David was anointed to be king by Samuel. Part of his preparation for the work of reigning over God’s nation was in Jesse’s fields, where he learned to worship, and to fight enemies greater than himself. Part of his preparation for ruling was accomplished by developing a friendship with Saul’s son Jonathan. Part came from silencing Goliath’s threats of abuse […]
You need a firewall if you have a computer. It stops some stupid people from being able to destroy or steal your stuff. You rarely need a fearwall, though. Hiding until things look easier or safer or more respectable is usually not the path to your awesome destiny. Gideon could not become who the angel said he was until he climbed […]
2 Corinthians 12:14-15 Look, I am ready this third time to come and visit you; and I will not be a burden to you; for it is not what you own that I want, but you! Children are not supposed to save up for their parents, but parents for their children. And as for me, I will most gladly spend […]
We have tendency to value everything from our perspective and nothing from Yahweh’s perspective. When we get that repaired, we will be walking in the Spirit in His Kingdom. We can’t tell the difference between blessed things and cursed things until we can see them from the throne room of God. There is a Hebrew word that is transliterated “cherem” […]
Acts 19:13-20 The typical version of a “power encounter,” such as the confrontation of Baal and Yahweh on Mt. Carmel with Elijah representing Yahweh, is that Yahweh overpowers the unclean spirits and embarrasses them in the process. Another such encounter was in Philippi in Acts 16, when Paul cast a python spirit out of a soothsaying girl. Many people were saved, […]
Some people are convinced that there are two versions of society in the earth – guilt-based, and shame-based. In a guilt-based culture, citizens are taught to feel bad if they have done something the rest of the people consider to be wrong. The offending citizen should feel guilt even if no one knows about the failure. Paying for the error, […]
Recently a gorilla in the Cincinnati Zoo was killed. It had apparently not yet injured a boy who went past 3 barriers to invade its habitat. A decision was made quickly by Zoo officials that attempting to tranquilize the animal, and by doing so save its life, was too risky to the child because they could not be sure what […]
Luke 22:24-30 A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. And He said to them, “The kings of the gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the […]
Joshua already had the preparation for ministry of having been Moses’ servant since his youth (Numbers 11:28). He had faith to be one of the two spies who believed that Yahweh was capable of fulfilling His declaration that He would give the descendants of Jacob the land that had belonged to the descendants of Canaan (Numbers 14:8). In Exodus 33:7-11, […]
Most of the people who are remembered after they die are remembered in terms of what they built. All building isn’t measured in terms of “buildings,” but sometimes in terms of what was happening that needed to stop, or a process that was created, or a freedom that was established. I haven’t counted, but it seems that the percentage is […]