What does the Lord require of me? When the Lord looks at me, a sinner He’s rescued from sin and death, what does He expect to find? Micah 6:8 famously asks and answers that very question. “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and … Read more
It’s a theme that runs throughout the New Testament: to follow Jesus means to live inside out. That’s not to say that the outside doesn’t matter – it does! God holds us accountable for what we do and say. He expects obedience of us, and a good testimony – and confession, if sin has broken … Read more
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. … Read more
It’s impossible to ‘sanitize’ what God asked Abraham to do that day. “He said, ‘Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you’” (Genesis 22:5). Abraham knew what … Read more
God can speak to us in many different ways. He may ping our hearts with conviction as we listen to a sermon, or as we read the Bible. Or He may speak a word through a brother or sister during a time of fellowship. Or perhaps the Holy Spirit might whisper to us in a … Read more
OK, OK. I know ‘convince-tion’ isn’t really a ‘word,’ so to speak, but all words at one time weren’t words, right? When you get to the age where a bit of snow begins to gather on the roof, you may find it a challenge to keep up with all the new words and phrases that … Read more
I think it’s always instructive to look back to the life and teachings of the early church – to draw inspiration from them and, perhaps, to see whether or not we’ve wandered from some of the values that were important to the first Christians. Obedience to God was very important to believers of the first … Read more
Most warnings are pretty important to take seriously. They alert us to the potential danger of following a certain course of action. ‘Icy road ahead.’ ‘Do not climb ladder with wet feet and hands full.’ ‘Do not breathe in asbestos.’ ‘Do not eat moth balls!’ I’ve never tasted mothballs, but they do look pretty tempting. … Read more
“Following” Jesus is synonymous with “obeying” Jesus. To follow is to obey, and obeying involves a long series of decisions that I make to glorify God by laying my life, my preferences, and my desires at His feet. Laying down my life is a daily choice. Following Jesus means acknowledging that I am not my … Read more