrdom and […]
Nehemiah did not finish rebuilding a wall around Jerusalem by focusing on answering Tobiah and Sanballat. His focus was on the honor of his God and on the memory of his ancestors. Sanballat and every other distraction and distress were answered, but sometimes simply by being told there was no time to waste answering them. Our success in the lives […]
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You pay a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, yet you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. These things should have been done without neglecting the others. Blind guides! You strain out a gnat, yet gulp down a camel! “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You […]
Being humble is being embarrassed because you are great.Being ashamed is being embarrassed because you are not great.Don’t just pretend to be humble. Don’t just degrade yourself verbally hoping someone will correct you with a statement about how great you are. Your God gives grace to the humble. Actually be humble, which is related to being humiliated on days. Jesus […]
What is there in your life that is so important to you that you think of it often, wondering how it can happen, when it will happen, how much it will cost, whether it will be successful or effective? I suggest that if you have no such purpose or goal or hope, that it is quite likely that you are […]
Praying is an ancient word that roughly meant what pleading means today. “Please, Lord…” is how those approaches to Yahweh start. If all my conversations with you were requests that you would do something for me or give me something, you would not enjoy our conversations much. When you talk, and I listen, and I talk, and you listen, and […]
Daniel learned that Yahweh can protect us from hungry lions when he was thrown in a pit with a few. Paul learned that He can protect us from deadly vipers when one bit him. Peter learned that the Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead can extract us from a cell where we are waiting to be executed while he […]
What the law could not do since it was limited by the flesh, God did. If we say, “We have no sin,” we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say, “We don’t […]
Consider this sequence of events:I need $212.30.I have $5.00.I encounter a woman who has no money and is hungry.The Spirit of the Lord moves on my heart to give the woman my $5.00.I give the woman the $5.00.Another woman tells me the Spirit of the Lord has told her to give me $220.00. The lesson the Spirit has taught me […]
What do I add to the body of Jesus? Is my contribution even noticeable? Am I a costly weight being carried along by other loving believers who are praying that I will get a life? That’s a costly question when I ask it. A better question set to lean into is: Who does Jesus say that I am? Am I […]