30
Jul 2018
Do you remember how in 1 Samuel 15 God gave Saul the victory over the Amalekites? His instructions to the king were pretty straight forward: “Attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them” (15:3). Clear enough, right? This included their animals – “cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys,” nothing was to be spared. Saul however, provoked God’s anger by taking the king of the Amalekites, Agag, alive as a sort of battle trophy he could parade around to celebrate his great victory. He also spared “the best of the sheep......
Read More
July 24, 2018
The Bible’s Quick Start Guide to Growing Through Trials
Have you bought a new electronic gadget lately? If it’s been a while, you’d discover you need to make a big adjustment in getting the thing set up because most of these gizmos no longer...
July 23, 2018
Qualified to Bring Comfort
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction…” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4a, NASB A toddler is suddenly awakened by the...
July 10, 2018
“Why Not Rather Be Defrauded?”
In reading through the Gospels, it’s virtually impossible to miss the compassion of Jesus. It’s everywhere on display. It’s what drove Him to seek the lost, provide for their needs, heal their illnesses and urge...
July 09, 2018
A Compassion That Compels
Before He ascended into Heaven, the Lord Jesus told His followers to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit who was about to come. The Spirit was already “with” them, Jesus said, but He would...
June 26, 2018
Unfinished Towers and Lost Wars
In Luke 14, Jesus made a provocative and troubling statement to the many who’d begun to accompany Him as His popularity increased. He said, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own...
June 25, 2018
The Truth About Cross-Carrying
“Follow Me,” Jesus said. Paul would later write, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” “I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel,” he told the church at Corinth, “I urge...
June 19, 2018
Be What You Want Them to Become
The power of modeling godly behavior is indisputable. Over and over again believers are encouraged to act wisely, to love generously and to live our lives with God ‘out loud’ so that others can see....
June 18, 2018
Love to a Thousand Generations
There’s a beautiful and oft-overlooked promise in the book of Exodus. There, God describes Himself as “a jealous God” who visits “the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth...
June 12, 2018
Comfort In What Can’t Be Copied
In theology, we love to put things in boxes! We do this with the things that make up God’s character, the things that make God God. We generally divide them into two categories which we...